Highlights

All entrance fees included

Breakfast included

Comprehensive tour by bus/coach

Dinner included

Enjoy a day away from the hustle and bustle of the city

Informative, friendly and professional guide

Led by a local guide

Lunch included

Multi-Day Trip

Perfect introduction for first-time visitors

Round-trip airfares

Itinerary:

Day 1: Yangon
After arriving in Yangon on your morning flight (own expense), meet your private local guide at the airport and start with a transfer to your hotel to check in.. Enjoy a brief rest at your accommodation before your sightseeing tour starts. (Please note: early hotel check-in is not guaranteed.)

Then, head to downtown Yangon for an architectural heritage walk through this unique area where many of the city’s colonial-era buildings still stand. Discover some of Asia’s most impressive collections of late 19th- and early 20th-century architecture, both religious and secular. Follow your guide at a relaxed pace through Yangon’s back streets while hearing about the history of each structure — some vacant and some being restored to the full beauty of their original construction. Thanks to the protection of the Yangon Heritage Trust, many of downtown's colonial buildings have survived despite decades of decay.

Complete your step back in time with a complimentary drink at the Union Bar and Grill, located in the old Red Cross building on Strand Road. Then, return to your hotel for an evening at leisure.

Overnight: 3-star East Hotel or similar in Yangon

Day 2: Yangon (B, L)
Enjoy breakfast at your hotel before youra half-day tour of Shwedagon Pagoda. During this interactive walking tour, discover what lies behind the golden façade of Shwedagon Pagoda. Gain insight into the Buddhist religion mixed with Burmese spiritual beliefs as you provide offerings to the monks and even visit a local fortune-teller!

Starting at the bottom of the hill, stroll past the workshops, markets and monasteries that are essential to understanding Myanmar. Explore walkways and hidden gems unknown to most visitors, and observe the daily life of residents living within the pagoda’s immediate surroundings. Your tour includes a second, Burmese-style breakfast: sample a bowl of mohinga, a traditional fish soup that locals typically eat for their morning meal.

Continue through the back door of Shwedagon Pagoda to discover its enthralling history. Gaze in awe at the 325-foot (99-meter) gilded pagoda and stupa, and it’ll be clear why the phrase ‘more gold than in your bank of England’ was acommon saying during the British occupation of Myanmar. Wander around the magnificent grounds and interior, and listen to your guide talking about the nats, or Burmese spirits.

In the afternoon, head to Aung Thu Kha Restaurant for your traditional Burmese lunch. After your meal, transfer to your hotel and enjoy the rest of your day at leisure.

Overnight: 3-star East Hotel or similar in Yangon

Day 3: Yangon – Mandalay (B)
After breakfast at your hotel, transfer to the airport for your flight to Mandalay. Here, receive the perfect introduction to Mandalay on your half-day tour, including a visit to the old capital of Amarapura. Upon arrival, travel to Mahamuni Buddah Temple for a look at a centuries-old Buddha statue that originates from Mrauk Oo.

The temple compound is always lively, even from early in the morning when the Buddha’s face is washed and his teeth brushed by monks. While only men may stick gold leaves to the Buddha statue, women often watch and tend to pray in front of television screens that broadcast live images around the compound. Mahamuni Buddah Temple is an excellent place to shop around for the perfect Buddha statue made from either bronze or wood. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, consider purchasing one at your next stop: the marble-carving street. Meander along the workshop-lined avenue to find Buddha statues of all sizes, carved from the finest white marble.

After browsing the wares, head to Amarapura, a village so quiet that you may only hear the sound of weaving machines. Walk through the famous monastery complex where hundreds of monks pray daily, and visit one of the small weaving factories to see silk and cotton designs. Stroll with your guide over U Bein Bridge — the world’s longest teak bridge, made from salvaged palace columns — to the other side of Taungthaman Lake.

On arrival back at your hotel, spend the remainder of your afternoon as you please.

Overnight: 3-star Shwe Taung Tarn Hotel or similar in Mandalay

Day 4: Mandalay (B, L)
Travel to Mingun on a half-day cruise after your hotel breakfast. A short ride from the hotel lies the Mingun jetty, where your boat is ready to cruise upstream along the Ayeyawaddy River. After arriving in Mingun, visit the local temple where King Bodawpaya began construction of a stupa in 1790 that, if it had been completed, would have been one of the tallest in the world. Gaze in wonder at visible cracks in the structure left from the 1839 earthquake, and see the enormous Mingun Bell that weighs roughly 90 tons (200,000 lbs).

