The story tells the beach was named after an Italian, who lived here for a while, reminded him the coastline of Naples. Most probably it comes from the pronunciation of its Burmese name that means some like “Inveigling Fish”.

The beach is located in the state of Rakhine or Rakhaing (Arakan in Bengalese) in Western Myanmar facing the Bay of Bengal. Thandwe (Sandoway during British colonial period) is about 25 minutes drive and the airport about 15 minutes.

Ngapali is a 3 km long white sandy and unspoilt beach overlooking the clear blue-water of Bay of Bengal, backed by swaying coconut palm and casuarinas trees. After sunset the sea in front of the beach is enlightened by the several lamps of the fishermen boats until morning. Before dawn on the shore other fishermen begin setting and drawing drift nets until late morning when they load their catches in baskets.

The surroundings are plenty of small villages that you can reach by bicycle or by walking along the beach. Thandwe, the most important town of the area, has an interesting market set in a former British jail where traditional medicine herbs, clothes, textile, hardware and food are sold.