New Myanmar Travel Guide

I am giddy beyond belief to be writing this guide!  There was so much outdated and vague rubbish on Myanmar before we set off. We pounded the streets researching in amongst our own Adventures so that we could write over 30 Information packed blogs full of useful photos as well as inspirational photos to get you inspired and excited about your own trip. New Myanmar Travel Guide 

 New Myanmar Travel Guide Blog 

Quick insight

The golden land of Myanmar is a truly unique experience that will take you as far down the rabbit hole as you dare go. How many countries are split into 135 tribes with over 100 languages, all wear a visual sunblock that decorates their faces and don a vibrant variety of skirts (longyis), regardless of gender …. actually Braveheart does spring to mind!

The people of Myanmar are deeply connected with nature and heading into the rural villages is like stepping back in time to a life built around community values and good old fashioned farming. They rise and set with the sun, they invite strangers in for cups of tea, everything is in sync with the seasons.  We discovered through our trek in hsipaw that the conflict is still at large in some areas, but it is very localised and their wasn’t a moment in all our exploration that we were made to feel unsafe.

The mysterious land of Myanmar is opening its hearts and boarders to the foreign world. Don’t miss out on a place this unique, get it whilst its not ‘hot’.

 New Myanmar Travel Guide Blog 

Questions and Comments

PLEASE do ask questions and ask for any advice you think you need in the comment section below, we really do want to help YOU make the most of your exciting adventure to Myanmar.  We have tried to get the balance of writing everything you will need, without over doing it, so if you think we have missed something, please just say…

 New Myanmar Travel Guide Blog 

Fast Facts

Staying Safe: Knowledge is power, make sure you’ve read our blog on keeping safe on the road. Myanmar is an increasingly safe place for travellers. We have recently written an insight into safe areas and trekking from our travels with a link to the constantly updated government site.

Don’t forget to check out The Fit For Travel site too.

Staying Connected: Call, 3G and 4G SIM cards are widely available, but unreliable. 1,500 Kyat for a sim card. (Internet starts at 1000, calls start at 200 kayt a minute for local and go around 600 international).  Wifi is scarce and very slow. Internet cafes only seem to exist in the large cities. 

Staying Charged: 230 vault, 50 Hz type C /D /F /G sockets. Use the dual round pin plugs. Power cuts are common and electricity is limited outside of the big cities, charge when you can.  You may need tape to keep the plugs in the sockets.

Staying Clean: You need to carry toilet paper with you it is mostly squatty potty toilettes. Laundry is shockingly scarce and expensive. Basic accommodation can be a scoop and pour system (Brrrr) but most guesthouses have warm showers.

Staying Healthy: Local tap water is not potable, but bottled is widespread and cheap. If your stomach is reasonably Asia proof you can eat pretty much anything, just apply common sense. Food is generally healthy and fruit is widely available.

Staying Classy: They are a modest culture, so you do need to wear long pants and cover your shoulders in the villages and temples. It’s ok to wear shorts and vest tops in the bigger cities and hiking in the countryside

Money: Local currency is Kyat, pronounced ‘chat’ often written as KS. 1000 Kyat = 0.8 USD / 1.4 GBP. YOU MUST TAKE USD, they love them, use them everywhere and give a great exchange rate for them. ATM’s are in all of the cities and bigger towns and charge around 5000 Kyat to withdraw and typically dispense small bills. There are limited money change places outside of the cities, so have a good mix of Kyat and USD before heading off the beaten track.

Discounts: Student and OAP cards don’t mean anything in Myanmar.

Visas and borders: Myanmar is rapidly making changes towards making Visas and overland travel easier. Read THIS for getting your one month tourist Visa and THIS to get to grips with crossing the boarders. It will be especially useful for those traveling from Thailand.   You could also try their very new E-Visa. 

Language: Burmese is the uniting language, but they also have around 100 local tribal dialects. English is limited outside of hostels and tourist spots.  They also have their own rather cute and curly alphabet.

Seasons: Myanmar has a tropical monsoon climate. The wet season starts around May/ June and then merges into the dry season around November and then the heat really kicks in around February, getting to around 40 °C Before cooling down with the wet season returning.

