Help with the order of our Myanmar itinerary...
 

I've been reading forum posts, guidebooks, and blogs for weeks and I still can't wrap my head around the best possible route through Myanmar for us. We can fly into Yangon or Mandalay and also depart from either (on to Chaing Rai via Bangkok). Prices seem to be pretty comparable with either option. We will be in Myanmar in June/July for about three weeks, so weather is a consideration. We'd like to visit:

Bagan
Kalaw -> trek to Inle Lake
Pyin Oo Lwin
Hsipaw

I'm not necessarily committed to visiting Yangon - since we'll be spending most of our time in the central areas, should we just skip it? Unless it makes more sense for travel to start or end there... If starting/ending in Mandalay, I can't figure out how to not end up back there at multiple points in the itinerary.

Please help! Thank you : )

If you're staying in the middle of the country, flying in/out of Mandalay will make more sense. However, I would spend time in Yangon over Mandalay.
I did Mandalay-Bagan-Kalaw-Inle, in that order (with stops before and after). Mandalay to Bagan by bus was about 4-4.5 hours. We were to take a 12 hour boat, but the water was too low (I was there Late May/early June)
We stopped at Mt.Popa on the way from Bagan to Kalaw, so can't give you timing on that, and drove Kalaw to Inle, so my time frame was a bit shorter than your trek would be!

One small note, don't let any boat drivers on Inle lake convince you it is safe to go on the water in a storm! The only thing scarier than getting hit by lightning are Burmese hospitals!!

If you start in Yangon, you could avoid spending any nights in Mandalay, but would still transit via the airport.

It's a loop with as little backtracking as possible.

Arrive Yangon, fly to Bagan, fly to Mandalay where a prearranged transfer takes you to Pwin Oo Lin (about 3 hours) bus or car to Hsipaw, car to Mandalay airport, fly to Heho for Kalaw, trek to Inle Lake, car to Heho, fly to Yangon.

I think Yangon is worth a few days, it may rain, but not all day. The rain cools things down a bit anyway.
There are some fabulous sights in Mandalay.
I spent one night in Pyin Oo Lin, and that was enough for me.

I'm going again in two weeks, and hope to get to Hsipaw for the first time. I will probably arrange a car and driver both ways from Mandalay. If so, I'll report back on cost and time.

I think Yangon is rather underrated and we enjoyed our days there. In particular we enjoyed a walking tour of the colonial buildings, visiting the synagogue and markets as well as Shwedagon. I liked flying into Mandalay and out of Yangon

http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2014/....html?q=yangon

http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2014/....html?q=yangon

Yes, I only had 2 full days in Yangon, but had planned on 4 (stupid lightning!) and there are places I'd like to visit that I missed the first go around :)