Here are our top picks of best beaches in Myanmar that surely deserves to be visited at least once. Many of Myanmar’s beaches are unspoiled and undiscovered, reminiscent of Thailand’s beaches 20 years ago. The best ones are along the shores of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. These beaches face west, virtually guaranteeing great sunsets.
Here are list of the best Myanmar beaches to visit:
- Ngapali Beach – For Snorkeling
- Ngwe Saung – one of top best beaches in Myanmar
- Chaung Tha Beach – For Seafood
- Maungmagan Beach – For Cheap Beer
- Mergui (Myeik) Archipelago – Untouched beach in Myanmar
- Nabule Beach – For Photography
- Po Po Kyauk Beach – For Natural Lagoons
- Kabyar Wa Beach – Untouched Gold Sands
- Kanthaya Beach – For Private Beach Experience
- Myawyik Pagoda & San Maria Bay – One of best Southern Myanmar Beaches
Ngapali Beach
This is a dream beach with seven kilometers of white sand fringed with palm trees. The turquoise sea is crystal clear. Several daily flights from Yangon — a 45-minute flight — help make this by far the most popular beaches in Myanmar. Once word gets out, Myanmar’s sunsets – like this beauty in Ngapali – will be legendary.
The route by road through the Rakhine Yoma Mountain range has been off limits recently because of trouble in the state. As it’s somewhat remote, this is a place to come for a few days and sink into beach mode. Accommodation options range from small beach huts to villas and there are plenty of restaurants serving fresh seafood.
It is one of the best developed beaches in Myanmar where visitors could find good quality resorts and enjoy lots of water activities — snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking — to cycling and golf.
“This is definitely not the place for backpackers,” says Barker. “You have to fly in and out and that can make it expensive. Ten years ago prices ranged from $2 to $400. and these days it’s very resorty.”
Getting there:
By Flights
There are few direct flights from Yangon or Heho (Inle Lake) to Ngapali per days. It takes about 1 hour.
It is also possible to fly from Bagan to Ngapali but the flights will have 1 stop at Heho airport. So, flight time is 2 hours instead of 1 hour as direct flights.
All flight options costs around US$ 100 – 120 per one way ticket.
By Bus
There are both day and night buses between Yangon and Ngapali. Even the road condition has been improved so much compared to the past but journey still takes very long (11 hours). The better quality of new buses make the trip from Yangon to Ngapali is less hectic for passengers ( mostly local & backpackers)
Bus ticket price is pretty reasonable: around 15$ /passenger one way.
Ngwe Saung Beach – one of top best beaches in Myanmar
It is one of two beaches within relatively easy driving distance from Yangon. The infrastructure here is quite similar to Ngapali but it is much closer to Yangon. So, it is ideal place for local people to travel on weekends. Many foreigners also love this place as it is less touristy than Ngapali.
Ngwesaung’s white sand and clear waters are also perfect backdrop for local activities like horseback riding and watersports. One of the best way to explore this beach is to hire a boat to visit the nearest islands for snorkeling and fishing. Or just long walks along the beach, ending with posing at the twin stupas of Kyauk Maumghnama Pagoda. Lastly, you can’t leave without trying the catch of the day from the many local restaurants.
In Ngwe Saung, there are many beach front resorts but at more affordable prices. Budget accommodation is also easy to find.
Getting there
Road transportation is the only way to get to Ngwe Saung. A five to six hour bus ride (approximately $25 USD roundtrip) is the most common mode of transport. However, traveling by private car is more comfortable option. Myanmar Travel provides private car rental service between Yangon and Ngwe Saung at reasonable prices. Please contact us for the best offer.
Chaung Tha Beach
Both Chaung Tha beach and ngwe saung beach are of equal distance from yangon. However, Chaung Tha doesn’t have nice resorts you’ll find in Ngwe Saung. It’s home of simple hotels right on the beach. It is a reason why Chaung Tha is the most popular beach among locals than foreigners. On national public holidays or a long weekend, it becomes very crowded with locals from Yangon who’ve traveled here for a bit of relaxation.
Chaung Tha hasn’t got infrastructure like Ngapali, but you’ll still be able to go snorkeling, horse riding, fishing or cycling in the area.
If you wish to experience local life, come and stay at an inexpensive hotel and enjoy fresh seafood at beer stations and restaurants along the beach.
Getting there
Like Ngwe Saung, traveling by car/bus is the only way to get to Chaung Tha. The bus from Yangon to Chaung Tha leaves at 6 am daily, making the 260 kilometre trip in around six hours. Along the way, the bus stops at several restaurants and roadside markets to give passengers a chance to eat and stretch their legs. Buses run from Yangon to Chaung Tha for approximately $20 USD there and back.
If you look for more comfortable ride, please contact Myanmar Travel to arrange private car.
Maungmagan Beach
It is most culturally significant beach in Myanmar after Ngapali. It was known since a visit of Emperor Alung Si Thu in the first Myanmar dynasty. During colonial times, Maungmagan was also the English’s main beach for relaxing and drinking tea.
Maungmagan is located around 12 km from Dawei. Its name can roughly be translated to “the beach where the emperor’s concubines bath”.
Nowadays, it serves mainly local people from Dawei. Therefore, the beach is relatively quiet during the weekdays. While here, people can enjoy the beautiful views of the hills rising up from the shoreline. There are some restaurants that serve delicious seafood where you can come and enjoy sun sets behind the mountains.
You will not find palm tree in Maungmagan beach. Pine trees are favorite there, though the crystal-clear water is still the equal of any tropical beach in the region.
Actually, the beach is very under developed. So, don’t expect luxury vacation as in Ngapali or Ngwe Saung. There is only beach hotel available but service is poor due to the lack of international travelers.