Shopping: Bagan, Inle Lake and Yangon sell beautiful handcraft, art and textiles. Bogyoke in Yangon (Great name!!) is probably the biggest most varied market, for buying your gifts and souvenirs.

Packing Extras: We do have a great Backpackers Packing List, if your planning a long term backpacking trip.  For Myanmar, make sure you take a torch for power cuts and a mosquito net for treks.

Culture, People and Quirks: Myanmar is an inspirationally friendly place and full of more quaint quirks than you can shake a Longyi at. Learn more about the culture by reading Things you Must Know Before Traveling Myanmar >>>

Best Bits

Myanmar IS the best bit of Myanmar! Just wondering the roads and lush lands, meeting the people, taking in the vibrant colours and temples make it a special place within itself.

My personal favourite was exploring the rarely frequented Hpa An and then hiking up Mt. Zwegabin to stay in the Monastery.

If you LOVE ADVENTURE, I am sure you will enjoy trekking deep into their culture as you venture from Kalaw to Inle Lake! Meeting tribes as you hike around Hspiaw is captivating and as for the stunning waterfalls and mysterious bright blue pools, well, you will just fall in love with the golden land of Myanmar.

New Myanmar Travel Guide 

Best Places To Go

Hpa An

Hsipaw

Inle Lake

Mandalay (U Bein Bridge)

Mt. Zwegabin

Nyaung U…. (Bagan Temples)

Pyin oo Lwin

Yangon

Whether you love to trek, cook, explore temples, drink wine or swim in dreamy blue pools, you should DEFINITELY CHECK OUT our Top Things to Do in Myanmar.

Budget Tips

Money

How to travel Myanmar on a budget ???
Step 1: Stop believing everyone who tells you it’s not cheap. It’s Asia baby, you have to barter!

We met many budget backpackers telling us how expensive Myanmar was going to be, so we were really braced for it! …and when we got there we were pleasantly surprised. It is expensive for a South East Asian country, but if you’re not too fussy, it REALLY doesn’t have to be that expensive.

Two of us travelling together averaged 6000 Kyat (5 USD / 3.5 GBP) per person to sleep, 5000 Kyat (4 USD / 3 GBP) per person for food and drink (including bottled water).

Our long distance and overnight sleeper buses averaged at 11,000 kyat (10 USD / 6 GBP) per journey and you are likely to take around 4 to 8 long bus trips.

TOP TIP: Taking a night bus means you can save on accommodation!

For more details that will help you get to grips with what YOU might spend on basics, see the sections below.

Bagan Temple is 25,000 kyat (23 USD / 15 GBP) and the Inle Lake area at 12,500 Kyat (10 USD / 6 GBP).

Trekking with a guide costs an average of 13,000 Kyat (10 USD / 7 GBP). To check out which treks you want to do, check out Myanmar’s Best Treks 00000 and then follow the links for more details and options for each. Try to team up with others as it greatly reduces the trek prices.

And remember, Barter Barter Barter for everything, even accommodation, food and transport, as well as trips and in the markets.

Time

We met a lot of people who did a great job of a 2 – week – whirl through the highlights. You should be able to get in at least one trek around Hsipaw or Inle Lake, the Bagan temples, Yangon and then either a Northwest beach or exploring caves in Hpa An. If you want to get a couple of treks in and get to the South beaches at a slightly more relaxed pace, you should allow closer to 4 weeks.

Accommodation

Style: Earlier I quoted the absolute cheapest end of the budget, which is what we went for every time. We hunted around to find the best budget places to stay that nobody seemed to know were there. At the bottom end, for around $5 per person, you tend to get a very basic small room with worn out paintwork and furniture, shared bathroom, and a fan, but there should be clean bedding and it often includes a breakfast and the token useless wifi. If you jump up to paying $20 – $30 for a room you should always get a good quality hotel-esk room with ensuite and AC.

You can even stay in Monasteries, sometime for free, it’s always worth asking.

Availability: In the wet season there is a lot of accommodation, but it can get tricky in the tourists spots in high season. Our page on Budget Accommodation in Myanmar will give you a better idea.

