myanmar travel

Myanmar, the charming country with stunning natural scenery, splendid gilded pagodas and friendly people, has become one of the hottest tourist destinations in Asia for the recent year. Taking a Myanmar vacation will be certainly a wonderful travel experience. However, traveling to Myanmar is quite expensive compared to some destinations in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam or Thailand. If you want to save your money, we suggest 5 following tips so that you can book cheap Myanmar vacation packages . 1. Book during the Off-Season The low season is between April and October when it’s hot and rainy, and the high season is from November to February when it’s cool and dry. You will have more chance of booking cheap Myanmar vacation packages in the low season, especially in July and August (the peak of wet season). However, note that some regions become inaccessible in this time and some, such as Ngapali Beach, close altogether in preparation for the high winds and heavy rainfall that bat...

Fishermen who maneuver their boat by only one leg, beautiful floating gardens and houses on stilts, tranquil villages with ethnic minorities, it’s a small part of the Inle Lake’s magnificent universe. Traveling to Inle Lake will leave you with a lasting impression. These are five reasons you shouldn’t miss Inle Lake on your vacation in Myanmar. 1. Life on the lake Life on the shallow, 13.5-mile freshwater lake is utterly enchanting. No busy like Yangon, no noisy like Mandalay, and hot and dusty like Bagan, Inle Lake is far different from any other place you could visit on your Myanmar vacation. With no roads or sidewalks, visitors and locals alike get around in one-person-wide wooden boats outboard propellers which emit a noisy whine when at full throttle and can be raised and lowered depending on water levels of the lake. The villages full of charming single and two-story wooden stilt houses are situated on active waterways. Fishermen working on the lake use a unique rowing techniqu...

If you tour Myanmar or any other foreign country, you will unavoidably feel unfamiliar mostly due to the language or cultural barriers, even when the country is famous for friendliness and hospitability. Hiring an experienced tour guide will be the best way to break the barriers and maximize your experience and enjoyment in your trip. Here are useful tips for you to choose a great tour guide Myanmar . Define a time-frame for your trip Are you seeking a single-day tour in Bago, a 2-week “cross country” program or something in between? Define clearly the duration of your trip when reaching out to prospective guides. Make sure that you provide the specific dates for touring right at the outset so that candidates can check their availability. Ask friends and colleagues for referrals Personal recommendations are always and quickest way to select a tour guide Myanmar. Ask your relatives, friends, and colleagues who have experienced their Burma trip with a guide. However, do not rely tota...

What will you do in your tour to Burma ? Common answers are to visit majestic gilded temples sparkling in the sunlight, admire stunning natural landscapes, explore unique local cultures and enjoy delicious traditional Burmese cuisine. You may forget the equally interesting activity: shopping. You can find everything at a multitude of shops and markets all over Myanmar, especially souvenirs such as silk, lacquerware, wood carvings, and gems. We suggest 5 places you can visit in your tour to Myanmar to purchase unique presents for your beloveds, friends and even yourself. 1. Monument Books In contrast to Bagan Book House where you can find old books about Burmese history, this large modern bookshop has a good selection of books on contemporary Burma. There are also sumptuous photographic works. The bookshop is located just a few minutes walking from the Savoy Hotel, and next door is Yangon’s leading toy store. On a hot day, a lot of visitors and locals stop here for a drink since it ha...

If you decide to tour Myanmar, you may put yourself in a difficult situation, as there are so many attractions and sights in the Golden Temple Country that you could not know which places you should choose for your Myanmar tour itinerary . To help you have the best decision, we suggest the following destinations. 1. Yangon Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar, is one of the most attractive destinations while traveling in Asia. This is why you can not exclude the city from your Myanmar tour itinerary. Traveling to Yangon, you will be completely enchanted by the shady parks, the lakes and verdant tropical trees that make Yangon be nicknamed the “Garden of the East”. In addition the impressive beauty of the gilded Shwedagon Pagoda (Golden Pagoda), the jewel of Yangon, you will be extremely surprised by the variety of splendid hotels, excellent restaurants which are equally comparable to those of any the other growing cities in the world. Besides visits to the religious sites, you can ...

If you want to tour Burma , Visa is certainly the first procedure which must be completed. You can apply for your tourist Visa online (eVisa) or at Myanmar embassies/consulates. Note that Myanmar visa on arrival tourist has not been available since 2015, which means you have to get the Visa before your trip. Here is all useful information for you about Myanmar tourist Visa. Visa exemplification There are only 7 countries that are exempted from visa for 14 days in Myanmar. These countries are Laos, Philippines, Thailand (only by air), Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. While Singapore passport holders have 30 days free of visa. If you are a passport holder of the countries above and wishing to tour Burma in a period of longer than 14 days, you can apply for an eVisa. While on the other side, Myanmar launched the eVisa to 100 countries in the world. Check the list of these countries at: Where to get your tourist visa? Online Applying for a tourist eVisa through the official ...

