Traveling in Burma (Myanmar) - Practicalities Getting to Myanmar Tourist Information Domestic Flights Passport and Visa Clothing Rail Services Airport Facilities Communication Services Road Transport Airport Tax Media Inland Waterways Duty Free Shopping Myanmar Embassies and Consulates Airline Offices
Please note: The information below is provided as a courtesy to those who are traveling to Myanmar proper. If you are diving in the Mergui Archipelago, almost none of this information applies to you. For more information, visit the boat's pages or this page here. Please do not get confused that when you go diving in Burma you will go to the capital of Myanmar or anywhere else in the north, you will not. You do not need a visa for Myanmar (Burma) to go diving there, we arrange that for you. Getting to Myanmar By Air Myanmar is served internationally by: Air China Air Mandalay Bangkok Air Biman Indian Airlines Myanmar Airways International (MAI) Pakistan International Phuket Air Malaysian Air Qatar Royal Brunei Silk Air Thai Airways International Yangon has direct air-links with: Bangkok Brunei Singapore Hong Kong Calcutta Chiang Mai Dhaka Doha Jakarta Karachi Kuala Lumpur Kunming London Osaka By Sea Cruise Ships call at Yangon Port with visa on arrival being granted on prior arrangement. Overland Overland entry with a Border Pass is permitted at the following Border Check Points: Kyukoke, Namkhan and Muse on the Myanmar-Yunnan (China) border; and Tachileik, Myawaddy and Kawthaung on the Myanmar-Thai border (Ranong, where the dive boats leave from). Passport and Visa A valid passport with Entry visa is required for all tourists & businessmen, applicable at Myanmar Embassies and Consulate General Offices abroad. Both Tourist Visa & Business Visa are valid for 28 days, extendible to 14 days for tourists & 3-months for business. There are two types of Visa called Visa on Arrival and EVT. Visa on Arrival This procedure was specially designed for the tourists who live in a country where there is no Myanmar Embassy. But now everybody can apply. It works like this: Tourists send information necessary to an authorized local travel company and that travel company will do all the paperwork in Myanmar. Then the company will send an approval letter which clients have to show to airlines and immigration officer when entering Myanmar. The information of the clients as follows is necessary: Visitors full name and passport numbers Date of issue and place of issue Date of expiration Father’s name Date of Birth and place of birth Occupation. Home address. Nationality. Two (2) recent passport size photographs. Countries for passport validity (generally this is 'all' if you are from a Western Country) Visa-on-arrival takes about 10 working days but sometimes it takes 3-days. (In other words, who the heck knows so plan ahead). Click here for visa application form EVT Visa Tourists can apply for an EVT visa at Myanmar Embassies & Consulates General offices worldwide. Airport Facilities Yangon International Airport is located 20 km from downtown Yangon. The Arrival Terminal is located separately from the Departure Terminal and the Domestic Terminal and simplified procedures ensure that on arrival and departure, international passengers are processed quickly through immigration and customs. Limousine Service A Limousine Service Counter is located in the arrival hall. Major hotels provide transfer services; and taxis are also available. Passengers are advised not to use the services of touts for taxi. Airport Tax The airport tax is US $10 for international passengers, payable in FEC (Foreign Exchange Certificates). There is no airport tax on domestic flights. Duty Free Shopping Duty Free shopping facilities are available in both the departure and arrival Halls of Yangon International Airport. Airline Offices International airlines maintain offices in Yangon. Tourist information Tourist information is available at the Arrival Hall of Yangon International Airport; Head Office in downtown Yangon at 77-91 Sule Pagoda Road (Tel: 95-1-252859); Bagan Office (Tel:95062-252859); Mandalay Office (Tel: 95-2-60356, 02-60357) at Mandalay Swan Hotel; Taunggyi Office (Tel: 95-081-21611, 95-081-21302) at Taunggyi Hotel; Kawthaung Office; Tachileik Office and Muse Office. Clothing Light, casual wear, preferably cotton is suitable all year round. A cardigan or light jerkin, when visiting northern Myanmar in the cold season and an umbrella during the rainy season are suggested. Sandals or slippers are convenient, as the dress code for pagodas and monasteries prescribe decent apparel and no footwear (i.e. removal of shoes and socks). Communication Services Postal Service - The Yangon Central Post Office, located at 39, Bo Aung Kyaw Street, is open from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday. Major hotels provide mail boxes; and postage stamps are available at the Reception