A number of people have shown interest in travelling to Myanmar (Burma) by land. Many people have asked questions in comments about travelling by land, mainly driving their own car, to Myanmar. I will sum up these questions and will try to give detailed answers here.
We want to travel to Burma (Myanmar) by road. Is it possible?
It is possible to travel to Myanmar (Burma) by road from India. The easiest way is to use Moray-Tamu border check point. However, you cannot travel more than Tamu. The furthest you can travel is up to the immigration check point outside Tamu. You cannot also stay in Tamu overnight. You have to leave Tamu, and Burma on the same day that you enter.
Can I drive my own car into Burma from India?
No, you cannot. The immigration check point is only for the people. Not cars. You have to walk into Burma.
What about from Thailand to Burma?
You can visit border towns easily. These include Myawaddy, Tachileik and Kawthaung. Sometimes, foreign visitors are allowed to travel deeper than border towns, such as Kyaington and Tavoy (Dawei), but this is variable, depending on circumstances.
Can I drive into Burma from Thailand?
Yes, you can drive your own car into Burma from Thailand. However, you can drive only in the border town. Not further than that.
I want to enter Burma by land from Thailand/India, and then to Yangon/Mandalay/Bagan. Is it possible?
Under extremely rare circumstances, you will never get a chance. As I mentioned above, you cannot travel further than a few border areas.
How can I get that special permission to travel to Burma from Thailand/India?
You need to approach the Myanmar government directly. Most of the time, you might not get it.
i am planning to travel south east asia with my motorbike i got to know that myanmar doesnt give permission to enter but only in border. is it possible to reach cambodia taking only border help me how can i cross myanmar
There is no common border between Myanmar (Burma) and Cambodia. You will need to pass Thailand or Laos for that purpose. However, officially, you cannot enter Myanmar by air and cross the border into Thailand by land. According to the immigration law, you need to leave the country at the same port of entry. However, there are instances where you are allowed to leave at a different immigration check point (for example, entering from Yangon Airport and leaving from Mandalay Airport).
Dude
When u gone to Burma
u hadnt tell me
and where r u now a days
kindly contact
waiting to play football.
Thanks
Thanks for sharing this useful information. being an indian it will help me in planning my trip to burma.
Hi dude me to planning to go by bike if any information plz share
HI
Im in Vietnam now and want to go to India via Laos and Burma.
Is it possible?
Tnx for answers
Kond regards
Tomas
i think is it possible to come india,
i like to travel india to vietnam by road, on my bike,
didnt get clear information abt imigration rules etc.
if u like to come india , i will be happy to greet u ,
contact me , i like vietnam too much , see though only pictures,
my dream to come vietnam, lets hope
i m vikram
live near delhi
mail: vikram090@gmail.com
happy to reply u
Hi there,
I live in Country which is next to Burma, named Bangladesh. I want to travel to Burma from Bangaldesh and Then next go to Thailand from Burma By road. Is is possible? If i get the proper Visa from my country is it possible to get into Burma from Bangladesh and then go to Thailand by Road.
Eagerly waiting for the response.
Thank u
Ummeed
I believe you have the answer in the above article. To enter by land, you will need a special permission. And getting a special permission is quite difficult. Please contact the Myanmar (Burmese) embassy in Bangladesh for details.
hi friend i m interested like u.
I am quite sure Burma Senses Travel & Tours can do this kind of tour for you.
i’m a myanmar citizan but living in oversea for couple of year. i wish to visit by land drive myself via thailand to mother city. its possible to drive through!
I wish to ride from Calcutta (India) to Cambodia with a total of four motorcycles. The last comment on this page is dated March, 2010 and I wish to know if there is any change in the situation. I have been reading about the planned highway between Ramu (Bangladesh) and Kyauktaw (Myanmar) and in Jan 2011 the Myanmar government has reiterated its position to further this project. Has this even started? Has this affected the frequency of special permissions granted to ride into the country??
All such information would be extremely helpful. Thank you.
The road between Bangladesh and Myanmar is not open yet. For permissions to enter by land, please contact Myanmar embassy several weeks in advanced. Applications are considered case by case and takes a long time to know the result. Probably, the embassy will refuse to accept your application. But just try.
Hello Ko Bamarlay or Webmaster of this site,
I am promoting a Myanmar travel website. Could you please contact me? I’d love to do some business with you. My email address is submitted along with this comment.
I look forward to your correspondence.
Regards
Nay
Dear Friend,i am glad that you are here to help us.
I am from mumbai,India and i want to travel to myanmar by road.I kindly request you to answer following Q’s please
1)I hold Indian passport.Being Indian,do i need VISA to enter into Myamnar ? How can i contact Burmese embassy in India.Can you tell me where in India is it ?