The Irrawaddy River (also known as the Ayeyarwady River) has shaped Burma's history; it is not only the country’s economic lifeblood but also the indispensable part of the Burmese spiritual life.  Cruises on the Irrawaddy River  offer travelers the great opportunity to contemplate incomparable scenery and explore the simple daily life of Burmese people along the river. If you strongly feel that you must travel to the majestic river, here is some practical information for you to have a successful tourist experience. Best time for cruises on the Irrawaddy River It’s better for you to visit the river during cool, dry season between November and February. It’s warm in the daytime but gets cooler at night. In March, the temperature and humidity level are dramatically higher. The rainy season lasts nearly 5 months, from late May through October. Due to the water levels of the Irrawaddy, the best time for cruises on the Irrawaddy River between Mandalay and Bagan runs from S...

For recent years, the remarkable development of Burmese tourism has been synonymous with the rapidly increasing number of travel agencies who operate various tours throughout Myanmar. If you want to tour Myanmar, but you are confused about choosing the best Myanmar tour operator for you tip among thousands of travel units, the following tips may help you. 1. Determine your travel style Although most of the tour operators offer a variety of tour types, each of which has their own strength in particular areas. So, you need to determine clearly which type of tour you want. Is it budget, mid-level or luxury tour? Is it private, guided or small group tour? Is it discovery or adventure tour? The more you clarify your want, the more you choose a really suitable Myanmar tour operator. Pick about 5 units before coming to the next steps. 2. Verify Quality Make sure that the Burma tour operators you chose have a history of providing services with good quality. The best measurement is what pa...

Myanmar has become one of the hottest travel destinations in Asia for recent years. There’re many reasons for that such as the development of tourism infrastructure and the more open policy for international travelers. Particularly, the integration of tourist eVisa since 2014 has facilitated the procedure for entering Burma. To provide you with a comprehensive overview of what should not be missed when you tour Burma, here are the 10 most famous Myanmar tourist attractions . 10. Pindaya Caves Pindaya Caves, which is situated on the outskirt of Pindaya town in Shan State, Eastern Myanmar, are a Buddhist sacred pilgrimage site. There are hundreds of Buddhist statues and statuettes sheltering inside the deep and dark cave; the oldest dates back to 1773. Rumor has it that if you follow them until the other end of Pindaya Caves, you will be led to the Burmese former capital of Bagan which hundreds of kilometers away to the west. 9. Kakku Pagodas Imagine being teleported to the middle of...

The ancient city Bagan, one of four Burmese tourist highlights (besides Mandalay, Yangon and Inle Lake), is famous for housing more than 2,200 religious sites. However, fewer people know that it’s the center of lacquerware manufacturing in central Myanmar, so you can buy high-quality lacquerware at reasonable prices in your Bagan Myanmar tour . In additions, a wide selection of arts and crafts and souvenirs are available in many stores, which are listed below. U Ba Nyein Lacquerware Workshop The Workshop has a large showroom to display the best goods they have to offer. You can find here everything, from plates to cups, ashtrays to vases, jewelry boxes and furniture (lacquer tables and chairs). Address: No. 52, Khaya Rd, Bagan, Myanmar Phone Number: 061-65056 1517 Group Handicraft Shop Located at Wet Kyi Inn village in Old Bagan, 1517 Group Handicraft Shop sells lacquerware, woodcarvings, sandalwood and Glass mosaic. If you want to watch the complicated processes making both lacq...

You may hear a lot about the charm of Myanmar with incomparable natural landscapes, majestic golden temples, and the unique culture, but only when you tour Myanmar could you really know how beautiful the country is. A lot of people tend to choose large group tours to Myanmar for cost saving. However, if you want to have the ultimate experience in the Golden Temple Country, we think that it will be hard to beat Myanmar small group tours because of the following reasons. 1. Stress-Free Sightseeing Trying to move around attractions and sights with a large group at the best of time may be very challenging. You will be particularly aware of that when visiting the ancient city of Bagan where there are more than 2,200 religious sites, which means you have so many must-visit destinations and have to move constantly from one place to another. If you’re stuck at the back, you are able to see or enjoy anything. Being squeezed among strangers or up against the wall is not certainly for anyone. ...

Being the longest river in South Asia, Mekong River is characterized by the second richest biodiversity in the world, just after that of the Amazon, which includes 20,000 species of plants, 430 of mammals, 1,200 of birds, 850 of fishes and 800 of reptiles. A Mekong river tour is the great opportunity to admire the incredible scenery and discover local discover the local daily life along the river. If you are planning for your  Mekong River cruises 2017 , we will recommend the popular itineraries as a useful reference for you. Best Time for Mekong River cruises 2017 Although Mekong River itineraries are offered for most of the year, an ideal time to make your trip is during the winter, from November to February. The reason is that it’s cooler (although still plenty hot) and the rainy season, from July to October, has finished. But even during the rainy season, a Mekong river tour is not such a bad choice that rains typically last only 30 minutes or so. As the water levels of L...

