Discover Myanmar with Tauck on a Road Less Travelled

Northbound itinerary is displayed below, Southbound itinerary shares the same inclusions and follows in reverse order. For the exact itinerary please ask your travel specialist for details.

Day 1: Welcome to Yangon

Tour begins at 6 PM at the Belmond Governor's Residence.  A transfer is included from Yangon International Airport to the Belmond Governor's Residence. Your Myanmar travel experience begins at your hotel, a 1920s-era teak mansion evoking the Victorian era in ambiance and design, nestled within a lush lotus garden setting in the heart of Yangon’s refined Embassy District. Join everyone this evening for a welcome cocktail reception followed by dinner in the hotel's Mandalay Restaurant.

Lodging: Belmond Governor's Residence
Meals: Dinner

Day 2: Discovering Yangon, formerly Rangoon

You'll spend today discovering Yangon, the former capital city of Myanmar once known as Rangoon... opening your eyes to sights long isolated from the Western world for decades as you view golden pagodas, colonial-era buildings, traditional shop houses and jazz-age mansions stitched together by busy tree-lined streets and a riverfront boulevard. In the words of Rudyard Kipling, “This is Burma and it is unlike any land you know about.” Begin with a visit to Sule Pagoda; this ancient Burmese stupa, thought to be more than 2,500 years old, became a focal point for contemporary Yangon and Burmese politics in recent times. Next, a short walking tour with your local guide past street vendors and old colonial buildings leads to Yangon's bustling harbor and a ferry ride to the village of Dala, which you'll explore by trishaw. After returning via ferry to Yangon for lunch at a local restaurant, head to Scott Market, perhaps the most famous market in all of Myanmar. Explore the cobblestone streets of this bazaar, where anything and everything is for sale. Return this afternoon to your colonial-style mansion hotel, awash in British traditions. Later, a special sunset experience casts a glow this evening at the sacred hilltop Shwedagon (Golden) Pagoda, dominating the city’s skyline for over two millennia. An à la carte dinner follows back at the hotel.

Lodging: Belmond Governor's Residence
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 3: Fly to Bagan to explore a wonderland of temples

Wake up at the break of day for an early morning flight to Bagan, Myanmar's city of temples. Upon arrival, morning sightseeing includes Shwe Gu Gyi (Golden Big Cave) Pagoda; according to a contemporary inscription found at the temple, this pagoda was once left in ruins by King Narapati Sithu (circa AD 1174), and later restored by the Crown Prince. You'll also visit Hti-Lo-Min-Lo Temple, built around AD 1211 by King Nantaungmya, and considered one of Bagan's greatest temples. A double-storied structure rising 150 feet above the ground, the temple is home to four Buddha figures, terraces decorated with pieces of green-glazed sandstone, and weathered mural paintings within its interior; parts of original plaster carvings still survive on some of its surfaces. Head to a local restaurant for a traditional puppet show followed by lunch. After a visit to Ananda Temple, check into your lodge and spend some time as you please this afternoon. Later, sightseeing continues at a nearby local village distinctive for the huge stacks of bamboo the villagers use as walls for their homes and for its traditional Mon-style lacquerware, manufactured here for more than 900 years. Return to your lodge and dine at leisure tonight.

Lodging: Bagan Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 4: Balloons at sunrise and the treasures of Bagan

Few experiences can top this morning’s hot air balloon ride* at dawn over the temples of Bagan. From the 9th to 13th centuries, Bagan was the capital of the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. During its height between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plain; the remains of some 2,200 of them stand today – and soaring over these antiquities as the sun rises is simply breathtaking. Return to your lodge for breakfast. While in Bagan, meet an award-winning UNESCO photographer who will take a very special photograph at this incomparable site. Head to the city of Nyaung U in the northeastern section of the Bagan complex to explore the Nyaung U Tropical Market; the main shopping spot for locals in the region, this open-air market offers fresh meats, fruits, vegetables and other foodstuffs from nearby villages, along with various other goods including the distinctive Bagan lacquerware. Fashioned from bamboo, wood and horsehair, sealed with sap from a lacquer tree, then decorated with designs etched in the lacquer with an iron stylus, lacquerware items such as plates, bowls, boxes, trays, urns, canisters and other vessels have been locally produced in this manner for about 300 years, and are popular as gifts and souvenirs throughout the area. Continue on to the Bagan Archaeological Museum for a guided tour of this institution, originally founded over a century ago to display and interpret artefacts from Bagan's archaeological sites. The modern museum complex, opened in 1998, features galleries dedicated to various aspects of the Bagan Period, including its pagodas, monuments and other architecture, arts and crafts, Buddhist art and imagery, literature and social life. After lunch at a local restaurant, return to your lodge for an afternoon spent as you please, then join the group this evening for cocktails followed by dinner.

