Day 1: Arrive in Yangon, Myanmar

Highlights with photos: Yangon 

Welcome to Myanmar, a country that has only recently opened its doors to the rest of the world and is eager for visitors to discover its unique Buddhist culture and heritage. When you arrive in Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar but now one of the most developed cities in the country, your local guide will greet you at the airport and accompany you to your hotel. Enjoy a Myanmar royal-style welcome dinner on a floating marble boat in the evening.

Overnight: Yangon

Meals: Breakfast

Day 2: Yangon City Tour Full Day

Highlights with photos: Shwedagon Pagoda, Chaok-Htat-Gyi Buddha Pagoda, Bogyoke Market, China Town, Yangon Jetty

Rise early in the morning to visit the Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon’s largest painted real gold pagoda. The advantage of visiting the pagoda early in the morning is that you will enjoy a quiet and extremely peaceful atmosphere while watching locals and monks pray in front of the pagoda. Return to the hotel for breakfast. You will visit the Chaok Htat Gyi Buddha Pagoda and Mahabandoola Park after breakfast. After lunch, enjoy some free time wandering around Bogyoke Market and the then Bogyoke Market busy streets of Yangon’s famous China Town and Yangon Jetty. Finish your day by the river, where the road is flanked by colonial-style buildings, giving you the impression of Myanmar in the past.

Overnight: Yangon

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 3: Yangon – Fly to Mandalay – City Tour

Highlights with photos: Mahamuni Image, Old Paper Factory, Golden Palace Monastery, Kuthodaw Pagoda

Enjoy some free time in the morning before transferring to the airport for your flight to Mandalay. When you arrive in Mandalay, your guide will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel. Following a brief rest in the hotel, you will visit the Mahamuni Image, where you will see locals pray and place the gold paper on the Buddha for blessing. You can also try to make your wish and donate (purchase) gold paper to stick on the statue (only man allowed to stick the gold). On your way to the Mahamuni Image, you will stop at a gold paper factory to see how gold leaf is made. Visit the Shwenandaw Monastery, also known as the “Golden Palace Monastery,” which was built in the nineteenth century and is well known for its teak carvings of Buddhist myths. Visit the Kuthodaw Pagoda, a Buddhist stupa that houses the world’s largest Buddhist book. Finish your day at the top of Mandalay Hill for a stunning sunset.

Day 4: Amarapura Tour

Highlights with photos: Maha Ganayon Kyaung Monastery, U Bein Bridge, Kaung Mu Taw Pagoda, Sagaing Hill, Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda, Amarapura

In the morning, drive for about 30 minutes to Sagaing, the capital of Myanmar’s Sagaing Division, which is located on the Ayeyarwady River, 20 kilometers southwest of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river. Cross the Innwa Bridge, which was built by the British in 1934. First, you’ll go to the Maha Ganayon Kyaung Monastery, where hundreds of monks line up for daily meals at 10:15 a.m. Then go to the U Bein Bridge, which is 1.2 kilometers long and the world’s longest teakwood bridge. Continue on to Kaung Mu Taw Pagoda, a dome-shaped pagoda that rises up to 46 meters. There are 812 stone pillars at the base of the pagoda, each with a hollow and an image of a Nat in it. Continue your visit to Sagaing Hill, which has a number of small pagodas and many meditation centers, as well as the Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda, which is located on Sagaing Hill. You can stop at monasteries and nunneries and talk with them while drinking hot green tea with palm sugar. Lunch at a local restaurant in Sagaing then continues to Amarapura, the “City of Immortality,” located 11 kilometers south of Mandalay, and the ancient temple of Pahtodawgyi, which was built in 1820 in the Inva ancient town. Drive back to Mandalay and spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Overnight: Mandalay

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 5: Mandalay – Fly to Bagan – City Tour

Highlights with photos: Nyaung Oo Market, Shwezigon Pagoda, Horse Cart Ride, Shesandaw Pagoda

Transfer to the airport for an early morning domestic flight to Bagan. When you arrive in Bagan, your local guide will meet you at the airport and transport you to your hotel. Bagan, where thousands of Buddhist pagodas are spread across the area of the Ancient City of ‘Bagan.’ During its prosperous period, these pagodas were owned by individual families. You will visit the Nyaung Oo Market, where locals buy food on a daily basis, as well as the Shwezigon Pagoda, Bagan’s largest pagoda painted with real gold. Take a nap in the hotel during the hottest part of the afternoon. Then take a horse cart ride to the top of the Shesandaw Pagoda for sunset, and then take the horse cart back to the hotel. Taking a horsecart ride on the off-road treks through the pagodas at dusk is an unforgettable experience.