The former Burmese capital of Bagan is a must-visit destination in your private Myanmar tour, famous for an amazing number of religious sites dating back the 12th century. More than 2,200 pagodas, temples, and stupas remain today, displaying the sacred beauty of Buddhism. If you are wondering what to do in your Myanmar Bagan tour , it will be very easy to think about the following suggestions. Create your own Walking Tour of Old Bagan The town of Old Bagan is home to many of temples and ruins, and where you will find the best concentration. It is easy to do your own walking tour of the town as the temples here are all quite close together. The flexibility of walking is clearly undeniable and it takes only a few minutes to move among temples. Walking allows you to stop whenever you want. You can also walk from one temple to another on little paths instead of the roads in many sections and you will be able to explore without crowds. Note that the weather in Bagan is extremely hot and ...

A river cruise in Asia is something really special for those with a spirit of advance to admire stunning natural landscapes and unique local cultures. The big three for Asia's river cruise regions are the Irrawaddy in Myanmar, the Yangtze in China and the Mekong in Myanmar, Vietnam, and Cambodia. In the scope of this article, we provide you with the useful information about a  Mekong river cruise  so that you will be able to have a successful trip. General information The Mekong River is the longest in South Asia, at 4,350 km (2,700 miles). The Upper Mekong rises in the Tsinghai province of China and flows through Yunnan province and the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Lower Mekong forms part of the border between Myanmar and Laos, and between Laos and Thailand. Vientiane and Phnom Penh, the capitals of Laos and Cambodia respectively, are both directly located on the banks of the river, which flows into the South China Sea to the South of Ho Chi Minh...

A decade ago, traveling to Myanmar was very difficult due to strict controls of the military government. Since the country opened up, the political stability and development of tourist infrastructure have made Myanmar become one of the hottest destinations in Asia. Visitors all over the world have the desire to travel to the Golden Temple Country; a lot of whom wonder whether they should tour Myanmar on their own or booking a Myanmar package tour . If you are a non-experienced traveler and go to Myanmar for the first time, Myanmar tour packages may be the better choice. Here are 10 tips for you to pick the most suitable tour. 1. Selecting the right tour operator for your Myanmar package tour Every region has special tour operators. If you consider Bagan as the highlight of your Myanmar package tour, do not choose the operators experienced in Mandalay tours! You need to check their background – how long have they operated in a particular region and what do their customers evaluate th...

You may hear a lot about the charm of Myanmar with incomparable natural landscapes, majestic golden temples, and the unique culture, but only when you tour Myanmar could you really know how beautiful the country is. A lot of people tend to choose large group tours to Myanmar for cost saving. However, if you want to have the ultimate experience in the Golden Temple Country, we think that it will be hard to beat Myanmar small group tours because of the following reasons. 1. Stress-Free Sightseeing Trying to move around attractions and sights with a large group at the best of time may be very challenging. You will be particularly aware of that when visiting the ancient city of Bagan where there are more than 2,200 religious sites, which means you have so many must-visit destinations and have to move constantly from one place to another. If you’re stuck at the back, you are able to see or enjoy anything. Being squeezed among strangers or up against the wall is not certainly for anyone. ...

You may hear the rumors that Myanmar tours and travel are expensive and you will always take money out of the wallet during your  Burma tours . Generally, these rumors are a little true as most popular tourist destinations in Myanmar, mostly religious sites, will cost you a fee to enter. However, there are wonderful places to visit without any entrance fee. Remember these to reduce the cost of your Myanmar tours, particularly if you want to make cheap Myanmar tours. Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda In the pagoda is located one of the largest Buddhas in the world, which is 65m long and beautifully sculpted with 108 sacred symbols drawn on the soles of the feet (all are explained in English). The Buddha is created in a feminine form with blue eye shadow, long eyelashes made of steel wire and pink nails. There is a monastery here and you will see monks returning with food donated by local homeowners in the mid-morning. On the other site of the way is Nga Htat Gyi Pagoda, containing sitt...

If you tour Burma, do not forget to buy some handicraft souvenirs, made by skilled craftsmen, or other unique ones as the wonderful presents for your beloveds and friends. Here are a number of the best places for shopping we recommend to you so that you can purchase high-quality items in your tours of Myanmar. 1. Ko Than Hlaing Silk Besides lacquerware, silk is also chosen by a lot of visitors as a nice souvenir in their tours of Myanmar. Although there are silk-weaving workshops in Nampan village, Ko Than Hlaing Silk, a family-owned enterprise, is not quite so crowded out by tour groups. Arranged over three floors is the rickety wooden workshop where you can watch women spin the silk by hand and weave intricately patterned dress lengths on handlooms. Don’t miss the process of extracting delicate fibers from the lotus flower stem. The lotus stem fibers were originally woven into weather-proof shawls for prominent Buddhist monks and now are used by exclusive Italian fabric house named...