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Myanmar is generally safe for traveling. Anyway, the better your preparation, the more enjoyable you will get on tour. Please read our safe instruction carefully for maximum fun moments on your trip

Crime and fraud

Myanmar (Burma) is a generally a very safe country to travel in and crime targeting tourists is rare. Nonetheless, you should apply common sense as you would when travelling anywhere. Make sure your spending money is out of sight and near your body, and keep jewelry to a minimum. You may wish to use a money belt, especially if you are travelling on trains during your stay.

In major cities, we recommend travelling by taxi if you are out at night. Make sure you negotiate and agree to a price before you get in. It is always a good idea to carry a hotel address card with you to show your driver.

While on holiday to any places, including but not limited to Myanmar, always keep a copy of your essential documents i.e. Passport, airline tickets, credit cards and traveller’s cheques, separate from the originals in a safe place. Because, just in case of lost, it is much easier and quicker to solve the issue. Most hotels have room-safes or deposit boxes at reception where you can store valuables.

Medical care

As with travelling to other parts of Asia, you need to take precautions when visiting Myanmar. Mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and Japanese encephalitis are endemic in Myanmar. You should talk to your doctor about prophylaxis, and ensure you bring clothing that covers your arms and legs as well as a good quality repellent. We strongly recommend you consult your doctor with regards to vaccinations and up-to-date health advice at least a month before you depart.

Medical facilities outside main cities are extremely limited. In the event that you require any surgical treatment, you will likely need to be evacuated to Bangkok or Singapore.

Money exchange

The official Burmese currency is the Kyat (MMK) and you should plan to use this in most parts of the country, although USD is also widely accepted. Exchange rates fluctuate so we recommend keeping USD and exchanging as you travel.

It is best to carry USD cash as your main source of money. There are very few ATMs, travelers cheques are not widely accepted, and your credit card may only be accepted in a limited number of larger hotels and businesses. In addition, commission rates can be quite high in some places. Check out our guide for money and currency in Myanmar!

Ensure that the USD notes you bring are new, clean and undamaged, otherwise they may not be accepted. It is a good idea to keep receipts for any purchases as you may be asked to supply them by Burmese customs officials on departure.

HIT Myanmar Tours, a local tour operator in Myanmar, has reviewed the last year of 2016 and announce the trend of Myanmar tours by oversea travelers in 2017. The most nominated tendency in 2017 is predicted that to keep the mainstream ideas since 2016 while adding some new itineraries as the result of Myanmar more open to the remaining part of the word.

New ideas for your Myanmar Tours in 2017

1. Myanmar tours with Indochina countries

After few years of opening, many regional airline carriers established direct flights to and from Yangon. The most popular ideas for your pre and post tours in Myanmar is Bangkok (Thailand) and Sai gon (Vietnam). Cheap airlines like Air Asia and Vietjet Air opened daily flights to connect those cities. From Bangkok, you can easily connect to your international flights with some stopover trips. From Sai gon, you can explore Mekong delta or world-class beaches via some hour’s road transfer. That beaches in Vietnam will definitely fulfill beach lovers when they finally find beaches in Myanmar have to shut in the summer time.

Bangkok and Sai gon also offer the best and cheapest ways to connect to Siem Reap (Cambodia), Kula Lumpur (Malaysia) or Singapore.

2. Short but insight excursions for ocean cruise passengers

The year of 2016 witnessed the blooming numbers of huge, oceania cruise ships visiting Myanmar – Thilawa port – 1-hour drive from Yangon. The docking durations vary from 1 day up to 3 days. Those durations are not long enough to cover the whole overland package tours but they are enough to see an insight picture at a stop.

The top loved off shore excursions are Yangon city tours, and its surroundings like Bago, Dala, and Twante. The longer, overnight stay docking will offer its passengers traveling further with overnight trips in Yangon or Bagan or Inle lake. Experiences of those excursions are exotic and luxurious.

3. Myanmar Adventure tours

Myanmar adventure tours are emerging as a star in 2016 of our trips. Even though the adventurous activities in Myanmar is quite limited in trekking, hiking, and cycling. Water related sports mostly in Mergui with diving and snorkeling. The most popular trekking trails are in Inle Lake and surroundings such as Kalaw and Loikaw with stunning natural beauty. Adding to those places, Putao is the most wanted spot with breathtaking views under Himalaya shadows. However, due to its location shared the border with China and political policies, Putao sometimes is shut down without prior notice.