2)From which checkpoint I should enter into myanmar so that time and distance will be saved ? I mean getting through Bangladesh is impossible as i dont want to give it a try..so from Which north east Indian state can i come into myanmar ?
3)I want to visit Rangoon and travel over all possible places in myanmar..but you said that i can only visit places on the border and cant go to Rangoon ..kindly give me some guidelines so that i can get a permission from embassy for visa to travel the places i have mentioned above..i am a buddhist and its my wish to come there on religious grounds.
4) Can i get Visa on Arrival in myanmar ?
5) please give me some common guidelines as an india traveller as i’ll be travelling for the first time out side my country and some ways to get permission to visti rangoon without denial by authority.
6) I had heard that on invitation of some family friends/real friend in myanmar,we can get the VISA or permission easily to travel myanmar confortably..is it true ? plz elaborate..
anything else that you would like to suggest will be most welcome..kindly reply with the concern as if i am your guest..
Have a nice day !
Thank you
Thanks for the comments. Please see the answers below.
1. Embassy of the Union of Myanmar
Address : 3/50 F, NYAYAMARG, CHANAKYAPURI NEW DELHI 110021
Tel : (009111) 6889007, 6889008
Fax : (009111) 6877942
email: myandelhi@gmail.com
Head of Mission : H.E U Kyi Thein (Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary)
Deputy Head of Mission : U Pyi Soe (Counsellor)
2. There are two official border pass between Myanmar and India. One is through Chin State, Reed border village. Very remote and difficult to travel. Northern Chin State is off limit to foreigners. Another check point is Tamu-Moray (from Manipur). Manipur has insurgents and the road in India is sometimes cut off by insurgents. Foreigners can visit Tamu from India, but they are not allowed beyond Tamu. It is difficult to get permission to travel beyond Tamu for foreigners as the road between Tamu and Kalay runs very close to India border and the cars and buses travelled in convoy with police escort. See the following post and related posts about Tamu and Kalay Tamu Highway.
3. If you are entering Myanmar through air, there is no restriction to travel most of the places in Myanmar. Exceptions are those areas with security risk and areas of insurgents.
4. Currently, visa on arrival service is temporarily suspended until further notice. No body knows when it will be available again.
5. If you have obtained visa through Burmese embassy, you will not be denied entry into Burma at the airport. From border town, I cannot say anything. Most probably, you will never get pass Tamu.
6. There is no need for an invitation letter to get visa. It is only for social visit, which is more expensive, but you can stay with your relatives (not friends) and can extend your visa with the guarantee of your relatives. It is exclusively for past Myanamr citizens, who officially denounce their Myanmar citizenship and now holding foreign passport, or husband/wife/children of Myanamr citizen.
It is possible for tourist to get a visa on arrival BUTYou must have applied before arriving in Myanmar and some restrictions applies.
If you do not applied for a visa on arrival procedure BEFORE your arrival in Myanmar, you can not get it at the airport.
Hi it’s MilAn lama from Nepal I wanna visit burma by road through India border so I have to do to get entry permission
i want to by land from india to manmar thakhilek barder go to laos vieantian
Hallo
last comment is dated April 2011. Does the situation change with all the changes in Myanmar government policy?
We are Swiss couple travelling by own car and would like to cross Myanmar from India to Thailand.
Any new information?
Thank you.
Miro
Borders of Myanmar are still impassable by land except to visit border towns.
hi, just out of curiosity, i was told by the myanmar agent that to travel by land from yangoon to mandalay with a stop in bagan is a no no case. the road is bad and take long time to reach each destination. we thought of traveling to see more of myanmar. what is your answer to this? is the road really bad.
You can read about travel between Began and Mandalay on our website. To make it short, yes it is bad between Began and Mandalay. But you can take a boat trip from Began to Mandalay. It takes only one day and you will have a nice experience. Read about boat trip on our website too.
I want to enter Burma by land from Bangladesh. Is it possible?
Currently, not possible to enter Myanmar from Bangladesh.
Hello,
I will travel with a gruop of friend to burma in autumn. we’ll make the Bagan-Mandalay-Inle classical trip and we would like to travel to mergui archipelago but i was told that flight are frequently cancelled (which are the airlines flying there?). Is it true? How can i be sure to get there and come back to to miss my international flight back home (Yangon – BKK – Milan)?
As an alternative option, i was wondering if i can i flight to BKK and from there take a flight to Ranong, enter by boat to Burma, make my cruise on Mergui islands and then go back to Rangon-BKK. Do you think it’s possible to have a doble entry visa and to enter by boat from Thailand?
I tried to ask the consulate but they didn’t give me a clear answer…
Thank you very much,
Fede
Dear sir,
I am Mr.Ohid from Bangladesh.I would like to go Burma by Road from Bangladesh. Its possible get visa Now ? Please know me . If not possible then how can i go Burma by road.
