The Perfect Inle Lake Itinerary for Relaxation

If you are planning on visiting Inle Lake, then check out this two day Inle Lake itinerary and guide to start planning!

As we glided through the still waters of Inle Lake, sitting local style side by side on the bottom of the boat, I let the last three days of trekking through the mountains of northern Myanmar sink in.

My body was weary but my heart was full. What we had just completed was extraordinary but exhausting.

Now, what we all needed more than anything was a couple of days to relax, and the beauty of the vast lake as we headed toward the town of Nyaung Shwe was already making me feel at peace.

Inle Lake Itinerary for Two Days

Inle Lake. If you have heard of Myanmar you would probably have heard of Inle Lake. As far as tourist trails go in Myanmar, Inle Lake is firmly on it. Not that that is saying much really. The tourist trail in Myanmar is not exactly well-worn.

Inle Lake is approximately 22km long and 11km wide at its most expansive, and is the second-largest lake in Myanmar. The people of Inle Lake are the Intha and there are 70,000 of them living in the towns and villages around and on the lake, along with a mix of other ethnicities.

Nyaung Shwe is the largest town on the lake and is where most people visiting Inle Lake base themselves.

It isn’t much to look at with its ramshackle buildings and dust-choked roads but I enjoyed wandering the bustling streets and watching locals go about their days during my time there.

But you don’t go to Nyaung Shwe to check out the town, this is where you hire boats to do an Inle Lake boat tour. And that is what we did.

Inle Lake Itinerary Day One: Inle Lake Boat Tour

There is a reason why Inle Lake is one of the main stops on any good Myanmar Itinerary: It is an incredibly interesting and peaceful place, and there are a lot of Inle Lake attractions.

We hired a boat from by the bridge in town for a half-day Inle Lake boat trip. Our boat silently cruised through reed-enclosed waterways, past simple shacks on stilts and colorful patches of waterlilies.

Ingenious floating gardens made of seagrass islands secured into the mud by long bamboo poles grow tomatoes and other vegetables.

They thrive in their watery home, creating another food source for the local villagers.

Slowly the waterway widens before opening up into a broad expanse of water that felt like entering an inland sea. As we made our way into the middle of the lake the water slowly became clearer until you could see every wavy branch of the brilliant green lake weed forest under the surface.

I considered swimming until the sun disappeared behind a sea of clouds and the wind whipped up a chill in the air.

Fishermen wearing triangle hats and wide-legged pants posed for photos on the lake, lifting their nets wide while paddling the boat by wrapping their leg around the paddle and swirling it in the water.

Other fishermen were slapping the water as hard as they could with their paddles to scare the fish into the nets they had set. It was like watching a carefully choreographed ballet with the fishermen so nimble and agile going about their work.

On the edge of the lake and along the snake-like waterways there are numerous villages with many small enterprises that you are able to visit as part of the boat tour.

Cheroot makers rolled tobacco and various spices in large cheroot leaves as we watched. Although I quit smoking years ago, I tried a star anise cheroot which was spicy but mild.

A boat builder hammered away on his latest creation as we watched. Skilled lotus weavers weaved the super fine threads from local lotus plants into clothing in front of us, along with weaving of cotton and silk. Large vats with dye were heated and used for dyeing the threads.

At the Jumping Cat Monastery, the cats lazily lay around in the sun, not willing to show off the hoop jumping skills that the monks had taught them. There were no monks in sight.

A stop to watch Karen Long-neck women weaving felt exploitative and uncomfortable, knowing they had been bought to the village from their home villages in the mountains to be a tourist attraction.

A couple of our group had wanted to see them which is why we stopped there but the rest of us didn’t feel it was right.

The various stops as we explored the lake and its surrounds were informative and interesting, a lot more than I thought they would be, but my favorite part of the experience was being out on the lake itself.

It gave me the time to unwind and relax while marveling at its beauty.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing in my room and reading, before heading into town for a lazy dinner.