Getting there
By Flights
Fly into Dawei Airport and take a rented motorcycle or local taxi to the beach.
By Bus
It takes about 13 – 14 hours, so night bus is recommended for this route. You will depart from Yangon in late afternoon and arrive in Dawei next morning.
By Train
It is also available but very long. It takes 24 hours from Yangon to Dawei.
Mergui Archipelago – Untouched beaches in Myanmar
Mergui is located in Southern Myanmar. With a lack of infrastructure and remote location, this place isn’t not very popular for travelers. Providing lots of potential with more than 800 islands, crystal clear waters, and unique diving spots, the development here is still slow.
So far, there are a few eco resorts on private islands which differ in price (price range from US$ 100 to US$ 800 per night). These resorts are accessible by boats only. There are no public boats but you need to use transfer services of resorts. Besides, there are some daily tours to nearby islands which you can join if you stay in Kawthaung town.
The top thing to do in Mergui Archipelago is snorkeling and scuba diving. Many cruises and yachts come from Thailand and stay for a few days around the archipelago to enjoy its unique diving spots, full of untouched submarine nature. The eco resorts also set up their own diving and water sports centre that provides full experience for their guests.
The archipelago of islands is home of the Moken people, one of the many minorities of Myanmar – informally called the “sea gypsies”. They live off the life in the sea, with a nomadic lifestyle jumping from island to island. Trekking through the jungle and visit Moken people is also one of highlights in Mergui.
Getting there
Kawthaung is a base town to reach to surrounding islands in Mergui. There are 2 ways to reach Kawthaung:
Fly from Yangon
There are several flights which are operated with Air KBZ or Myanmar National Airlines. Price is around US$ 130 – 160 per oneway ticket
Travel by boat from Ranong, Thailand
From Ranong airport, it is 30 minutes to the pier (taxi approx. US$ 20 or shared Songthaew at US$ 10). After checking out at Thailand immigration, you can hire a long tail boat (US$ 15), or share with others, for the 30 minutes to reach Kawthaung, with a couple of customs checkpoints along the way, where you might have to show your passport and e-visa letter.
Nabule Beach
Location; 12 miles north of Maungmagan
Beach; golden sand, deep blue water
Transport; motorbike, car
Facilities; small shop and pagoda
Road Conditions; average to poor
One of best beaches in Myanmar kept secrets. At the pagoda climb down the garden path to find the hidden bays of Nabule beach. A beautiful golden sand beach broken up by large granite boulders, the largest boulder is crowned with a small golden stupda. The sublime beach is precisely that, nothing but nature. It’s not often you can step into secluded beach paradise but as you climb across the rocks to the final bay to find a dearth of footprints you may have just found the explorers Holy Grail.
Po Po Kyauk Beach – For Natural Lagoons
Also known as ‘Grandfather Beach’, this peaceful stretch of sand is the perfect spot for a sunset. It’s very long, so consider renting a bike to cycle or drive the entire stretch. It’s uncrowded with warm, blue water and soft sand. Certainly – and by a long way – Po Po Kyauk Beach is the best beaches in Myanmar. Perhaps the best in the region. You can be alone on miles of sand and swim in the clearest of seas.
Kabyar Wa Beach – Untouched Gold Sands
A beachfront full of potential, Kabyar Wa Beach has been slated for development (still unfulfilled) for the past decade. Come before the bulldozers evict the bamboo huts on the beach; you’ll enjoy eight miles of unspoiled golden sands with very few other foreigners to share the sight.
The beachfront restaurants (in the aforementioned bamboo huts) stay open only for a few months between November and April, the dry season. No hotels can be found nearby, either; just slim pickings at Ye Township nine miles away. Kabyar Wa Beach is the best place to base yourself for the great beaches in Myanmar
Getting there: Take a bus from Yangon to Ye, a trip lasting ten hours; then take a taxi to the beach.
Kanthaya Beach – For Private Beach Experience
Kanthaya, one of the most peaceful and quiet beaches in Myanmar, is on the Bay of Bengal in Rakhine State, about 100 km (60 miles) south of the better-known Ngapali Beach.
The former name of Kanthaya Beach was Thayar Kan Chei Recreation Centre. These names are all derived from the name of the nearby village of Thayar Gyaing. “Thayar” means pleasant, pleasurable, and delightful. The official name in English is Pleasant Beach as its natural beauties of unspoiled nature.
As Kanthaya is unspoiled, you are not able to book a hotel in advance, but it should not be difficult to find a room in the nearby village. Some good guest houses are Aung Chan Thar, Sakawar, and Royal Rose.
The most convenient way to get to Kanthaya is by car from Yangon. The road from Yangon goes across the new Bayinnaung Bridge in West Yangon to the new town of Hlaing Thayar and from there it is only about an hour’s drive to Nyaungdon where you cross the third bridge across the Ayeyarwady called Bo Myat Tun Bridge which connects Nyaungdon with Setkaw.
Myawyik Pagoda & San Maria Bay.
Location; 9 miles south of Maung Ma Kan
Beach; dull white sand
Transport; motorbike
Facilities; small shops
Road Condition; poor
Myawyik Pagoda is a beautiful small rocky island with a causeway running to it from the mainland, both the island and causeway can be seen in the distance when standing on Maung Ma Kan Beach. San Maria Bay is a 3km long white sand beach just before you reach Myawyik Pagoda, the beach was named after an Austrian nurse who served in South Myanmar during formal times, chances are you will have the whole beach to yourself. To get there take the only road heading south from Maung Ma Kan Village, the village turnoff is set back approximately 1 km from the beach.
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