Myanmar Motorcycle Tours FAQ

Frequently asked questions about riding in Myanmar, necessities, hazards etc. Let us know if we didn’t cover here what you were looking for. Our team is here to help 24/7.

General

Visas and border crossings to Myanmar

Getting a tourist visa to Myanmar is easy. You can obtain e-visa from Ministry of Immigration’s official web site. E-visa costs 50$and you can pay it with credit card. Tourist visas are always valid for 28 days. Overstay is charged at 3usd per day at airport when departing Myanmar. If you plan very long trip let us know and we’ll help you to obtain business visa which is valid for 70 days. The application handling is fast you will normally get e-visas in 24-48hrs. With e-visas you can arrive by air to Yangon and Mandalay. Overland from Thailand Mae Sot/Myawaddy, Mae Sai/Tachileik and Ranong/ Kawthaung. Overland from India Moreh/Tamu and Rikhandar crossing Mizoram to Chin State. China Myanmar border between Muse and Ruili has still restrictions and no e-visa are accepted.

Driving in Myanmar & license

Myanmar has right side traffic. Local drivers don’t pay attention when turning or use indicators. They might stick hand out of window to indicate doing a turn at best and farmers often ride to main roads with their scooters without watching if any traffic is approaching. So general survival rule is to keep some safety distance and expect drivers to do sudden turns or stops.
Outside main cities there is very little traffic on roads and riding is less intense and pleasant road condition has improved greatly all over the country in the past years.

About drivers license. Although rarely asked while riding motorbike in Myanmar you should always carry along your international drivers license. The authorities and police are in general very friendly and polite and rarely stop foreign motorcyclists. Some travelers have been ok with their normal overseas drivers license. All of our guides have official driving permits.

What to wear?

We recommend to take some warm clothes for the road, because in some parts of the country mornings and evenings can be bit cold 5-10c. During the day it usually gets so warm that wearing a t-shirt is just enough. It rarely rains during the winter season but during summer months you will need rain cover layers for occasional showers.

It is good to have a buff or scarf at hand when needed to cover your mouth and nose from dust.
Sturdy shoes or boots are ideal for riding motorcycle and riding gloves after couple days you will want to use them.
Sun glasses, goggles and glasses are good for protecting your eyes when riding. If you intend to ride in the evening there will be lots of flying bugs that are attracted to headlight near fields and eye protection is handy.

How to pay? Do you accept Credit Cards?

We require pre-payments in advance to secure your trip or hire. When booking we will let you know term that apply to your particular trip as it might vary depending on the lodgings and add ons. We accept credit card payments and bank transfers and USD cash on arrival to settle your trip balance.

Can I take luggage on bike for the tour

Yes. We have place to keep your bigger bags at our office. Just take one medium sized (preferably) waterproof bag of essentials for your motorcycle ride. Our groups when more than 4 travellers include support vehicle which can transport your bags. Support vehicles are also available for private journeys at additional cost.

Tours

Where do your tours start and end? Is repatriation of bikes possible?

We currently offer tours starting from Yangon and Mandalay. Both hubs have excellent international flight connections.
Our group tours normally start from Mandalay which is conveniently located for riding to many of the heritage sites.

We have recently brought our dirt bikes to Yangon for post Covid riding targetting the expats and local market.
Discovery Rides offers possibility of starting trips from either Yangon or Mandalay now and ending in either destination as well as in Myeik or Dawei in the south (we will take care of the repatriation of the bike(s).

Other starting and ending points are also possible with drop off and pick up service by our team.

How many people can take part in your motorbike tour?

We can arrange tours from one to fourteen people, of course for smaller group the tour price per person is little higher because there are some costs (tour guide, support truck etc) that can be shared among bigger group.

How do I book a motorbike tour?

Best way is to contact us via WhatsApp, email or phone. Our helpful team will give you all the information you need and explain options and possibilities for your journey.

What are your tours like?

We want to give people the best of Myanmar, with the coolest way of transportation. Our tours are carefully planned so that the driving hours per day are not too long (in general 4-5hrs) and the roads are scenic, interesting and safe to drive.
We share the highlights, hidden treasures, cuisine and culture of Myanmar with our guests. And take time to drive back roads to show hidden gems and rarely visited spots.

We listen to customers wishes and hopes about the tour itinerary and make sure that everyone will leave our adventures with big smile on their faces. We have long co-operation with the best tour guides in the country and years of experience in organizing adventure tours as well as luxury trips around Myanmar.

Our tours are about the feeling of free driving trough beautiful mountain roads passing small villages and meeting friendly people. At some more rural places the accommodation might be quite simple, but we always take our guests to best available lodgings.
In summary by driving motorcycle you will see more of the country, get closer to locals and have chance to take some dirt roads to places that are not reachable by car.

Are your tours in English?

Yes, all our tours are operated in English. Our motorcycle guides speak only English. However should you wish to have other languages speaking guides (French, German, Spanish) do let us know. Our parent company operates tours in these languages and we can check if we can find other language guides who can ride.

Motorbikes

What are your Motorbikes like?

We own a fleet of new Honda CRF 250L, XR 125cc, Kawasaki KLX 150cc and 250cc and Bajaj 150-200cc bikes among others.
So there is quite a variety of motorcycles to choose from. Most of our bikes come with luggage rack in the back. Our bikes are regularly maintained and inspected by our own mechanics.
For the winter 2020-21 we will be introducing tours with new Ducati multistrada 950 motorcycles.

Is it safe to drive a motorbike in Myanmar?

Yes! Road conditions in Myanmar are improving day by day and we have planned and tested our tours so there is enough challenge but things will not get too hazardous. The road quality varies a lot from really good to really bad. We have experienced some of the worst roads in Myanmar and survived them with pride, but that being said after a while its not fun driving anymore so most of our routes go on asphalt roads.

Security situation is stable in most parts of Myanmar we are constantly getting information about the security situation in the rural areas of the country. We are not taking you to places where the security situation might be bad.

We have a support truck following the group so if some technical problems should occur our mechanic can manage most of them on the road without much hassles.

Do I Need My Own Motorbike Gear?

We provide helmets to our tour clients and riding jerzees, knee and elbow guards to dirt bike tour clients. Bring own gloves and eye wear and suitable shoes.

For rental clients we provide helmet with the bike and you can hire protective gear at additional cost.

what should i do when i have accident

Please give us a call IMMEDIATELY and see if we can help before the police come. Myanmar can be a very strange country regarding how the accident is solved, just as the way people ride. However, if you have an accident, first you need to talk with the other party (via our guide or staff) to find out who has to pay and how much. If you don’t agree with each other, we then call the police and they will do their job and you have to stay in Myanmar until they have made official report and settlement is done and police is paid for their work. The people here are usually expect you to pay, even if you are right but our guide will communicate and help you to solve the situation. In any accident police will need to be paid for making a report ..and there is no pricing list.

Damages in motorbike

We require that every rider places a Refundable Motorcycle Damage Deposit of $200-300 prior to starting our tours . This deposit covers all damages other than normal wear and tear. Any damages will be deducted from this deposit, and the balance returned to you on the final day of the tour.

Any minor bruise or paint chips caused by stones, gravel and insects are considered normal wear and tear however damage or scratches happen by an accident, dropping a motorcycle or riding it through and flooding bikes is not considered normal wear and tear.