As you cycle among the ancient temples on your route from Mandalay to Bagan you'll also soon be impressed by the diversity of its people, culture, and topography which all make Burma one of the region’s most fascinating and beautiful countries.
Our third SpiceRoads Trip and it was excellent. Friendly, helpful, knowledgeable guides and great support team.
Overall, an excellent bicycle tour - great guides, great scenery and historical sites with a great group of similar minded riders. This ride was fun and educational. Guides Lin and Soe did any a wonderful job with just a diverse good of riders. Having a large group can be difficult for the leaders - though often more enjoyable to the riders - given there are more options in terms of speed and interests (easy to find some one to ride with).
DestinationsBurma
Tour MeetsMandalay
Fly in toMandalay International Airport (MDL)
Group Size2-16 riders
SpiceRoads jerseyWater bottleDomestic flightsSupport vehicleGuide(s)Meals (as indicated)AccommodationBike and helmetSnacks and drinks
International flightsAirport pick upAirport drop offVisa feesAlcoholTips
This is a touring trip for those who know biking can take you to the heart of a country. We ride 247 km on country lanes and quiet roads. There is little traffic, which makes for excellent bicycle touring. The first few days riding are on gentle rolling hills and through rice fields, ancient cities, and scenic countryside. Passing through many villages, you will find the people curious, friendly, and polite. We share the road with ox carts, cyclists, and waving children. There is an unbelievable amount to see throughout the tour, and we stop frequently to view temples, rural scenes (especially if riding during rice harvest), and villages.
Suitability: This trip is a touring bike journey and suitable for anyone with a reasonable level of fitness. A support truck is always available to help when required. Inexperienced riders and even non-riding partners can be catered for and are more than welcome to join this tour.
Biking Conditions: This tour covers around 247 km in 4 full cycling days and 1 half day. The roads can vary from being in quite good condition to broken tarmac, to vehicle-wide dirt trails. There is no technical riding on this trip, and the distances have been kept low to allow for plenty of time to visit sites and learn about the local culture.
We meet you at the Mandalay hotel at 4 pm for a tour briefing and then drive up to the top of Mandalay Hill for sunset. We then go for dinner and have our first experience tasting the many traditional Burmese specialties. Optional morning activity: Balloon Experience Over Mandalay. As your hot-air balloon rises, the first site to greet you is 729 white pitaka pagodas. Drifting above you’ll witness barefoot monks collecting alms, bustling morning markets, and boats coming alive on the Irrawaddy River and U Bein Bridge. (Note: available only from late-October to late-March; all flights weather permitting). Contact us for more information
Mandalay Hill Resort
DinnerWe start off our tour with a leisurely ride as we get used to our bicycles. Making our way towards Mingun, we stop at the famous 200-year-old teak U Bein Bridge. Our route follows the Irrawaddy all the way to Mingun, and there's little traffic on this undulating road. There'll be plenty of photos ops as we ride past more monasteries on this one road than on the entire rest of the trip. In Mingun, we visit the ruins of Pahtodawgyi, a massive unfinished stupa that would have been the largest in the world if completed and now might be the largest pile of bricks in the world, but is nonetheless impressive. We'll also see the Mingun Bell, which weighs 90 tonnes and is the largest ringing bell in the world. After lunch at a restaurant, we hop on a boat to take us downstream back to Mandalay and then pedal from the dock to the hotel. We meet up in the evening to drive to Mandalay Hill to enjoy another sunset before dinner.
Mandalay Hill ResortBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 44km
+335m
-249mWe start with a 3-hour transfer beyond the small town of Chaung-U. Once on the bikes, we cycle through the Chindwin Valley, where a variety of crops, from oranges to sugar cane, are grown. We take a break to visit Monywa's famous temple complex of Mohnyin Thambuddhei Paya, which dates back to 1303 and claims to house more than 500,000 Buddha images. After lunch at a local restaurant, we cross the Chindwin River by boat and continue cycling to Pho Win Taung Cave, famous for its carvings and mural paintings dating from the 14th and 18th centuries. Passing through several small farms and villages, you will have a glimpse of the traditional Burmese way of life. After visiting the cave, we return to Monywa and check-in to the hotel.
Win Unity HotelBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 51km+324m-202mWe start from the hotel and hit dirt roads to take us south along the Irrawaddy River to Pakkoku. We pass through A Myint and A Neint, where you can spot ancient pagodas peeking out from the overgrowth. We stop to see some of the hidden temples decorated with murals as well as an old monastery. After lunch, we have a relaxing afternoon as we boat to Bagan. Once we dock, it's a short transfer to our hotel.
