This is a journey that is created especially for first-timers to Myanmar. Admire the beautiful landscapes that God bestows: rolling mountains, pristine lake, boundless plain dotted with pagodas. It is also about the people: fascinating facts about the Lady Aung San Suu Kyi, local villagers huggling at a market and one-leg rowers in Inle Lake. Too hard to resist Myanmar's charm when it throws you back to pure innocence.
Highlights
- Hop on a train and visit where Aung San Suu Kyi was put under house arrest
- Sunsets of a lifetime: over the U Bein Bridge, Bagan temples and at Mandalay Hill
- Approach to monks during their daily rituals in some monasteries
- Take a boat trip in Inle Lake through the floating gardens and villages
- Pick a day out of the 5-day market rotation in villages of Shan
Journey Route
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98.8% positive customer reviews among 10,000+
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Excellent planned and executed Myanmar excursion
Asia Highlights and their local Myanmar partner "mAsia" did an excellent job in planning and execution of a one week trip to Myanmar.The various tour guides and drivers had good knowledge and good command over English. More
Gerd,
Jan 2018
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Trip-of-a-lifetime
In addition, I want to specifically mention the guides provided in certain locations. Rum, in Siem Reap, made the most memorable experience possible. His positivity was contagious - even when it felt like 1000 degrees and we were tired. He brought it all to life, and created a couple days of Ankor Wat, etc. that we will never forget! He heard my daughter's request for specific Cambodian food, and changed our itinerary to go to a village and eat at a locally known shop. He brought the dessert she asked about to us in the car! Overall, he and his driver "Lucky" were a reason to go to Siem Reap. In addition, the other guides (minus one which was switched out immediately) were stupendous. Mon in Bangkok was friendly and provided a great day there; Eak in Chiang Mai gave us a world-class food-tour and day touring the city and its surrounding temples with lots of laughs; Tommy in Hanoi kept us from getting killed in the traffic and gave a stupendous food and architecture/history tour - so very friendly and funny; the fishing village tour in Hoi An, as well as the side-car tour in Saigon, were both unforgettable! Thank you Sharon, and Asia Highlights. Would definitely use again for future trips! More
Teri Simpson,
Apr 2023
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Cambodia and Vietnam adventure!
Our guide in Cambodia, Meas Darapolaith (Pol), was absolutely amazing. He was knowledgeable, friendly and so helpful. His English was excellent and he shared important insights about history and the magnificent sites we visited. We highly recommend him! More
Jennifer Roth Krieger,
Apr 2023
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My daughter and I wanted to discover SE…
My daughter and I wanted to discover SE Asia. Being the first in that region, we wanted to use a tour service company. We ended up using Asia Highlights. From the beginning we were impressed with their services. We left home with of mind because all the pre-travel arrangements were taking care and communicate to us efficiently. All our questions were answered promptly. Once in the countries, we were welcome by our excellent tour guides. Everything was taking care for us. We did not have one issue. They selected the right tours guides for us, they were highly knowledgeable and so much attentive to our needs. We had Dhat in Vietnam and Borin in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I highly recommend Asia Highlights. I came back home so much rested, and with plenty of wonderful pictures and memories. I will definitely use Asia Highlights again for my next trip to Asia. More
Isabelle Dessaux,
Apr 2023
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Fabulous tour and guide in Cambodia
We have been touring Cambodia, guided by Borin ( and driver 007) for the last 2 days. What a fabulous experience! Borin has been a wonderful guide, the best so far in Southeast Asia, explaining the history and culture of Cambodia through his tours of the temples in and around Angkor, as well as the Landmine museum. He has answered all our questions, made sure we were comfortable, and that we have had great food. 007 made sure we always had enough water and cool towels for our face/neck.We highly recommend Borin as a tour guide for Cambodia!! More
Monica,
Mar 2023
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Best Travel Service for Asia Travel
Alisa Liu was in charge of making the arrangements and she helped us from the start to make all of the arrangements and also helped us when we had questions and requested some adjustments. Her service is of the highest professional level. We are 100% confident that our trip will be perfect. We’re also 100% confident that, if anything comes up during our trip, that Alisa will be there to guide us through and take care of us. We won’t even consider using another agency for travel around Asia and we would like to have Alisa work for us again. More
Leo Pospichal,
Mar 2023
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Tour of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand
