Myanmar

Our guide will pick you up from Rangoon International Airport and transfer to your hotel.

Visit the stunning Shwedagon Pagoda at sunset. This 325ft gilded pagoda and stupa is Myanmar’s most important landmark.

Spend the first half of the morning exploring Yangon’s downtown area, a tour that will leave you feeling mesmerised as you navigate through the cracked walls and creeping vines that make up Yangon’s faded colonial grandeur. For lunch, we would recommend a quick stop at the 999 Shan Noodle Shop – a simple, yet tasty noodle restaurant that’s a firm favourite with the locals.

Explore Yangon’s Circle Line in an ordinary class cabin – this is one of the best ways of getting off the beaten track in Yangon and we can assure you that the locals will truly appreciate your presence.

We depart Yangon and fly to Lashio. From here we drive out to Hsipaw (pronounced See Paw). Hsipaw remains a completely authentic northern Shan State town and was once a Shan royal city. It boasts thronging markets, stunning scenery and several monasteries which hug the outskirts of town.

Free time to relax and enjoy the Hsipaw Resort.

We take an early morning motor boat down the Dutawaddy River. We stop at a Shan monastery set amongst pineapple, papaya and orange plantations. Our next stop is a remote Shan village where we can enjoy a spot of gentle hiking. Be sure to greet the villagers with ‘May sung khaa’ or Hello in the Shan dialect.

At Naungkio we drive on to Maymyo. The former British Colonial hill station of Maymyo, also known as Pyin Oo Lwin, sits at an altitude of 3,510 feet, offering a respite from the intense heat of the lowlands during summer months. The town became a permanent military post in 1896, and acted as the summer capital during British rule. It has a thriving market and horse drawn carriages jostle for space with mopeds and the trucks that trundle through town bound for China. The town also boasts several elite boarding schools on the outskirts of town, benefiting from the more study-friendly climate. The surrounding region is rich in orchids, with seasonal fruits including oranges, strawberries and pineapples. We explore the town by horse drawn carriage.

We have a morning’s exploration of Maymyo’s highlights including its star attraction, the Kandawgyi National Botanical Gardens and Pyin Oo Lwin Nursery, with its wide variety of plants, trees and indigenous orchids.

Drive to Mandalay and check in to our hotel where the remainder of the day is free at leisure.

We start our exploration of Mandalay with a visit to a gem market – this is one of the best places in the city to ‘people watch’ as locals buy, sell and barter for these tiny, yet valuable pieces of stone. Drive a short distance to the Thaye Zay Station Bazaar – a pop-up market that runs its stalls based around the time schedule of the passing trains.

Take a trishaw ride to the impressive Shewnandaw Monastery, with a chance to view the ancient palace walls along the way. Later this afternoon, drive to the famous wooden stilted U-Bein Bridge to witness the sunset from a private boat – the silhouette is one of the most photographed shots in Myanmar.

Depart for the airport for the flight to Bagan. Explore some of the lesser known temples with the help of a horse drawn cart – doing so will allow us to forgo the use of a car and get a better sense of how Bagan used to be.

Take a short boat journey along the banks of the Ayeyarwaddy at sunset.

Today we have a thrilling balloon ride over the plains of Bagan, strewn with hundreds of temples and pagodas. While the balloon crew prepares the craft, we enjoy some refreshments. Then, depending on the wind, we fly over Bagan for about one hour, and enjoy spectacular views of the ancient Kingdom of Bagan. The tour ends…..where ever the wind has taken us and a glass of sparkling wine awaits, to round off this fantastic event.

The remainder of the day will be spent exploring some of Bagan’s oldest and most famous temples, including Ananda, Shwesandaw and Shwezigon.

A full day at leisure to enjoy Bagan and all it has to offer. It’s impossible to explore all 2,000 plus temples in three nights, but by hiring one of the recently introduced e-bikes you’ll be surprised at just how many you can fit in – this will also help us to escape the crowds and get off the beaten track a little.

We have an early morning flight to Heho near Inle Lake. On the way to the hotel we stop off at the Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, a charming teak monastery with its unique oval shaped-windows and tiered roofs built in the early 19th century. For our next stop we visit the Red Mountain Estate Vineyard and Winery to sample some of the region’s local wines. The view from the top of the vineyard provides us with our first glimpse of the iconic lake.

Spend the remainder of the afternoon at leisure in the comfort of our hotel – if you are lucky enough to have a room with a lake view, why not pull up a chair and dive into your favourite novel.

Board a local boat to explore the lake and its inhabitants, witnessing ‘leg-rowing’ fishermen and the floating gardens where farmers grow a surprising variety of fruit and vegetables. Visit villages known for their local crafts such as weaving and a community which produces hand-made cheroots (typical Burmese cigars).

Return to the hotel later this evening in time for a sunset drink by the lake.

This morning drive to the airport in time for our flight to Ngapali. Upon arrival your hotel will provide a complimentary shuttle bus. The remainder of the day is free for you to spend at leisure.

Ngapali isn’t untouched by tourism, but its margin of rustling palm trees is punctuated by little more than a few high-end, bungalow-style resorts. There’s great snorkelling, a reasonable golf course, boat trips to uninhabited islands and several nearby villages where one can observe traditional artisans in action – clay pottery in Kinmaw, and hand weaving in ancient Thandwe, Ngapali’s closest town. There’s a lovely variety of restaurants, too, both in the hotels along the shoreline and along the road inland. They all serve excellent, fresh seafood.

Free day to relax and enjoy beautiful Ngapali at your leisure…

Fly to Yangon where the afternoon is free to further explore the city with the help of your guide. A great place to carry out a bit of souvenir shopping is the touristy, yet very well presented Bogyoke Aung San Market – in our opinion the prices can be a little steep here, but there’s always room for negotiation. For a slightly more alternative souvenir option, how about venturing further into downtown to shop at Pomelo, a social business that deserves a lot of recognition for the work it does to help improve social and economic issues in the local community.

Transfer to the airport for your onward flight.