Hello,
We are planning to fly to Bagan from Yangon on March 12th and return to Yangon on March 15th. Is it wise to make reservations on-line for Myanmar National Airlines, Air Mandalay, etc. for 2 round trip tickets, or to make them after we arrive there on March 6th? If air tickets aren't available, are there overland alternatives (say, taxi)?
DMS
Make the bookings online, unless you need to maintain some flexibility. Seats will be harder to get and more expensive closer to your travel dates. In addition to the companies you've mentioned look at Golden Myanmar (http://gmairlines.com/), which has departures from Yangon at 10.30 am rather than at 6.00 am as the others do, with fares from 53 to 63 USD each way.
One alternative is overnight bus, and there are numerous services on offer. Generally, you can buy tickets for these just before departure for around 13000 or 14000 MMK. These usually arrive in Bagan at 4.00 to 5.00 am, and in Yangon at 5.00 to 6.00 am.
There is also an overnight train, which leaves Yangon at about 4.00 pm. You will probably need to book this well in advance.
Air Mandalay are out of action....as above, check out Golden Myanmar, they fly Ygn-Bagan daily and are the cheapest option, with easy online booking and payment.
The guesthouses are very good and honest about booking travel for their guests. If you've already booked your first night's stay in Myanmar, perhaps you could call the guesthouse and see if they can book the plane tickets for you.
We stayed at the Motherland Inn 2 and they had several staff to help tourists with bookings. Upon our arrival in Yangon last January the guesthouse booked our air travel Yangon --> Heho (4 seats) 7 days prior to the flight.
all guesthouses/hotels can book flights...they maybe add a $ or 2 to collect the tickets, from their agents..
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