How many people are travelling ?
Obviously, your travel style will impact a lot on your budget but the main difference also will come from how people are you for your trip in Myanmar.
Keep in memory that inflation is very strong in Myanmar and price for petrol is always increasing. Ask a precise budget to your travel agency before you come in Myanmar to get the most accurate picture of the situation.
The latest Lonely Planet guide book on Myanmar gives a real price range for renting a good car, for highway, per day 80 to 100 USD.
It seems very expensive (and it is by the way). You will always find somebody who rent a car at a cheaper price. You must be very careful on what you are agreed to pay : gas ? food ? accomodation ? poll gate ? boat gate ? repair charge (very important)....
The best way to reduce your transportation cost and to stay free to go where you want is to group together for renting a car.
- 2 + 1 guide (or 3 people)
- 3 to 6 + (1 guide)
: the best to reduce cost per people.
Car - Bus.
It will be the most expensive part of you budget, especially if you try to find yourself a driver, usually travel agencies have better price and cars are in better condition, which is very important.
You will probably be able to find a cheaper car than a local travel agent by renting a taxi, but be extremely careful of the car quality (you will understand here when you take a taxi) and who is going to pay what ?
Sometimes (often) there is a lot of surprise.
Prices have increased a lot because of the inflation and gaz prices. Allow 50 to 120 USD per day per car for highway trip, allow 20 to 30 a day in you are driving around the same city.
Price is almost the same for a "Saloon" car (3 people) than for a Toyota Hiace (5 to 9 people). The best is to be 6 people (you still have room in the car).
Our advise : rent a car to travel in the same "area" like Mandalay-amarapura-sagaille, Inle-pindaya-Kalaw, Yangon-Bago, Bagan-popa.
Use big air-con bus from your trip between the main cities. Obviously, If you can afford to keep a car during all your trip in Myanmar, it is the best solution.
For those who are travelling alone, bus (air con or local) buses is the best choice. It is quite cheap (from 5 to 10 USD per way), it could be faster than car (air con bus) and you save one night in the hotel and one diner. Most of the air con bus drive at night and provide a free meal.
Avoid the small local pick-up for the long trip, like Bagan-Kalaw. It is extremely cheap but you will be totally exhausted after 17 hours driving and it is extremely dangerous during the rainy seasons.
Use the small pick-up for visiting cities and the suburb.
Plane
If you are travelling alone and if you do not want to try the blue local pick, or the train, plane can save money (compare to a car). Especially on the Bagan-Inle road, Inle Yangon.
We do not think it is the best way to travel in Myanmar, but you will save a lot of problem and time.
A trip Inle yangon can last 17 to 24 hours by bus or car, and usually it is better to come back from Inle by plane (it is even less dangerous than by car during the raining season).
It could cost you betwen 60 to 120 USD (one way).
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Do you need a guide ?
We really think that a guide will help you a lot during your trip in Myanmar. It is a real advantage if you want to better understand Myanmar culture and the country itlself.
Obviously, it is also a big help for your day to day negociation, visite, if you need to buy a ticket or anything else, and you give a job to Myanmar people, which is even better.
If you are 4 or 6 people the cost will be around 5 to 10
USD per day per people or even lower, and your benefit is real.
Entrance and pagodas fees.
Most of the pagodas in Myanmar have a free access
but in the main tourist area (Yangon, Bago, Inle, Mandalay Bagan).. you have to pay an entrance fees and somethings a photo camera fee.
List of the entrance fees and pagodes fees :
Download pdf file for entrance fees :
Meals and drinks:
For a meal in a correct Myanmar restaurant, you will pay between 2 and 4 USD per people. It could be less.
- A beer
: 1 to 1,5 USD.
- Water in bootle: +- 0,4 USD
- A coke :+-
0,6 USD
- A diner or lunch in a 4 star hôtel will cost you between 7 et 32 USD.
- A diner in the best French restaurant in Myanmar (it is like in a very good one in Paris) (Le Pansea, le Planteur, l'Opéra) will cost you between 15 to 40 USD per people + wine. But this is totally exceptional.
Hotels
Prices may vary a lot. You can pay few dollars for a small guest house to 400 USD a day for the Strand Hotel.
You have to get as much information as possible. It is quite easy to pay more and to get a lousy hotel, especially in the range between 10 and 25 USD.
Ananda Travel Yangon hotel prices list for 2006 :
- Small guest house or dormitory : 4 to 8 USD.
- Bigger guest house or small hotel. You may have bathroom attached, probably no air con (fan instead), 8 to 12 USD.
- Motel or hotel : from 10 to 20 USD you can get very good room with air con, bathroom attached....etc. For instance, in Mandalay, the Royal City Hotel give you a lot for only 20 to 25 USD. It is probably the best quality/price ratio.
- Good 3 or 3 stars hotels star at 30 or 35 USD until 175 USD for the Pansea hotel in Yangon, but it is not the same thing.
NB : In some places, the price of the hotel does not represent the real value, as in Monywa (around 30 USD) or at the Golden Rock (around 50 USD) for real second class hotel.
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