Arrive Yangon

Upon arriving at Yangon International Airport, you will be greeted by our representative and taken to your pre-booked hotel. Enjoy a comfortable overnight stay at your hotel in Yangon.

Yangon

Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon, is a quiet and charming city with an impressive colonial and spiritual heritage. This makes it one of the most fascinating cities in Southeast Asia. After breakfast at the hotel, your journey begins with a downtown walk to explore the city center and its fabulous mix of architecture and sites. The streets are lined with historical buildings, many of which retain a faded colonial charm unique to this region.

Next, visit Kandawagyi Park, one of central Yangon’s greenest spots, where you can see the glittering Karaweik barge, a replica of the royal barge. Then, head to Kyaukhtatgyi Pagoda, home to a 70-meter reclining Buddha.

Later in the afternoon, visit the Shwedagon Pagoda, the most revered Buddhist temple in Myanmar. Although the origins of the pagoda are unclear, it is believed that the original structure was built in the 11th century and has been renovated several times, taking its current shape in the 15th century. The 8-sided central stupa stands 90 meters tall, gilded with gold leaf, and is surrounded by 64 smaller stupas. Your guide will show you around the massive complex, explaining why this temple is so revered. Enjoy breathtaking views of the golden stupa and the city skyline from this vantage point.

End your day with an overnight stay at your hotel in Yangon.

Yangon – Mandalay (By Flight)

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel and then check out. You will be transferred to Yangon Airport to board your flight to Mandalay. Upon arrival in Mandalay, you will be met by our representative and transferred to your pre-booked hotel.

After settling in, start your sightseeing tour of Mandalay with a visit to the Mahamuni Pagoda. This pagoda houses one of the country’s most revered Buddha images, which has been covered with gold leaf over the years, giving it a distinctive ‘lumpy’ texture. Mandalay is renowned for its skilled craftsmen. As you visit traditional workshops, you’ll learn more about the city’s cottage industries. Watch the production of wood carvings, kalaga tapestries, and gold leaf, where techniques have remained unchanged for centuries, dating back to the Royal Court era.

In the afternoon, continue your tour with a visit to Kuthodaw Pagoda. This pagoda is home to 729 marble stone slabs of Buddhist scriptures, earning it the title of the ‘World’s Biggest Book.’ Next, visit the Shwenandaw Monastery, the only remaining building from the 19th-century Royal Palace. This grand teak structure is famous for its exquisite woodcarving. As the sun begins to set, head to the top of Mandalay Hill to enjoy magnificent views of the city and the Irrawaddy River.

End your day with an overnight stay at your hotel in Mandalay.

Mandalay – Amarapura – Ava – Mandalay

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before departing for an excursion around Mandalay to explore the former capitals of Amarapura, Ava, and Sagaing.

Start your morning in Amarapura, where you’ll attend a special ceremony at Mahagandayon Monastery. Here, you can witness the alms collection, where over one thousand monks gather to receive their daily meal from local Buddhists. After this beautiful spectacle, visit a nearby silk weaving workshop that produces exquisite handmade products.

Next, head to Ava, the capital from the 14th to 18th centuries. Travel by traditional horse and carriage to visit the old wooden Bagaya Monastery and the remains of the town’s Royal Palace and fort.

As the sun begins to set, take a walk along the U Bein Bridge for fabulous views. This 200-year-old bridge, constructed entirely from teak, spans over 2 kilometers in length.

End your day with an overnight stay at your hotel in Mandalay.

Mandalay (Gawein) and Mingun

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Gawein Jetty.

Embarkation begins at 12:00 noon at Gawein Jetty, with the boat casting off after half an hour. Enjoy a welcome cocktail and a briefing in the Saloon or on the Sundeck, followed by lunch.

After cruising upstream for two hours, we arrive at Mingun. Here, you’ll visit the impressive unfinished pagoda and see the largest working bell in the world. An English-speaking manager (or your private guide) will accompany you during the visit.

We’ll moor overnight at a sandbank mid-stream. After dinner, guests can enjoy a dance and drama performance by the Mandalay Arts School on the sundeck (if available).

Spend the night on the cruise.

Mingun – Sagaing and Yandabo

Early in the morning, we will begin cruising downstream. During the two-hour journey, you can admire the natural beauty of the river and the life along its banks while relaxing on the sundeck or just sitting outside your cabin. Enjoy the stunning sunrise over Sagaing Hill.

After breakfast, passengers who wish to visit Sagaing can go ashore with the assistance of our Ship Manager or their own guide.

We will resume our downriver voyage at 10:30 am and sail all day long.

In the late afternoon, we will stop at Yandabo, a village known for its pot-making. This village is also historically significant as the site where the peace treaty of the First Anglo-Burmese War was signed on February 24, 1826. Here, we will visit the pot workshops and the local monastery.