Bagan Hotel River ViewBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 62km+214m-219mBicycles are the perfect way to explore the temples of Bagan. We take a morning cycle around the Archaeological Zone before returning for a dip in the pool. The sunset, with views across the plains studded with chedis and temples, is something you will never forget. Optional morning activity: Start your day with a scenic hot air balloon ride and enjoy the stunning aerial view of Bagan's temples and golden stupa. Contact us for more information
Bagan HotelBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 27km+139m-139mFollowing the highway east, we transfer by bus up to Mt Popa. Popa soars 650 m up out of the plains, and the temple at the summit is populated by Burma’s most revered nats (spirits). As you climb the almost 900 stairs up to Popa Taung Kalat Temple, you will pass dozens of nat shrines and see pilgrims who come to honour the spirits. From the top, you will have a pano-rama of the surrounding plains. After your visit, begin biking downhill to Bagan. Along the way, we stop to enjoy a picnic box lunch in a village. The ride weaves through villages and quiet lanes as we make our way back to Bagan.
Bagan HotelBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 63km+100m-880mIn the morning, we transfer to Nyaung U airport and fly back to Yangon. On arrival, we visit Bogyoke Aung San Market before lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, we visit Shwedagon Paya, Burma’s holiest religious sight, before heading to the airport for the flight home. Please book a late evening flight to be sure you won't be rushed. ~~~ Please note: Due to the popularity of Burma as a destination hotel rooms are extremely hard to guarantee. Though we will do our best to adhere to the original itinerary, we cannot be held responsible for any last-minute hotel changes. Any changes will be to another hotel of the same standard
Breakfast, LunchIncluded in the tour are Trek mountain bikes with lightweight alloy frames, 24- to 27-speed gearing, disc/v-brakes, and Shimano components and front suspension. If you bring your own bike, please make sure it is a mountain bike, preferably with front suspension, in good mechanical order.
Basic spares and tools are carried by the guide and on the support vehicle, though we cannot guarantee having spares for every conceivable problem. Carrying a basic tool kit, a spare tube and a pump while riding is recommended.
Wearing a helmet is required on all our biking adventures and is non negotiable. If you do not wear a helmet you will not be allowed to cycle. Your tour leader is trained in first aid and emergency rescue, but to a large degree you must be responsible for your own safety while riding. It is therefore compulsory that you take out travel insurance that will cover you for a mountain biking tour.
You will be led by a local English-speaking guide and if the group is 9 people or more we will add another guide to the tour. All our guides are well informed in the history, culture and religions of the area where you are biking and are skilled at passing that knowledge on to you. Your guide is also medically trained and an experienced cyclist, able to handle most minor repairs en route.
Recommended vaccinations include typhoid, polio, tetanus and Hepatitis A. A certificate for Yellow Fever is required if arriving from an infected area within the prior six days. Some areas of Burma may be considered malarial areas. Please check with your doctor prior to departure for the most recent information.
Myanmar has a tropical climate with fairly high humidity. There are three seasons: from March to June it is hot and dry, with temperatures between 27 and 40˚C, and with night temperatures in the 20s. The rainy season is from July to September, but temperatures are slightly lower, because of the effect of the rain. The cooler season (particularly in the mountains) is from September to February, with average temperatures between 20 and 30˚C. It will be much cooler at night in the hills in Shan state, where we spend 2 nights, and adequate cold weather clothing – gloves, hats, jacket – is advised.
Meals are included as per the itinerary where B = breakfast, L = lunch, D = dinner. Most meals are local dishes and feature noodles, rice, curries and soups. Any special dietary requirements can also be catered for as well. Please let us know at the time of booking.
Keeping you completely hydrated is a job we take very seriously. Cold water, some energy-restoring local fruit and soft drinks are included in the tour price. Beer is freely available everywhere, but is NOT included in the price.
SpiceRoads does not require you to pay a surcharge for travelling alone. We will arrange for you to share accommodation with another traveller of the same gender and if we can not match you up we will provide a single room at no extra charge. If you prefer not to share a single supplement is payable to guarantee your own room. The cost of the single supplement is listed above.
We recommend that you tuck away a few extra dollars, perhaps US$10, for incidentals. It is customary to tip local tour guides and drivers, however, the amount you give should be dependent on the level of service you receive. As a general guide we suggest US$ 3-4 per person per day is appropriate.