Airfare: Mandalay – Bagan

Overnight: Bagan

Meals: Breakfast

Day 6: Bagan – Fly to Heho/Inle Lake

Highlights with photos: Inle Lake

Transfer to the airport for your onward flight to Heho, where you will be met and transferred to your hotel on the shores of Inle Lake. Inle Lake is located in Myanmar’s highlands at an elevation of approximately 3,000 feet above sea level. You will experience a different atmosphere and ambiance than in the middle of Myanmar. After checking into the hotel, spend the rest of the day relaxing.

Airfare: Bagan – Heho/Inle Lake

Overnight: Inle Lake

Meals: Breakfast

Day 7: Inle Lake Boat Trip Full Day

Highlights with photos: Inle Lake

Today’s excursion will be by long tail boat to see the life of the In-tha (local ethnic people who live on the lake), to discover their unique floating farms and life on a floating village. You’ll also see how the local fisherman fishes with only one leg paddling the boat, as well as the Long Neck Ladies who were relocated from the Myanmar-Thailand border. The rest of the day is free to relax.

Overnight: Inle Lake

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 8: Inle Lake – Fly to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Highlights with photos: Saigon

Transfer to the airport for your next flight to Yangon, where you will connect with an international flight to Saigon, Vietnam’s economic center in the south. When you arrive in Saigon, you will be met at the airport by your local guide and escorted to your hotel. In the evening, enjoy a welcome dinner on the cruise ship as it sails along the Saigon River, taking in the city’s beautiful night scenery. The rest of the day is free.

Airfare: Heho/Inle Lake – Saigon

Overnight: Saigon

Meals: Breakfast

Day 9: Full Day Boat Trip in My Tho & Ben Tre of Mekong River Delta

Highlights with photos: Mekong River Delta

Enjoy a full-day tour from Saigon to My Tho to explore the Mekong River Delta, known as Vietnam’s “rice bowl.” You will take a private boat tour through the water coconut forest to the center of the Mekong Delta, followed by an hour-long biking tour through the villages and a sampan trip through the narrow canals. Return to Saigon in the afternoon.

Overnight: Saigon

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 10: Saigon City Tour – Fly to Hoi An

Highlights with photos: Cu Chi Tunnel, Notre Dame Cathedral, Old Saigon Post Office, Emperor Jade Pagoda

In the morning, you will visit the Cu Chi Tunnel to see the intricate tunnel system built by the Vietnamese during the war. In the afternoon, return to the city and see the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Saigon Post Office, and the city’s Chinatown, which includes the Emperor Jade Pagoda (Phuoc Hai). Fly to Danang and then to Hoian to check into a hotel.

Airfare: Saigon – Danang/Hoi An

Overnight: Hoi An

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 11: Full Day My Son Heritage – Hoian Ancient Town

Highlights with photos: My Son Holy Land, Hoian Ancient Town, Tan Ky Old House, Fukien Assembly Hall, Japanese Covered Bridge

Visit the My SON Holy Land in the morning to see the ruined temple from the 4th century. Visit the historical Hoian Ancient Town, which includes the colorful local market, the Tan Ky Old House, the Fukien Assembly Hall, and the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge. You can also pay a visit to the locals who raise silkworms and produce silk for Hoi An’s burgeoning textile industry. In the evening, the locals will hang up red lanterns, giving you the impression that you have traveled back in time.

Overnight: Hoi An

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 12: Danang/Hoi An – Fly to Hanoi

Highlights with photos: Hanoi

Enjoy having the morning to yourself to relax. In the afternoon, take a flight to Hanoi. When you arrive in Hanoi, your guide will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel.

Airfare: Danang/Hoi An – Hanoi

Overnight: Hanoi  Myanmar and Vietnam tours Myanmar and Vietnam tours Myanmar and Vietnam tours

Meals: Breakfast The best time to visit Vietnam

Day 13: Halong Bay Boat Cruise Full-Day Trip

Highlights with photos: Halong Bay

Full-day trip to Halong Bay to explore the world’s natural wonders. When you arrive in Halong Bay City, you will be welcomed aboard for a four-hour cruise on the stunning bay, with stops along the way to visit one of the area’s limestone caves. The boat crew will serve you a sumptuous local seafood lunch while you cruise. After 4 hours, you will sail back to the harbor, rejoin your car, and return to your hotel in Hanoi for another night.

Overnight: Hanoi 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Myanmar and Vietnam tours Myanmar and Vietnam tours Myanmar and Vietnam tours Myanmar and Vietnam tours

Day 14: Hanoi City Tour – Departure Hanoi, Vietnam

Highlights with photos: Hoan Kiem Lake, One Pillar, Temple of Literature, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

In the morning, if time permits you will enjoy a half-day city tour of Hanoi’s highlights. Visit Hoan Kiem Lake, the One Pillar Pagoda, the Temple of Literature, and Ho Chi Minh’s former residence (close on Monday, Friday, and the whole of Oct. and Nov.). Transfer to the airport in the afternoon for your flight back home or your next destination.

Meals: Breakfast