Myanmar vs. Philippines

Very different destinations.

Diving..the Philippines for sure.

Transport Costs..Myanmar is considerably cheaper (though acommodation prices are rising fast there).Slow going in both places if you travel overland,though it is fairly cheap and easy to fly around in either country.

Myanmar is a more culturally interesting place for me...but for the sea,snorkelling,beaches etc. Philippines is way ahead.

BTW it is much more difficult than it should be to combine Myanmar with Bangladesh.

Basically I think you need to fly to Bangkok and then fly from there to Dhaka..there is no overland crossing and afaik no direct flights between Myanmar and Bangladesh....

As lucapal said if your after diving and beaches Phillipines makes more sense.

However, if you want to visit Myanmar you could split your time between Myanmar and Thailand (as you will most likely fly into Myanmar from Bangkok anyway). 2 weeks is enough for a basic (big 4) overland route of Myanmar. Alternatively 3 weeks will give you time for the big four plus a few sidetrips and maybe a bit of trekking. You could spend the rest of your time in Thailand diving. I don't know how the diving in Thailand compares to the Phillipines.

Thanks for the information.

That's a real shame about the Bangladeshi border. I agree that 3 weeks would probably be enough for Myanmar, and I have already been to Thailand.

In regards to the Philippines, is there a lot of non-beach things to do (I tend to get bored doing nothing at the beach very quickly). I think I would enjoy Manila, but other than that and diving, I am wondering what to occupy myself with if I chose the Phillipines (perhaps incorporate Taiwan as well).

Perhaps another consideration is that Burma has exploded the past 18 months. Tourists numbers have gone through the roof with numerous tour companies which in 2011 had no tours in Burma now have multiple tours taking hundreds of people each (combining to thousands amongst them). This is only likely to increase resulting in 3 things. 1. Burma will continue to get busier and busier. 2. prices will also go up. 3. Infrastructure will get better (the silver lining).

I think long-term the prices of accomodation will actually go down. At the minute there is a shortage of accomodation meaning hotels can charge whatever they want. As the number of hotels increases there is going to be more competition decreasing prices. The real game changer here would be if they got rid of the tourists having to stay in licensed hotels law. In terms of transport, food etc. I think they will continue to increase the prices aimed at tourists (e.g. fancy restaurants, VIP buses) but the local restaurants, buses etc will remain relatively unchanged. Obviously I'm just speculating here.

But it is a good point. Myanmar is changing a lot right now. If you wait a few years before you go there who knows what it will be like. Where as in a few years time the Phillipines are probably going to be similar to how they are now.

You could look to fly into Myanmar from Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) instead of Thailand, I imagine there is diving there?

The prospect of Myanmar becoming a little more 'watered-down' in the near future does make a more appealing choice at this stage.

The whale shark season in the Philippines ends in May meaning I will miss it (this was a major drawcard).

My only concern with Myanmar is that in July/August the weather may be fairly undesirable. Is there a monsoon/typhoon etc. season?

I am really looking for somewhere in SE Asia (close to the west coast of Australia) to go to for a few weeks, and I have already been to Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. Open to any other suggestions.

Thanks again

Obvious suggestion for weather is Indonesia.

Nearly all the rest of SE Asia will be in rainy season in July/August.

Of course that doesn't mean you can't go..I've been to all those countries in rainy season,and there is rarely a great problem.A couple of hours of heavy rain in the afternoon or evening mostly.

Indonesia will have the least rain and the most sun (and is easily accessible from Oz).

James, you make a good point that more hotels will be built and that should drive the prices back down.

I sometimes think I should go to Burma now before it changes further, but then I think it's already changed somewhat and waiting a little will mean that things will settle down and will make travel easier, as well as opening other parts of the country. having to accept that either way I've waited to long to visit the country anyway.