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?

I was on a two week tour of Myanmar with a small group in February and visited Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay, Kalaw and Inle Lake. Bagan was definitely the highlight of the trip; a balloon ride is recommended if you can manage though it will be getting close to the end of the season by next month. Unlike some posters in this thread I enjoyed Yangon, where I spent several days on my own before and after the tour, more than Mandalay.

Most flights between Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Heho appear to be in the morning. Afternoon flights tend to be delayed due to the number of rotations each aircraft has to operate.

With such a short visit I would try and cut down the number of internal flights and concentrate on Yangon and Bagan.

yes, now it's more like 3 days itinerary now you mention it :D

How about flying RGN-NYU roundtrip? Would probably give you ~14 hours more to explore Bagan or Yangon (I'm assuming your current plan is to take the overnight bus from both ways from Yangon to Bagan).

Thanks, that's my dilemma right now, whether to add in the one more internal flight and squeeze in Inle Lake, or to just stick with Bagan and Yangon. I still have to do some more research on the flights (timing and pricing) to decide what I want to do.

Where are you coming from and ending at? I'm hoping your answer is not North America.

Lol. I'm coming from the US. I handle jetlag just fine, so that's not an issue.

Alright, but 48 hours in travel time for 120 hours of vacation is crazy. You should make sure you can be in Yangon so you don't miss your flight back to the US. I would not take a morning flight to Yangon on the same day you're supposed to fly back to the States, but I might be more conservative in my planning than you.

Again, I've never flown in Myanmar domestically, I've always traveled by bus.

yeah, that's really barely any time at all. I really enjoyed Inle Lake, but given your time issues I don't think it makes any sense. You also have an hour drive to and from the airport plus time on a boat to get to/from the lake.

I'd say spend the first day seeing some sights in Yangon (there aren't that many, but as noted the traffic can be pretty horrendous), then spend 2 or 3 days in Bagan before returning to Yangon for the last day.

There are a couple of day trips you can do from Bagan if you get templed out as pretty much the temples and monuments are what there is to do in Bagan. But it is stupendous.

Taung Kalat (aka Mount Popa) was a fun day (quarter day?) trip; budget about 4-5 hours if you plan on going. Just look before you step (for monkey pee and feces, but the locals keep it pretty clean; FYI, if you didn't already know, you walk barefoot at every pagoda/temple).

I ended up circling around Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay, and Yangon again in 3 days+. it was so hot in April, definitely bad timing. no air baloon in Bagan either :(

turns out the one I enjoy the most is Mandalay. Sunsets in both Mandalay hills and U Bein Bridge are beautiful.

Bagan is amazing, but Inle captured our hearts. Stay at the Inle Princess if you can. Oriental Ballooning (green balloons) also offer flights in Inle, *highly* recommended.

I have to say that, of the three, I enjoyed Yangon the most. The fading colonial quarter was extraordinary, and I enjoyed witnessing the burgeoning middle class and a city in huge and rapid transition.

Inle might have been beautiful but it bucketed with rain while we were there this April.

Bagan was a disappointment. The fields of pagodas are extraordinary but there's not much there once you've seen the overview and inside one or two. The pollution is shocking with the sun completely blocked out for the entirety of our stay, and a trip on the river was frankly dull when you could barely make out the river banks.

My experience of internal flights (we took three) is that they are generally slightly late, getting later as the take-off time gets later. Having said that, baggage claim etc. is fast and you get out of the airport quickly.

This thread reminds me of my visit. It was still Burma and my wife and I were the entire FIT allocation for the day (average of under 600 FIT/yr at that time). We were supposed to be there for 2 days, but we left in less than 24 hours because we were uncomfortable that they kept our passports. Still got to see the Inya Lake Hotel, the museum, the Strand Hotel, the Shwebagan Pagoda and a few other items, including the crustless sandwich on Air Burma.

Myanmar (Burma) Recommendations
 

I am just starting to research and plan a trip to Myanmar in March-ish of 2018. My plan is to redeem Delta Skymiles to cover the cost of the flight for my husband and I. Can't get a flight into Mandalay so will probably do a roundtrip to Bangkok and then do an Airasia etc trip in and our of Myanmar. We will have somewhere between 10-14 days in Burma before returning to the US. The idea currently is to fly into Mandalay and then fly out of Yangon. Some requirements are Green Hill Valley Elephant Sanctuary by Kalaw and Ngapali Beach. I have been speaking with Myanmar Shalom about a travel itinerary. I haven't decided if I will use them for a full itinerary or just to book transfers from city to city. I was just wondering if anybody have any suggestions of "DO NOT MISS" things in Bagan, Mandalay, Yangon etc. I don't believe I will have enough time for Inle Lake and am not too disappointed by this. So I guess my questions are:

1. Any Do Not Miss items?
2. If you didn't use a travel agency to help; how did you get around in these cities? Taxi's? Cars for Hire from your hotel? Avg Cost?
3. Food? Average daily food budget?
4. Anything you think would be helpful that i haven't typed above.

