Need a guide in Burma?
 

A month to go until our Burma trip. We booked everything through Myanmar Shalom, ad they have included a local guide for every stop (Bagan, Inle, Yangon). One, do we even need a guide? And for those with experience with such things, the guide strikes me as confining...am I wrong?

You really don't need a guide anywhere in Myanmar if you are willing to learn about the places you want to visit on your own. Personally, I rarely use a guide. I wrote an article about this on our travel blog which you might find useful: http://www.travelindependently.com/i...de-or-no-guide

In any case, the agency you are working with wants you to enjoy your trip, so do tell them what you want and what you don't want.

Kathie, thanks. I am concerned that the guide (with his car, etc) would restrict us say in Bagan if we wanted to tour by horse cart, or in Inle where we want to take your suggestion and visit Sangar....

I think you can work it to have the best of both worlds. For instance, in Bagan, your guide can help you hire a horse cart and go with you. On Inle Lake, your guide can provide you with insight that you wouldn't normally get if you were alone in a boat with just the driver.

We've been working with a different TA on a similar trip, but I agree with Kathie, that you need to set the tone for what you want. If you want a free day in any of those places, your agent will build that into your itinerary.

You can utilize the guide to get you other services as internet says, or you can have days without a guide and negotiate those things yourself. I wouldn't have wanted a guide with us on Inle (though you will likely get a Pa-O guide as you get toward Sankar (one of many spellings). Likewise, I wouldn't have wanted go-between in hiring a horsecart. It depends on what you want and what you are comfortable with.