Meet & greet: Upon arrival at Yangon Airport, you will be welcomed to Myanmar by your private English-speaking guide, and then transferred to your hotel.

Guided visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda: Late afternoon, start your sightseeing in Yangon with an extended visit to one of the world’s most spectacular monuments - the Shwedagon Pagoda. This famous pagoda is 99m high, covered in gold leaf and shimmers in the sunlight. Lying as it does to the west of Kandawgyi Lake, on Singuttara Hill, the Shwedagon has until now dominated the skyline of Yangon. A visit late in the day is a perfect time to see this impressive temple as the temperature drops and locals gather to worship, pay their respects and create a wonderfully spiritual atmosphere.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Jasmine Palace Hotel (Superior Room)

Guided tour of Yangon: This morning, you will be picked up from your hotel and transferred to Yangon’s Central Station for a train journey on the circular ‘commuter’ train line (about 40 minutes; please take note that the trains are very basic, often crowded and their schedule not reliable). You will get off at Hledan Station and immerse yourself in this lively local Myanmar neighbourhood where today’s more modern lifestyle mixes with old traditions. Visit the colourful Hledan Market and join the locals in a tea shop where they discuss important issues of the day. Continue on to Yangon University and drive through Thaton Road from where you will see the University Tennis Court, the football ground, the swimming pool, the Institute of Medicine, Institute of Education, and other sites around this once world-renowned academy. This afternoon your journey continues with an afternoon tour through Yangon’s colonial style city centre. Start on Pansodan Street which is famous for some of Yangon's most impressive colonial buildings. Continue to Pansodan jetty to observe the frenetic daily life on the Yangon River, and on to Sule Pagoda which dates back some 2,000 years You will then have a chance to visit the magnificent reclining Buddha at Chauk Htat Gyi, followed by a photo stop at the Karaweik Hall, a 'hamsa bird shaped' floating barge on Kandawgyi (Royal) Lake. After the sightseeing, return to your hotel.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Jasmine Palace Hotel (Superior Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Private transfer: After an early breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for the domestic flight to Bagan.

Flight: ND331 Yangon - Bagan 09.00 - 10.15

Private transfer: On arrival in Bagan, you will be met by your guide who will transfer you to your hotel to check in.

Guided tour of Bagan's Temples: After checking in, you will set out to explore the most significant pagodas and temples of Bagan including Shwezigon Pagoda - built by King Anawrahta in the early 11th century as a religious shrine; Ku Byanuk Gyi - a temple with superb murals of Jataka scenes; Khay Min Ga Temple - noted for its panoramic view of the area's numerous monuments, and Ananda Temple with its four standing Buddha images. This afternoon, continue to Manuha Temple, built in the Mon style in 1059, and follow on to Nanbaya Temple, a unique sandstone monument said to have been the palace of King Manuha. As the afternoon draws to a close, your guide will advise on the pagodas offering the best viewpoints to watch the sunset over the plains of Bagan and famous Irrawaddy River.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Areindmar Hotel (Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Morning tour of Mount Popa: After breakfast, you will drive for around 2 hours to visit Mount Popa, which is an extinct volcano offering spectacular views over the surrounding countryside from its summit. Its shrine is dedicated to animist spirits known as "nats" and you will have time to climb the 777 steps to the shrine at the top of the peak. After time to explore, you will have lunch in a local restaurant and then drive back to Bagan, stopping off to observe the workings of a toddy palm plantation.

Afternoon guided tour of Bagan by horse and cart: Later this afternoon, you will have another chance to see the amazing ruins of Bagan and the villages around the ruins, travelling by horse and cart. Finish the day at a stupa to watch the incredible sight of sunset over the plains of Bagan, before returning to your hotel.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Areindmar Hotel (Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Private transfer: After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for the domestic flight to Heho.

Flight: HK917 Bagan - Heho 08.05 - 08.35

Guided tour to the Pindaya Caves: On arrival in Heho, you will drive to Pindaya which will take around 2 hours. On arrival, you will visit the Pindaya Caves which are a unique site housing thousands of Buddha images that have been places there by pilgrims and devotees over the centuries. Lunch will be taken in a local restaurant.  

Private transfer to Inle Lake: After lunch in Pindaya, set off for Nyaung Shwe (around 1.5 hours) and on arrival, transfer by boat to your hotel on the lake.  

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Pristine Lotus Spa Resort (Floating Cottage Room)

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Full day guided tour of Inle Lake: After breakfast, you will enjoy a full day excursion by boat on Inle Lake which will include seeing the famous leg rowers, typical floating gardens, local methods of fishing, village life and magnificent scenery. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant on the lake itself. Afterwards, visits are made to Phaungdaw Oo Pagoda, the Nga Phe Kyaung Monastery, the weaving village of Inpawkhon and one of the local markets in the Inle Lake region (market days only). Later, depart by boat for the western shore of the lake, where you will find the beginning of a long stair path leading to the well hidden Inn Thein Pagoda complex. Here, you will see one of the most amazing historical sights on the shore of the lake consisting of hundreds of small stupas overgrown by moss and vegetation. After today's sightseeing, return to your hotel by boat.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Pristine Lotus Spa Resort (Floating Cottage Room)

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Private transfer: After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport in Heho for the domestic flight to Mandalay.

Flight: K7266 Heho - Mandalay 09.25 - 10.00 

Private transfer: On arrival in Mandalay, you will be met by your guide who will transfer you to your hotel to check in.  

Afternoon guided tour of Mandalay: Set off from your hotel to experience the sights and sounds of Mandalay including one of the most revered religious monuments in Myanmar - the Mahamuni Pagoda. Afterwards, visit the Shwe Inbin Monastery and the Golden Palace Monastery, the latter being a superb example of a traditional wooden building. Later, you will stop off at Kuthodaw Pagoda which is made of marble and sometimes described as the world’s largest ‘book’. You will also visit a traditional hand-woven silk workshop, as well as a Kalaga tapestry craftsman’s shop, before heading to Mandalay Hill to view the sun setting over the city.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Yadanarpon Dynasty Hotel (Villa Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Full day guided tour of Amarapura, Ava & Sagaing: After breakfast, leave Mandalay for Amarapura, 10 miles out of the city, to visit Mahagandayon Monastery, where more than a thousand monks live and study.  Time permitting, you will have the opportunity to observe the monks having their last meal of the day in total silence. Continue to the 200 year old U Bein teak bridge which was built in 1782 at the time when Amarapura was the capital. The Bagaya Monastery will fascinate you with its intriguing collection of Buddha statues. This afternoon, a short drive brings you to Myitnge River for the short boat trip across the river to the former Royal Capital of Inwa (Ava), where a horse-drawn carriage is waiting. You will visit Nanmyint Watch Tower, the remains of a palace building nicknamed “the leaning tower of Ava“; the Maha Aungmye Bonzan Monastery, built of brick and stucco and Bargayar Monastery, famous for its ornate woodcarvings and teak posts. Today's excursion ends with a visit to the Sagaing Hills, a retreat for Buddhist devotees, in time for sunset.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Yadanarpon Dynasty Hotel (Villa Room)

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Private transfer: After a leisurely morning, you will be transferred to the airport for your return flight to London Heathrow, via Bangkok & Doha.

Flight: PG710 Mandalay - Bangkok 14.10 - 16.35 

Flight: QR609 Bangkok - Doha 20.20 - 23.10

Meals: Breakfast