Can anyone suggest a good itinerary for my husband and I who plan to visit Burma in January? I was looking at boat trips down the Ayeyarwady River but I am not particularly keen on fancy group tours. Is this something one can do on one's own or is it necessary to hire a tour company? Also, any suggestions on places to stay and visit are welcome.

I brought your post up because we plan to visit Myanmar (Burma) next February. I think you will get better responses if you do some research first (try doing a search on this forum for example) and then post more specific questions. We are very independent travelers but are hiring a Myanmar-based tour company for a tour just for the two of us. Based on trip reports posted here, I recommend that you do the same.

I planned to visit Burma last December but had to cancel at the last minute due to health problems. I had an itinerary completely put together and would be happy to pass along details to you. I was working with an in-country operator, Gracious Myanmar Travel, and they were great to work with. They made all of my arrangements, including a guide and driver. In terms of the boat trip, I'd planned to take the local ferry from Mandalay to Bagan, but decided to take the Pandaw Teak boat for one night as I was traveling alone.

Nan-- it's good to hear from you. When we were in Rangoon last January Nyi Nyi and Sonny asked about you.

I would also strongly recommend Gracious Myanmar -- have used them twice. And if you can get Nyi Nyi as a guide you will be VERY happy.

As for an itineray -- how long will you be there? And, very important, what do you want to experience/learn/see?

I love Burma and have been there twice -- one for close to a month and once for five days. However, I have specific interests which may not be your's so before I make suggestions I'd like to know what your interests are.

Dear Netso: If you want a persoal guide who will provide best hotel prices, airfar,visas, and all the advice you will need, contact Kyaw Naing a licenced tour guide. Send him a trial E Mail with all your questions and he will reply in short order 7-12 days. We have used him twice and our planning our 3rd trip with him. Kyaw Naing at [email protected]

All the best Ed -Gloria

I went to "Burma" a couple years ago, putting together my own itinerary, making my own arrangements, and hiring local guides when needed.

If you hire a tour agency, my advice won't matter. But if you do it yourself, one thing I ran into was that many of the internal flights are multiple hops, and the direction of the circles changes from clockwise to counterclockwise depending on the season. So, one of the first things to do would be to get the flight times for the period of your trip and make sure those work for you before booking lodging or anything else. Cheers!

Hi- just returned from visiting Myanmar.We did it as independent travellers.We found that there were numerous ways you could travel around. Some people were like us and arranged everything themselves, others had a guide with them the whole trip and others were on an organised group tour. I can provide a bit more info on the independent method if you want.
In terms of the boat trip we took the 12 hour boat tour from Mandalay to Bagan and loved it! The boat itself is not used by the everyday Burmese although there were some Burmese on board-it was mostly tourists like ourselves. However, I would recommend it as a great way to see life by the river.It was also a time to just "chill out". We asked our hotel to organise the tickets for us. It costs US$18. Make sure you also ask the hotel you stay at to organise a breakfast box for you as you need to be at the boat if leaving from Mandalay at 6am.

Has anyone had any experience with the husband and wife team at
They sound knowledgeable and quickly answered my questions re: bringing cash and the trips are private.
http://www.travel-myanmar.net/index.htm

How about a trip report albaaust - where did you go, what did you see, where did you stay and where did you eat? Doesn't matter whether you went independently or with a tour - your advice is useful either way because those of us that are using tour companies are mostly using them for hotel and air reservations.

Hi Craig knew you would be interested and I am keen to write about the trip and provide a little more insights as best I can after all the help I got from various Fodorites and especially from you!

Just gathering my thoughts....

Albaaust, We're going to Burma in February, so we're also very interested in your trip report.

jenskar-- I think the man used to work at another agency but I'm not sure. I have used the following agency twice and with wonderful results. If you contact them, feel free to use my name and also request Nyi Nyi as your guide. He is outstanding.

http://www.myanmartravelagent.com/greeting.htm

I don’t want to get heavy here, but have you guys thought about the dark side of travel to Burma? Sure, the country may appear to be an idyllic place, but it’s not. Aung San Suu Kyi, the elected leader of Burma, has been denied power and is now under house arrest. The British Foreign Office and the Burmese democracy movement have asked people not to visit the country. The UN describes Burma as a “saga of untold misery and suffering, oppression and exploitation.”

Tourists, like yourselves bring hard cash, which helps fund the regime and gives it legitimacy. Among other considerations, forced and child labour was used to develop many tourist facilities.

Tourists can try to patronize privately owned services, but this does not guarantee that funds will not reach the authorities. What may seem like a privately owned hotel or restaurant may in fact belong to the regime’s own families and business contacts.

Even for those tourists wishing to see Burma’s problems first hand, there is very little opportunity to discover the realities of life. People are not free to discuss politics with foreigners and can face punishment or imprisonment if caught.

The fact is many tourists have decided to respect the wishes of Burma’s democrats and do not go to Burma on holiday, as have most major tour operators.

Tillyl:

Your concern has been addressed on this board too many times to mention. Do some research!

Here we go again...

There are alot of smart, thoughtful people on both sides of this debate. I will say, though, that of the money we spent while we were in Burma earlier this summer I don't think that very much of it (with the exception of entrance fees and the like) went to the government. Obviously everybody has to make their own call, but in my opinion only Burma is a rare and wonderful destination. I would have no hesitation in returning.

Note to Hawaiiantraveler and Craig. This issue may have been discussed previously, but does that mean it can't be addressed again? Surely there are new travelers who may be thinking of going to Burma. And why does it bother you to talk about human rights some more? The same abuses exist. If anything, they're getting worse.

Tillyl:

you said in your first post:

"I don’t want to get heavy here, but have you guys thought about the dark side of travel to Burma?"

Which is why I answered your question with:

"Your concern has been addressed on this board too many times to mention. Do some research!"

Yes, we all know abouts ASSK's situation as it has been discussed here many times which is why I suggested you do some research on this board about the subject before lecturing all of us about your political views in your very first post on Fodor's travel forum.

Annnnnnnnnd it does not bother me at all to talk about human rights abuses, I am very concerned which is why I have not yet traveled to Burma but this is a travel forum and not a civil rights class.

Aloha!

Well said, HT. It is obvious that this one-time poster is communicating the standard line put forth by their government and has not even bothered to research the opinions on this forum or elsewhere. If this poster actually spent the time to read what others have said, they would realize that very few people on this forum are considering a trip to Myanmar and that those who have are doing good. Also that "the Lady" who is "now" (now = 17 years I guess) under house arrest has changed her stance on visitors. What always ticks me off about this debate is that there are human rights issues in many countries that are ignored because western countries do business with them and do not discourage tourism in the same way.