A paced 10-day route through Yangon, Bagan, and Inle Lake, with the 2023–2024 fee and visa changes built in — plus where the published numbers disagree and what to verify at the gate.
By Nilar Aung, Fortrip contributing editor who has led overland reporting trips through Bagan and the Shan hills since 2015 and updates this route each visa and fee cycle.
This 10-day Myanmar itinerary suits a first-time visitor who wants the three headline regions — Yangon, Bagan, Inle Lake — without a sprint. The pace is moderate: two full days in each place, built-in travel buffers, and nothing that requires a 5 a.m. taxi unless you're chasing a sunrise on purpose. You sleep downtown near Sule Pagoda in Yangon, in Nyaung-U for Bagan, and in Nyaung Shwe for Inle — all standard gateway towns, not resort compounds outside town. The trade-off: ten days is enough to see each region properly but not enough to add Mandalay without cutting something else. If you're working with a shorter window, the is a reasonable way to stress-test whether a compressed version still holds together before you book flights.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the Myanmar tourist eVisa cost, and how long does it take?+
$50, with a minimum three-working-day processing window, per the official Myanmar tourism eVisa portal (tourism.gov.mm). It's valid for entry within 90 days of issue and grants a 28-day stay.
Do I still need a health insurance certificate for the eVisa?+
No. Myanmar Airways International confirmed on 5 August 2024 that this requirement was dropped. Older guides that still list it are outdated.
How much is Shwedagon Pagoda's foreigner entrance fee?+
20,000 kyats as of 1 October 2023, per the Pagoda Board of Trustees. A third-party tourist-info site still quotes $8 — don't budget against that figure.
How long is the Bagan Archaeological Zone pass valid?+
Three days, down from five, effective 1 October 2023, at 30,000 kyats per Global New Light of Myanmar. Some resellers still advertise the old five-day validity — verify at the gate.
Make this itinerary yours
Fit “10 day myanmar itinerary” to your dates, pace, and hotels, then check every transfer before you book.
A five-day Krakow–Warsaw frame built around one train transfer, with full days reserved for Auschwitz-Birkenau and Wieliczka, and two Warsaw Christmas markets that run on separate calendars — field-checked in December 2025, hours last verified 2026-10-26.
A 7-day Oslo-to-Tromsø split — 2–3 days of museums and parks, 4–5 nights of aurora-hunting — built around one unavoidable domestic flight and the hard truth that nobody can promise you a clear sky.
Balloon season: varies by operator — confirm directly with Golden Eagle Ballooning or Balloons Over Bagan before booking a date
Getting around Yangon: the ride-hailing app Grab operates citywide and is the simplest way to cover ground outside the walkable downtown core; street taxis rarely run meters, so agree a fare before getting in
Packing note: bring cash in small-denomination kyats for pagoda and zone fees; card acceptance outside Yangon hotels is inconsistent
On unverified local fees: a handful of prices and hours in this itinerary — Nann Myint Tower's entrance fee, a hired longboat's day rate, Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda's admission, and U Bein Bridge/Mahamuni Pagoda's entrance fee — don't appear in any of the official notices cited above. Treat them as locally quoted rather than fixed, confirm once with your guesthouse or operator, and the individual entries below won't repeat this caveat.
A few questions worth answering before you book
How much does the Myanmar tourist eVisa cost, and how long does it take?
$50, with a minimum three-working-day processing window, per tourism.gov.mm. It's valid for entry within 90 days of issue and grants a 28-day stay.
Do I still need a health insurance certificate for the eVisa?
No. Myanmar Airways International confirmed on 5 August 2024 that this requirement was dropped. Older guides that still list it are outdated.
How much is Shwedagon Pagoda's foreigner entrance fee?
20,000 kyats as of 1 October 2023, per the Pagoda Board of Trustees. A third-party tourist-info site still quotes $8 — don't budget against that figure.
How long is the Bagan Archaeological Zone pass valid?
Three days, down from five, effective 1 October 2023, at 30,000 kyats per Global New Light of Myanmar. Some resellers still advertise the old five-day validity — verify at the gate.
Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda, final shopping, departure (or Mandalay swap: U Bein Bridge, Mahamuni Pagoda)
Airport transfer
*Drive time to Nyaung Shwe and the Inle market rotation are figures quoted by local drivers and guesthouses, not an official schedule — details under Day 6 and Day 8.
Before you go: the paperwork and fees that changed in 2023–2024
The tourist eVisa goes through tourism.gov.mm, costs $50, and needs a minimum of three working days to process — don't leave this for the week before departure. It's valid for entry within 90 days of issue and grants a 28-day stay, which covers this itinerary with room to spare.
