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.
Airfare: Yangon – Mandalay
Overnight: Mandalay
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
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
