Hello,
I'm hoping to get some feedback from the Fodors community on the following itinerary that a Burma-based agent put together for me and a friend. I'm most specifically interested in whether or not the hotels listed are good and if the guide prices are average or inflated (and if you think we could arrange guides for cheaper on-site).
Party name 2 pax
Period of stay : 08 - 15 Jan'13 (8 days / 7 nights)
Accommodation:
9-11 Jan'13 Bagan - Bagan Umbra Hotel, Superior Room 2 nights 1 Twin $100.0
11-13 Jan'13 Kalaw - Pine Breeze Hotel , Superior Room 2 nights 1 Twin $78.0
13-14 Jan'13 Nyaung Shwe (Inle) - Aung Mingalar Hotel, 1 night 1 Twin $38.0
14-15 Jan'13 Yangon - Beauty Land Inn II, Standard Room 1 night 1 Twin $44.0
Domestic Flight Tickets:
8-Jan-13 Yangon - Nyaung U train 2 pax $110.0
11-Jan-13 Nyaung U - Heho flight 2 pax $190.0
14-Jan-13 Heho - Yangon flight 2 pax $270.0
Entrance fees:
Pindaya Pindaya zone fees 2 pax $10.0
Inle Inle zone fees 2 pax $10.0
Land Cost with private air-con car and driver
8-Jan-13 Delivery charges for the necessary documents 2 pax $22.0
9-Jan-13 COA 2 pax $- $-
10-Jan-13 Bagan free 2 pax $- $-
11-Jan-13 Airport transfer for the flight to Heho (Clients Own Arrangement) 2 pax $- $-
Heho airport to Pindaya - Kalaw transfer with stationed guide 2 pax $90.0
12-Jan-13 Kalaw(Painnebin trekking) with stationed guide 2 pax $90.0
13-Jan-13 Kalaw - Inle sightseeing with stationed guide 2 pax $104.0
14-Jan-13 Inle lake to heho airport transfer with stationed guide 2 pax $70.0
Airport transfer (Clients Own Arrangement) 2 pax - -
15-Jan-13 Departure transfer (Clients Own Arrangement) 2 pax - -
English speaking stationed guide in Shan State (Kalaw & Inle) 2 pax $262.0
Total cost for 2 pax $1,488
8 days in Burma
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Do you understand that two nights somewhere is just one day? And one night someone means just that- no time to explore a place?
So you have one full day in Bagan - do hire a horsecart to see the temples. You will also have a Bagan zone fee of $10 each.
Then you are off to trek. The Pindaya caves get mixed reviews. We skipped them. It looks like your agenta is to trek, and that is fine. But you have no time at Inle Lake which is one of the magical places in Burma. You don't even have time for a full day on the lake - is that what you want?
Is there any way you can add a couple of days? You will be moving all the time, no time (other than your trek) to experience Burma.
Prices? The flights are all standard prices. The hotels are pretty basic and the prices reflect that. The guide for your trek seems expensive. You could likely find a guide once you got to Kalaw, though there are many reports of guides that aren't very good or speak minimal English. Given that the trek seems to be the centerpiece of your trip, I'd say it is probably worth spending the money to assure you will have a good, English-speaking guide.
just back from Myanmar, which included a trek to the Pao-o tribal area. The scenery is lovely, but if it is tribal life you are looking for, forget it. These are now children and adults, who wear western clothes and live in the hills. There appeared to be no cultural heritage or lifestyle anymore. Bagan is magical and requires at least 2 days in order to see the lacquer ware being made, ride bikes around the pagodas and see the sunrise/sunset from one of them. Inle lake is a 2 day event as well, and I would upgrade to the Inle Princess just for the luxury of it all. There are day trips to cigar, silk and parasol making factories, or just sit on your porch and look at the lake (we got massages and facials). I am a low end traveler, but save a little extra for stuff like that. BTW; roads are not in great condition, so travel is slower than you would think. To get to Inle from Kalaw, we had to take a car to the launch site and then a boat ride to the hotel. That took up most of the day, although we stop along the road to learn about how they make palm liquor and to buy honey.
Anne, we didn't trek, but we did see some tadtional Pa-O areas where people were still living as they had for decades. The area around Sankar (south Inle Lake) is a good place to see this. We loved Inle Lake, but we chose where to go - a full day to Sankar and another day in the main lake area, visiting InDien and other Buddhist places. We opted not to go to the very touristy workshops. Do your research and choose what you want to do/see.