Burma forum

cost for trekking to Inle Lake

ccalvin09

backpacker
Posts: 20

Hello TravelFishies,

My husband and I are weighing Laos against Burma for January. Either way, we only have two weeks and would keep itineraries minimal: Vientiane and Luang Prabang or Yangon, Bagan, Inle Lake.

Because we would fly between locations, Laos comes up as the cheaper option for internal transport. However the budgets could balance out when activities are factored in. We will likely do one guided activity, whether it be the Luang Say cruise or a Tiger Trails trek in Laos or a trek to Inle Lake in Burma. My struggle is that I don't know what an appropriate cost is for the Inle Lake hike. I want to do it over two days if possible (as opposed to three) in a small group with a guide staying over night at a monastery.

So my questions are two-fold:
1) what is a good cost and outfitter for the Inle Lake trek?
2) for those who have done both of these itineraries, which did you like better and why?

Cheers,
Christine

#1 Posted: 5/9/2011 - 10:14
mooball

tuk tuk driver
Posts: 127

This is a bit late, but anyway. I did the Inle Lake trek in 2010 and my memory is a bit hazy, but something tells me it was $12 per person for 2 nights accom and all food plus a guide. That sounds incredibly cheap... so maybe it was $12 per day. Whatever the case, I was very surprised at how cheap it was.

The Lonely Planet recommends the Indian family for trekking. They are glowing. But I have heard from a few people that went with them and were not happy with the situation. I went with Sam's trekking and there were only 2 of us on the trek whereas the Indian family had loads of people trekking. Go with Sam. All the way. By the way, the trek is brilliant and you could easily do it in 2 days, but be prepared for a hard slog. I think it's about 50km all up.

#2 Posted: 20/10/2011 - 17:47