Lodging: Bagan Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 5: Embark your river cruiser in Bagan

Depart your lodge in Bagan this morning, then board your luxury river cruiser as she sets sail north towards Mandalay. As you cruise, watch daily life unfold from the top deck of the ship as a local expert shares insights on the fascinating traditions and sites of villagers who make their homes near the river. Enjoy onboard activities in the afternoon, enjoy dinner aboard Belmond Road to Mandalay this evening.

Lodging: Belmond Road to Mandalay
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 6: Cruising to Mingun

Spend the morning aboard The Road to Mandalay as she sails toward the village of Shwe Kyet Yet. After lunch onboard, continue on to Mingun to see the beautiful white Hsinbyume Pagoda and the world’s largest uncracked bell. Weighing some 90 tons and standing 13 feet high, the bell was commissioned by King Bodawpaya, the sixth king of the Konbaung Dynasty of Burma, in 1808. Dinner aboard ship is followed by onboard entertainment tonight.

Lodging: Belmond Road to Mandalay
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 7: The wonders of Sagaing and Mandalay

Pay a call this morning on Sagaing, considered by many to be the living center of Buddhist faith in Myanmar. Sagaing is also famous for its silversmiths; see artisans crafting silver in much the same way as their ancestors did centuries ago. Return by ferry to the ship for lunch, then embark on a sightseeing excursion of Mandalay with a local guide. Start with a visit to the “Big Book” at Kuthodaw Pagoda, where 729 marble stone slabs are inscribed with ancient Buddhist scriptures. Drive next to the wooden 19th-century Shwenandaw Monastery, made of teak and famous for its intricate woodcarvings, inside and out. One of the local crafts found specifically in Mandalay is the making of gold leaf. Watch artisans beat gold by hand with a large sledge hammer as it becomes the gold leaf that is used to decorate monasteries and temples in Myanmar at one of the area’s workshops, then see how this golden decoration is put to use at temples like Mahamuni Pagoda. To pay respect to the Buddha image housed inside the pagoda, male devotees regularly apply gold leaf to the image, called shwe cha in Burmese. As a result, the Mahamuni Buddha is covered with a thick layer of gold leaf, which has distorted the original shape of the Buddha. Also, see U Bein Bridge, believed to be the oldest and longest teakwood bridge in the world; return to Belmond Road to Mandalay, where the evening includes onboard entertainment and fine dining.

Lodging: Belmond Road to Mandalay
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 8: The high life on Inle Lake

Disembark Belmond Road to Mandalay in Mandalay and head to Heho for an early morning flight to Inle Lake. Your first stop is at a local umbrella workshop for an opportunity to see artisans craft beautiful paper parasols by pounding tree bark threads in water for 25 minutes and stretching it, adding real flowers and letting it dry in the sun for two hours. Visit the red-painted teak Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, built in the early 19th century and still a working and teaching institution, featuring oval windows and richly decorated with mosaics and golden ornaments. Life in Inle Lake revolves around the water so it is only fitting that you ride a boat to your lakeside villa. Enjoy fascinating views of floating gardens and stilt houses en route. Inle Lake is the only place in the world to see the famous leg rowers. Native Intha fishermen deftly grip a single long bamboo oar with one leg while paddling (and straddling) long flat-bottomed boats around the lake and its many canals; some may be dressed in traditional Shan attire. Enjoy dinner at your leisure at Villa Inle Resort & Spa.

Lodging: Villa Inle Resort & Spa
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 9: Gems of Inle Lake

The school bell rings at the start of your day when you take a boat first to the weekly market, then to a local primary school. Join the children for snacks and playtime, then get back on the boat and continue on for lunch at Heritage House, a typical Inthar house that boasts a restaurant and a Burmese Cat Sanctuary. Burmese Cats were once royal cats of the palaces, as well as guardians for the many temples and sacred sites and are protected here. After lunch, boat to Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, the best way to arrive at this 800 year-old, highly revered lakeside monastery. Inside it houses five ancient images of the Buddha that have been completely encased in gold leaf placed on them by worshippers through the centuries; their original shapes are virtually indistinguishable now and look more like solid masses of gold! Return to your resort for a free evening and dinner at leisure.

Lodging: Villa Inle Resort & Spa
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 10: Return to Yangon

Say goodbye to Inle Lake this morning and travel to Heho Airport for a flight to Yangon. After lunch, spend some time sightseeing in Yangon this afternoon. Check into the Governor's Residence for one additional night in Yangon, and join the group for a farewell reception and dinner at the hotel tonight.

Lodging: Belmond Governor's Residence
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 11: Journey home

Your Myanmar travel experience ends in Yangon. Fly home anytime. A transfer is included from the Belmond Governor's Residence to Yangon International Airport. Allow a minimum of three hours for flight check in.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Note: For activities marked with an asterisk (*) in the day-by-day itinerary, participation is at your own risk and a signed liability waiver will be required.