Thank you so much! We are slowly moving forward. It seems after checking that there are not any non-stop flights between Myanmar and Chiang Mai; all connect in BKK. So we may do 2 nights in BKK, 3 nights in CM, 1 night in Yangon, 2 nights in Mandalay, 3 nights in Bagan, 4 nights in Inle Lake, and 1 night in Yangon.

A 4 night stay in Inle Lake appeals to us. The hotels you suggest there all sound lovely. (I actually like the idea of arriving at the hotel by boat; we did that in India).

We are not thrilled with the idea of splitting our 2 nights in Yangon, 1 at the beginning and 1 at the end. However, as you all point out, due to logistics, it is necessary.

I am in contact with Santa Maria concerning hotels, guides, itinerary, etc.

wkwb42a

There are nonstop flights but I'm not sure which direction. I think it may only be from Chiang Mai to Yangon but there is a 1/2 hr. time difference which I think makes the flight about 1 hr. flying time. It's possible the Yangon to CM flight is non stop also.



Before our trip I was looking to book a flight from CM to Yangon. I contacted and received a reply from Air Bagan.

Here's the info I was sent via e-mails.

Contact person-Chaw Su Min Han
e-mail [email protected]
flight info for 02/2014
W9 9608 Chiang Mai-Yangon departs 1720 arrives 1750
W9 9607 Yangon-Chiang Mai departs 1450 arrives 1620
Flights are every Thursday and Sunday
one way fare $225 USD per person which includes all taxes, etc.

Cash only so I would have made the reservation and paid cash to their office in CM. It didn't work for us as we were leaving on a Monday and I thought the price a bit high. We eventually flew on 02/10/2014 from Chiang Rai to Bangkok one way, then round trip 02/10/2014; 03/10/2014 Bangkok-Yangon-Bangkok. I booked Air Asia and paid 3654.70 baht or $123.68 total for 2 adults for the one way and 11140 baht or $359.43 total for 2 adults for the round trip at the time I made the booking back in 2013.

chris45ny,
Thank you very much for that detailed info about the flights.
I now see that the flights between CM and Yangon are very infrequent. We are hesitant to rely on that schedule, as a cancellation (or a change in schedule prior to our travel next winter) would spoil our entire itinerary. So I think that we'll go to CM from Yangon (connecting in BKK). We plan to buy the Discovery Pass, as suggested above.

Is it the same airport in BKK, to connect to the flight to CM?

Also, we'll probably fly from CM to BKK to connect to our United flight back to EWR. Is that the same airport, or will we need to be driven to the other airport for the flight back to NY?

Thank you so much.

If you are flying Bangkok Air, then yes, it's the same airport (BKK). If you are flying Air Asia, the domestic flights leave from the old airport. The Discovery Pass makes good sense for you, IMO.

Bookmarking

Our son and family is now living in Yangon, suggests Governor's Residence followed by The Strand.
We'll see for ourselves in December.
Don't wait to reserve you are in high season and hotels don't have large volume of rooms.

The Governor's Residence is lovely, but out of the center of the city (which you might see as an advantage or a disadvantage). We have visited that hotel each time we have been in Yangon, but prefer to stay at the Strand.

We just finalized our itinerary and have committed to the trip! This will be in the end of January into February, 2015. We decided to go to Chiang Mai prior to Myanmar. Many thanks to all of you for your excellent advice during my planning stages. I appreciate your many suggestions. We are of course looking forward to this exciting journey!

Have a wonderful time! And do come back and tell us all about it.

Have a great trip...and by planning far in advance you may still be able to tweak the trip a bit before your internal flights are booked. We will be in India at the same time that you are in Myanmar and I have been reading your recent trip report with great interest. I'll try to chime in if you have more questions, we were in Myanmar in July 2013.

Thank you Kathie and FromDC. I read and enjoyed both your TR's while planning our trip, and your detailed reports really helped us very much! All our flights, hotels, etc. are arranged. Thanks so much, everyone, for your advice and enthusiasm.