Things to do in Bagan and how to get around: the best temples to see

Plane: Bagan's airport has connections to Yangon and Mandalay. Flights in Myanmar aren't very cheap, but if you don't have much time it's a good option.

Bus: For us, it's the best value for money. There are several companies. We always booked online with JJ Express and we recommend it: it always got in on time and its buses are very comfortable. From Bagan's bus station, a taxi to New Bagan costs about 7,000 kyats (US$5).

• From Yangon it takes 9 hours and costs US$11 to US$20, depending on whether it's a regular or a VIP bus.
• From Mandalay it takes 4 hours and costs US$6-10.
• From Inle Lake it takes 8 hours and costs US$15-20.

Train: We didn't travel by train in Myanmar, because we read that trains are often delayed, take much longer than the bus and tend to be very dirty. But you can go by train if you want to.

That's a hard one to answer, because it depends on what you like. The entrance ticket lets you stay 5 days, but we think you need at least 2. We stayed 2.5 days and it was just right for seeing most of the temples.

All tourists have to pay a US$20 entrance fee to get into Bagan, and you're very likely to be asked for the ticket at any major temple, so remember to take a photo of it with your phone. That way you'll always have it on you.

The authorities no longer allow people to climb the pagodas and temples. Many of them are closed or guarded, or have been fenced off to keep people from going up.

That said, the locals have found themselves a new business: charging tourists to climb a pagoda without anyone saying a word to the police. As you walk among the pagodas, you can expect locals to come up and ask you for some money in exchange for taking you to a pagoda you can climb to enjoy the sunrise or sunset. Before you accept, make sure you agree on the price.

There are several options: you can rent a bicycle or an e-bike, or arrange a tuk-tuk. Motorbikes are banned for tourists.

Bicycle: The cheapest option, at US$1-2 a day to rent (1,500-3,000 kyats). It's a good choice, but try to avoid the middle of the day, because it gets extremely hot and the distances aren't all that short. We rented bikes on our first day and loved it, but we ended up pretty tired.

E-bike: These cost US$3-5 a day (5,000-7,000 kyats), depending on what condition they're in. For us it was the best option, especially for the sunrise, since our desire to pedal 7 km on a bicycle at 5 in the morning was zero. Remember that e-bikes run on batteries, so be careful with long distances!

Tuk-tuk: The most expensive option: you arrange for a tuk-tuk to take you around the temples during the day. To be honest, we didn't really look into the prices, but it must be around US$25-30 a day.

Tour: A more comfortable option is to book a private tour with a Spanish-speaking guide in a private car.

OK, Bagan has 3 main areas to stay in: Nyaung U, Old Bagan and New Bagan.

The area closest to the temples is Old Bagan, and this is where you'll find the most expensive places to stay.

Nyaung U and New Bagan are about 30 minutes from the temples by e-bike. Nyaung U has the cheapest places to stay and is famous among backpackers. New Bagan is a growing area with a varied range of places to stay. Both areas have a touristy part with plenty of restaurants.

We stayed two nights in New Bagan and one in Nyaung U, and we really liked both.

This was our view from the hotel terrace in New Bagan, at the Bagan View Hotel.

There are a lot of temples, so it's best to organize them by area ahead of time, because otherwise it's very easy to get lost. You can spend one day on the temples in Old Bagan and near Nyaung U, and the other day on the ones farther away.

To get around the temples we used Maps.me, because it marks the back roads that don't appear on Google Maps. It also has reviews from other travelers, who tell you which temples have a good sunset or sunrise and which ones you're allowed to climb. We recommend marking all the temples you want to visit on the map and planning your route from there.

Here are the Google Maps locations of Bagan's must-sees:

• Dhammayazaka Pagoda
• Sulamani Temple
• Ta Wet Hpaya
• Mahazedi Temple
• Let Put Kan
• Thatbyinnyu Temple
• Utrecht Temple
• Ananda Temple
• Shwezigon Pagoda
• Dhammayan Gyi Temple
• Shwesandaw Pagoda

Where to watch the sunrise in Bagan

One of the best things to enjoy in Bagan is watching the sun come up behind hundreds of pagodas while hot-air balloons float through the air. The sunrises here really are magical.

The truth is we had a really hard time finding a good temple for the sunrise, because all the ones recommended on blogs came from travelers who'd been there before 2019, when you could still climb all the temples. So we decided to go with the flow and asked a local if they could take us to a good temple for the sunrise, in exchange for a tip, of course.

If you already have a temple in mind for the sunrise, we recommend checking on Maps.me first to see whether it's still open.

One temple we managed to climb thanks to a local was Utrecht Temple, ideal for both sunrise and sunset. A local took us to this temple, and we never found out its name.

Getting lost among the 2,000 temples

We do recommend putting together a rough route, but we also encourage you to let yourself get lost and wander into the temples you come across along the way that catch your eye. The best thing of all is to let the place carry you along. You can't possibly see them all, since there are thousands, so don't stress.

Here are a couple of photos of temples that caught our eye and whose names we never found out.