Local day tour operator for Yangon cruise stop?
 

Hi,
We only have 2 nights, (one full day and two half days ) as a cruise stop in Yangon and I'd like to make the most of our one full day without taking the ship's shore excursion. Has anyone used a local tour guide in Yangon? The first half day, I'm planning on an evening dinner at Le Planteur with a traditional Myanmar dance show and the last half day there's a rural experience at Thanlyin Village.

I'd appreciate any contacts and suggestions on how to best spend the day in Yangon, including lunch restaurants.
Thanks!

You could try Sanat Maria , which many of us in this board have used......Shwedagon is a MUST its so beautiful......Snata Maria took us on a " highlights tour and I have to say I thought it we'll paced and we saw some great temples and areas of Yangon. I'm rushing now as off to work but I'll try and be more specific tonight.

T hanks Smeagol…tell me more please!

sorry re spelling, that should be SANTA MARIA!

i'll try and dig some stuff out when i get home tonight. :)

you could try my friend Kway Naing at: [email protected]

he is a fabulous guide with excellent English.

He is based in Yangon.

I would suggest you consider him for your entire time and scrap the other events. He probably could even get similar events for far less $$ I am guessing.

Tell him bob and Karen sent you.

Go with anyone Bob recommends, he has always put us in touch with the best guides!! :)

My very short list includes
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attract...on_Region.html
and
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attract...on_Region.html
I have used both & can highly recommend them. Onestop have booked my longer stay this winter with good savings on hotels/flights
SS

Smeagol, how do I get in touch with Santa Maria (I thought your first spelling sounded more Burmese!) I haven't found any reviews about her (him?)

Bob, I will contact your friend for his ideas. I've already told Arvind that you sent me to him…he thinks we're great friends altho we've never met other than here! : - )

Silverswimmer….thanks for the links and i"ll check them out too.

On my own, I've found two promising ideas through TA. One is Yangon Walks for an off the beaten path tour with an expat Aussie named Bob…highly recommended. Also, is a local tour operator, Proniti Travel Agency, Min is the contact, that also does one day tours of Yangon and could probably pick us up at the cruise dock. Also gets great reviews. Anybody use any of these guys before?

If ever I can avoid the uber expensive shore excursions, packed with busloads of fellow tourists (ugh…and I'm in that category too!) I will!

http://www.myanmartravels.net
Website for Santa Maria

Thanks for the site info, Smeagol.

barefoot, many of us here have used Santa Maria to arrange our trips to Burma/Myanmar. We thought they were wonderful.

Sorry, I don't know anything about the agency you mentioned, I haven't even heard of it.

We did an interesting self-guided walk of the historic center of Yangon, starting at the Strand Hotel. We really enjoyed it. But Yangon is the hottest city I've visited. We started our walk about 6:30 or 7 am, and by the end of our walk, an hour and a half later it was too hot to be walking in the city.

Kathie, thanks for another vote for Santa Maria….I will get in touch with them. We'll be there at the end of March…is that any cooler of a time than when you went? So, perhaps a lot of walking isn't going to work out….I just don't want to be driving past all the historic buildings without a chance to get out and walk too.

No, it will likely be even hotter! We are there in November, which is supposed to be a more moderate month, but temps were higher than usual everywhere. That was the first trip. The second trip wasn't quite as hot, but be warned - it is much hotter than Bangkok!

Ouch! I think I've given up the 3 hour walking tour idea.

You can still have a driver / car, just get out as and when. That's what we did.