Following lunch at a local restaurant, return to Mandalay by boat to visit the lively Yadanabon market. Spend roughly three hours browsing the local handicrafts and wares before returning to your hotel in the early evening.

Overnight: 3-star Shwe Taung Tarn Hotel or similar in Mandalay

Day 5: Mandalay – Bagan (B)
Start your morning with breakfast at your hotel before traveling to the bus station for your journey to Bagan by air-conditioned bus. During your 6-hour bus ride, pass through villages typical of central Myanmar and observe the rural lifestyle along the way to Bagan, an ancient capital of the Kingdom of Pagan.

Meet your guide on arrival and transfer to your hotel. Check in, and then spend the rest of your evening relaxing.

Overnight: 3-star Bawgatheiddhi Hotel or similar in Bagan

Day 6: Bagan (B, L)
After breakfast, embark on your full-day sightseeing tour. Travel by car with a local guide through Bagan, and discover some of the most renowned temples in the area.

Start with a climb to a hilltop pagoda for an impressive panoramic view before making your way to some of the other amazing temples that have existed in Bagan for hundreds of years. If you see a temple that interests you, just ask your guide to stop for a look. Temples such as Ananda, Dhammayangyi, Sulamani and Thatbyinnyu are sure to impress, and may even become your favorites.

Stop for lunch at a local restaurant, and then continue your tour by horse cart in the afternoon. Stop at Pyathagyi Pagoda to see the sun set with a refreshing drink, before returning to your to you hotel.

Overnight: 3-star Bawgatheiddhi Hotel or similar in Bagan

Day 7: Bagan (B)
Eat breakfast in your hotel, and then spend your itinerary-free day at leisure. Sightseeing is by your own arrangement, but your guide may suggest recommendations, such as a visit to the Minnanthu area where more ancient temples and pagodas abound.

Overnight: 3-star Bawgatheiddhi Hotel or similar in Bagan

Day 8: Bagan – Heho – Inle Lake (B, L)
Travel to the airport after breakfast, in time for your flight to Heho. On landing, transfer to Inle Lake, a vast and natural body of water, surrounded by traditional Shan villages. On the lake itself, the Intha people have been living for centuries in a village built entirely on stilts.

The overgrown ruins of Inthein, located on the lake’s southwestern shore, are worth a visit. Partially covered by vegetation, the magnificent area appears to be a ‘pagoda forest’! Explore the 16th-century complex with its main pagoda and more than 1,000 weathered stupas covered in vines, and take in the serene atmosphere off the beaten path.

Then, walk with your guide for approximately an hour to enjoy fantastic views over the lake. Visit the primary school in Tha Ley Village, where a home-cooked lunch is served in a local house. Afterward, continue toward Nam Pan Village for a trip by small canoe around Inle Lake’s floating garden. These fertile islands are staked to the lake's floor with bamboo and used for growing the village produce and flowers.

When you tire of paddling, just hop aboard a motorboat and cruise to your nearby hotel to relax for the evening.

Overnight: 3-star Paradise Inle Hotel or similar on Inle Lake

Day 9: Inle Lake (B, L)
Enjoy breakfast at your hotel before experiencing a full day on the lake, cruising around by private motorboat to discover the area’s natural beauty. Observe the so-called leg rowers — Intha fishermen who expertly propel their teak boats by standing and wrapping one leg around an oar — and enjoy tea at a local family’s house.

Traditional markets are dotted around the lake in different villages, and these are open according to a 5-day rotating schedule. Visit one such market and take some time to admire the produce on offer alongside the local Shan and PaO people who live nearby.

After lunch, continue to a local cheroot factory where Burmese cigars are made, and visit floating tomato gardens, Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda and a weaving factory, enjoying a flexible itinerary according to your preference. Take a tour of Intha Heritage House, built with reclaimed wood to preserve the traditional architectural style of Inle Lake. Learn about its cat-breeding program that reintroduces pedigree Burmese cats as part of Myanmar’s royal heritage.

Overnight: 3-star Paradise Inle Hotel or similar on Inle Lake

Day 10: Inle Lake – Yangon (B)
Enjoy your hotel breakfast and transfer to the airport for your return flight to Yangon. Upon arrival, meet your guide who will be available for the entire day in Yangon until your international airport departure.