Biking in Myanmar is the top activity in an adventure in Myanmar. It’s easy to join and the hardship can be customized to fit various physical conditions. For the novice, bikers can take some days biking in the package tour in Myanmar and the remaining parts are with private vehicles. For more professional ones, you can take the grand over land Myanmar on bikes with up to 50 – 60km biking per day.

Best Places in Myanmar are still very hot

1. Bests of Myanmar tour and its variations

This was the hot picked tour during the whole year of 2016. After few years of opening, Myanmar was just known as the whole country and most of the travelers’ ideas wanted to catch its best places to visit. Then the tour Bests of Myanmar in 12 days covering Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay, Inle Lake, and Ngapali in a very nice itinerary was mostly selected.

This Myanmar tour has many variations – shorter or longer versions – very much depending on the traveler’s schedule. The most popular variations seen are the shorter ones – in 10days and the longer ones in 14 – 15 days. This will be much better options for those ones having an easy travel plan because that longer versions definitely give more inside look at each stops.

2. Myanmar photography tour

Myanmar country is absolutely beautiful and can satisfy professional photographers. HIT Myanmar Tours see many travelers who actually are freelance photographers hunted for lifetime moments in Myanmar.

The top favorite topics are portrait photos, natural scenery (such as in Inle lake), stupas and pagodas photos – especially in Bagan, sunset hunting, photo shooting from balloons and ethnic people. The masterpieces from those photography tours can astonish any viewers.

Late 2016, HIT Myanmar tour was honored to serve Mr. Michael Kennedy a professional photographer for 20 years, primarily a photojournalist. He achieved publication in many newspapers and magazines, including Sports Illustrated, a prominent American magazine. And he shared these stunning images of Myanmar.

3. Myanmar biking tour

A cycling tour is a top favorite adventure in Myanmar this last year. The mix of different terrains including semi-safari, sandy road, mountain trails, and quiet village roads is a real enjoyable challenge to riders.

The best cycling Myanmar itinerary is often in 10 – 14 days covering all top things to see in Myanmar with average cycling distance around 30 – 50km per day. The riders are expected to relatively fit in physical health. The passenger used a bicycle to traverse around the country with a support truck escorted along.

For those ones less active, the short bicycle trip added at each destination as active intervals during sightseeing trips. The mode of transport mostly was private cars and flight to connect among main spots.

4. Hot air balloon and Balloon festival

Despite the fact that the prices for hot air Balloon are quite expensive – around 300$ per person per 45 minutes ride, this activity option was still hot picked in Myanmar tours. The balloon was often overbooked and the booking in several months in advance was always advised to travelers.

The hot air balloon strongly depends on weather conditions and only run from October to April next year. However, the view from the balloon, especially balloon over Bagan, is so inevitably superb that no one wants to miss this if they can afford it. The passenger must inform their weight when booking hot air balloons. The cancellation due to bad weather will be refunded.

5. Myanmar tours with river cruises.

The river cruises in Myanmar mostly connects three main places Yangon, Bagan, and Mandalay via the giant Irrawaddy River. The most popular rout is between Bagan and Mandalay and vice versa. That means instead of taking flights between two places, the travelers would board on a river cruise and stay overnight in a private, en-suite cabin for 2 or 3 days. The cruise itinerary includes with several short excursions to discover local life along river banks.

This is a very good alternative to classic travel in Myanmar that mostly use the domestic flights. In 2016, HIT Myanmar tours observed the good increase of those itineraries in Myanmar.

6. Myanmar beach breaks

The most beautiful beach of Myanmar is Ngapali beach with hot, sunshine weather all year round. This beach is very famous for its calm water and white sandy beach. Customers to Myanmar last year tended to add the beach stay by the end of their Myanmar holidays before ending up in Yangon. Ngapali beach can be connected by short domestic flights from all top places such as Inle Lake, Bagan, Mandalay or Yangon.

However, Ngapali beach is not regretfully available during summer time from May to Sep due to very bad weather of those months. This is the rainy season, the beach becomes muddy and most of the accommodation shut down. If you travel during this time, HIT Myanmar strongly recommends a short extension to Vietnam. The flight from Yangon to Sai gon (Vietnam) is cheap by Vietjet Air, the beaches with few hours road transfer such as Vung Tau, Mui Ne will surely get you lost in tropical heavens by their crystal water, silver waves, and tranquil coconuts, white and endless sand dunes.

On the tours: Safe & Enjoyable