Myanmar travel tips, a choice of destinations also combinable as tailor-made individual holidays in Myanmar.
We do arrange customized travel in Myanmar, cultural journeys and adventure travel in Myanmar as well as beach holidays in Myanmar.
City trips Yangon:
On entering Yangon one can hardly resist the fascinating calmness of this city stuck in a time warp.
The magical flair of imposing Shwedagon Paya, as well as the awareness and inner harmony creating atmosphere of other religious sites,
and the amount of structures and edifice from the colonial time, are bound to put a spell on the visitor.
The lovely friendly people and the buzzing life at the old quarters and near the waterfront just inflate this emotion.
Make an excursions from Yangon to the Golden Rock at Kyaiktiyo and encounter the old royal city of Bago enroute(3-4 days).
Whoever feels like diving deeper can visit authentic places like the old harbour town of Pathein.
The famed Silver Beach at the Bay of Bengal would then only be a short drive away.
City trips Mandalay:
The northern metropolis and the cultural centre of Myanmar. Paying homage to Myanmars most revered statue, the Mahamuni
Buddha at Mahamuni Paya in the morning makes a good start exploring the town and it's surroundings. The wider area of modern Mandalay offers plenty of sites to visit.
Many ancient sites of various bygone kingdoms are close by. The romantic Ava Bridge and Amarapura, the meditative Sagaing
at the opposite bank of the mighty Irrawaddy river, a cruise up the river to Mingun and the Payas and monasteries around Mandalay Hill.
Not to forget the wide variety of local, traditional craft workshops in Mandalay itself, for which enough time should be reserved.
Have a look at rural life in the Chindwin Valley and visit Monywa and the Thanboddhay Paya enroute, next day explore
the Poe Win caves across the river (2 days). Or venture up the Lashio Road, stop over at the hill station of
Pyin U Lwin, proceed to Hsipaw and eventually up into the tea plantations of Namhsan.(3-6 days).
Ancient cultural sites:
♦ The sunny plains of Bagan at the bend of the Irrawaddy river, cradle of the Barmar culture, and thousandfold manifestation in stone of love and religious intentions.
♦ Hidden Mrauk U, Rakhine's cultural equivalent to Bagan. Pirate-idyl with remains of a once mighty sea- and trading power hidden in a maze of waterways of the Kaladan river
near the border to Bangla Desh. The Temples and Chedis are partly overgrown and still in use.
Ethnic minorities in Myanmar:
♦ Days of cruising serene Inle Lake by longboat, exploring the surrounding villages and the changing markets of various
ethnic groups (Intha, Pa U, Palaung a.o.). Experiencing Indein, sacred site to the Inthas, or walking off into the mountains. A visit to Inle Lake is usually combined with a stop-over at famed Pindaya Caves.
♦ A stay with the local Shwe Palaung people at Namhsan in northern Shan State.
♦ On my last trip I was offered the possibility of crossing the until now closed (for non-missionary foreigners) Chin State with accommodations at local villages.
Still, the demanded price was outrageous, but it seems to become possible and affordable in the near future.
♦ Some regions of Kachin State, f. e. the area around Myitkyina.
River cruises on the Irrawaddy:
The classic and most comfortable way of traveling between Mandalay and Bagan. Departure from Mandalay in the morning, arrival at Bagan in the late afternoon.
Nowadays there are also comfortable private ships serving this route.
Other options are cruises up the Irrawaddy towards Bhamo, or up the Chindwin river, both starting at Mandalay.
Beach holidays in Myanmar:
♦ Ngapali Beach is a 2 miles long and wide, clean and empty beach with a lovely fishing village at the other end.
This beach is situated near Thandwe at the Bay of Bengal and reachable by plane from Yangon. A far spread string of bungalow-style retreats and hotels fringe this romantic beach, most quite luxurious.
♦ Ngwe Saung Beach (Silver Beach) is similar wide and clean but more frequented, due to its closer proximity to Yangon (5-6 hours away by car).
This beach has been developed only quite recently and by now about 20 hotels and guest houses are operating. Rates and standards are in general lower than at Ngapali Beach.
Romantic journeys to Myanmar:
Diving into the colonial ambience of Yangon, Golden Days in style at Bagan being caught in a bewitching culture, a taste of
adventure mingling with the people of the mountains at Inle Lake, and winding down a few days at a paradise beach towards the end of the holidays.
Accommodation during the whole journey at chosen hotels or resorts with first class ambience in exclusive local style, excellent
service and culinary delights.
Remarks:
Hiring guides leaves you 3 options: Guide accompanying the whole trip from Yangon, changing guides at different destinations, or just a
car with a driver. English speaking guides are widely available, but guides speaking other languages have to be taken from Yangon.
We also joyfully accept inquiries about tours or routes which are not mentioned here. This page has been created to allow a general overview of the most asked options.
