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I know that it is possible to enter Burma/Myanmar from several border crossing with neighbouring countries, and I'm pretty sure that from some of them at least you do not have to be on a package tour.

But I have been unable despite much searching to find out for sure whether it's possibly to enter Burma from a border crossing with one country and exit via a border crossing with a different country?

If so, which countries and which border crossings would this be possible at?

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    Not certain, but I think it should not be a problem if you hold the proper Burmese visa. At some crossings (e.g. Mae Sot and Mae Sai from Thailand), you can enter on a one-day pass (no visa, they hold on to your passport at the immigration checkpoint), and cannot travel further than the local area. Btw, check local conditions, border areas can be unstable, and some crossings close often (especially with Thailand).
    – dbkk
    Jun 23, 2011 at 21:42

3 Answers 3

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The same page on Wikitravel as referenced in Zeocrash's answer continues:

As of March 2007, travel beyond Kengtung to the rest of Myanmar is not possible, even with a valid tourist visa

Kengtung is a town several hours by bus from the Thai border. We stayed there for a few days and then took a domestic flight to Inle Lake. You can also fly to Mandalay and Rangoon and continue to the accessible rest of the country from there.

I did meet people in Burma who crossed the border from China but that involved a pseudo tour with a $200 price tag.

I also know someone who left Burma into Thailand overland from Rangoon, but I do not remember which border crossing she used.

I myself entered in Mae Sai and flew out of Rangoon to Chang Mai, which means it is possible to use different crossings when entering and exiting.

If the question is whether you can enter from one country and exit into a third, this seems possible from China into Thailand as long as you have the required permits to visit usually off-limit areas.

Unless you try super hard and have very good connections it seems not possible to cross the Indian-Burmese border which is what many people including me would love to do.

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  • I don't think of airports as border crossings. I think of both as kinds of entry/exit points but in practice with these kinds of places there are more possibilities at airports than at border crossings. Feb 28, 2012 at 11:31
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    @Peter Is it still (now in 2015) super hard to cross the Indian-Burmese border by land?
    – Adriano
    Feb 1, 2015 at 11:36
  • @AdrienBe: I read some tips by a group of cyclists who crossed both the Burma/India and Burma/China borders in the last couple of years. I'll see if I can find it again. Feb 1, 2015 at 12:27
  • @AdrienBe - It seems, that is now possible to cross the Indian-Burmese border. I talked to some people recently about this, but I don't have any details on top of my head. Feb 1, 2015 at 16:00
  • @hippietrail thx it'd be really appreciated!
    – Adriano
    Feb 1, 2015 at 16:39
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+50

it seems that it's very dificult to enter Burma by land, legally. As for illegally, well burmese prisons aren't particularly nice.

Hopping across the Thai border into Myanmar's border towns is easy, but crossing into or out of Myanmar proper by land varies between difficult and impossible. Visa-free entry is possible at some border crossings, but you must then exit Myanmar via the same border crossing, usually (but not always) on the same day that you enter, and fees apply (normally US$10). All land border crossings into Myanmar give only restricted access to the border areas. The only way to visit locations throughout the country, is to enter and exit Myanmar by air.

taken from: wikitravel - entering burma by land

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    I would not trust Wikitravel as a reliable source on immigration matters.
    – dbkk
    Nov 26, 2011 at 18:28
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    Quite often it's the most up-to-date source out there. Of course it's worth checking elsewhere if possible.
    – Mark Mayo
    May 4, 2012 at 10:55
  • @zerocrash Is this still the case (now in 2015) that "All land border crossings into Myanmar give only restricted access to the border areas. The only way to visit locations throughout the country, is to enter and exit Myanmar by air." ?
    – Adriano
    Feb 1, 2015 at 11:38
  • Apparently it's become a lot easier to go in and out of Burma by land, since 2013. Check out the Wikitravel link in my answer for more detailed information (it's too long to copy and paste into a comment).
    – zeocrash
    Feb 4, 2015 at 22:03
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For those who enter from one border and depart from another border point to a different country, it is possible in Tachileik-Mae Sai, Thailand border and Muse-Shwe Li, China border (vice versa).

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    Very interesting! Do you have a link to somewhere to corroborate this? May 4, 2012 at 11:15
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    @Natchabhud Did you do this yourself?
    – Adriano
    Feb 1, 2015 at 12:20

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