current rules on riding Myanmar on your own hike w/o a guide

Joined
Oct 2, 2013
I looked thru some of the other ride reports to see if anyone has done an unsupported ride in myanmar with all paperwork being processed at the border, but it wasn't clear if it has been done yet.
i am planning to ride my Thai plated CrF250 in to Myanmar in December/January and tour around the country for about 30 days.

does anyone know if it is possible to just show up, pay some money at one of the borders and just ride around without a guide?
if so, how it the process done?


when i crossed at mae sot earier this year, they kept my passport at the border. are they still doing that everywhere?

i would like to ride in one border and out another so it would be nice to have my passport travel with me.
 
I looked thru some of the other ride reports to see if anyone has done an unsupported ride in myanmar with all paperwork being processed at the border, but it wasn't clear if it has been done yet.
i am planning to ride my Thai plated CrF250 in to Myanmar in December/January and tour around the country for about 30 days.

does anyone know if it is possible to just show up, pay some money at one of the borders and just ride around without a guide?
if so, how it the process done?


when i crossed at mae sot earier this year, they kept my passport at the border. are they still doing that everywhere?

i would like to ride in one border and out another so it would be nice to have my passport travel with me.

The situation is as follows:

First of all - from what I've heard passports are no longer held at the border crossings if you are entering on a border pass. If you want to enter at one checkpoint and leave at another - no problems since August 28, 2013, so almost 11 months now. All you will need is a valid Myanmar visa. I've been through Myawady and back 3 times with a valid Myanmar visa in my passport and proceeded through to Hpa-an and on one of those 3 trips back in October, to Yangon.

Since some border crossings are no longer offering border passes anymore, you'd be highly advised to obtain a Myanmar visa in advance, which is required anyway if you want access anywhere further away from the border. If you head west from Myawady for example, after about 20km there is a checkpoint where they will check your passport and visa. That's at the start of the mountain pass. 2-2.5 (sometimes up to 3) hours and barely 40km later on the other side of the mountain just before Kawkareik, another checkpoint checks your details again. If they remember you from the way down on the way back, the checks will be very cursory on the return. Of course if you return through another border crossing such as Htee Khee/Phu Nam Ron in Kanchanaburi province you wouldn't be heading back the same way anyway. There may not be any checks on that road either (I haven't been through Htee Khee all I know is it's a winding dusty road through the jungle that is currently being improved by Italian-Thai), but technically you will still need a Myanmar visa to head through that border in either direction.

I believe you may cross to Tachilek from Mae Sai with a motorcycle and no tour, but would be restricted to a radius not far from the border.

Otherwise, a tour I believe is still required and requires getting the documents together in advance. If you make contact through a tour agency as little as a month ahead of the crossing date (or in the case you are joining a tour that leaves in say 2 weeks, it might also be possible to make it in time) it's quite easy to do. It seems that operators are doing caravan tours by motorcycle or car, or a combination of both every couple of weeks these days.

Rumour has it that by next year or so, restrictions on entry of foreign registered vehicles requiring either a tour or restrictions on riding away from the border areas without one will be removed. That means that you should be able to ride/drive to all non-restricted areas starting after that time just by showing up at the border and filling out some paperwork, which is the procedure at the Lao/Malaysian borders currently. Anyway as is typically the case with such things, no firm date can be put on when that might happen - but I'd imagine that in line with the upcoming AEC 2015, it should be done in time for that.
 
thanks for your reply blackwolf. that was very helpful.
so where are the places one can pick up a Myanmar visa in Thailand?
how long and how much?
i crossed the border at Mai Sai in January of this year. i got a border pass at the border, was required to leave my passport at the border and then rode 100 km to the next town. there were two check points but i was not asked to show any paperwork and was waive thru. i want to ride from Mai Sai to Mae Sot in January.
also, is it possible to get a 90 day multi entry visa for Myanmar?
thanks
 
You will need Myanmar government approved itinerary and guide which take 90 days of processing in advance.
 
but blackwolf made it all the way to Yangoon with just a visa.
i suppose the offical story is still an approved aggenda and a guide, but does anyone actually enforce such a law any more?
when i was there, i passed thru two check points without an issue
what's the worst that could happen anyway?
death by firing squad?
in 2015, the Asean free trade agreemnet takes effect which should allow for more free movement in the country.
i am going to volunteer as the guinea pig
 
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