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Crossing overland Thailand to Myanmar Mae Sot to Myawaddy
This blog takes you step by step through the exciting journey of entering the AMAZING Myanmar Burma. At present the following overland crossings from Thailand into Myanmar are open to foreigners: Crossing overland Thailand to Myanmar Mae Sot to Myawaddy
Mae Sot – Myawaddy
Mae Sai – Tachileik
Phunaron – Htee Kee
Ranong – Kawthaung
This page will focus on getting you from Chiang Mai to Mae Sot to Myawddy, which is the most logical route if you have been travelling North Thailand.
All this assumes you already have your visa. If not, then best get on our blog about how to apply for your visa… Crossing overland Thailand to Myanmar Mae Sot to Myawaddy
How to get a visa for Myanmar>>
Crossing overland Thailand to Myanmar Mae Sot to Myawaddy
1. Take a bus from Chiangmai to Mae Sot
Buses directly to the border town of Mae Sot run from Chiangmai long distance bus station terminal 3. It is located around 5km from the centre of the Old City in the North East direction. Terminal 3 is directly opposite to terminal 2. The bus station is a 1-1.5hour walk from the centre of the Old City. Alternatively you can take a tuk tuk for around 100-200Baht (around $3-$6 or £2-£4) depending on the number of people and your bartering skills. The location of the bus terminal is pinned on this map: Crossing overland Thailand to Myanmar Mae Sot to Myawaddy
Once you arrive at the bus station there is a ticket office to the left for a company called Green Bus. At present this is the only company that has direct buses to the Thai border town of Mae Sot. Buses depart at 8.30am, 11.45am and 1.10pm and the journey takes around 6 hours. The tickets cost 210 baht (around $6 or £4) or 290 (around $8 or £5) baht per person.
Crossing overland Thailand to Myanmar Mae Sot to Myawaddy
If you miss the last bus at 1.10pm, there is another company called Sritawong Tour who sell tickets to the Thai town of Tak which is around a 1-2 hour journey from the border town of Mae Sot. The journey from Chiangmai to Tak takes around 5 hours and costs 195 baht (around $6 or £4) – 250 baht ($7 or around £5). Buses from Tak to Mae Sot start early in the morning and cost 78 baht ($2 or £1.50). Tak bus station is a little way out of town but does have a cheap and VERY basic hostel in the corner of the bus yard (ask around for directions) with rooms for around 200 Baht. Food at the bus station is lovely and cheap. Crossing overland Thailand to Myanmar Mae Sot to Myawaddy
Border opening times: The Mae Sot – Myawaddy border (friendship bridge) is open from 5am till 8pm
If you arrive in Mae Sot after the border has closed you can find rooms in Mae Sot. There are guest houses near the bus station with fan rooms starting at 200 baht ($6 or £4) Crossing overland Thailand to Myanmar Mae Sot to Myawaddy
2. Take a taxi (or hitch) to the border
The border is around 7km from the bus station in Mae Sot is probably a little too far to walk unless you have a a lot of time and energy and very little money! A motor bike taxi to the border will cost around 100 baht ($3 or £2) and they seem to be very reluctant to barter. At present the pick up buses say they do not take people to the border (not sure whether this is true and if so why they don’t take people to the border?!) There are also official metered taxis around town; be prepared to agree a price before the journey. If you wish to hitch hike, walk to the main road from the bus station (3 minute walk) and hitch hike in a west bound direction.
Crossing overland Thailand to Myanmar Mae Sot to Myawaddy
This map shows you the location of the bus station in Mae Sot and the border to the west.
3. Exit Thailand
Remember to stamp out of Thailand. Actually its pretty hard to miss the point where you stamp out:
4. Enter Myanmar
Once you have officially left Thailand you have to cross Friendship bridge before you stamp into Myanmar
At the other end of friendship bridge you will see an immigration office (to the left) where you stamp into Myanmar.
5. Find a bus or a place to stay
As soon as you rock up in Myawaddy you feel like you are stepping into a different world! There are at least 3 ATM machines a 1 minute walk straight down the main road from the border. They are attached to banks and are located close together on the left and right of the main road. Ayeyarwady Bank has a slightly lower charge for withdrawing foreign currency.
If your schedule permits we highly recommend a stay in Hpa An as there are MANY things to do in the area.
You can also find buses to Hpa An or arrange a shared car. Cars and buses run in both directions on the Myawaddy-Hpa An main road every day.
A shared car to Hpa An will start at around 10,000 kyat (around $10 or £7) however if you barter and are willing to walk on you may be able to get it a lot cheaper. We got a shared car down to 5,000 kyat per person (around $5 or £3) by walking quite far out from the border. Many of the shared mini buses and taxis wait at the boarder, so you can walk straight onto one.