We will moor overnight near the village of Shwe Nann Tint.

Spend the night on the cruise.

Arrive Bagan

Cast off early in the morning for the last leg of our journey.

Enjoy the beautiful sunrise near Bagan. Passengers will disembark at Koe Lone Ye Kin jetty around 9:30 am. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel.

In the afternoon, begin your sightseeing tour with a visit to Ananda Temple, an architectural masterpiece and one of Bagan’s most beautiful temples. Built in the early Mon style, Ananda contains two unique Buddha images whose expressions seem to change depending on the distance from which they are viewed.

Next, travel by horse cart for a tour passing Thatbyinnyu, the highest temple in Bagan, the massive Dhammayangyi Temple, known for its remarkable brickwork, and Sulamani Temple.

End your day with an unforgettable sunset over the plains from a special vantage point, as the regional administration has restricted access to some temples for sunset viewing due to the earthquake on August 24, 2016. Despite this, Bagan offers over 3,500 temples, stupas, monasteries, and other structures, ensuring you will still experience the famous sunset of Bagan from a unique location.

Enjoy an overnight stay at your hotel in Bagan.

Bagan

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel.

Begin your day with a visit to the colorful Nyaung Oo Market, where locals gather daily to buy and sell fresh produce and other goods. Next, head to the golden stupa of Shwezigon Pagoda for an introduction to Bagan’s rich history. Continue to Wetkyi-In Gubyaukgyi, a cave temple featuring exquisite jataka mural paintings, and then visit the elegant Htilominlo Temple, noted for its fine plaster carvings and glazed sandstone decorations.

In the afternoon, visit a workshop to observe the detailed production of lacquerware, one of Myanmar’s best-known and most traditional handicrafts. Continue to Myinkaba village and take a short walking tour to explore Wetkyi-In Gubyaukgyi, a cave temple with stunning jataka murals, as well as the temples of Manuha and Nan Paya.

Enjoy an overnight stay at your hotel in Bagan.

Bagan – Mount Popa – Bagan

Bagan – Heho (By Flight and Heho – Inle Lake (Drive)

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel and check out.

You will then be transferred to Bagan Airport to board your flight to Heho. Upon arrival at Heho Airport, a scenic one-hour drive will take you to Nyaung Shwe, the gateway village to Inle Lake. Along the way, stop at the wooden Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, known for its beautiful carvings and collection of Buddha images.

Upon reaching the edges of Inle Lake, board a private motorboat to explore one of Myanmar’s most spectacular sights. Pass villages built on stilts over the lake, inhabited by the local Intha people. Observe the unique leg-rowing fishermen and see their floating gardens, which are constructed from strips of water hyacinth and mud, anchored to the bottom with bamboo poles.

Visit Nga Hpe Chaung Monastery, which houses dozens of Shan Buddha images and is famous for its ‘jumping cats’ that leap through hoops. Continue to Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the lake’s main sanctuary, containing five sacred Buddha images covered in gold leaf.

Explore the local crafts of Inle Lake with a stop at the weaving village of Inpawkhone and a cheroot factory, where traditional Burmese cigars are handmade. If time permits, take a short walk through one of the villages.

Enjoy an overnight stay at your hotel on Inle Lake.

Inle Lake – IN Dein – Inle Lake

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel.

Start your day with a visit to the lake’s morning market. The market rotates its location around the lake’s villages in a five-day rhythm and is visited by lake inhabitants and surrounding hill tribes who come to sell and trade their wares. (Note: The market is open daily except on dark moon and full moon days).

From the middle of the lake, continue down a small canal leading to the Pa-oh village of In Dein. Explore the area on foot, strolling around the village, visiting a local school, and wandering through the beautiful Alaung Sitthou area. Climb the covered stairway to the top, which is filled with picturesque ancient stupas and offers magnificent views of the lake below.

After enjoying your visit to In Dein, return to your boat. Continue along the lake for additional sightseeing before heading back to your hotel this afternoon.

Enjoy an overnight stay at your hotel on Inle Lake.

Inle Lake – Heho (Drive) – Thandwe (Flight) & Thandwe – Ngapali Beach (Drive)

Ngapali Beach

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel.

Spend your day at leisure on the beautiful Ngapali Beach, relaxing on the white sands, swimming in the clear waters, or exploring the nearby islands and engaging in water sports like snorkeling.

End your day with an overnight stay at your hotel in Ngapali.

Ngapali Beach

Ngapali – Thandwe (Drive) &Thandwe – Yangon (By Flight)

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel and spend the morning at your leisure.

In the afternoon, you will be transferred to Thandwe Airport for your flight to Yangon. Upon arrival at Yangon Airport, you will be met by our representative and transferred to your pre-booked hotel.

Enjoy an overnight stay at your hotel in Yangon.

Leave Yangon