If you are preparing for a visit to Southeast Asia, and you want to budget your destination, it’s possible that you also asked yourself How much things cost in Myanmar?. Well, don’t worry!
Here’s how much things cost in Myanmar in the beginning of the tourist season 2016-2017. I had a hard time finding reliable information before going, so that’s why I made a compilation of how much basic things cost.
If you need help for your other preparations, check my other posts on what you need to prepare for your Myanmar travel to have a quick view on VISA requirements and our itinerary, as well as a hint on the best strategy for using currency in this country. You can also check what you need to know before going to Myanmar, such as useful things to bring with you, as well as important information in a Buddhist country.
Please consult Myanmar bucketlist for a quick inspiration.
How much things cost in Myanmar
So now let us begin with this information about prices in Myanmar. Notice that I have split the tables into Basic products, which refer to the price of day-to-day products you will need or use while in Myanmar. The other section refers to Tourist products, which presents how much do tourist services cost.
Basic products’ cost
| Product | Price | Remarks |
|---|
| Bottle of water 1.5L | 300-500 Kyats | |
| Fried rice/noodles | 1,500-3,000 Kyats | |
| Tuk-tuk in Bago | 200 Kyats | / person / ride |
| Bottle of beer 70cl | 2,000 Kyats | in the store |
| Public toilet | 300 Kyats | almost inexistent. Found this one in a market on Inle Lake |
| Pagoda tax on camera | 250-1,000 Kyats | |
| International mail stamp | 500 Kyats | Amazingly cheap!!! |
| Longgyi | 3,000-10,000 Kyats | Depending on place and quality of the material |
| Fresh fruit juice | 1,000-2,500 Kyats | Including avocado, banana, watermelon, or even a whole coconut |
Please note that the day-to-day prices are very affordable. These products will cost you the same as it cost for a local. There’s no catch.
Tourist products’ cost
In contrast to the previous section’s prices, these activity and/or services are specially priced for tourists. Unless you have a Myanmar friend, or you are already an expatriate in Myanmar in order to know what are the prices for the locals, you will pay more or less the prices listed below. Here’s how much things cost in Myanmar for tourist activities.
| Activity/Service | Price | Remarks |
|---|
| Taxi from Yangon Airport to Downtown | 8 $USD / 8,000 Kyats | |
| Train from Yangon to Bago | 600-1,000 Kyats | / person for the regular seat |
| Visit pass for Bago | 10,000 Kyats | |
| Tuk-tuk in Bago | 200 Kyats | / person / ride |
| Shared taxi from Bago to Golden Rock | 7,000 Kyats | / person / one way (4 persons / taxi) |
| Tuk-tuk up the mountain to Golden Rock | 2,000 Kyats | / person / one way |
| Entrance fee to Golden Rock Pagoda | 6,000 Kyats | |
| Bus from Bago to Mandalay | 15 $USD | |
| Taxi from the bus station outside Mandalay to Downtown | 7,000 Kyats | Ask the price in advance and don’t accept if it’s way more expensive than this; at the hotel the taxi service fare for this route was listed at 6,500 Kyats. |
| Visit pass for Mandalay | 10,000 Kyats | It is not mandatory, but you cannot visit some of the pagodas you’d like; there’s no special entry fee if you don’t have this pass. |
| Taxi from the hotel (downtown Mandalay) to the boat station | 3,000 Kyats | For the departures for Mingun |
| Ferry to Mingun | 5,000 Kyats | For round trip / person |
| Tuk-tuk in Mandalay | 200 Kyats | / person / in the market area |
| Scooter rental hotel Mandalay | 15,000 Kyats | / day (suitable for 2 persons) |
| Boat to Inwa (Ava/Awa) | 1,200 Kyats | / round trip / person |
| Taxi visit around Sagaing (from Mandalay) | 21,000 Kyats | for half day |
| Local bus from Sagaing to Monywa | 3,000 Kyats | / person / one way |
| Entry fee to the Powin Caves | 2,500 Kyats | / person |
| Tuk-tuk from hotel in Monywa to the bus station | 1,000 Kyats | / person |
| Scooter rental hotel Monywa | 10,000 Kyats | / day (max. 8 hours, suitable for 2 persons) |
| Local bus from Monywa to Nyaung U (Bagan) | 2,500 Kyats | / person |
| Pass Bagan | 22 $USD | Mandatory. Your bus/taxi/car will stop in order for you to purchase the pass. You cannot avoid the fee and you shouldn’t. It’s bad! When you visit a place it’s only normal to pay. Your money will help to maintain all of the 4,000 pagodas and payas and temples in Bagan. This place needs your money, especially after the earthquake from August 2016, when a large number of monuments have been affected and need reparations. |
Taxi from the bus station (outside Bagan) to:
Nyaung U
New Bagan
Old Bagan | 5,000 Kyats
7,000 Kyats
8,000 Kyats | (max. 2 persons / ride) |
| Electric scooter rental hotel Bagan | 6,000 Kyats | / day (suitable for 2 persons). Autonomy of 40-50 km. |
