I don't recall it being that expensive but I went there 5 years ago. The Inle Pricess arranged for a taxi to pick us up and we were met by our boatman for the continuing journey by water. Sounds like your travel agent is trying to pull a fast one so perhaps you should contact the hotel directly.

http://www.inleprincessresort.net

That sounds like it is way out of line. Are you sure it is not $79 for all of your party, not per person. Last Feb. we paid $65 to get from the airport to our hotel which was on the lake.

Well, you can't get all the way to the Princess by car alone, it's built out on the lake. You have to go by car and boat. Who is your agent? And yes, make sure that is really a per person price. Just getting from the airport to any place near the lake was in the $60-75 range even in 2009.

So begin by clarifying with your agent. If the agent insists it is a per person price, ask if there is a discount for four people.

Next, email the Princess and see what their transfers would cost.

Prices in Burma have skyrocketed in the last year. You are lucky to have a room reserved.

Oh, wait, I just realized that the price is round trip. Frankly, that is not too bad then. It seems high, but not outrageous. The price I quoted you from 2009 was each way for only two people. There are no cars in Burma that will hold 4 people and their luggage, so they have to arrange a van for you which is more expensive.

Yes, the travel agent confirmed that is will be $79 each way per person. I've emailed Inle Princess Resort twice now. Hopefully they will respond soon, as I can not reach them by phone...we keep getting disconnected.
Thanks for all of your replies!
I'll let you all know what price I receive from Inle, if they get back to me.

Inle Princess charges $50 for two people each way to their hotel. Therefore a total of $100 round trip for two. This sounds very reasonable considering the distance from the airport by car and boat. And one third the cost that the travel agent wanted to charge. (There is an additional fee of $5 per person paid at the jetty for the lake park)

So it was your travel agent as I suspected. Please share the name of your agent!

Come to think of it - it's still quite a bit more than what we paid a few years ago but I guess it's justifiable.

Enjoy your stay there - we loved it!

Melody, I'm glad you wer able to work this out. This year it is especially hard to figure out what is reasonable, given the surge in tourism and the shortage of facilities.

The $5 fee is for entry to the Inle Lake area. If you go to Kakku and/or to Sankar, there will be an small admission fee to Pa-O lands and a mandatory guide, $5.

Enjoy your trip. Do make sure you let your boatman know where you want to go during your one day on the lake. Otherwise the "standard route" is almost all to workshops. If it were me, I'd get out on the lake by 6:30 am, and go right to InDien.

Does anyone have the Inle Princess' direct email address? Their website is currently down.

You actually can reach the Princess by car the whole way. There is a road (albeit, like a lot of roads in Burma, it's full of potholes and bumps, that winds the roughly 2 or 3 miles from the resort to the main road in Nyaugnshwe.

I know this a) because we biked it from the resort while we were there a few weeks ago and b) because our friends who were in Burma and staying across the lake from us came to meet us on New Years Eve for dinner at the Princess only by getting a driver to bring them via road (boats will not go out at night/in the dark.)

Now, I'm not sure the hotel wants to advertise this because I'm sure they (and the agents they work with) prefer to charge you $79 to take the boat and--let's be honest--it's much more atmospheric and romantic to arrive that way (I recommend it if you can!)...but if you went through a 3rd party transportation service you absolutely can drive to the resort.

If you're able to negotiate a driver to Inle from Heho, there are many many boats standing by that charge approximately 10 to 15 bucks (did in August) to most places in Inle including. Many of these boats can also be available for entire days around Inle for a fraction of the cost of what the hotel charges. Heho to Inle is about an hour long drive and a round trip from Nyaung Schwe to much of Inle can be as little as 15 by boat. Totally agree with the Inthein recommendation. Far better and rewarding than all the workshops.