The tour guides and drivers were another high point. All were very good, friendly, knowledgeable and spoke English well. There were two that I want to call out for their excellence. Chan Sovannarith in Siem Reap was our guide in Cambodia. He really made the experience special. His knowledge, willingness to answer all my questions, helpfulness and general attitude made him fun to be around. In order to praise the second exceptional guide I have to explain about an unfortunate occurrence that I had. I'm normally a very active senior, but after leaving Cambodia for Laos I was suddenly struck by the most intense back pain I've ever experienced, couldn't even roll over in bed (turned out to be sciatica). The guide, Mr. Sonophet, really went the extra mile. He went with my traveling companion and bought a back brace and medications for me. When that didn't help much he took me to a clinic where I was seen by a doctor, given a shot and pain meds. He hand-made a walking stick for me that I'm still using! He made it possible for me to somewhat participate in the activities, i.e. a bed on the boat down the river. When it was time to move on to Bangkok he got me a wheelchair at the airport. I can't thank him enough for these kindnesses! This problem lasted for the remainder of the trip, through Bangkok and Phuket and these guides were also very helpful getting wheelchairs, etc. It was a terrible disappointment to have this wonderful trip disrupted, but it would have been SO much worse without the great help that I received from the guides and my poor travel companion! More
Deb M,
Mar 2023
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In good hands with Sam
Sam Ol took very good care of us - lots of information, listened to and answered all our questions, was passionate about the places we visited and about his people and country. He was kind, had a great sense of humor, and made sure we felt safe and comfortable at all times. He helped us to fall in love with Cambodia in 3 short days. More
Carol Jones,
Feb 2023
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Best tour guide in Cambodia
When we first arrived at the airport in Siem Riep it was so nice to be greeted by Mr Sam Ol. We instantly fell at home when we saw his friendly smile. We were impressed by his great English and knowledge of the temples. On the tour to the temples Sam took care of us every step of the way. He took awesome pictures of us. It felt like we were on a tour given by our brother who is also a professional photographer. Also, we appreciate his humor as well as the fact he had an answer for every question we had. I give Sam 5 stars, best tour guide ever :) More
Len S,
Feb 2023
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Mr. Sam
Mr. Sam our guide in Cambodia, he and the driver out standing service they went above and beyond touring, my wife so amazed beautiful country, we're planning back here near the futures. Thank Mr. Sam,We'll feedback the whole trip next week when we be home in US More
Pho Lover,
Feb 2023
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Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand
We are still in the middle of our trip, but we are just finishing up our time in Cambodia and our guide, Borin, has been AMAZING!!! He has truly made our time here unforgettable and I plan on referring all of my friends and family to come visit this beautiful country! Thank you, Borin, for everything you did to make our trip so fantastic! More
Danielle Blount,
Feb 2023
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Excellent service and Wonderful Guides
All of our guides have been terrific. Mr. Sam in Siem Reip was especially wonderful. Both he and our driver were polite, safe knowledgable and informative. Sam made our trip memorable and enioyable. We will definitely recommend Sam and Asia Highlights to our friends. More
Kaaren,
Feb 2023
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Great tour guide Charity at Siem Reap
Our experience in Siem Reap could not have been any better thanks to our outstanding and cheerful guide, Charity. Her very good English speaking made it so easy to learn so much from her. She understood and answers all of our questions.She was relaxed and very knowledgeable. She went out out her way to help us make amazing pano photos of the cotton trees at Siem Reap and on our sunset cruise. She also advised us on Chanrey Tree restaurant—what we found to be the very best vegan restaurant on our first three weeks of our Asia tour. So glad to have vegan meals with very little oil!!! We are not supposed to have oil and is very hard to find vegan with no oil. Went went back the next night. More
Barbara Cornyn,
Jan 2023
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Best guide and driver in Cambodia
Mr Rum takes his profession very seriously and enriches the visits with his depth of knowledge and his interesting and relevant stories. He is a great story teller. More importantly, he is a nice person who we very much enjoyed getting to know in our short time together. Both he and Thary have winning smiles. They are easy to be around and fun to spend time with. It’s not surprising that Mr Rum has maintained contact and friendships with many previous clients. More
John Mullin,
Jan 2023
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Charity and Cambodia were amazing!
