Yangon in 6 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use.

Travel advisory: Myanmar has been under military rule since the February 2021 coup, and parts of the country are in an ongoing civil war. Check your own government’s current travel advisory before booking anything; most currently advise against travel here. Some tourism spending can reach the military, so a trip is an ethical call as much as a practical one, and if you do go, favour small, local, independent operators over state or junta-linked ones. Everything below is written for if and when it’s safe and ethical for you to visit.

The route, in short

Six days nests our 4-day plan (downtown, Shwedagon, Botataung, Kandawgyi, the National Museum, and Bago) and adds two more day trips: Thanlyin/Kyauktan across the river, and the delta pottery town of Twante. Our 7-day plan nests all six of these and adds one flexible last day.

Book these before you go

6 days in Yangon
Daily budget ~$25-40 on a tight budget
Payment cash only, pristine unfolded USD
Best months November to February
Day trips added Bago, Thanlyin/Kyauktan, Twante

Day 1: Downtown colonial walk and Shwedagon at sunset

The downtown colonial walk: Sule Pagoda (around $3), City Hall’s exterior, the former High Court, the Secretariat, and Strand Road. Bogyoke Aung San Market in the afternoon, then Shwedagon at sunset into floodlit night (historically 10,000-15,000 MMK, verify).

Day 2: Botataung, Chaukhtatgyi, and Kandawgyi

Botataung’s hollow interior (around 6,000 MMK), the reclining Chaukhtatgyi and seated Ngahtatgyi Buddhas (around $5), Kandawgyi Lake’s Nature Park and the Karaweik barge, and, if the Circular Railway’s full loop is running (verify), a partial ride ending at 19th Street.

Day 3: National Museum, Kaba Aye, and the synagogue

The National Museum of Myanmar’s Lion Throne (Sihasana) in the morning, Kaba Aye Pagoda and the Maha Pasana Guha cave in the afternoon (around $5), and a stop at Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue on 26th Street on the way back, Myanmar’s only synagogue, still active (ask politely at the gate, no fixed hours).

Day 4: Bago day trip

Bago, about 91 km/2 hours northeast, has Myanmar’s tallest pagoda, the roughly 114-meter Shwemawdaw, plus the 55-meter reclining Shwethalyaung Buddha, the reconstructed Kanbawzathadi Palace, and the four Kyaikpun Buddhas. Bus is cheapest (around 3,000 MMK, verify), watch for the fake “city inaccessible” bus-stop scam about 4 km out. An informal combined entry fee (around 10,000 MMK, verify) covers the main sights. Neither Bago nor Yangon is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Myanmar’s only two, Bagan and the Pyu Ancient Cities, are further afield (see UNESCO’s Myanmar listings ).

Day 5: Thanlyin and Kyauktan

Cross the Thanlyin Bridge to Thanlyin (Syriam), a town with real Portuguese colonial history from around 1603 under Filipe de Brito. The hilltop Kyaik Khauk Pagoda is the main sight, and nearby Kyauktan has the Yele Paya, a “floating pagoda” on a mid-river island reached by a short boat crossing (access and price vary, verify locally before you go). Overland access and safety on routes like this can shift, so confirm current conditions before you head out.

Day 6: Twante, and a slower finish

Twante, west of Yangon, is a working pottery town reached by ferry plus the 1881 Twante Canal or the Twante Bridge, worth it for the living pottery craft alone (Orwell was a colonial policeman here) and the Shwesandaw Pagoda. Back in Yangon, spend the evening slower, People’s Park, a last tea shop, or a return trip to Shwedagon at a quieter hour than your first sunset visit.

For current conditions on all of this, check the US State Department and UK FCDO Myanmar advisories before you commit to any of the day trips.

Build in a buffer day if you can, Bago’s bus schedules and the river crossings to Thanlyin and Twante are the parts of this plan most likely to run long.