16 Days Myanmar Laos and Thailand Exploration Tour

After morning breakfast, your tour guide will pick you up at 8:30 am to Yangon Railway Station. Taking the local circular train journey to the outskirts of town (20-30 minutes ride).

1. Circular train journey: observing the lively and colorful life of the rural Burmese people.
2. Kyi Myin Daing Market: a variety of street vendors sell colorful wares, where you can explore the market and meet friendly locals.

Go back to the downtown area of Yangon to enjoy Myanmar cuisine. You’ll continue your tour in the afternoon. You’ll explore:

1. Old City Hall: A well-balanced blend of Western and Burmese architectural styles, listed on the Yangon City Heritage List.
2. Botahtaung Pagoda: features golden decorations inside and houses a sacred hair of Gautama Buddha.
3. Bogyoke Market: sells many Burmese traditional handicrafts including stone, wood, bronze carvings, and much more.
4. Kandawgyi Park: famous Karaweik, a concrete replica of a Burmese royal barge built in 1972, near Chaukhtetgyi Reclining Buddha Image.
5. Shwedagon Pagoda: an important Buddist icon, which has been described as one of the wonders of the world, plays a very important role in old Burmese history.

Enjoy the sunset over the Shwedagon pagoda, and then you’ll get back to the hotel for a good rest.

Enjoy your free time in the morning until transfer to the airport for an onward flight to Mandalay about 1 hour.

Welcome to Mandalay! Upon your arrival in Mandalay, your local guide will meet you at the airport and escort you to the hotel.

Around 5:30 pm, your tour guide will take you to Mandalay Hill to enjoy the stunning sunset. Nearby there are also many remarkable sights like:

1. The Golden Palace Monastery: famous for its exquisite wood carvings.
2. Kuthodaw Pagoda: housing the “Biggest book in the World”.
3. Kyauk Taw Gyi Pagoda: famous for its huge Marble Buddha.

After the tour, you will be escorted to the hotel and have a good rest.

After enjoying your breakfast, your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel in Mandalay at 7:30 am to 8:00 am. You’ll take a drive to Mingun, located 11 km up the Ayeyarwady River on the west bank from Mandalay. From here, you will explore the historic sites around Mandalay. In Mingun, you’ll visit:

1. Mingun Bell: the world's largest uncracked bell.
2. Pahtodawgyi Pagoda: the world's largest pile of bricks.
3. Myatheindan Pagoda: It's white and looks like the mythical Buddhist Mountain called Mount Meru.

You’ll then continue to Sagaing, the ancient capital of the Shan and Myanmar Kingdoms. Uncountable white-and-gold stupas are highlights of Sagaing. Sagaing Hill is widely regarded as the religious center of Myanmar. You’ll visit Soon Oo Pon Nya Shin Pagoda on the tranquil Sagaing Hill.

Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant in Sagaing. Crossing a bridge over the Irrawaddy River, you’ll take a horse cart to explore the ruins of the old royal capital.

1. 27m tall leaning tower.
2. Maha Aungmye Bonzan Monastery: built of brick in traditional style with elaborated stucco ornamentations that look like carvings.
3. Bargaya Monastery: a splendid teak wood monastery with wood carving.

Your last destination today is the Amarapura, the royal capital of Myanmar twice. In Amarapura, you’ll visit:

1. Mahargandaryon Monastery: the largest teaching monastery in Myanmar.
2. U Bein Bridge: exploring the local way of life and enjoying the sunset.
3. Weaving Workshop: weaving is the main business of Amarapura people.

After the tour, you will be escorted to the hotel, enjoy your free time, and have a good rest.

This morning, you’ll be transferred by private van to Bagan after enjoying breakfast. The total distance is 112 miles and will take about 3 hours. Upon arrival, you will be escorted to your hotel for check-in.

This afternoon, you’ll explore Bagan. In this ancient city, you’ll visit:

1. Thousands of Buddhist pagodas: over 4000 Buddhist temples and Pagodas sprinkled all across the town.
2. Nyaung Oo Market: locals buy and sell products.
3. Shwezigon Pagoda: the largest pagoda in Bagan painted with real gold.

Then enjoy a fun horse cart ride to a little village called Taung Phi for a view of a teak monastery. Keep riding in the horse cart around temples and winding roads, while the sun moves toward the horizon, making interesting shadows from the temples on the ground. You’ll visit Shesandaw Pagoda and watch one of the best sunsets in Southeast Asia.