We had a fantastic time in Siem Reap. Charity was our tour guide and was the best! She brought knowledge and enthusiasm as she took us around. She was friendly, warm and open making our tour and experience in Siem Reap so wonderful. She gave us awesome suggestions for us to do at the end of the day such as go see a dance performance or visit the night market as well as an early morning activities like watch the sunrise from a hot air balloon. It was magical and we are so grateful to Charity for making this such a memorable trip. She also gave us great suggestion for food and went far and beyond to make sure our vegetarian and food requirements were met. Our driver and car was fantastic as well. We had the best time in Cambodia and would love to visit again. We recommend visiting and having Charity as their tour guide to anyone who has the opportunity to come! More
Prema,
Jan 2023
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Amazing tour of Cambodia with excellent…
Amazing tour of Cambodia with excellent guide Luch.. Luch was very knowledgeable and took an extra mile to explain us the Angkorwat sculptures.. the private car was very comfortable.. well planned .. we loved Cambodia and would definitely recommend my friends.. Asia highlights are the best More
Koustuv Sarkar,
Jan 2023
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Our rep in Cambodia Chan Sovannarith…
Our rep in Cambodia Chan Sovannarith was very attentive and accommodated my daughter not feeling well by taking us to a chemist to get medication for her. I highly recommend Chan as a rep with Asian highlights he did an excellent job when taking us back to the airport he literally waited to make sure we were all set for our flight to Chang Mai in Thailand. I felt safe knowing he was there incase there were issues. Again, great rep. Thank you!! More
Karen Brooks,
Dec 2022
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We enjoyed our trip VERY much
We enjoyed our trip very much. Our guide, Mr. Polrith is very knowledgeable and provided insightful information about the history, culture and religions of the country. Temples of Cambodia are amazing. They are more beautiful than you can imagine. Thank you so much Mr.Polrith and see you next time More
Tugba Balc,
Dec 2022
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A truly magical experience
You measure the quality of a tour company with how they handle the bumps along the way. Encountering unexpected baggage fees from Cambodia Angkor Air in Siem Reap.Albee without hesitation agreed to cover this cost. More
Bob Bosshard,
Mar 2020
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Great trip with Asia Highlights
We had already booked two trips in China with China Highlights. Both trips were a great experience. So when planning our trip to Cambodia we immediately thought of Asia Highlights because they offer a trip to Vietnam More
Frank & Nadia,
Nov 2019
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Itinerary in Detail
Being isolated for so many years, Myanmar remains a land of less-touched highlights. Today you will arrive in Yangon Mingaladon Airport and be greeted by your private tour guide and driver. Transfer to hotel for rest.
Nowadays, many locals still stick to its formerly-known name as Burma; give yourself a chance to learn how the history has made the country as the way it is.
Hop on Yangon Circular Train in the morning. It is the fundamental transport means for people in Yangon to get around. During the 30 minutes of slow riding, you will be exposed to interesting daily life and different people from various social classes. Private car will pick you up at a small station and take you to the National Museum.
Have some local cuisine for lunch. Proceed to Chaukhtatyi Paya, where a giant Buddha image reclining on the ground. Stop at Aung San Suu Kyi House, where she has been held captive for over 15 years.
Despite its modest scale, U Thant House offers a comprehensive insight at the former UN secretary's life. When sky turns dark, here comes the best time to visit Shwedagon Pagoda.
Take a morning flight to Mandalay. Check in hotel and have some time to rest. Our sightseeing tour starts in the afternoon, after a lunch on at a local restaurant.
Mandalay is a city breathing the air of Buddhism and our first stop will be Shwenandaw Monastery. This exquisite monastery used to be a part of the royal palace and a textbook example of royal teak wood architecture.
Saunter in the ground of Kuthodaw Pagoda and the World's Largest Book and your tour guide will explain some scripture carved in the tablets of the "book". As the sun slowly dims out, you will get onto the top of the Mandalay Hill and enjoy a sunset view of the city.
Hope you had a good sleep last night. Today we will start early at 4 o' clock in the morning to watch the "Face-Washing Ceremony" at Mahamuni Pagoda.
Every morning before the sun even rises, local believers will offer fresh towels, food and other items brought from their homes to the deity. The presiding monk will firstly wash the face of the Buddha image, followed by one sequence of brushing its teeth and apply some sandalwood paste on the Buddha's face before cleaning again with scented water. The devotee who brings the towel gets to take it back to his own home shrine after the ritual is over.
