Chaungtha beach in Ayeyawaddy division is one place to enjoy a relaxing holiday during Thingyan.

MID-APRIL in Myanmar is the time to celebrate water festival across the country.

People in every corner of the country throw water on each other as a symbol of cooling and cleaning – the real meaning behind the festival.

Water festival in the big cities can be an intense and chaotic few days and some people prefer to go somewhere else, to relax. One of the most popular escape options is to head to one of Myanmar’s beaches. Accordingly, resorts at Chaungtha, Ngwe Saung and Ngapali are offering special packages, for both locals and foreigners, to customers wanting a relaxing break.

Daw Ei Thet Htar, senior sales and marketing manager of the Bay of Bengal Resort at Ngwe Saung beach, said the resort has special promotion packages for the Thingyan festival.

“The three-day, two-night package, offered from April 11 to 20, includes accommodation, daily meals, daily Thingyan snacks and we are also providing a complimentary Thingyan T-shirt and hat,” Daw Ei Thet Htar said.

The prices for the packages, depending upon room types and extra beds, range from US$155 to $285 for local clients and $185 to $325 for foreigners.

Also at Ngwe Saung beach, Aureum Resort & Spa are promoting seven-day, six-night packages and five-day, four-night packages, from April 11 and 17.

Daw Zin Mon Kyaw, assistant sales manager of Aureum Resort & Spa, said the package includes a deluxe room with a garden view, daily meals within the hotel, Yangon-Ngwe Saung-Yangon round trip air-conditioned transport. Prices for foreigners are $255 per person for the four-night package and $370 for six-night package.

At Chaungtha beach, Belle Resort is also offering Thingyan holiday packages during the festival. Sales executive Daw Khin Nyunt Yi said prices for packages were higher during Thingyan than at other times because of the greater demand.

he packages, from April 12 to 16, include accommodation, daily buffet breakfast, traditional lunch and music entertainment in the evening.

The price depends on room type and ranges K96,000 to K300,000 per person, per night.

Golden Beach Hotel, at Chaungtha, offers similar packages that include accommodation, meals and Thingyan snacks with a price tag of K70,000 to K130,000 per person, per night.

At the Ngapali Beach, Amazing Ngapali Resort has three-day, two-night Thingyan packages.

Sales and marketing manager, Daw Phyu Phyu Khine, said they have packages from April 12 to 17, which include Yangon-Thandwe-Yangon air tickets, hotel transfer, sea-view deluxe room, meals and a car to enjoy the water festival at Thandwe.

The price for the package is FEC239 per person, with each subsequent night FEC100 per person.

Ngapali Beach Hotel also has three-day, two-night packages during the Thingyan festival, said Daw Htwe Htwe, sales manager of the hotel.

These include round trip air ticket, room and daily breakfast and cost between $160 and $180 depending on the room type, she said.