Today, you need to get up early at 5:00 am to experience a beautiful hot air balloon flight over Bagan’s temples. 

Drifting over a panorama of a thousand ancient pagodas, silent in the shadow of low-slung mountains and against the banks of the mighty Irrawaddy River, you will have a wonderful overhead perspective of Bagan. It's a fantastic and interactive experience.

The entire experience will last about 2.5 hours. On landing, our fully trained Myanmar ground crew will pack the balloon whilst passengers enjoy a glass or two of celebratory champagne. You’ll receive a flight certificate signed by the pilot.

After enjoying a delicious breakfast, you have free time on your own until your tour guide picks you up at 1:00 pm-1:30 pm to Mount Popa.

1. Mount Popa: a dormant volcano in central Myanmar and the highest point of the Pegu Range.
2. Popa Taungkalat Monastery: a special monastery high up on a big rocky hill, offering beautiful views of the fields nearby and Mount Popa.
3. Nat Shrine: mannequin-like figures representing the 37 Nats, which is dedicated to animist spirits.

Note: You need to climb 777 steps to get to Popa Taungkalat Monastery. If you don’t want to do that, you can choose to visit the sandalwood forest and medical herb garden with plenty of flora and fauna.

After touring Mount Popa, a stop will be made at a palm tree plantation on the way back to the hotel in Bagan. Villagers earn money from these palm trees. It's a nice break where you can watch them work with palm trees.

After breakfast, you’ll be escorted to Mandalay for a nearly 4-hour drive and then take a flight to Bangkok for about 2 hours.

Welcome to Bangkok!

Upon arrival, our tour guide and driver will welcome you at the airport. You will be escorted to the hotel and check-in. The rest of the day is at your leisure for recovery.

Enjoy your breakfast in Bangkok and prepare to enjoy a full day’s Bangkok city’s exploration. In the morning, you will visit:

1. Wat Phra Kawe & the Grand Palace: a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, which has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam.
2. Ride like a Local by tuk-tuk to Wat Pho temple

Then, have a nice local lunch after the long morning tour, and have a short break.

In the afternoon, explore the city’s renowned klongs(canals) by boat and cruise the Chao Phraya River. Also, visit the following two sites:

1. Wat Arun: one of the most visited temples in all of Thailand
2. Royal Barge Museum: many exhibitions on Thai history, royalty, and Buddhism.

After the tour, you will be escorted to a spa center to enjoy one-hour traditional Thailand massage to relax your senses. Then go back to your hotel to have a good rest.

After breakfast, enjoy your time and wait for our tour guide to pick you up to the airport, taking a flight to Chiang Mai, about 80 minutes.

Welcome to Chiang Mai, a delightful city nestled in northern Thailand, celebrated for its rich culture and stunning natural beauty. Upon your arrival at the airport, our tour guide will warmly receive you and accompany you to the city center. You could have a rest in your hotel after arrival.

In the evening, here comes our most popular tour-street food tour. Your tour guide will pick you up at the hotel in Chiang Mai between 6:30 pm-7:00 pm and drop you off there at approximately 9:30 pm.

Evening Street Food Markets: trying out some northern Thai delicacies and learning how to order food in Thai.

Today, you will be picked up by our guide at 7:30 am – 8:00 am, to enjoy a full-day visit to Elephant Nature Park, which is a natural home and sanctuary for elephants, buffalos, and other rescued animals.

Watch the saved elephants in two different places where they live together with their friends. You can learn about their stories. Besides, you could get a cool view of the small groups of elephants from SkyWalk.

1. 'Hands Off' Project: This is where elephants freely roam together, and you can see them from the SkyWalk, which is a special viewing spot.
2. Watch the Herd: Take a walk in the park to see the elephants in their groups. You'll also learn their stories and what they need.
3. See Them Socialize: Watch the elephants hang out together, play in the mud, or roll in the sand after they've had a bath in the river.
4. Visit Rescued Animals: You can visit the Dog Project and Cat Kingdom to learn about the saved dogs and cats. Besides, you can meet other saved animals in the park.

Enjoy a tasty buffet with vegan food from Asia and the West. At 3:30 pm, it's time to say bye to the elephants. Then, we'll drive you back to your hotel or guesthouse in Chiang Mai.