There is also a bus company called Shwe Mandalar. To get to the bus ticket office from the border, turn left and U turn, almost walking back on yourself as you follow the road. Ask for Shwe Mandalar (pronounced “Sher-wee Man-dal-ar), which will be a right turn down another road into some run down looking buildings.
There is one 5pm bus to Yangon- which is almost a sleeper. Tickets to Hpa An cost 8,000 Kyat (around $7 or £5) to and tickets to Yangon cost 12000 Kyat ($11 or £8).
Doing a visa run from Thailand?
If you are coming to Myanmar for a visa run from Thailand the information is very similar, however depending on your schedule you may just want to spend a few hours in Myawaddy before returning to Thailand. There are some nice temples to see around Myawaddy town.
Looking for a place to stay?
We have put together some great blogs on local guests houses you can book along the way…
Bagan>> Inle Lake>> Kalaw>> Mandalay>> Hpa An>> Hsipaw>> Pyin U Lwin>> Myawaddy>>
Or if you prefer to get organised and book everything in advance, this should be uber helpful:
Book you room in Yangon HERE (Explore the golden cities temples)
Book your room in Nyaung U (Bagan) HERE (A base for exploring famous temples)
Book your room in Inle Lake HERE (See the famous local fishermen)
Book your room in Kalaw HERE (Prepare for the Iconic Inle Lake Trek)
Book your room for Mandalay HERE (Walk the beautiful U Bein Bridge)
Book your room in Pyin oo Lwin HERE (Explore stunning waterfalls)
Book your room in Hsipaw HERE (For beautiful hill tribe trekking)
Book your room in Hpa An HERE (For climbing Mt. Zwegabin)
First Time in Myanmar ??
Myanmar is changing rapidly, so up-to-date blogs (like this one, ahem!) will be a great source. But If it’s you’re first time visiting Myanmar you will probably want to grab a travel guide too. I always think you don’t need more than a ‘Rough Guide‘ as it is about making it your own adventure! They have a pretty cheap kindle copy as well as the actual book.
There’s always more…
Don’t miss out on the epic awesomeness of Myanmar, make sure you check out our TOP 10 THINGS TO DO IN MYANMAR and SHARE SHARE SHARE it with anyone you know who’s heading there …
Crossing overland Thailand to Myanmar Mae Sot to Myawaddy
18 Responses
Sandrine
Hello
Thank you very much for your useful website. I just arrived in Myawaddy and went to evergreen motel but They refused me… And send me to a hotel gouvernment (expansive) … What happen? Does it means I need to Book in advance on website like booking dot Com ?… I would prefer just to go and see but if people refuse me… What do you think ?
Thank you very much
Pete Tryon
Hi Sandrine,
Thank you so much for letting us know it really does help the community. I am really sorry – this must have been disappointing on arrival. We were worried this may happen while there is a lot of instability in Myanmar. Hostels do need a license to take foreigners and have to pay a registration fee- so hopefully its just temporary. We will put a note to let travelers know about this.
Hope the rest of your trip goes well
Pete
Bart Schoonbaert
Hi there,
This site was very helpful to us, thanks. Crossed a few days ago, a few points that might be useful:
— we were not asked where we would leave Myanmar from, so no need to worry about that in advance (some other sites suggested this was needed)
— eVisa states that you need to have proof of exit flight. Also not needed.
— exchanged baht to kyat with one of the many money traders, and bargained with them over exchange rate. Worth doing so, ended up with a much better rate than at the start
— took car to Mawlamyine (which is lovely). Didn’t need to be in Hpa An, so driver took a shortcut about 55 km before Hpa An. This is in essence a very long unpaved road, which makes for a beautiful ride but also a risky one. In that it had recently rained, and we got stuck in the mud once or twice. Almost to the point of having to retrace our steps, which would have added hours to the journey (as opposed to reducing it from 5 to 4). We didn’t really have a choice, driver spoke no English and just took the shortcut (it’s pretty obvious when he leaves the main road). But would recommend to object if weather is or has been bad.
– paid 950 baht for 3 of us, a tiny bit more than could be achieved if joining others in a full car, but it was just us.
— all in all, super easy and fun experience. Immigration guy on Myanmar side is fantastic.
On a semi-related note, apparently only people with business visas can use AirBnb. The government have just started enforcing this, and apparently two tourists have been deported.
Bart
Globemad Emma
Hi Bart, Thank you so so much for taking the time to write all this! It so kind of you and will hopefully help lots more travellers too! I’ll weave all the new info into the blog asap to keep everyone else posted on the latest too.
