Best of Myanmar & Laos 11 Days

 

This 11-day journey will give you a comprehensive insight into the history, culture, people, cuisine, and traditions of Myanmar and Laos

 

Brief itinerary

Day 1/ Yangon: Arrive in Yangon, Myanmar

Day 2/ Yangon: Yangon City Tour Full Day

Day 3/ Bagan: Yangon – Fly to Bagan, Myanmar – Tour

Day 4/ Inle Lake: Bagan – Fly to Heho – Inle Lake

Day 5/ Inle Lake: Inle Lake Full-Day Trip

Day 6/ Mandalay: Inle Lake – Fly to Mandalay –  Mandalay City Tour

Day 7/ Mandalay: Amarapura Tour

Day 8/ Luang Prabang: Mandalay – Fly to Luang Prabang, Laos

Day 9/ Luang Prabang: Full Day Kuang Si Waterfalls & Luang Prabang City Tour

Day 10/ Luang Prabang: Half Day Pak Ou Cave – Thousands Buddha Cave

Day 11/ Departure: Departure – Luang Prabang

 

Trip includes

  • 10 nights’ accommodations in memorable, centrally located hotels
    02 nights Yangon
    01 night Bagan
    02 nights Inle Lake
    02 nights Mandalay
    03 nights Luang Prabang
  • All airfares used in tours
  • Meals as indicated
  • A/C private transfers
  • Tours and excursions as indicated
  • English-speaking tour guide
  • All entrance Fees
  • Boat trips as indicated
  • All taxes & service charges

 

Detailed itinerary

 

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 PagodaMahabandoola Park

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. After breakfast, you’ll go to the Reclining Buddha (Chaok-Htat-Gyi) and Mahabbandoola Park. 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 Bagan – Tour

Highlights with photos: BaganNyaung Oo MarketShwezigon PagodaHorse 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 the 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: Yangon – Bagan

Overnight: Bagan

Meals: Breakfast

 

Day 4: Bagan – Fly to Heho – Inle Lake 

Highlights with photos: Heho, 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 5: Inle Lake Full-Day Trip

Highlights with photos: Inle Lake

Today’s excursion will be by long tail boat to see the life of 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

 

Day 6: Inle Lake – Fly to Mandalay –  Mandalay City Tour

Highlights with photos: Mahamuni, Gold Paper FactoryShwenandaw MonasteryKuthodaw 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: Heho/Inle Lake – Mandalay

Overnight: Mandalay

Meals: Breakfast

 

Day 7: Amarapura Tour

Highlights with photos: U Bein Bridge, Kaung Mu Taw Pagoda, Sagaing HillSoon 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 the rest of the day is at leisure.

Overnight: Mandalay

Airfare: Inle Lake – Mandalay

Meals: Breakfast

 

Day 8: Mandalay – Fly to Luang Prabang, Laos

Highlights with photos: Luang Prabang

Transfer to the airport for your onward flight to Bangkok, then fly to Luang Prabang. When you arrive in Luang Prabang, you will be met by your private local guide who will accompany you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free. In the evening, you can explore the city and the night market to learn about local life in Luang Prabang.

Airfare: Mandalay, Myanmar – Luang Prabang, Laos

Overnight: Luang Prabang

Meals: Breakfast

 

Day 9: Kuang Si Waterfalls & Luang Prabang City Tour

Highlights with photos: Kuang Si WaterfallsWat XiengthongRoyal Palace MuseumWat Aham TempleWat Visoun

Luang Prabang, the city surrounded by the Mekong River and well known for its golden city, is well known for its beautifully decorated Buddhist temples; it is a place that will stay with you long after your Indochina tour.
Your memorable trip will begin with an alms ritual in the morning, where you will accept the blessing of the monks to whom you will give alms. Have breakfast at the hotel before beginning the half marathon. As it flows downstream, the Kuang Si Waterfalls collect in numerous turquoise blue pools. Day trip to the Kuang Si Waterfalls, where you can enjoy the beautiful natural scenery, play in the waterfalls, and relax. Return to the town for lunch. In the afternoon, visit Wat Xiengthong, a symbolic temple of classic Laotian architecture, and the Royal Palace Museum to learn about Laos’ history. Then go to the Wat Aham Temple, which means “Monastery of the Opened Heart,” and the Wat Visoun Stupa. You can spend the rest of the day relaxing and exploring the city, sipping a drink in one of the cafés, or strolling along the beautiful riverside.

Overnight: Luang Prabang Myanmar and Laos tours Myanmar and Laos tours Myanmar and Laos tours

Meals: Breakfast What to do in Laos

 

Day 10: Half Day Pak Ou Cave – Thousands Buddha Cave

Highlights with photos: Pak Ou Cave

Today you will embark on a private boat for a 2 hours boat trip along the Mekong River to the Pak Ou Cave. Along the boat trip, you will enjoy the beautiful scenery along the Mekong River and see the daily life of local people in the riverside fishing village. Visit the Pak Ou Cave which locates by the Mekong River and you will discover gold lacquered Buddha statues in the cave. After visiting, take the boat back to Luang Prabang and rest of the day at your leisure.

Overnight: Luang Prabang 

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

 

Day 11: Departure – Luang Prabang, Laos

Enjoy a relaxing time in the morning until transfer to the airport for your onward home flight.

Meals: Breakfast