Inle Lake Itinerary Day Two: Biking and Hot Springs

There is other fun Inle Lake attractions other than just exploring the lake by boat tour, and on my second day in Inle Lake, my trekking friends and I rented bikes to travel to the small Khaung Daing hot springs complex. It was about an hour’s bike ride around the lake from Nyaung Shwe.

The road we followed was flat and shaded by trees, making it an easy ride with only one gradual hill to surmount. The countryside was golden hued and the trees swayed in a gentle breeze as we rode beneath them.

Just before we reached the hot springs we stopped at a small pagoda complex surrounded by frangipani trees, up on a hill. Once reaching the top we had views over the lake and marshlands below. A dry landscape of pale greens stretched to the horizon.

The hot springs are made up of three pools of varying heat, with one being so hot that no one could get in. There were padded deck chairs lined up in front of the pools to lie in the sun. It was only a small complex and quite expensive but I was glad to be there.

Soaking in the pools was just what we needed after a strenuous three days of trekking.

One kilometer further on from the hot springs, we ate lunch at a simple restaurant in the small village of Khaung Daing. A hungry group of cats and dogs surrounded our table begging for scraps.

With one of the bikes having developed a hole in the tire, we decided to catch a boat to take us and our bikes back to Nyaung Shwe.

Our boat took us the back way to town, through peaceful canals. The long reeds lining the water shone in the striking evening light. 

We were dropped down from the main docking area just before the sun went down, then biked along a dirt path next to a small canal. Friendly locals with magnificent smiles waved in greeting as we passed. It was a far cry from the hectic pace of the center of town.

Then, before I knew it, my short time at Inle Lake had come to an end, as we were catching the night bus to get down to Mawlamyine that evening.

Looking back now, the time I spent at Inle Lake had a lazy quality about it. My memories are bathed in a golden light and play over in my head in slow motion. I felt like I did a decent amount of Inle Lake sightseeing while still leaving time to relax and take it all in.

Inle Lake feels like it is stuck in time, in a good way. The days spent there gave me the peace and quiet I so desperately needed.

Logistics For Your Inle Lake Trip

How to Get to Inle Lake

I reached Inle Lake by trekking from Kalaw and then taking a boat over the lake, but if you aren’t planning on doing the trek, then you can take a regular bus from Kalaw which takes around 2.5 hours. Alternatively, here are some other bus options:

• Bus from Mandalay to Nyaung Shwe which takes 7-8 hours
• Bus from Bagan to Nyaung Shwe which takes 8-9 hours
• Bus from Yangon to Nyaung Shwe which takes 11-12 hours

You could also take a train from Yangon, and from Mandalay.

Where to Stay in Inle Lake

I stayed in the Inle Star Hotel and the best thing about it was the roof terrace where breakfast was served. The view over the water, the town, and the mountains in the hazy distance was beautiful, and a few levels up from the main street it was so much quieter.

The rooms are comfortable and the location is within easy walking distance of everything you need in Nyaung Shwe.

There are also a few hostels that have popped up in Inle Lake since I visited, Song of Travel Hostel is one of the best-rated and has private and dorm rooms. 

The Best Travel Insurance for your Inle Lake Trip

Make sure you get travel and health insurance before your Inle Lake trip, just to be on the safe side. Safety Wing is my go-to and they are cheap and easy to claim with – it also auto-renews every month unless you turn it off so you don’t have to think about it on longer trips.

Safety Wing also allows you to sign up when you are already traveling, unlike a lot of other travel insurance providers.

Also, don’t forget to pack this awesome water bottle with a heavy-duty filter – it’ll allow you to drink from the tap, saving money as well as being more environmentally friendly.

This post was updated in November 2022, I visited in December 2015.

If you liked this post, check out some of my other Myanmar content:

• How to Spend 3 Days in Yangon
• Why you Need to Visit the Bagan Pagodas, NOW!
• Trekking Kalaw to Inle Lake: The Best Trek I Have Ever Done
• Getting off the Beaten Path in Mawlamyine, Myanmar

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