Today you will be leaving for Chiang Rai. After breakfast, your tour guide will meet you at the hotel around 8:00 am. During the drive to Chiang Rai, you’ll visit:

1. Mae Kachan Hot Spring: hot water geysers; bathe feet in thermal water; boil quail eggs.
2. Meow Hill Tribe Village: located on the Mountain Doi Pui and once famous for opium cultivation.
3. Wat Rong Khun (White Temple): it's all white and has shiny pieces of glass that glimmer in the sunlight.

After lunch at a local restaurant, your Chiang Rai tour continues. In the afternoon, you’ll visit:

1. Wat Rong Suea Ten (Blue Temple): recognizable for its brilliant shade of rich sapphire.
2. Baan Dam (Black House): a special art museum with both old-style Thai buildings and new, unusual designs.

After the tour, your tour guide will escort you to the hotel for check-in. The rest of the day is yours.

The Golden Triangle is a mysterious region for most of Indochina tourists. Today you will enjoy a full-day excursion to the heart of the Golden Triangle region.

After breakfast, your tour guide will meet you around 8:00 am and take you to the Long Neck Karen village. The Long Neck Hill tribe people are relocated from the Thai and Myanmar border.

And then, you will go to Mt. Doi Mae Salong to visit the Chinese village on the top of the mountain.

Lunch will be at a local restaurant. After a short break, you will continue the trip to the highest peak on the Thai-Myanmar border in the afternoon:

1. Doi Tung: provides an opportunity to view many different Lahu and Akha villages as well as terraced farming areas and see from a distance the Princess Mother's frigid flower Garden.
2. Doi Tung Temple: built in A.D.1493, located at the peak. Its scenery reminds one of Switzerland, and features many unique images and temple architecture overlooking the entire northern rice field plain.
3. Opium Museum: learn more about the region’s opium trade.

After the tour, return to the hotel and rest of the day free at leisure.

After breakfast, you will be escorted to Chiang Mai for a nearly 3-hour drive and then take a flight to Luang Prabang for about 1 hour.

Welcome to Luang Prabang! In this small town, you'll find lovely old French-style buildings, amazing temples and monasteries, and the big Mekong River, making it a really beautiful place you won't forget. Don't miss out the stunning sunset over the Mekong while enjoying a cold Beer Lao.

The rest of the day is at leisure. In the evening, you can wander around the city and the night market to discover the local life of Luang Prabang.

After breakfast, your tour guide will meet you at 8:00 am – 8:30 am to start the day of the Luang Prabang city tour. In the morning, you will visit:

1. Royal Palace Museum: once served as the residence of King Sisavang Vong and was designed in the French Beaux-Arts style with many interesting artifacts of traditional Lao culture.
2. Wat Sene: the oldest temple of Luang Prabang.
3. Wat Xiengthong: its roofs sweep low to the ground and represent classical Laotian architecture.
4. Wat Visoun: the oldest Buddhist temple and the city’s museum of religious arts.
5. Wat Aham: the monastery of the blossoming heart.

After eating a delicious Laotian lunch, you are going on a tour in the afternoon.

1. Arts and Ethnology Center: learning about Laos’ many ethnic cultures.
2. Weaving villages of Ban Xiengkhong and Ban Xienglek: known for their arts and crafts including saa paper and silk.

You can watch villagers making paper and weaving traditional textiles. After visiting the villages, you will return to the city for a visit to Wat Mai, which is one of Luang Prabang’s largest and most richly decorated temples.

After the tour, your tour guide will escort you to the hotel for the rest.

After breakfast, your tour guide will meet you at the hotel around 8:00 am – 8:30 am. The day begins with a boat ride up the Mekong River, which gives you a breathtaking view of the tranquil countryside. Along the way, you'll stop and visit:

1. Ban Xanghai village: the place where Laos' rice wine and rice whiskey are produced. You'll have the opportunity to try some and learn about the process used to make it.
2. Pak Ou Caves: two linked caves filled with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by pilgrims.

Lunch will be served near the caves. You'll try a local Laotian dish called "Orlam" which is a soup with vegetables and features a spicy wood that is partially edible. After a short rest, you’ll continue on your half-day tour to the beautiful Khouang Si Waterfall.

1. Bear Rescue Sanctuary: three bear houses were built with a capacity for 25 rescued bears. You'll prepare an enrichment feed for the bears.
2. Khouang Si Waterfall: the most beautiful in Laos. You can cool off with a refreshing swim in the pools or walk along the forest trails.

After the tour, your tour guide will escort you to the hotel for the rest.

Enjoy your breakfast and free time in the morning until your tour guide picks you up to the airport. Tour service ends here.