Call of Irrawaddy

The Call of Irrawaddy River Tour was proposed to share Burma’s charming reminders of colonial time and thousands of well-preserved pagodas with the world. Traveling overland, by air and on water; you will discover why the beautiful country is often dubbed the Golden Land. Cruise journey on Burma’s Ayeyarwaddy River will be one of your life’s great travel experiences.

Tour Duration: 10 days 09 nights
Start: Yangon – Finish: Yangon
Tour Type: Cruise, Luxury
Tour Operates: Year round/Upon request
Activity Level: Moderate
Tour Route: Yangon – Bagan – Mandalay – Pyin Oo Lwin – Pindaya – Inle Lake
Price: Contact us

Day by Day Tours

Day 01: Yangon
Day 02: Yangon – Bagan Temples
Day 03: Balloon Ride – Cruise to Mandalay
Day 04: Cruise to Mandalay
Day 05: Mandalay Sightseeing
Day 06: Maymyo (Pyin Oo Lwin) Excursion
Day 07: Mandalay – Pindaya Caves – Nyaungshwe
Day 08: Inle Lake – Indein
Day 09: Inle – Yangon
Day 10: Yangon Departure

Tour Prices (US$/person)

Group of 02 persons  : OnRequest
Group of 04 persons  : OnRequest

Important notes:
Surcharge in Peak Times eg: Christmas, New Year Eve, and Water festival may be applicable.

I NEED TAILOR-MADE

I’LL TAKE THIS TOUR

DETAILED ITINERARY:

Day 1: Yangon

Upon arrival at Yangon airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Visit the Sule pagoda and the bustling downtown area, taking in the rich colonial architecture and bustling streets and markets. In the afternoon we make our way to the Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda, which is home to a huge Colossal Reclining Buddha. The highlight of the day is a visit to the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda, the most outstanding and revered Buddhist pagoda in Burma, whose golden stupa dominates the skyline of Yangon. This is also the most ideal spot from which to watch the sunset in Yangon. Return to the hotel for rest and free to discover the city at night.

Accommodation in Yangon.  Meal: Welcomed dinner

Day 2: Yangon – Bagan Temples

Fly to Bagan. Begin your tour today with the visit to the vibrant Nyaung Oo Market, the economic center of Bagan. Local people gather at this bustling market daily, to buy and sell a variety of goods, from fruit and vegetables to clothing, china, and lacquerware. Continue to the gold-plated Shwezigon Pagoda, Bagan’s greatest reliquary, built to house relics of the Buddha brought from abroad. From here, drive to the small village of Wetkyi-in to see the wonderful Kubyaukgyi Temple, renowned for its ancient murals, Ananda temple, one of the most well-preserved monuments in entire Bagan. Your morning excursion also includes the Htilominlo Temple, which houses four Buddha figures on the ground floor and four more on the first floor. After lunch, continue your exploration of the city’s treasure trove of Buddhist art and architecture then a visit to the lacquarware factory. The highlight of this day is the sunset from the second highest temple the Shwenandaw.

Accommodation in Bagan.  Meal: Breakfast

Horse cart in Bagan, Myanmar

Day 03: Balloon Ride – Cruise to Mandalay

Get up early in the morning then admire the beauty of Bagan from space when you float on a Balloon Ride. After that, being transferred to Gawwein Jetty to embark on a charming cruise, going upstream to Mandalay. As the cruise makes its way to Mandalay, you can see the myriad of spectacular scenes along the river. In the late afternoon, we stop off way to visit a local village then discover the local life. The delicious dinner will be served onboard, added with a dance and drama performance.

Accommodation on board.  Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 04: Cruise to Mandalay

This day we halt enroute to visit Yandabo Pottery village to see the pottery making process at various stages. Yandabo is the place where the Peace Yandabo Treaty was signed between the British and Royal Burmese House-hold of Ava. Moor overnight at the Ywar Thit Gyi or Pauk Myaing Pauk Taw village nearby, a few miles away from Ava Bridge.

Accommodation on board.  Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Yandabo Village, Burma

Day 05: Mandalay Sightseeing

Get up early in the morning to admire the sunrise on the river. The cruise will disembark at Sagaing Jetty (Thursday only) or Gawwein jetty (Sunday Only) at around 09.30/10.00 hrs. The highlights of this day include Mahamuni Image Pagoda. After lunchtime, we will continues with another visit to the Imperial Palace, Shwenandaw Monastery which is well known for its exquisite wood carvings, followed by Atumashi Monastery and Kuthodaw pagoda – the world’s largest book with its 729 slabs of Marble engrave with Buddha scriptures. The evening ends with a stunning view treated at Mandalay Hill.

Accommodation in Mandalay.  Meal: Breakfast

Kuthodaw Pagoda, Mandalay, Burma

Day 06: Maymyo (Pyin Oo Lwin) Excursion

Leave Mandalay for Maymyo, the former British hill station, now called Pyin Oo Lwin, after a scenic two-hour drive. You will find out many reminders of the colonial era still present now in Pyin Oo Lwin, including brick and timber houses. Lay back on a leisurely traditional horse and carriage ride through the town and walk around to see the beautiful recently renovated Botanical Gardens. You also have chance to visit the local market in the center of the town near to the clock tower. After lunchtime, we will pay a visit to Peik Chin Myaung Cave, followed by a stop at a winemaking workshop before returning by road to Mandalay.

