5 Days in Myanmar
 

I'm looking at heading over to Myanmar next month. Based on flights, I should have about 5 days from the time I land in Yangon to the time I need to leave. I have two itineraries that I've put together, just need to decide which one to go with.

Itinerary 1:
Day 1 - Arrive Yangon in the morning from BKK, SIN or HKG
Day 2 - Yangon
Day 3 - Morning flight to Bagan
Day 4 - Bagan
Day 5 - Morning/afternoon flight to Yangon. Redeye departure to ICN/HKG that night.

Itinerary 2:
Day 1 - Same as above but hit the ground running
Day 2 - Morning flight to Bagan
Day 3 - Morning/afternoon flight to Inle Lake/Heho
Day 4 - Inle Lake
Day 5 - Fly back to Yangon then onward that evening


Obviously option 1 is less rushed and gives me 2 and/or 3 days in each location. Option 2 is much more rushed (maybe even crazy?), more expensive (additional flight at around $90) but I get to see more with my limited time.

Any thoughts?

If limited to those two options, I would do option 1. I've only been to Yangon, Bagan, and Mandalay, so I can't really opine about Inle Lake. I felt that three days (what I did) was a good amount of time in Bagan to hit all the major sites, but two days could work if you planned things out well. From your itineraries, it looks like you only have 3.5 days to sightsee. No way to swing more time? If 3.5 days is all you have "on the ground," I would suggest not spending time in Yangon and going directly to either Bagan or Inle Lake/Heho, whatever your preference is.

Bagan was most highly city for our trip in Myanmar. Quite peaceful and lovely city. You should spend more time in Bagan rather than spending time for flights or if possible I would like to suggest our itinerary as below. But we took overnight bus from to Inle Lake

Day 1: Fly to Mandalay

Day 2: Mandalay, bus or car to Bagan ( this route is very nice), it takes about 4 - 5 hours
Day 3: Bagan
Day 4: Bagan - flight to Inle Lake
Day 5: Flight back to Yangoon

I've never been to Inle Lake or Heho, and never taken a domestic flight in Myanmar, but I would be worried about missing my flight home on both of your options.

How about this:
Day 1 - Arrive Yangon in the morning from BKK, SIN or HKG, afternoon flight to Bagan (not sure if this exists)
Day 2 - Bagan
Day 3 - afternoon flight to Yangon
Day 4 - Yangon
Day 5 - Yangon, evening departure


Ideally you add an extra day and spend an extra day in Bagan

I'll get in on planning an itinerary.

Day 1: Arrive in Yangon in the morning; sightsee; overnight bus to Bagan at 20:00
Day 2: Arrive in Bagan at 05:00; sightsee
Day 3: Bagan; sightsee
Day 4: Bus to Mandalay; arrive at night (there are multiple buses every day, ~6 hours one way)
Day 5: Fly out of Mandalay

Or the OP could fly into Mandalay on Day 1, making a roundtrip to Bagan.

It's really more like 4.5 days since I fly standby, so I can push a late flight (which exists) out of Bagan or Inle Lake on Friday. I'll arrive in Yangon early (around 8AM) on Monday.

I think with as little time as I have, it may be worth flying over driving, although when you account for getting to/from the airport and waiting, it's probably equal.

Any reason for the preference for Mandalay over Yangon? It seems to be about 50/50 with everything I've read. Yangon seems to be better for pictures.

I like this one. I may however do Inle Lake instead of Yangon on the latter half of the trip. Gotta check flights to see if it's even doable.

This is another one I've actually kicked around, skipping Yangon entirely (other than connecting flights). Why the preference for Mandalay over Yangon, out of curiosity, not calling you out or anything?

I think I'd skip the buses with as little time as I have. The overnight bus is a good cheap idea but I'll probably be wiped arriving in the country, so an overnight with a proper bed is probably my best bet. There are super early morning flights to Bagan so I only lose a few (early at that) hours flying. It's more expensive but it's vacation, so I can swing it.



Slightly updated itinerary:

Day 1 - Arrive in Yangon, sightsee.
Day 2 - Morning flight to Bagan, sightsee (including sunset photo op)
Day 3 - Bagan most of the day, afternoon/evening flight to Heho/Inle Lake
Day 4 - Inle Lake sunrise, sightsee all day
Day 5 - Maybe a morning day tour somewhere nearby? Someone on Lonely Planet recommended biking around the countryside. Afternoon/evening flight to Yangon, off to somewhere else in Asia to head home from there.

That's the most expensive itinerary but it gives me at least a full day in Yangon and Inle Lake plus, more or less, two days in Bagan which would be rushed but doable.

Anyone know about booking last minute in person domestic flights? Since I'm flying in standby, if anything happens, I don't want to book such a tight itinerary ahead of time. From what I've read, prices are usually all the same and flights are usually open, so it shouldn't be a huge issue.

I also prefer Mandalay over Yangon, although after a couple visits, Yangon has improved (having local friends also helps). Bagan is fantastic, IMO.

The primary reason for Mandalay over Yangon was for the shorter bus trip to Bagan, but since you're only flying to save time, my reason for this suggestion is no longer valid.

As far as Yangon or Mandalay, I prefer Mandalay slightly over Yangon (granted, I was only in each city for 1 day ). I felt that Yangon was too busy (traffic jams everywhere due to bad urban planning; they probably didn't foresee having as many cars on the roads as they have now) whereas Mandalay was more laid back and you could walk around everywhere pretty easily (stayed just south of the Mandalay Palace and besides taking a taxi to the U Bein Bridge and the airport, I just walked from place to place). Also, there were more streetlights in Mandalay, from what I remember, so I wasn't in fear for my life when crossing a street at night; the same can't be said for Yangon.

100% agreed

From my experience, the sunrises are more beautiful than the sunsets in Bagan. Viewed from a high enough vantage point at the top of a pagoda/temple, you can see a mist that covers the entire expanse. Pretty amazing. Also, you can get shots of hot air balloons, which I believe only go up during sunrises. Bring a headlamp or some other hands-free light as climbing up a pagoda/temple in the dark can be sketchy, especially ones with very shallow stairs (more rise than run, if that makes sense). However, being that you're in Bagan to see the seemingly endless stretch of pagodas and temples that dot the land, might as well experience both the sunrise and sunset.

I have same dilemma as OP, albeit only 4 days itin...
in the end, I plan to only mix Yangon and Bagan.

Looking at flights, you will most likely arrive to Yangon in the evening and you will depart Yangon in the morning to go back to Jakarta. I'm not sure how that works into your 4 day plan.

Is it:
Day 1 arrive to Yangon evening
Day 2 Yangon
Day 3 Yangon
Day 4 depart Yangon morning

OR

Day 0 arrive Yangon evening
Day 1 Yangon
Day 2 fly to Bagan
Day 3 Bagan
Day 4 fly to Yangon
Day 5 depart Yangon morning

Because on option 1, I don't think you can fit Bagan into your schedule.

Right, forgot to include that. I definitely plan on being up for sunrise as well, along with sunrise at Inle Lake if possible.

I'm starting to like that itinerary more and more even though it's rushed. I think a few long and tiring days is worth it for the short trip to see as much as possible.

hello,

I booked an AirAsia flight KUL-RGN in the early morning. the plan is to spend the whole day in Yangon, take a overnight bus to Bagan, spend 2nd and 3rd day there, then go back the next day.

it's shame really that it's only a short trip. original plan was 10 days but things happened.

Are you flying RGN-KUL for the return portion?