1

Bus is just fine and does take five hours and then you are only at the base and have to get to the top. That takes a while as you need to wait until the bus to the top is full. You would need to stay overnight and leave the next day before noon.

2

If you want to make a day trip to Golden Rock from Yangon , you have to hire the private car . If you just take the bus , you have to sleep one night at the base camp or at the top of mountain . Whether you go there by bus or private car , you have to take truck again to top of Mountain .There is no exact schedule for the truck and so you have to wait till full people in car and it will cost you 2000 Ks per person for truck to top . If you are going there by bus , it will cost you about 9 US$ and 150 US$ for private air conditioning car and English speaking driver .
The advantages of private car is you can visit Htauk-Kyant War Cemetry , Bago and some places on the way . But , you have to go very early morning and may be you are back in Yangon round about 8 pm .

Welcome to Myanmar and if need more help can PM me !

3

If you do it on your return journey say on the overnight fbus rom Inle/Mandalay/Bagan the bus will drop you off early around 4am at the junction to Khyaiktho Golden rock. here are plenty of local pick ups heading there and maybe some buses you can flag down. then you will be in time for morning trucks to the Golden rock up the mountain and after wards get a bus direct to Yangon.
alternatively get off the overnight bus at Bago and catch the bus to Golden rock from there.

4

Hi,

Do you mean then that you could do the Golden rock and return same day to Yangon? Is this feasible with the bus from Bagan?

5

Ten years ago I did it as a day trip from Bago by rented car with driver (25$ then).
We started at 8 a.m. and came back after dark.
Unless the roads in this area have improved dramatically since, which I doubt, then you better forget the idea of a day trip to the Golden Rock from Yangon.

6

the buses from bagan mandalay etc start arriving around 4am to 5am and about 3kms before you hit bago is the turn off toe goldenn rock Hapin etc etc there are plenty of pick ups going there from junction arrive 2-3 hrs later have breakfast join pick up queue and after you've seen golden rock back down for lunch and after lunch buses head direct for Yangon.
alternatively if yuo are worried about being stuck at junction thenget off centre for bus station and catcha bus direct from Bago around 630 am etc etc