| Shared taxi day trip to Mt. Popa (from Bagan) | 8,000 Kyats | / person. Mini-tour organized by almost all ho(s)tels, using third-parties persons as taxi drivers. We were disappointed by this service. Maybe I’ll detail later if I feel like. |
| Bus from Bagan to Kalaw | 11,000 Kyats | / person |
| Trek Kalaw to Inle 3 days (Ever Smile agency) | 40,000 Kyats | / person / trek (meals and accommodation, transfer by boat to Nyaungshwe included, water not included) |
| Trek Kalaw to Inle 2 days (Ever Smile agency) | 32,000 Kyats | / person / trek |
| Visit pass for Inle Lake | 12,500 Kyats / 10 $USD | Mandatory. Your trekking itinerary passes through check-points (at the entry of Inle area) in order for you to purchase the pass. You cannot avoid the fee and you shouldn’t. It’s bad! When you visit a place it’s only normal to pay. Your money will help to maintain a clean lake. With the raise of the number of tourists, more and more efforts are needed to maintain Inle Lake. You will see almost everywhere billboards from the society that filters the lake’s water. They need your money. |
| Shared boat trip around the Lake | 40,000 Kyats | / 2 days / 2 persons (but in a boat with 3 other persons). During the Fulll Moon festival in November prices are at least double, so we paid a lot more than usual (maybe for a private boat around 10000 Kyat / day / 2 persons) |
| Rent-a-bike in Nyaungshwe (Inle Lake area) | 1,500 Kyats | / day |
| VIP night bus from Inle to Yangon | 19,000 Kyats | |
Disclaimers:
We spent almost three weeks in Myanmar, so we were able to gather all this information by ourselves.
Please note that the listed prices were exact for the beginning of the tourist season 2016-2017. Prices in this country change rapidly, therefore we are not liable for any misadventures you might have for not budgeting correctly your trip.
Also note that prices spike around annual festivals and local celebrations.
Our expenses
During our trip in Myanmar, we(my bf and I)’ve visited seven regions:
- Yangon
- Bago
- Mandalay
- Monywa
- Bagan
- Trekked from Kalaw to Inle Lake
- Inle Lake area
I spent months researching prices for every region, and believe me, the more touristy the region, the more it will cost you to stay and visit that area. This is true especially for Bagan and Inle area. And I’ll go even farther with this affirmation, telling you that the prices will be even higher if you’re there during annual festivals.
We were in Inle area for the Full Moon festival in Taunggyi, therefore the prices for the boat rental were 3-4 times higher than normal.
Here’s how much things cost in Myanmar per category:
![[How much things cost in Myanmar] Expenses per category](https://i0.wp.com/www.travelsofplushy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/pie_category-e1491832918491.jpeg?resize=500%2C278 "How much things cost in Myanmar - per category")
Please note that the two diagrams show the total price (for two people) we’ve paid during almost 3 weeks visit.
I hope you will find this post useful. Please let me a feedback in the comment section if you liked this informational post (so I will know for later destinations).
Cheers and safe travels!
Related
Thank you for share this. I’m searching for water bottle. For this reason I’m here. When you have any idea about this, please share with me.
Hi, Hulda! Thanks for checking up this post. Unfortunately I didn’t use a self purification water bottle, if this is what you asked about.
If you buy water in sealed plastic bottles you’ll be ok. Also, it’s not expensive.
But if you are looking for a self purifying water bottle, you should ask on FB groups with travelers in SE Asia. Someone there might know about it.
Great, google took me stright here. thanks btw for this. Cheers!
Thanks for writing this awesome article. I really liked your blog and will definitely share this on my Facebook. Thanks a ton for a great post.
This post could not be written any better as there’s everything I needed for this upcoming adventure in Myanmar.
My friend consistently kept talking about better budgeting our trips, as every time we spend more than we would like to. I will forward this article to him.
Pretty confident he’ll have a great read.
Thank you for sharing!
Exceptional post. There are very few bloggers that actually share useful information like this with their expenses.
The article has actually peaks my interest. And is at the best moment, as I am planing a trip to Myanmar soon. I’m going to bookmark your website and keep checking for new information.
Wonderful description. Well done and thank you
Thanks for sharing this! Were going to Myanmar in a few weeks and this was so useful 🙂
How detailed can you get? This will make anyone want to go and visit Myanmar. Cheers for a wonderful travel blog. Keep on blogging, fellow traveler!
Hi, Dody! Thanks for passing by!
This is a lot of really great travel information! Thanks for sharing!