1.
Bagan (the whole place). Not sure how comfortable you are driving an electric motorbike, so you may want to look into transportation around Bagan. I can get you a contact if you need.
Schwedagon Pagoda in Yangon.
Mahamuni Pagoda in Mandalay. Mandalay Hill is a can't miss. U Bein bridge is also pretty popular.

2.
I did not use a travel agency, did it all myself. Used taxis and cars for hire. Taxis ran $2-$6 except in Bagan where we got ripped off and were charged $11. We did hire a van one day, drove maybe 100 miles total, and we paid $35

3.
Yes, they have food there. I mostly only eat local, so I spent $2-$8 per meal. Coca Cola is around 40 cents, beers around 80 cents to a dollar.

4.
My hotels usually included breakfast in the morning. Hotels are about the most expensive thing in Myanmar, with souvenirs, food and drinks being pretty cheap. You can now book bus tickets online, which was helpful. You can take an overnight bus to Bagan from Yangon and see the sunrise.
I do recommend to people to fly into one city and fly out from the other, so I like that you plan for that. Be aware that if you fly to Bangkok, AirAsia will be at a different airport from Delta/Korean/China Eastern. AirAsia will charge you extra for your luggage, so I like to take Bangkok Airways. Why cant you route into Yangon via Korean Air?
I do not recommend people depend on ATMs or credit cards. People will say they had no trouble by using ATMs, but make sure you keep a couple hundred US dollars with you, brand new notes.

Do note, that I converted the prices to dollars just for ease of budgeting. Everything was paid in kyat.

10-14 days is great. You can see a lot. I'm sure you'll get a ton of advice here.

If you haven't done a hot air balloon ride, booking a morning flight over Bagan's temples is pretty cool.

I just returned from a trip throughout Asia and spent 8 days in Myanmar in May. We flew from KUL into Yangon and took the standard route on to Bagan, Inle Lake, and Mandalay, where we flew out to Bangkok. Myanmar was an incredibly unique destination and one of my favorite places I've visited in Asia.

I didn't use a travel agent for anything. All accommodations were booked through agoda.com (usually the night before, costing $20-$30 for twin room with ensuite bathroom encluding breakfast). Traveled between cities using buses booked the night before or day of (just booked through the front desk at our accommodation). I'd highly recommend paying extra for the VIP buses - they're much more comfortable than the standard buses and usually only $1-$3 more.

For transport within cities, finding a taxi on the street is fine. Most are fair, although if a taxi hanging outside of your accommodation quotes a price that seems high, don't be afraid to walk a block or two and you could save significantly. With the exception of drivers that swarm you at vulnerable places (immediately upon exiting a bus, right outside your hotel, etc.), most were honest and quotes fair prices.

I'd say renting e-bikes in Bagan is a must. They can be a bit intimidating at first, but you'll get over that in 5 minutes of riding. It was a ton of fun and an incredible experience exploring the temples on our own! This cost about $5 /day through our hotel.

I used ATMs the entire time and everything was fine. I did carry $200 since I had been warned there might be issues with ATMs, but had none.

Traveling in Myanmar is pretty straightforward on the main tourist trail and you would be fine even with minimal planning. You'll have a great time!

Dustin, let us know if you have additional questions.

Is it practical to take 2-3 days off and visit Burma from Malaysia? I'm interesting in seeing the colonial architecture of Rangoon.

Certainly. There are a bunch of airlines (including the usual suspects like MH and AK) that do cheap fares to RGN from KUL.

If you wanted to visit more of the country then obviously you'd want more than a few days but for visiting Yangon/Rangoon alone then what you're looking for is perfectly doable.

What's a good budget per day?

I'll say sunset at U Bein Bridge, Amarapura (near Mandalay) is the one you can't miss.

I dont know you, but very comfortable western standards is probably $75-$100 per day.

It can easily be done cheaper ($40-$60) depending on your standards.

Sort of jumping in on this thread, as was going to ask a similar question.

I'm heading to Yangon for 4 days in November, have people got any recommendations on what to see and do? Also if anyone could recommend a good day trip from the city that would be great!

Thanks!