Hope you have an epic time in Myanmar, I’m glad the blogs have been helping, if I can help with anything else whilst you’re there, please just ask 🙂
Chris Lin
Hey,
Thanks for all the informations, it’s very helpful but I just wanna make sure if the bus (Shwe Mandalar) leaving for Yangon from Myawaddy is on a daily basis because I got so many different informations on the net and got very confused. Also I would like to know how to book a seat online. Thanks again for this great blog.
Chris
Pete Tryon
Hi Chris,
So glad the information has been helpful. When we were there the buses for Yangon were leaving every day at 5pm for 12,000 Kyat. This was the only bus to Yangon. If you have time Hpa An is well worth a visit too https://www.globemad.com/things-to-do-around-hpa-an-myanmar-burma/ Happy travels 🙂
steffi
Hey there, i got a evisa but choosed the wrong entry (Mai Sai) which is now writen on my approval/ confirmation letter – do u think i still can get in in Mai Sot? Thanx steffi
Pete Tryon
Hi Steffi, thanks for the question. The official evisa site says that you can enter through any of the official ports of entry for evisas however, you are advised to enter through the specified port of entry to reduce waiting / processing times: https://evisa.moip.gov.mm/NewApplication.aspx#
The official ports of entry (Dec 2017) currently include:
Yangon International Airport
Mandalay International Airport
Nay Pyi Taw International Airport
Tachileik Land Border Checkpoint
Myawaddy Land Border Checkpoint
Kawthaung Land Border Checkpoint
Also there seem to be lots of online forums that confirm this too.
Hope this helps and happy travels 🙂
Pete
steffi
Dear Pete,
Thanx for this quite answer! I do know the official ports of entry, but as i said, when i applied for the visa, i choosed the wrong entry in Tachileik, because i really wanna go in by land, but didnt know that in Tachileik i wont be able to go on… So know is on my approval letter writen Tachileik, but i do wanna go in at Myawaddy – do u think i ll still be able to get in? I dont mind if the process takes longer, i just wanna get through eventualy… Thanx for being patient with me, steffi
steffi
Well, maybe for a better understanding, i hade to choose a port of entry from the 6 options they have at the moment. Since im right now in the north of Thailand i choosed the Tachileik one without knowing that i wont be able to travel further then to Kyaington…. From there the only way to keep on is flying… I did find that out now n of course dont want to go through there anymore Since my aim is to travel only by land… N now i wonder if they will still let me in in Myawaddy with my approval letter (evisa) or do i have to aply for a new one with the right entry writen down? thanx for taking the time here, thats all very helpful!! Steffi
Pete Tryon
Hi Steffi, nice to hear from you again. I think I would also feel a bit unnerved entering through a different port to what it says on your approval letter. The first thing to say is that we cannot provide any offical advice and local regulations can change. However, from looking at the official evisa site and forums- as long as you have an evisa you can enter through any of the six ports regardless of the port that is written on your approval letter. So if I was in your situation I would personally go for it- but ultimately it is your choice. You could try contacting them directly to confirm. Please let us know how it goes- this will be helpful for other travellers. We’d also love to hear about your adventures in Myanmar 🙂
steffi
Thank you so very much!! Because my 1. Thought also was i ll just go for it n c whats happening (: so i simply will try n definitly let u know how it went… By the way, i did write to the them (answerd the approval letter) if it would be possible to change my entry port, or if i still can just cross, but they didnt get back to me jet… Well i ll keep u posted! Thanx for everything! Steffi 🙂
steffi
Well just wanted to say: all went absoluty fine! Just walked over n got into Myanmar without any problem! He didnt botherd at all what was writen on my approval letter… So thanx again for all the very helpful advise (:
Steffi
Pete Tryon
Hi Steffi,
So happy to hear this 🙂 I remember the officers at the border being really nice and friendly when we crossed. I hope you have lovely travels in Myanmar. Please do check out our top 10 for ideas and inspiration for your trip https://www.globemad.com/globemad-top-10-things-to-do-in-myanmar-burma/
Have an amazing time and a happy Christmas
Pete
Lena
Hi there! Thanks so much for this info! When you say the bus to Yangon is “almost” a sleeper, what do you mean? What is the bus like? We have had mostly great sleepers, but also a couple of nightmare experiences! haha
Globemad Emma
Hey Lene, I wouldn’t call it a nightmare, but the seats dont recline as much as they could and they were 4 across rather than 3. You could probably sleep if you are used to roughing it, but the one we mean wasn’t VIP style.
Silvana
Thank you! So very detailed! Love it 🙂
Globemad Emma
haha! so crazy – just reinvesting time in this site and noticed your a digital nomad mom!! since working on this site ive now got to little ones i travel with! wow time flies! love your site 🙂