Cost: From $4 to $30 depending on what standard you would prefer, but of course you can always spend more if you want. Barter! For example, some places will let two of you share a single room or give you a cheaper rate for a few nights or not taking breakfast.

For an EPIC article like no other on Budget Accommodation in Myanmar, check out our page on it HERE. Photos, descriptions, costs, contact email address and phone number…

Transport

Style: It varies massively! You can get around in Trucks, Buses, Trains, Taxis, Motorbikes. You can get around in the remarkably uncomfortable open back trucks in city rides and inter-town trips. Overnight busses vary from VIP AC 3 abreast including blankets, to smaller 4 abreast sleeping buses, also often including AC, blankets and food. You can also rent motorbikes in cities and smaller towns.

Availability. It is not cheaper to book at the bus stations miles out of town. We tried and tested this several times. As long as you barter well, you can book in the town you are staying in. We managed to book the day before and sometimes even the same day for all of our buses. In high season and if you are on a tight time budget, book the next bus out as soon as you arrive.

Cost: We had great ‘4 abreast sleeping’ buses that only cost around $10 and the one time we took a ‘VIP 3 abreast’, costing $18, it wasn’t the much more comfortable and dropped us off in an empty car park 3 hours earlier than agreed, meaning we hardly got any sleep. Just shop around and barter hard. If you are renting a motorbike note that manual motorbikes tend to be a lot cheaper than automatics. Expect to pay between 5,000 and 10,000 Kyat (4 USD – 9 USD / 3 GBP – 6 GBP), per day, depending on where you rent and what you rent. You can usually get a good deal renting more than one.

Note:  There are trains and they are very cheap, but they were put in by the British in the 1940’s and seem to have very little maintenance since.  They are remarkably slow and not particularly safe.  If you really want to try a train journey do check the train times they are quoting, one trips was saying around 28 hours for what would take about 9 by road

Still need more details, Check out Getting around Myanmar Transport Blog >>>

Food

Style: An exciting mix up of Chinese, Indian, a little Thai and their own spin. Don’t miss the Tea Leaf Salad or Shan Noodles. AND definitely don’t miss reading a Mouthful of Myanmar. Be aware that hygiene can be a shock if you’re not used to Asia.

Availability: Everywhere! If you go local, there are little places to buy street food everywhere from around 06:00 to 19:00. Do note that it can be hard to get food much later than 19:00 in the evening. Also note there is very little western food, especially outside of the main cities and tourist areas.

Cost: An average local dish should cost you around $1 to $3 depending on what you want.

TOP BUDGET TIP: If you’re on a tight budget, watch out for dry packets of noodles in little makeshift shops as they are often happy to add boiling water and even a few veggies for as little as 500 Kyat (0.4 USD / 0.2 GBP).

Drink

Style: It’s easy to get bottled water, green tea, milky sweet tea, instant coffee, some strange soft drinks and beer. In Inle lake and Bagan and the big cities you can buy good coffee and shakes

Availability: Local drinks are everywhere, as they are a very social culture. Good coffee and shakes are a growing western comfort that you will struggled to get outside of cities or tourists spots.

Cost: Local hot drinks cost between 100 and 300 Kyat (0.20 USD / 0.12 GBP) A large bottle of water typically costs around 300 Kyat (0.25 USD / 0.15 GBP).

Myanmar Beer is around 750 Kyat (0.60 USD / 0.45 GBP), Shakes are around $1 and good coffee can be anything upto standard western prices.

TOP BUDGET TIP: You can buy a 6 pack of large water for 1000 Kyat (0.90 USD / 0.60 GBP)

Don’t Forget

We have found loads of local budget places that you wont find anywhere else on the web!

Check out our EPIC BUDGET ACCOMMODATION BLOG >>>

Safety has to be number one what ever you Adventure!

Check out TOP TIPS FOR STAYING SAFE ON THE ROAD>>>

For top tips on how to pack and what to pack:

Check out our ULTIMATE PACKING LIST FOR BACKPACKERS >>>

If you’re still preparing for your trip we have a great well throughout checklist:

Check out A CHECK LIST FOR PREPARING BEFORE YOU SET OFF ON YOUR BIG TRIP >>>

New Myanmar Travel Guide | Culture | Top Budget Tips