Do the smart thing for yourself and the Burmese people and travel with a tailor-made package. We’ve the details to help make your choice.
Burma can be complicated and costly for the independent traveller, so taking a tailor-made package or a small-group tour is the smarter option. TransIndus (020 8566 3739, transindus.com) guarantees you will not use military-owned facilities, hotels, airlines, railways or agencies. You will stay in small owner-managed hotels and use private guides from companies independent of the regime.
An 11-day private tour with TransIndus costs from £1,698pp, visiting Rangoon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake, and including flights from Heathrow with Thai Airways (via Bangkok), B&B accommodation in three-star hotels, internal travel, sightseeing and transfers. Or try Audley Travel (01993 838000, audleytravel.com) or Bamboo Travel (020 7720 9285, bambootravel.co.uk).
As a rule, any hotel charging more than £19 a night will be owned and operated by associates of the regime or foreign entrepreneurs rather than locals. You can keep costs down and bring more benefit to the Burmese people by asking your tour operator to book you into family-owned lodgings. For a list of properties with ties to the regime, see tourismconcern.org.uk.
Contrary to much advice online, you must have sorted a visa before arriving in Burma: apply at the embassy in London (19a Charles Street, W1; 020 7499 4340; it costs £14).