Counters. Telephone - International phone calls can be made by International Direct Dialing (IDD) phone or through operators from most hotels in Yangon, and from some hotels at major tourist sites. Teledensity is 0.95. Internet-E-mail - Internet & email access is possible at Cyber Cafes and some hotels. Media Newspaper - Three morning newspapers Myanmar Ah Lin and Kye Mon in Myanmar and The New Light of Myanmar in English are published in Yangon and The Yadanabon News in Myanmar is published in Mandalay. Myanmar Times Journal (English Version) is distributed every Monday, and the Myanmar Version is distributed ever Friday. Both journals are published in Yangon. An evening newspaper City News Myanmar is published in Yangon. The locally published magazines in English; Golden Myanmar, Myanmar Chronicle, and Myanmar Perspective, are available in bookshops. Foreign newspapers such International Herald Tribune, as Singapore Straits Times. and some foreign magazines and periodicals are available at In-wa (Ava) Bookshop, No.232, Sule Pagoda Road. Reflecting the life style and the daily life of Myanmar people, there are a few magazines in Myanmar while journals in all form come out. Some magazines are: Fashion Image, Mahaythi, Faces, Digharyu, Idea, Living Color, Lifestyle, and Alinkar. Some Journals are: Ray of Light (A-lin-tan), Achit, Myanmar Thit, Interview, and Internet Journal. Radio - Radio Myanmar broadcasts English on the following schedule: 8:30 AM to 9:00 AM 1:30 PM to 2:00 PM; and 9:00 PM to 10:30 PM. The new City FM broadcasts from 07:00 AM to 09:00 PM daily. Television - There are two local TV channels: TV Myanmar and Myawaddy with programs running as follows and most hotels also have satellite TV. TV Myanmar: (Mon - Fri) 07:00 to 08:45 16:00 to 20:00 (Sat - Sun) from 07:00 to 09:00 11:00 to 15:00 16:00 to 20:00 Myawaddy: (Mon - Fri) 7:00 to 08:15 AM 4:00 to 08:00 PM 7:00 to 08:45 AM (Sat - Sun) 07:00 to 08:10 16:00 to 20:00 MRTV 3 - English programs are telecast for viewers in Myanmar from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM The transmission hours for viewers from abroad are from 13:00 AM to 14:00 AM, 18:00 to 19:00 , and from 02:00 to 04:00.
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Domestic Traveling Domestic Flights The main tourist centers are located at a distance from Yangon, and it is convenient for visitors to travel by domestic flights. Myanmar Airways, Air Mandalay and Yangon Airways operate flights of major tourist sites including Mandalay, Bagan, Heho, Thandwe, Myitkyina, Tachileik and Kawthaung. Rail Service Yangon-Mandalay is the main rail link with four express trains running daily between Yangon and Mandalay. Furnished coaches (Cherry and Padauk) for a group of 4 or 8 persons are available. From Thazi on the Yangon-Mandalay line, a branch line runs to Shwenyaung (the nearest station to Inlay Lake) and to Taunggyi. From Mandalay, there are rail services to Pyin Oo Lwin, Lashio, Monywa and Bagan. There is also a rail service from Yangon to Bagan which operate on alternate days. Dagon-man 01-277503 Station Enquiry 01-274027 Malikha-Mandalar 02-21385 San Thaw Tar 01-221460 (Cargo Train) 01-222700 Road Transport & Highway Buses Most tourist sites are also accessible by road. There are 12 Highway Bus services running between Yangon and Mandalay using air-conditioned coaches. Traveling time is about 14 hours with brief stop - overs at Taungoo and Pyinmana. Limousine taxis and mini-buses are available in Yangon for sightseeing and up country tours. Inland Waterways Myanmar has many rivers and a large delta in which the Inland Water Transport operates a huge fleet of double and triple-decker boats. There is a regular service between Bhamaw and Mandalay and between Mandalay and Pyay (Prome) via Bagan. A journey on Burma’s Irrawaddy River is one of life’s great travel experiences. No vessel could be more appropriate for this than the RV Pandaw. Built in Scotland in 1947, the Pandaw is the same design as the original Irrawaddy Flotilla Company steamers that coped so well with the difficult conditions of the Irrawaddy. "The Road to Mandalay", a luxury boat operated by E & Q Services, sails from Mandalay to Bagan during the open season. Irrawaddy Princess, a catamaran, operates between Mandalay and Bagan and is also available for charter to Bhamaw and Pyay (Prome). The north and western part of the country are very rugged and mountainous. Three parallel chains of mountain ranges run from north to south. They begin from the eastern extremity of the Himalaya to Hka-kabo Razi (5881m), the highest peak in Southeast Asia. The mountain chains separate the country into three river systems the Ayeyarwaddy, Sittaung and Than-Lwin.
For free maps when in Yangon 165/167, Rm.4, 1st Fl., 35th Street, Kyauktada Tsp., Yangon, Myanmar. (Burma) Tel: (+95-1) 20 40 20, 20 40 92, 700 541, (+95-9) 99 25558 Website: http://www.dpsmap.com