After the ritual, you will return to your hotel for breakfast. Afterwards, we will set out on the road to Amarapura. On the way, you will see monks getting around the villages to collect alms, which contributes their daily austerities and food.
Driving out of Mandalay, you will be in time to visit Mahagandayon Monastery when thousands of monks waiting in line for their lunch. Most tourists come at 10:30am and the place gets really crowded. We will pick a later hour to visit to avoid the crowd. What's more, you will have a chance to offer alms to those young noivices at the back of the line, who rarely get any alms when the big crowd clears away before noon.
Inwa Ancient City, was the imperial city of Burma from the 14th to 19th centuries. Take a horse cart to get around the ancient city with many royal remains and religous sites, including Ava Palace, Maha Aungmye Bonzan Monastery and Yadana Hsimi Pagodas.
Getting back to Amarapura, you will take a boat trip under the U Bein Bridge for a breath-taking sunset view.
Take an early flight to Nyaung U Airport and transfer to your hotel in Bagan.
This afternoon, we will stretch out to Minanthu Village, a peaceful village about 7km southeast of Bagan. It sees fewer travelers and remains a quiet village where people make a living by tradition handcrafts such as lacquer ware and weaving. You will also see some Chin women who tattoo their faces as a way to distinguish their group, social and marital status and possibly age.
Later, visit Kyat Khayon Cave Monastery. This underground monastery is located outside the old Bagan and was built to isolate the monks and novices from the outside world for better training.
Listed as a World Heritage Site, Bagan Archaeological Zone is simply astonishing with its over 2,200 ruins scattering on the vast plain of Bagan. There used to be more than 10,000 in its day of prime and most are of 10 centuries old. Some are large and tall while others are hidden among the grass and hard to spot out.
Today you will visit Ananda Pagoda, Dhammayangyi Pagoda, Maha Bodhi Pagoda and possibility to get around by bike. At dusk, you will get up to one of the pagodas to view amazing sunset over the plain.
The best sunset viewing points, allowing a panoramic view of the archaeological zone would be Shwesandaw Pagoda and Pyathatgyi Pagoda. Shwesandaw is very popular among tourists while Pyathatgyi offers you a chance to get inside the pagoda.
* Optional: Hot Air Balloon Flight:
Flying up in the sky, overlooking all the temples at sunrise, a 1-hour hot air balloon ride can be something special to tell your friends back home. It is available for booking during October to next March, morning time schedule every day and sunset flight upon request.
After some free time in the morning, you will be taken to Nyaung U Airport for onward flight to Heho Airport, 40 minutes away to Inle Lake. Transfer to your hotel and free at leisure. In the afternoon, we will take a boat trip in Inle Lake to observe local life.
Boat is the premier means of transportation in Inle Lake. Although most boats are installed with noisy diesel motors, the local fishermen still prefer an old-school rowing technique. They stand at the stern of the flat-bottomed boat and wrap one leg around the oar to direct the boat, while the other leg is to control the hull of the boat. In this way, not only can they see across the water to avoid twining weeds and gardening beds, but also easier to spot the telltable bubbles of fish.
Get a touch of the vibrant lifestyle of Inle Lake, today your tour guide will take you to a local market in a village of the lake. Known as the 5-Day Market, trade fair will be held in some major villages around lakeshore following a 5-day rotation.
We will have some simple lunch at a floating restaurant overlooking the busy lake traffic.
And then, paddle into the narrow riverbanks where you will reach the Indien Pagoda Complex. The biggest highlight of the peaceful village Indien of Tuangyi. There are countless ancient pagodas springing out of the water. It is so easy to get soaked up in the timeless atmosphere as your boat weaves through the creeks.
Hand-Picked Hotels
We have selected hotels with different styles and for different budgets. Let us know your preferences and we will help you find the right one.
Our Service Includes:
- Private transfers and English-speaking tour guide
- All guided sightseeing as detailed in the itinerary
- Hotel accommodation mentioned in the itinerary
- Breakfasts at hotels and lunches for every guided day
- Governmental taxes
Tour code: ah-7
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Why Travel with Asia Highlights (98.8% positive customer reviews among 10,000+)
- Unique experiences tailored to your interests: Enjoy a premium trip that goes beyond the typical tourist attractions.
- Hassle-free travel and peace of mind: Every aspect of your trip will be carefully planned and organized by your 1:1 travel consultant.
- Experienced and knowledgeable guides: Your guides will be local and love to work for travelers' smiles.
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