Vamos a la playa: Myanmar’s best developed beach for tourism is in the northwest, in Rakhine State: Ngapali Beach, spoken: ‘napali’. It is said to have got its name from Italian soldiers who named it after their hometown Naples (Italian: Napoli).
The seven kilometer long beach is a tropical dream beach: fine white sand, crystal clear water, palm trees that sometimes almost protrude over the sand to the sea. And in between the resort’s obligatory beach bungalows, which range from simple and affordable to luxurious and expensive. In the main travel season, the beach is well frequented by both European and Asian tourists. And Americans, of course.
Ngapali Beach consists of several bays. The longest and probably the most beautiful is the southernmost, which borders the fishing village Gyeiktaw and where numerous resorts are located.
The middle section is significantly smaller. The northern one then borders on Thandwe Airport. The beach also goes a little further behind, but according to Google there is little infrastructure there and we didn’t get there ourselves.
Right around the corner: Gyeiktaw
At the very southern end of Ngapali Beach is the lively fishing village of Gyeiktaw. It’s really exciting to streamed around here on an eBike and explore the area, with the camera always ready to shoot. (It goes without saying that you should be polite and, if in doubt, ask whether you are allowed to take pictures. Most people in Myanmar – as we have seen – are happy about tourists taking photos and wave or smile at the camera.
We stayed a few days in one of the older, the Amata Resort. Not exactly a bargain, but nice & cozy.
The later the hour, the more beautiful the light: The sunsets in Myanmar are legendary for good reason. Of course also on Ngapali Beach.
Getting there: Thandwe Airport
Ngapali is like in the middle of nowhere, at least from the other hotspots of Myanmar. Mainly because there is a lot of mountainous terrain in between. There are bus connections, but they should be quite adventurous and tedious, as you read again and again on the net. The fastest and easiest way to do this is by plane. Various Myanmar airlines fly to the small regional airport of Thandwe. Its runway practically extends to the beach. However, you should take a close look at the flight plan – if you book the “wrong” plane, it can happen that you first make a small round trip to the other regional airports – such as Bagan, Mandalay or Heho (Lake Inle) – before you finally get in Thandwe can get off.
