Road to Mandalay cruise

Experience the enchanting sights, scents and sounds of the Ayeyarwady River with 3 to 14 nights cruises aboard the Road To Mandalay.

CABINS

Accommodation in this graceful river cruiser seamlessly blends tradition comfort with complete luxury. Cabins are spacious, air conditioned and furnished with bright, airy fabrics.

Five cabin categories are available on Road To Mandalay. Features include a personal safe, telephone, satellite television, en-suite bathroom and shower amenities.

View our cabin configurations:

• Governor’s Suite
• State Cabin
• Deluxe Cabin
• Superior Cabin
• Single Cabin

RESTAURANT & BARS

On Road To Mandalay you’ll find an enticing range of dishes, including Burmese, Thai, Indonesian, Indian and European specialities.

Early morning tea and coffee is available in your cabin on request, followed by a full breakfast. An extensive buffet-style lunch is served on the observation deck or in the restaurant.

Dinners are served in the restaurant and offer a choice of succulent dishes to cater to all tastes. Carefully selected wines are also available to complement your meal.

14 NIGHTS FROM RANGOON TO MANDALAY

Day by Day Tours

Day 1 Yangon
Day 2 Irrawaddy Delta
Day 3 Danupyu
Day 4 Manaugn and Tonbo
Day 5 Prome
Day 6 Thayetmyo Frontier Post
Day 7 MinhLa Forts
Day 8 Magwe Gold Bricks
Day 9 Sale
Day 10 Pagan
Day 11 Pagan – Theingone Monastery
Day 12 Yandabo
Day 13 Ava and Amarapura old Capitals
Day 14 Sagaing Hills and Mandalay
Day 15 Mandalay

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.

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DETAILED ITINERARY:

Day 1 Yangon

International arrivals in Rangoon. Transfer to ship moored in the heart of colonial ‘Downtown’ Yangon. Afternoon sight seeing and visit to the spectacular Shwedagon Pagoda for sunset.

Day 2 Irrawaddy Delta

Sail with the first tide up the Rangoon River and enter the Twante Canal, which connects the Yangon River with the Irrawaddy Delta. We stop on route at the Twante village to visit the potteries there, famed for their enormous water pots. Arrive Yandoon for evening walk in this delightful Delta town.

Horse cart in Twante Village, Burma

Day 3 Danupyu

Continue our exploration of Delta creeks and stop at Donabyu, another little known town with a busy port and bustling markets. In the First Anglo Burmese War of 1825 the Burmese general Maha-Bandoola was defeated here following a long and near disastrous campaign by the British. Moor overnight off Henzada.

Day 4 Manaugn and Tonbo

Sailing all day we stop to visit the markets and see old colonial buildings in the sleepy Delta town of Manaung and now enter the Irrawaddy River itself. We continue to moor for the night at Tonbo.

Day 5 Prome

Stop at the famous A Kauk Taung to explore the spectacular stone carving on the cliff. We reach Prome by early afternoon and travel by coach to the 5th-8th century archaeological site of Thiri-ya-kittiya, former centre of the Pyu civilization with a fascinating museum of early Buddhist artifacts and sculpture.

Day 6 Thayetmyo Frontier Post

This pleasant colonial town once guarded the border between Royal Myanmar and British Myanmar following the 2nd Anglo Myanma War of 1855. Many of the buildings including the covered market date from this period. Thayet also boasts the oldest golf course in Myanmar (1885). We visit the market, see the colonial houses and ride out by horse cart to the golf course, passing trough the former British botanical garden.

Day 7 MinhLa Forts

Minhla and Gwechaung – We visit the two Italian built forts constructed to keep the British at bay from Royal Myanmar. We climb the Gwechaung hill for the view. These were captured by the British in the 3rd Anglo Myanma War. The fight for the Minhla redoubt was the only serious action in the war and the death of a young subaltern inspired Kipling to write a poem.

Day 8 Magwe Gold Bricks

We ride Trishaws to reach the magnificent Myat-thalon Pagoda, constructed with solid gold bricks. Of interest are the many nat shrines and hermitages within the temple precincts.

Day 9 Sale

Here we visit the Yout-saun-kyaung monastery with its spectacular wood carvings; we also explore an area of splendid colonial-style houses and continue sailing upstream.

Salay, Burma

Day 10 Pagan

In the morning the ship will moor at Tan Chi Taung mountain and ascend by WWII jeep. In the afternoon, we tour a selection of the 3,000 listed monuments at this World Heritage Site, Pagan.

Day 11 Pagan – Theingone Monastery

Further explorations of Pagan. We cast off at lunchtime and proceed to the Ohn Ne Kyaung village to see the local life in this typical riverside community.

Bagan, Burma

Day 12 Yandabo

This small rural village specialises in pot making. We visit the Pandaw School and the new dispensary both built with past donations from Pandaw passengers.

Yandabo Village, Burma

Day 13 Ava and Amarapura old Capitals

We explore these ancient capitals visiting the teak Bagaya Kyaung, Menu Ok-kyaung. We cross the famous U Bein Bridge to see the paintings in a temple and come back in sampan.

Horse cart in Ava, Mandalay, Burma

Day 14 Sagaing Hills and Mandalay

The true delight of Sagaing lies in its 1.000 hermitages and sanctuaries, rich in woodcarving and religious art. In the afternoon we tour central Mandalay visiting the Mahamuni Pagoda and Shwe-im-bin teak carved monastery. We see tapestry making and other traditional crafts.

Sagaing, Mandalay, Burma

Day 15 Mandalay

Disembark the ship between 8.00 am – 9.00 am at Shwe Kyet Yet Jetty, Mandalay.

Enjoy your tours with Our top favorite Burma Luxury tours

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!

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