Family Round Tours with Kids Activities

Arrive in Mandalay airport where you will be met at the airport by our representative who will take you directly to your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to relax. Overnight at hotel in Mandalay.

After breakfast head to the banks of the Irrawaddy to board a small boat to sail upriver to the ancient site of Mingun. The boat journey is lovely, with many different wooden boats and bamboo rafts heading up and down river, carrying produce and goods. You will have the chance to look around the Mingun Pagoda and see the enormous bell. Also you will experience riding Ox cart or Bullock cart. Return to Mandalay. In the afternoon you will explore Mandalay, including a visit to the Golden Palace. There are a number of craft workshops in the city which are worth a quick visit; you can see tapestry weaving, gold leaf application and bronze-melting. Today we will go to a workshop where Marionette puppets are making and you all can create your own Marionette puppets and bring back home. You will watch the sunset from Mandalay Hill, with wonderful views over the pagodas and the huge Irrawaddy River. Overnight at hotel in Mandalay.

After breakfast take start the tour with the visit to Mahamuni Image. This pagoda is home to one of the country’s most revered Buddha images which, over the years, have been covered with gold leaf giving it an almost ‘lumpy’ texture. Later, a short transfer to Ava, the ancient capital of Mandalay and hugely picturesque. Here you will jump on a horse drawn cart to explore the ruins, the perfect way to keep younger children happy whilst you sightsee! Afterwards, visit to Sagaing, a small riverside town that is home to hundreds of monasteries, more than 500 stupas and at least 6,000 monks and nuns. It is a peaceful place and best appreciated from the top of Sagaing Hill, on which is the largest concentration of temples and which offers wonderful panoramic views over the plains and monasteries below. If you are feeling active, you can take the route that the pilgrims follow, up a series of colonnaded steps that lead to the hilltop. Alternatively you can drive most of the way up; either way, the views from the top are magnificent. On the way back to Mandalay you will stop to explore Amarapura, home to the Mahagandayon monastery which houses more than 1,000 monks. After visiting the monastery you can visit the impressive U-Bein Bridge, more than 200 years old and 2km long, constructed entirely from teak. Overnight at hotel in Mandalay.

Journey into the hills above Mandalay, to the British colonial hill station of Pyin Oo Lwin (previously called Maymyo). You will spend the rest of the day exploring, including a horse cart ride from town center to Botanical Garden only, the Pwe Kauk waterfalls and a large cave. Overnight at hotel in Pyin Oo Lwin.

Today you will board a train for a wonderfully scenic (and bouncy!) journey on the old train track into the hills and across the impressive Goitek Viaduct, which crosses a deep gorge. Later you will be sent to Mandalay Airport. Mandalay to Bagan with evening flight. Arrive Bagan and transfer to your hotel. Overnight at hotel in Bagan. ( Can talk with your guide and reduce sightseeing if it is too much for you)

After breakfast visit the Nyaung Oo Market, which the kids will find fascinating. The market is full of local people shopping for fish, vegetables, rattan baskets, cotton goods, household wares etc., as well as the odd ‘antique’. Later you will continue to explore the temples of Bagan. This is a huge plain that is dotted with temples as far as the eye can see, dating back more than a thousand years. Whilst some of the temples are well preserved and maintained, others are in a state of disrepair but this is perhaps part of the charm. You can spend many happy hours clambering up the hidden stair-cases of the more remote temples, admiring the views from the top and finding exquisite old carvings and frescoes adorning many of the walls. This is a truly incredible sight and a real highlight of your visit to Burma. Your tour will be partly by vehicle and partly by horse drawn cart. You will watch the sunset from one of a special place. Overnight at hotel in Bagan.

A free day to explore Bagan further by yourselves in the temple field of Bagan with bicycles.

