Help with Itinerary

Hello. I am hoping to spend 2 weeks in Asia this year. I%26#39;ve been to Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. Want to visit Myanmar and am considering Laos, or possibly Hong Kong or Singapore (before / after) for a mix of modern and ancient. I%26#39;ve been doing reading here on Myanmar and I think Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake all seem interesting - is that the right itin for a week? How many nights in each place? I LOVED cambodia (esp the Temples) so would like to see as many temples as possible. Any help would be appreciated. Many thanks!

Help with Itinerary

Hi there

You could fit that into a week, just. Are you thinking of spending a night in Yangon? If not, you can make arrangements with a travel agent here to have your plane tickets ready for when you arrive, they can meet you at the airport, give you your tickets %26amp; you can fly up country not wasting anytime. Search through the posts here for details on travel agents, they%26#39;re usually cheaper than going direct with the airlines %26amp; they arrange everything, just tell them what time frame you are working to. It%26#39;s your choice if you want them to book hotels or guest houses for you.

Air Asia do an early morning flight from Bangkok that will get you here in time to get a connecting flight up country. The best route to take would be Yangon - Lake Inle - Mandalay - Bagan - Yangon. If you don%26#39;t stay In Yangon for a night you could take a choice of 3nights at one of these places if you plan on staying 7nights.

If you go to Inle first you%26#39;ll get a taxi at the airport to Inle, 1hr drive %26amp; arrive at 12-1pm. Give you a good half a day and evening to take a look around, Nyaungshwe, the village that you%26#39;ll be staying at is not a big place. Take a canoe trip on the canal in the evening for sunset, about 4000kyat, it%26#39;s a lovely way to spend a couple of hours. The next day you could take a tour of the lake %26amp; sites, a whole boat would cost 15000kyat but if you wait at the jetty just ask someone to share %26amp; jump in with them, cost you a few thousand, it%26#39;s always busy, make sure you get to see the old Indein ruins. You won%26#39;t really need more than 2nights here unless you plan to do a trek around the surrounding hills or go a visit the caves that are not far from the lake.

Flying to Mandalay is roughly about an hour. I%26#39;d take 3nights here as there are plenty of excursions you can do in the surrounding areas of great historical interest, Amarapura, Mingun, Sagaing to name just a few, you can arrange these trips through your guest house or hotel.

Flying to Bagan again takes no time at all. Needless to say what you%26#39;ll be seeing there. Hire one of the local guides to get to show you the sites, best way to do it is hire a bike, the horse %26amp; carts are great but a little slow if you want to fit everything in. 2nights here is probably enough, it all depends what you like.

If you plan to spend a night in Yangon, which is well worth seeing, do it when you arrive, it will give you time to change your money %26amp; see the Shwedagon Pagoda, which is a MUST DO. If you want to fly up country as soon as you get here %26amp; decide to make arrangements with a travel agent, ask them for their exchange rate, they can bring Kyat to the airport %26amp; change your nice crisp dollars there, do not change it at the airport. The exchange rate up country will also be lower than what you%26#39;ll get in Yangon.

I was going to mention something else but I%26#39;ve been waffling for so long it slips my mind now. Hope this helps a little, feel free to fire more questions if you need anymore help on anything.

Enjoy

Help with Itinerary

this is extremely helpful. thanks. a few questions:

1) for all of these flights, are you suggesting we use a travel agent and book the flights ahead of time?

2) what is the best time of year to visit?

Sure me old mate BonZai will reply but if not:-

1. Internal flights are very easy to book when you arrive in Yangon-loads of earlier postings on this subject.

2. For touring November-March are the best.

We love Myanmar, much prefer it to Cambodia.

thanks. We are thinking of Vietnam instead of Laos for the latter part of the trip. Have already been to Ho Chi Mihn City, and are considering Hanoi or Hoi An. Not sure so any suggestions would be helpful. thanks

Before I went to Myanmar in January I compared prices doing it myself or through a travel agent.I got quotes from Shan Yoma, Gullivers and Royal Exclusive and was pleasantly surprised that there is a big diffence. Travel agents can save you money,Plan your itenary and get all the internal tickets etc. I recommend this approach. In order of priority I recommend visiting at least 2 days one night Yangon,3 days 2 nights Bagan,two days one night Inle,3 days 2 nights Nagpali and 2 days one night Mandalay. If you can you should take the hot air balloon ride in Bagan