Myanmar Airways International confirmed on 5 August 2024 that the health insurance certificate is no longer required for eVisa applicants. Drop it from your checklist even if an older guide still lists it.
Shwedagon Pagoda's foreigner admission fee rose to 20,000 kyats on 1 October 2023 per the Pagoda Board of Trustees. A third-party tourist-info site still quotes $8 — that figure is outdated and shouldn't be used for budgeting. Pagoda hours extended to 4:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. from 21 June 2024, per Myanmar Digital News, which is useful if you want to time a visit around sunrise or sunset rather than a fixed opening hour.
Day 1 — Yangon: Arrival and Shwedagon at dusk
Morning. Clear immigration with your eVisa printout in hand; no health insurance certificate needed as of August 2024. Check into a downtown hotel near Sule Pagoda — it keeps the next day's walking loop tight.
Afternoon. Rest, or do a slow loop of the immediate downtown blocks if the flight wasn't too long. This isn't the day to overcommit. For anything farther than walking distance, Grab is the easier option over flagging a street taxi.
Evening. Arrive at Shwedagon roughly 90 minutes before sunset, circle the stupa clockwise, and stay past dark — the 10 p.m. closing allows for a slower, less crowded visit than a sunset-only trip. Confirm the 20,000-kyat entrance fee at the gate rather than relying on older published figures.
Day 2 — Yangon: Downtown colonial core and Chinatown
Morning. Walk past Yangon City Hall, the High Court, and the Strand Hotel along Strand Road. These buildings sit close enough together that a single morning covers them without a taxi.
Afternoon. Stop at Sule Pagoda, which sits at the literal center of the downtown grid, then continue to Bogyoke Aung San Market for lacquerware and textiles.
Evening. Chinatown along 19th Street for a street-stall dinner. This is also a reasonable last chance for a varied food scene before Bagan's smaller town.
Day 3 — Yangon to Bagan: Flight routing and first temple light
Morning. Direct Yangon–Bagan flights into Nyaung-U Airport (NYU) run about 1 hour 25 minutes, versus roughly 2 hours 10 minutes if routed through Heho, per flightmapper.net schedules. Routings are seasonal and change by month — reconfirm your flight number a few days before departure rather than trusting a booking made months earlier.
Afternoon. Check into Nyaung-U in the early afternoon and leave the rest of the day loose.
Evening. If it's still operating by the time you travel, Nann Myint Tower — a privately run viewing platform a few kilometers south of Nyaung-U — is one option many guesthouses can arrange a short taxi to for a first look at the temple field. Climbing individual temples for sunset has been restricted since 2016, which is why the tower (and a handful of hotel rooftops) now handle the evening crowd instead. Its entrance fee is part of the unverified set noted above — ask your guesthouse for the current price and whether foreigner access still applies. Either way, this is a look-don't-climb stop; save the temple entries for tomorrow's focused circuit.
Day 4 — Bagan: Old Bagan temple circuit by e-bike
Morning. The Bagan Archaeological Zone pass now costs 30,000 kyats, raised from the prior rate on 1 October 2023, per Global New Light of Myanmar. Start at Ananda, which has the cleanest layout of the big temples and the clearest morning light.
Afternoon. Thatbyinnyu, then Dhammayangyi — the three together cover the architectural range without backtracking across the plain.
Evening. The pass is valid for three days, down from the previous five-day allowance. Some resellers, including Klook's ticket page, still advertise the old five-day validity, which doesn't match current policy — worth noting since it's a gap between official and commercial sources, not just an unconfirmed number. Rent the e-bike for the full day; it's the only sensible way to cover the plain's spread-out sites without a driver on a fixed schedule.
Day 5 — Bagan: Balloon sunrise and Nyaung-U market
Morning. Golden Eagle Ballooning's confirmed 2026–2027 season runs 18 November 2026 to 15 February 2027. Balloons Over Bagan describes a broader October–March/April window on its own site. Check the specific operator's dates for your travel month rather than assuming one fixed season applies to both. Pricing also differs by source: Myanmar Digital News (October 2026) cites a $150–230 range, while Global New Light of Myanmar quotes a flat $165 specifically for Balloons Over Bagan. Treat these as separate data points, not an average, and confirm current pricing with the operator you book. Ask about the weather-cancellation policy before paying — flights are routinely scrubbed for wind.
Afternoon. Nyaung-U market, which runs daily and is a better stop for lacquerware browsing than the temple sites themselves.
Evening. Free — pack for the early flight tomorrow.
