When to Come

The best time to come to Tachilek is between the months of september and february. It starts to get very hot in March until the rainy season comes in June. In the second week of April starts the Burmese New Years festival which is always very fun and should definitely not be missed if you're in the area. During this burmese celebration, people of all ages pack the streets to throw buckets of water on passerbys and dance to loud music at the various 'soaking stations'. It's always fun to ride a motorbike around the city during this festival, but its a little dangerous since a lot of people are imbibing large quantities of alcoholic beverages and many of them don't hesitate to drive their bikes afterwards.

How to get here from Thailand

The easiest way to get to Tachilek is through Thailand, via Mae-Sai (the thai border city). A VIP bus can be taken from Chiangmai for a 4 hour ride to Mae-Sai. When you cross the border to Tachilek you will get a Visa on arrival which is valid for 13 days and will cost $10 or 500 B, please note that $10 is equal to 300 baht so if you pay in Baht you lose 200B, if you dont have dollars you can exchange baht to dollars at the Gold Jewlery shops in Mae-Sai (you cannot change baht to dollars in any of the banks in Mae-Sai). Also note that if you would like to visit Jiangdong or Mayn-Lar you will need to tell them at the immigration check-point in advance about your travel plans and give them 4 copies of your passport photo and passport info, it wont cost any extra money though. Whether you stay one hour, one day or two weeks, the cost is the same, so make the most of your time in Burma!

Private Tours

Our specialty here at Tachilek Tours is our private tours. Visitors especially value this service because it gives them a unique chance to take a look at the real situation in Tachilek behind the tourist activity. Our guides can take you behind the scenes to explore the strange and interesting things that are going on in this town. In this way our visitors feel less like tourists after having gotten to experience the local culture first-hand with the expertise of our guides. These tours can be done on a motorcycle or bicycle, and can also involve trekking in the surrounding wilderness exploring the remote hill-tribe villages which have retained their distinct culture. Tour prices are very affordable since our most frequent customers are budget backpackers.