Accommodation in Mandalay.  Meal: Breakfast

Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay, Burma

Day 07: Mandalay – Pindaya Caves – Nyaungshwe

Fly to Heho in the Shan state in the morning. Upon arrival, drive to Pindaya to visit the fascinating Pindaya caves with more than 8,000 Buddha images. Later we get to know about the method the local people in Shan state make the umbrellas from cottage material. Overnight in Pindaya. A scenic drive takes you to Nyaungshwe where you take a 30-minute private boat to the hotel. Overnight in Inle Lake

Accommodation in Pindaya. Meal: Breakfast

Day 08: Inle Lake – Indein

Skimming along the waterways in a long-tail boat, catch a first glimpse of floating gardens, stilt houses, and fishermen propelling their skiffs with one leg wrapped around an oar. Visit the infamous Phaung Daw U Pagoda, which enshrines five Buddha images believed to have been carried to this area by the widely-traveled 12thcentury King Alaungsithu. After lunch, we discover the ruined Indein, situated on the southwestern corner of the lake. Here you can wander through a typical lakeside village and observe local people in their daily activities. From the top of old Shwe Inn Dein, an impressive collection of ancient and unrestored Shan style stupas, enjoy a stunning view out across the lake and beyond.

Accommodation in Inle Lake. Meal: Breakfast

Day 09: Inle – Yangon

Return to Yangon then continue to visit Botahtaung Pagoda and the busy 79-year old Scott market with its large collection of local handicrafts, souvenirs and other items. If time permits, we will visit the White Jade Buddha temple which houses the largest marble statue in the world weighing 500 tons. Free at leisure.

Accommodation in Yangon. Meal: Breakfast

Botataung Pagoda, Yangon, Burma

Day 10: Yangon Departure

Taking your flight back home with impressive memory of Burma.

Accommodation: Not available. Meal: Breakfast

Enjoy your tours with Our top favourite Burma package tours

Tour Prices (US$/person)

Group of 02 persons  : OnRequest
Group of 04 persons  : OnRequest

Important notes:
Surcharge in Peak Times eg: Christmas, New Year Eve, and Water festival may be applicable.

I NEED TAILOR-MADE

I’LL TAKE THIS TOUR

Essential Notes

Passports and Visas

The first thing goes first. You definitely must obtain valid VISA in order to travel into any country and so is Myanmar (Burma). Unless your country is in VISA exemption list, it is your responsibility to get valid VISA before arrival. There are two ways to get Myanmar VISA:

• Go to Myanmar Embassies and Consulates in your home country and you will be guided procedure. You may want to check the list of countries where Myanmar has embassies and consulate offices by clicking here.
• Obtain VISA On Arrival (VOA). For tourists coming from countries has no Myanmar Diplomatic Rep offices, you can obtain VOA online via www.myanmarevisa.gov.mm – the official portal for VOA by Myanmar government. The portal launched in Sep 01, 2014 and took its pilot operation for a month. Providing you encounter any issue, please contact us for support.

Climate & Clothing

Generally speaking, Myanmar is a tropical country with rather hot weather. Sometimes in year or in some Northern places, temperature cools down but not that can be called cold. Roughly saying that the best time to travel Myanmar is from Oct to March due to dry and cool season. Other months, however, you may get very nice deals of promotion.For clothing: comfortable clothes, absolutely. We suggest you should take at least one long pan, a long skirt and a sleeve top because we will visit some religious site and many of them require proper code of dress.All of temples and pagodas require you enter with bare feet. A pair of sandals is highly recommended.

Cell Phones & Calling Cards

You may wish to carry a cell phone while traveling. Check with your cell phone provider if your phone will work in the destination(s) you are visiting. Myanmar service is dominated by the GMS technology standard, while some of the world such as U.S uses the incompatible CDMA standard. We suggest that you should check carefully or you may incur high international roaming fees.We said previously “the SIM card in Myanmar is not very popular and still quite expensive”. But now, forget it! SIM cards in Myanmar now are cheap and easy to buy in any main city as cheap as about US$ 02 each. Cell phones, even smart phones are available on sales widely.

Making Telephone Calls from One Country to Another

When dialing a number from one country to another, you should proceed as follows: dial your country’s Exit Code + destination Country Code + Phone Number. Country Code of Myanmar is 95.

Wireless Internet Access

Passengers traveling with WiFi enabled devices (such as a personal computer, smartphone, tablet, or digital audio player) may be able to connect to the internet via a wireless network access point (or hotspot). Wifi is now popular in most hotels from three stars up. Most of them are supplying Free Wifi but some may incur extra charges. We suggest you should ask the receptionist before.

Cards and Currency

Myanmar’s national currency, the KYAT (pronounced chat, abbreviated in MMK) is divided into the following banknotes: K1, K5, K10, K20, K50, K100, K200, K500 and K1000.We once said “ATMs are still very hard to come” but from my latest inspection of Myanmar, the country now starts using ATMs. Most three stars hotels up often have at least one AMT machine right at their lobbies. Main hotels now accepts credit cards payment.Anyway, we suggest you should bring with some cashes just in case. Local buying there accept Burmese and US dollars widely. However please pay at attention when bring US notes with you:

• The US$ notes must be new.
• The US$ notes torn, marked, folded will not be accepted.
• The US$ notes having series before 2003 backward may not accepted.

You are allowed to bring up to US$ 5000 in cash per person to enter Myanmar.

Trip Preparation

A little pre-planning can make your trip go a lot smoother. We suggest you should taking a checklist below:

• Several weeks before your trip, make a list of what you will need to take with you.
• Make sure your personal documents (passports, visas, driver’s license) are in order.
• We suggest that you make photocopies of passports, visas, personal ID and any other important travel documents and pack them separately from the originals. If you lose the originals while traveling, you’ll have copies for easier reporting and replacement.
• You may consider bringing a small supply of over the counter medications for headaches and/or anti-diarrhea pills. Pack a list of medications including dosage and generic names.
• We recommend that you pack a portable alarm clock.
• Avoid placing valuables such as cameras in your checked luggage.

Happy Travelling with CRYSTAL HOLIDAYS ASIA!

Free Quote