The travel guide that names the context before the itinerary: Myanmar is under the control of the military junta that seized power in the February 2021 coup. The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to most of Myanmar. Travelling to Myanmar in 2025 involves a specific ethical calculus — the tourist spend that reaches the local community (the guesthouses, the restaurants, the guides who were not displaced by the coup) versus the tourist spend that reaches the military economy (the airport tax, the hotel chains with military ownership, the fuel for the military vehicles visible on the road to the pagodas). This guide covers the itinerary for the traveller who has made the ethical assessment and arrived at the decision to go. It does not make that assessment on their behalf. Check the current FCDO advisory at gov.uk before planning.
Reading time: 10 minutes | Last updated: 2026
IMPORTANT: The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Myanmar as of 2025. The security situation has deteriorated significantly since the February 2021 military coup. Some areas (the Chin State, the Kayah State, the Sagaing Region) are active conflict zones. The Bagan-Inle Lake tourist circuit has been more accessible than these areas but is not safe in the absolute sense. Verify the current FCDO advisory before any Myanmar planning.
Before You Leave
Getting there: Fly London-Yangon (via Bangkok, Singapore, or Kuala Lumpur — 15-18 hours total). UK citizens: Myanmar e-Visa at evisa.moip.gov.mm (USD 50 / £39.37 — verify if still operational under the current government).
Currency: Myanmar Kyat (MMK) and USD. 1 GBP ≈ 2,600 MMK (2025 — the exchange rate fluctuates significantly due to the economic instability following the coup). USD cash is accepted at most tourist venues; bring USD in small denominations.
The ethical money guidance: The specific Myanmar travel ethical framework recommended by the Lonely Planet and the Responsible Travel community: stay at the family-owned guesthouse (not the military-linked hotel chain), eat at the local restaurant (not the government-owned restaurant), use the freelance guide (not the government tour agency), take the bus (not the domestic airline with military connections). The specific operators visible in this guide are family-run.
The Route
Yangon (1 night, transit) → Bagan (3 nights, fly 1 hour) → Inle Lake (3 nights, fly 1 hour)
DAY 1 — Yangon (Transit)
The Shwedagon Pagoda:
The Shwedagon Pagoda (the 98m gilded stupa on the Singuttara Hill — the specific Yangon monument that the visit to Myanmar is organised around, the 2,600-year-old pagoda (by tradition) covered in 60 tonnes of gold leaf, the diamond orb at the apex containing 5,000 diamonds):
At 5:30am (the dawn visit — the monks circling the platform in the first light, the specific Shwedagon morning that the afternoon visit, when the tourist volume is at peak, does not give):
Entry: USD 10 / £7.87.
DAYS 2-4 — Bagan
Bagan:
The Bagan Archaeological Zone (the 11th-14th century temple plain — the 2,200 surviving temples and pagodas (from the original 10,000, the remainder visible as the brick mounds that the agricultural field incorporates), the plain visible from the balloon (the sunrise hot air balloon over the Bagan plain — USD 320-380 / £252-299 per person) or from the Shwesandaw Pagoda at sunset (free, the temple platform the specific Bagan viewing point)):
The specific Bagan temples:
The Ananda Temple (the 1105 CE Kyanzittha-built temple — the four standing Buddhas (10m each) facing the four cardinal directions, the specific Bagan temple that the architectural historians consider the most perfect):
The Htilominlo Temple (the 1211 CE temple — the 46m height, the 3 storeys, the original plaster carving visible on the exterior): the specific Bagan tall temple.
The Sulamani Temple (the 1183 CE “Crowning Jewel” temple — the specific Bagan temple with the original frescoes visible in the interior chambers):
Entry to the Bagan Archaeological Zone: USD 25 / £19.69 for the 5-day pass.
The e-bike:
The e-bike rental (the Bagan plain — the e-bike the correct Bagan transport, the temple to temple distance navigable in the morning before the heat, the dirt track between the temples visible on the Google Maps offline download): MMK 5,000-8,000 / £1.92-3.08/day.
DAYS 5-7 — Inle Lake
Inle Lake:
The Inle Lake (the 22km freshwater lake in the Shan State — the floating gardens (taung baw), the leg-rowing fishermen (Intha — the ethnic group who row the long-tail boat with one leg wrapped around the oar, the specific technique giving the hands free for the net), the stilt villages, and the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda (the 5 gold Buddha figures covered in 600 years of applied gold leaf to the degree that they no longer resemble Buddha figures — the specific Burmese devotional practice of the lay merit-making by applying the gold leaf)):
The boat:
The boat on the Inle Lake (the shared boat from the Nyaungshwe jetty — the flat-bottomed long-tail boat, the lake circuit giving the floating gardens (the tomatoes and the lotus growing on the floating mat anchored to the lake bed), the silversmith workshop, and the weaving workshop (the lotus silk — the thread pulled from the lotus stem, the specific Inle Lake textile that takes 1 month to produce 1 metre of cloth)):
Boat hire: MMK 20,000-35,000 / £7.69-13.46/day shared.
The Indein:
The Indein (the village at the lake’s western arm — the 1,054 stupas (the archaeological field of 17th-18th century stupas in various states of ruin, the jungle reclaiming the brick, the specific Inle Lake historical density visible in the stupa field)):
Included in the lake boat circuit.
What It Costs
| Category | Budget | Mid-Range |
|---|---|---|
| Return flights (UK-Yangon) | £550-900 | £750-1,200 |
| e-Visa | £40 | £40 |
| Internal flights (Yangon-Bagan, Bagan-Inle) | £60-120 | £60-120 |
| 7 nights guesthouse (family-run) | £70-175 | £175-420 |
| Food (7 days) | £20-55 | £55-140 |
| Bagan zone pass | £20 | £20 |
| Boat Inle Lake | £8-13 | £13-20 |
| Total | £768-1,323 | £1,113-1,960 |