Thanks
Mr.Ohid
Currently, border between Myanmar and Bangladesh is closed.
hello, We are a group of 4 italian motobykers.
Our bikes are currently in Thailand
Our desire is to reach Nepal (Kathmandu) starting from Thailand.
The trip should take place in January 2013 to
On the basis of information that we have collected it is not possible to drive our moto trough the Myanmar.
Is so, the only possibility is to send our motorcycle via Air-frach to Kathmandu
But we would like to visit the Myanmar
Therefore we decided to test an alternative:
– rental of 2 pick-up at the Thailand-Myanmar border
– load the bikes on pick-up
– transfer to the Myanmar-India border (and to visit some important sites of Myanmar)
What do you think about this idea?
Please, let me know if this program is possible.
Tanks
Currently, border between Myanmar and India or Bangladesh is closed to foreign tourists.
Hi,
I wish to take a trip to Yangon to Mandalay to bagan to putao.. And thn exit by road to India from tamu.
I am Indian and If I get Burmese visa is it possible to do this trip? Also please tell me some local travel agents contact?
Currently, you cannot enter Myanmar by Air and exit by land route.
Hello. We would like to cross the land border Mae Sai/Tachilek and get a 14-days visa. Is it possible to get such a visa there and to go by air from Yagon back to Bangkok?
If not can I apply for a visa by internet? Is this page relaible: http://www.myanmarevisa.gov.mm/?
Thank you in advance for the answer.
Hi,
I’m a british national planning to fly to India in January and hoping to travel by land through burma into thailand. From this site it seems that this is not possible without permission from the embassy. If I cannot get this can anyone suggest a fairly cheap alternative way of getting from India into burma so that I can leave by the Thai boarder after travelling around burma.
Any help would be much appreciated.
the above comments are pretty old what is the current status if one intend to travel by road using one’s own vehicle…..tks
hello sir, i’m indian citizen and planning to travel burma, thailand, laos, cambodia and vietnam by land on motor bike. I have few friends who are interested as well (all himalayan indians and buddhist) i would like to know if its possible to enter burma and then enter thailand over land on motor bike ? thank you.
Yes, it is possible to do such a trip. We, Thai citizens did experience a 10-day trip last year from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Mae Sot then enter Myanmar, driving to Moreh and Manipur. Try to contact Burma Senses for help. (www.burmasenses.com).
Hi Mr. Tit,
Thank you very much for your valuable advice.
TQ
Savari Anthony
Hello! I would like to enter Myanmar (North) either from Laos or Thailand, is it that possible? I would also like lo leave the country at the Souht border with Thailand. I went to the Embassy of Myanmar in China (currently travelling here) and the guy told me something about travel agents…any clue of how to do the crossing and if is it possible at all? Many thanks!!
Hi there…
is there any news regarding Myanmar pass?
I’m Croatian citizen and I’m planing to make epic journey from Croatia to Australia by land..
I planing this for 2014…probably most difficult part of trip will be Myanmar..any suggestion?
Is there any possibility to go from India to Thailand trough Myanmar and then back month later?
I’ll really like to make this trip, every advice is welcome…
thanks
o yes…i forgot something important…
here is answer from Myanmar embassy in Berlin:
“Officially you cannot enter with your motorbike. Pls. ask Myanmar travel agencies.”
HI
Till now, you cannot enter Myanmar through border checkpoint (except for a short trip in the border town or a little beyond). It is especially restricted in the North-West border (with India and Bangladesh). There are plans to upgrade the border check points to permanent border pass between Myanmar and Thailand, but no plan yet between Myanmar and India/Bangladesh.
Hope this information helps.
My answer is yes, YOU CAN, based on what I did experience last April. We used the Burma Senses Travel & Tours who arranged all our services, permission documents months prior to our arrival.
Hi Good Day,
I am Savari Anthony from Malaysia, I would like to travel from Malaysia to South India by road. It will be Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar to India. Pls advice how to plan for the trip, Road to take, the best 4×4 vehicles to for the journey. I will be great obliged if you could give the above information. Some of my question been ask previously but is there any changes on Myanmar border crossing issues. TQ in advance for your valuable advice.
Thank you
The most exciting route is Mae Sot – Nay Pyi Taw – Kalay Myo then Tamu, before entering India. You need to have all the services, permission documents processed in advance, prior to your arrival. You can contact Burma Senses who arranged us an excellent caravan tour last April with a very reasonable price.
Thank you very much for your advice Mr. Danny. really appropriate can you pls give some information on road and ect at India.
Thank You,
Savari
Dear Sir,
I am Mr.Ohid. Now can i go Myanmar from Bangladesh by road ? Or if i wan to go via India Manipur then possible? Please late me know.
i am mr swapan. can i go myanmar from bangladesh by road?