Myanmar: Travel from Bagan to Inle Lake

If you are now trying to plan your Myanmar trip and are wondering how you could get from Bagan to Inle Lake you could consider two options depending on your budget – book a flight ticket or one for a bus.

Flight from Bagan to Inle Lake (Flight from Nyaung U to Heho)

There are four airlines offering domestic flights in Myanmar. Below you can check their websites:

http://www.yangonair.com/index.php/en/

http://www.airbagan.com/

http://www.gmairlines.com/

http://www.airmyanmar.com/index.php

When you look for a flight you need to consider that the closest airport to Bagan is the one in Nyaung U . The closest airport to Inle Lake is Heho – a one hour journey with a taxi from Nyaung Shwe where you most probably will be staying while visiting Inle.

How to book a taxi from and to Heho airport (Inle Lake)

I can recommend a taxi company for the journey from Heho airport to Nyaung Shwe – Mr. A tun Travel Agency. We found it while cycling in the city one evening and booked a taxi for our flight from Heho to Mandalay at a reasonable price – most probably better than the one they will offer you in the place where you will be staying. This is the e-mail address of the company: nanmyasein1985@gmail.com They also have a facebook page – mukyinanmyasein and can be reached by phone on 428354066.

Bus from Bagan to Inle Lake (Bus from Nyaung U to Nyaung Shwe)

How to book a bus ticket from Bagan to Inle Lake in advance

As we were travelling on a budget we decided to take the bus. There is one leaving at 7 p.m. and another one leaving at 9 p.m. We reserved our tickets with Ever Sky Information a few months in advance by sending them an e-mail at everskynanda@gmail.com. They will ask you to confirm your journey one week prior to departure and go pick your tickets and pay for them in their office in Nyaung U. When you rent an e-bike to explore the temples in Bagan you can go to Nyaung U and easily find their office by looking for the old bus station. Once you find it (when coming from old Bagan it will be on your left handside) you need to take the street crossing the main road on your right and then make another right turn. The price of a single ticket is 11000 Kyat which is around $10. They come and pick you up from your hotel (even if you are staying in New Bagan). The journey to Nyaung Shwe takes about 9-10 hours. If you decide to go for the bus take some warm clothes because the air conditioning is on most of the time and you might get cold. It is also advisable to take some food with you if you don’t want to eat at a very dirty restaurant on the road. You might also want to check the distance between the bus station at Nyaung Shwe and your hotel in order to be able to bargain for your transport on arrival. The drivers will ask for 5000 Kyat per person for a distance of 2 km which is too expensive. We paid 2000 Kyat per person.

Hope this will help you plan your trip!