The Road to Mandalay

This luxury river cruise holiday to Burma includes a magnificent luxury cruise in Myanmar aboard the Belmond Road to Mandalay.

This varied itinerary is centred on a 4-day Irrawaddy River Cruise between Mandalay and the World Heritage town of Bagan with its amazing temple-littered plain.

From Bagan travel to beautiful Inle Lake and explore the lake and surrounding countryside.

From Inle Lake head to the beach and enjoy 5 days relaxing in a boutique resort in thelow key beach area of Ngapali.

Finally, fly to Myanmar’s de-facto capital city, Yangon, home to the stunning Shwedagon Pagoda.

In this itinerary we have included a pre-cruise stay in Bangkok, but as with all of our tours, things can be tailored to suit your interests.

A few days in a boutique beach resort in Thailand can easily replace the beach stay in Myanmar and the holiday can also easily include a stopover in Singapore or elsewhere.

Day 1: Fly UK to Bangkok

Overnight flight UK to Bangkok

Day 2: Bangkok

Arrive Bangkok and transfer to your hotel with the rest of the day at leisure.

Overnight Bangkok.

Day 3: Bangkok

Enjoy a full day tour in Bangkok. Visit The Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Trimit. Also enjoy a long tail boat ride along Bangkok's famous Klongs (canals).

Finally, enjoy a converted rice barge cruise along the Chao Phraya River.

Overnight Bangkok. Breakfast included.

Day 4: Bangkok – Mandalay

Fly to Mandalay. On arrival, transfer to the ship for lunch before a guided tour of the key sights of Mandalay in the afternoon.

Return to Belmond Road to Mandalay for dinner and local entertainment in the evening.

Overnight on board. All meals included.

Day 5: Mandalay

Join an early morning walking tour of Shwe Kyet Yet Village before breakfast before the ship sails to the ancient capital of Ava. Enjoy a tour of this historic site by horse-drawn cart.

Spend the rest of the afternoon at leisure on the ship, with afternoon tea and on board lectures. A casual cocktail party is followed by dinner on board.

Overnight on board. All meals included.

Day 6: Mandalay – Bagan

The ship arrives at Bagan where over 2,000 temples and pagodas are scattered on an awe-inspiring plain beside the river.

Enjoy a morning orientation tour of the most important temples in Bagan. After lunch, re-join the tour or explore Bagan at leisure by bicycle or horse-drawn cart.

In the evening, enjoy dinner and local entertainment on board.

Overnight on board. All meals included.

The Belmond Road to Mandalay is a luxury river cruiser which has been operating river cruises in Burma for 20 years.

The Belmond Road to Mandalay cruises between Bagan and Mandalay alternating between 3, 4 and 7 night itineraries.

The 7 night cruise begins and ends in Bagan and although this is a round trip, the ship stops at different destinations on the return and so retains a varied itinerary.

On Board

On board the Road to Mandalay are a swimming pool on deck and a wellbeing and fitness centre. Spa treatments are available.

The ship has a very comfortable observation deck.

On board the atmosphere is relaxed and casual although many guests make an effort to dress more smartly for dinner and cocktail parties. Ties are rarely seen.

Bangkok

Bagan

Bagan is a Unesco World Heritage Site and one of the most compelling archaeological sights in Asia. Over 3,000 stupas and pagodas dot the plain of Bagan creating one of the most incredible locations in the Far East, especially during a misty morning or at sunset.

Bagan was the former capital of the Burmese Empire and a major religious centre, before being sacked by an invading Thai army in the 13th century.

Mandalay

Former capital of Burma, Mandalay is a must on any tour of Burma. There are plenty of fascinating sights around Mandalay including the impressive rock carved pagoda at Mingun, picturesque Sagaing monasteries and the former Royal cities of Ava and Amarapura.

Mandalay itself is Burma’s second largest city, the cultural centre of the country and has some impressive sights of its own, including Mandalay Hill and the Shwenandaw Pagoda. Mandalay is also the best place in Myanmar to do some handicraft shopping.

Is this a Private Tour or a Group Tour?

All of our tours are private tailor made itineraries, customised for you - we can amend things to entirely suit you.

You will have your own private car, driver and guide on excursions. Shore excursions will be on a group basis whilst on the cruise.

What are the departure dates?

Let us know your preferred dates of travel and we will find the best and most suitable flights to fit your itinerary and to fit around the Road to Mandalay schedule.

As this is a private tour, there are no set departure dates other than those of the cruise.

Which Airlines do you use?

We work with all the major airlines flying to this part of the world.

Typically for Burma, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines and Emirates would be airlines we would often use.

However, just let us know your preferred airline if you have one. We can organise flights from any regional destination in the UK.

There are no direct flights from the UK to Myanmar currently.

Which Hotels do you use?

We're careful with our choice of hotels, but we're guided by our customers also. If you have some preferred hotels, just let us know.

We specialise in boutique hotels and so we will often suggest some of our favourite smaller hotels where we think these will be suitable.

We keep on top of hotel developments in Burma from our office in South East Asia and regularly inspect the hotels we use.