Day 6 — Bagan to Inle Lake: Heho connection and Nyaung Shwe arrival
Morning. The Bagan–Heho flight is short, around 40 minutes per flightmapper.net — again seasonal, so reconfirm the flight number close to your date.
Afternoon. From Heho Airport, drivers and guesthouses consistently quote about an hour by car to Nyaung Shwe, the town that serves as the gateway to Inle Lake. That figure isn't part of any official transit schedule, so treat it as approximate and confirm the pickup time with your hotel. Check in by mid-afternoon.
Evening. Walk along the canal rather than booking a boat trip on arrival day. Use the evening to arrange tomorrow's longboat through your guesthouse — a full-day hire is typically negotiated per boat, not per person, and its rate is part of the unverified fee set noted above.
Day 7 — Inle Lake: Inpawkhon, Nampan, and the floating gardens
Morning. A full day on the longboat you arranged the evening before covers the floating tomato gardens near Ywama and the lake's leg-rowing fishermen before the midday light flattens.
Afternoon. Inpawkhon, known for its silk and lotus-fiber weaving houses, and Nampan, a silversmithing village on the lake's eastern shore. Pick one or two workshops to stop at rather than trying to see every craft village in a single pass.
Evening. Time the return for late afternoon, when canal traffic into Nyaung Shwe is lighter and the light is better.
Day 8 — Inle Lake: Indein and the market rotation
Morning. Indein, reached by boat and a short walk, has a hillside field of weathered stupas that's a different register from the lake villages seen the day before.
Afternoon. Inle's market reportedly rotates across villages on a five-day cycle, per local guides and guesthouse staff rather than any published municipal schedule — ask your guesthouse which village is hosting on your travel date before building the day around it, since it won't be the same place every visit.
Evening. Keep it open: a canal-side café or a short walk to a viewpoint above the lake, rather than overpacking the day.
Day 9 — Inle Lake to Yangon: Return routing and last Yangon day
Morning. Fly Heho–Yangon direct, or route via Mandalay if you want a half-day stop there before continuing. Both are reasonable depending on how much flexibility is left in the schedule. Reconfirm the flight number again — the same seasonal routing caveat from earlier legs applies here.
Afternoon/Evening. Use the remaining time in Yangon for Bogyoke Market or a Strand Road walk, depending on what time you land.
Day 10 — Yangon: Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda and departure, or the Mandalay swap
Morning. If you're staying the full plan in Yangon, spend the morning at Chaukhtatgyi Pagoda, home to one of the country's largest reclining Buddha images — commonly cited at around 65 meters, though no official plaque or government notice confirms an exact figure, so treat that number as approximate rather than measured. It's a short taxi or Grab ride from downtown. Its admission fee is part of the unverified set flagged above — ask your hotel or check at the gate.
Afternoon. Finish any last-minute lacquerware or textile shopping at Bogyoke Aung San Market, then head to Yangon International for departure.
The Mandalay swap, if your flight allows it. Some travelers route the last two days through Mandalay instead of looping back to Yangon. The anchor stops there are U Bein Bridge, the long teak footbridge best seen near sunset, and Mahamuni Pagoda, home to the city's most heavily gilded Buddha image. Neither fee comes from an official notice in this guide's verified set, but as a working estimate: U Bein Bridge has no posted entrance fee and is open to pedestrians from dawn until well after dark, while Mahamuni Pagoda's foreigner fee is commonly quoted at around $5 — confirm both with a Mandalay-based operator or your hotel before relying on either figure. This swap also changes which city needs to serve as your international departure gateway, so confirm flight availability before committing to it.
How to adjust: who should cut, swap, or extend a day
This 10 day Myanmar itinerary is built around full days in each place, which is exactly what makes it stretchable or compressible depending on your calendar. With seven days instead of ten, cut Yangon to a single day and keep the full time in Bagan and Inle Lake — those two regions need more days to feel unrushed than the capital does. A quick pass through Fortrip's itinerary selection tool can help you see what a shorter version drops first.
If your travel dates fall outside an operator's confirmed balloon season — check Golden Eagle's and Balloons Over Bagan's current windows individually — swap the sunrise balloon for a sunrise visit to Nann Myint Tower or a hotel rooftop instead, keeping in mind the fee caveat from Day 3.
Travelers who want Mandalay added as a full stop, rather than a one-day swap, should extend to twelve days and route the return flight out of Mandalay rather than squeezing U Bein Bridge and Mahamuni Pagoda into the existing Yangon bookend.
In the rainy season, roughly May through October, expect fewer balloon-operating days and build an extra buffer day into Bagan in case of cancellation or rebooking. If you're juggling several variants of this trip at once, the AI trip planner is a faster way to compare them than redrawing the table by hand.