Burma’s everyday currency is the kyat. The kyat is used to cover buying small items, bottle of water or a snack, while dollars are used for everything else and the euro is also increasingly being accepted. The exchange rate in Yangon is generally better than upcountry and the larger the bill, the better the rate (ie- 100 USD notes receive 2% more kyat compared to 50 USD notes). Bring only newly issued USD currency (meaning the ones with the large off-centered portraits) without any tears or holes and avoid serial numbers beginning with CB. There have been widespread rumors that CB series notes are counterfeit. ATMs from CB Bank and KBZ Bank are available in Yangon and Mandalay. There is a 5000 kyat service fee and the maximum withdrawal is 300,000 kyats. Credit cards are only accepted in some upscale restaurants and some hotels do accept credit cards (surcharge of 3-8%) but it is not recommended to rely on this service as the Internet often shuts down during the day making payment by card impossible. Travelers Checks currently CANNOT be used or exchanged in Myanmar.
If this is the tour for you here's what you need to do to confirm your place: Read our Booking Conditions
From the tour page click the 'Book Now' link. All departures for this tour will appear, just select the date you'd like to travel. There is a minimum number of participants (usually 2) required to enable the trip to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to Depart'. Once a trip is guaranteed to depart you are free to book your flights and make other travel arrangements. If you are unsure about the trip status, please email us or call our office. For the next steps you'll need to know the names of the people traveling and have either a Visa or a MasterCard. If you wish you can also provide extra details such as passport numbers, height, or you can add that later by logging into Manage My Trip (we'll set up an account for you automatically if you don't already have one). However, if you wish to get a children's discount, please do fill out the date of birth of the riders. If you are having any problems, please send us an email, or give us a call (+66 2 381 7490) and one of our travel specialists will assist you with your booking.
For Long Tours (7 days or more) to guarantee your place we require a 30% or 500 USD deposit, whichever is the greater. For Short Tours (6 days or less) we require full payment to guarantee your place. We also require that you take out travel insurance when you book your holiday. Besides covering you during your holiday it will also enable you to claim for any money that you have paid to us, including your deposit, should you have to cancel your trip.
Full payment must be paid 45 days before the departure date with fees for any bicycle rental(s), single supplement(s) and extra hotel nights. Our confirmation will include personal details you provided us (including your flight information), visa application advice, a packing suggestion list and a detailed tour itinerary. It will also include a checklist to ensure you get everything ready for your holiday.
On the rare occasions when we, SpiceRoads, must cancel a trip, all payments received to date will be 100% refunded, which constitutes full settlement. There will be absolutely no deductions. If you, the client, must cancel your reservation, your cancellation fee will be determined according to when you cancel. For full details, please read our cancellation policy.
For those who have been on several long tours with us we reward customer loyalty by offering repeat customers a special discount off the tour price (excludes single supplement and bike rental). If this is your fourth scheduled tour or more you will receive a 5% discount. If this is your eighth scheduled tour or more we will extend a 10% discount. The discount will be reflected in your online booking, but please contact us if any questions. Loyalty discounts can not be used in conjunction with any other offer. Note: Only tours of 7 days or more will be applicable for loyalty discount.
International flights, to and from the start and finish points are not included in the tour price. Once your tour is Guaranteed to Depart you can book your flight. Please contact us for advice before arranging flights for the best arrival and departure times. We would only cancel a trip for an extreme circumstance, but in that case, where we cancel your trip, we cannot be liable for losses incurred relating to any flight booking you have made. Please claim any losses from your travel insurance that you acquired when you booked your holiday.
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The information in this document is given in good faith, and covers the average range of conditions likely to be found on this trip. Please note that the itinerary is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances, however, we will always do our best to adhere to this original itinerary
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The team was excellent, could not have been more helpful, intelligent and able to tailor to our needs. Obviously that is easier on both sides with a private trip where it is tailored to us, but they would be excellent with any group. We had good fun with all 3 of them, not just Thein. He is highly recommended by us of course. The hotels surprised us as they were more luxurious than we expected and are used to - you could stress this in your publicity.
The route seemed good, lots of temples but other things as well. We may have been a bit slow (and I sometimes flew a drone which made delays), but we would have liked to be more confident some days that we would get in with enough time for a swim (since there were pools) before going out to dinner. The parts that were in villages or on minor roads were the most interesting and ethnic, this might be increased. Sometimes there was a lot of plodding down main roads, especially the last day- perhaps an off road figure of 8 from Mt. Popa would allow more remote experience and still allow snack breaks then perhaps get drive back to Bagan. I was a bit shocked how expensive it was but we got a very professionally organised holiday for that, and we would recommend highly to those who can afford it!