Head to Mount Popa, a scenic journey through toddy palm countryside. The mountain itself is the core of an extinct volcano and rises very sharply from the surrounding area; it is said to be the sacred home of the nats (or spirits), and it is a long climb up the 730 steps to the animist shrine at the top. However the views from the top are wonderful and it is fun to share the route with local pilgrims. Later head up on to the Shan Plateau to Kalaw, a picturesque British hillstation. The total driving time to Kalaw is around 6 hours but it will take a full day once the stops are factored in. There will be plenty of opportunities to stop along the way for a drink and to stretch the legs and although it is quite a long drive, it is a great opportunity for a glimpse of rural life. NOTE: The final part of the journey involves a lot of twists and turns; if anyone suffers from car sickness please bring medication if appropriate. Overnight at hotel in Kalaw.

Today you will head out of Kalaw on foot for a hike to Myindike through gorgeous scenery of rolling hills, pine forest and orange plantations. From here you will take a short train ride to Aung Ban, and will then return back to Kalaw by tuk tuk. Overnight at hotel in Kalaw.

Drive to Green Hill Elephant Camp. Then walk to the river where elephant bath and you can join in feeding and washing to the elephants. Option: having an experience of sitting on the elephant’s back (like Mahout) after washing. Then exploration of the forest area, opportunity to see butterflies, birds and orchids around our conservation area (30-40 min). Lunch at the main camp. You are also welcome by planting regional trees from our nursery in our forest recovery efforts. Later continue to Inle Lake by car for the night (approx..2.5 hrs) and transfer to your hotel. Overnight at hotel in Inle Lake. Option: having an experience of sitting on the elephant’s back (like Mahout) after washing.

This morning you will head into the hills above the lake, for a hike to various small hill tribe villages with superb views out over the lake and the mountains beyond. We will tailor the walk to your energy levels on the day. The afternoon is free to relax and enjoy the views. Overnight at hotel in Inle Lake. Detail trek program: Transfer from hotel to Mine Thauk by boat, trek from Mine Thauk village to Mine Thauk Meditation center (about 30 mins), then trek to Dalapin (about 45 mins). After that trek to Lwe Khaut (about 1 hr). Continue trek to Lwe Ngun village. There is a monastery there. Pass Kan Taw Tha village, Nyuang Phyu village and arrive Nyaung Shwe. (Total trekking hour: about 5 hrs.) You can see Inn Tha, PaO, DhaNu & Shan hill tribes in the village. On the way you can see seasonal plantation and beautiful scenery.

Today you will board a longtail boat (a small wooden boat powered by an outboard motor that can nose through the channels at the edge of the lake) and head out onto the lake. Along the way you will visit a number of picturesque monasteries situated on islands in the centre of the lake. You will also see floating villages, many of which have developed an intriguing way of growing fruit and vegetables, suspended on the surface of the water. There will be time to visit a local craft shop where you can see handicrafts being made – our favourite is the blacksmiths, where they still forge iron in the traditional way – and you will also visit the lovely Indein pagodas on the edge of the lakeshore. Overnight at hotel in Inle Lake.

Take a morning flight to Yangon – there is currently availability on a flight that departs at 11.10, arriving at 12.20. In the afternoon you will visit the magnificent Shwedagon Pagoda, the center of Buddhism in Burma. This is a beautiful building and there will be many pilgrims there making offering of flowers and incense – a great place for a spot of people watching. You will also take a walking tour to Botataung Pagoda, built around the same time as Shwedagon. Overnight hotel in Yangon.

A full day of sightseeing with a car and an English speaking guide. This will include the Sule pagoda in the centre of the city, Indiatown and Chinatown and the impressive colonial buildings in the centre of Yangon. You will also visit the Chaukhtatgyi Reclining Buddha and Karaweik Hall, in a scenic position overlooking a lake. Everyone will be agog at the hustle and bustle in Yangon, with pavements crammed with stalls, newspaper sellers spreading out their papers on the pavement, old women sitting on low stools cooking vegetable pakoras in steaming woks to serve to passers-by and noisy tea shops that are open to the elements, serving up hot sweet ‘chai’ to locals perched on plastic stools. Overnight hotel in Yangon.

Transfer to the airport for your onward flight to Bangkok.