Things to do in Yangon
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Yangon
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Cool dry season, the best overall window, with January and February the peak months.
Hot season. April is worst for heat and the Thingyan shutdown, May is brutally hot.
Monsoon, flooded streets, worst blackouts, highest dengue risk and least reliable excursions.
What's on
- Thadingyut Full moon, usually October
Festival of Lights ending Buddhist Lent, Shwedagon lit with candles and lanterns.
- Tazaungdaing Full moon, usually November
A second festival of lights with Kathina robe offering ceremonies, paired with peak cool season weather.
- Thingyan 13-17 April
Burmese New Year water festival and a near total shutdown of normal life for the better part of a week.
- Kason Full moon, usually May
Buddha birth and enlightenment day, with Bodhi tree watering ceremonies at pagodas.
Best things to do in Yangon
Shwedagon Pagoda
Yangon's great gilded stupa and living place of worship, best at dawn and again as dusk turns it gold.
Yangon Heritage Trust
Local conservation experts whose guided walks turn the colonial downtown streets into a readable story.
Bogyoke Aung San Market
A 1920s covered bazaar of some 2,000 stalls for longyi, lacquerware, puppets, paintings and jewellery arcades.
Chaukhtatgyi Buddha Temple
A 66 metre reclining Buddha of astonishing scale, with 108 sacred symbols inlaid on the soles of its feet.
Nga Htat Gyi Pagoda
A seated Buddha in an ornate carved pavilion across from Chaukhtatgyi, rated the more beautiful of the pair.
Yangon Circular Train
A slow loop railway shared with commuters and vendors, the best ground level education in how Yangon lives.
Sule Pagoda
A small ancient gold stupa at the exact centre of the colonial grid, best used as a starting point for downtown.
Maha Bandula Park
The downtown park by City Hall and the Independence Monument, good for watching the city decompress.
Where to stay in Yangon
Kandawgyi Lake / Bahan
first trip, best overall base
Green and calm with the best hotel concentration, Shwedagon 10 minutes away and downtown 15 by car.
Downtown (Kyauktada / Pabedan)
walkers and atmosphere
Walk to the heritage streets, Bogyoke Market and half the restaurants, on main roads with generator hotels.
Inya Lake / Kamayut-Bahan north
longer stays, work trips, quiet luxury
The wealthiest residential arc, calm and green with lakeside dining, but every sight is a drive.
Sanchaung
repeat visitors and budget travellers
Where young Yangon eats and drinks, dense local restaurants and a 15 minute walk to Shwedagon.
Think twice about
- Dala
Ferry dependent for every sight with minimal infrastructure and no hotel stock. Visit by day, sleep in Yangon.
- Far north near the airport / Insein, and Hlaing Tharyar
Industrial commuter sprawl, nothing walkable, long unpredictable transfers, and unrest associations for Hlaing Tharyar.
- Pun Hlaing Estate
A pleasant gated estate 45 plus minutes from everything else. Works as a golf base only, not for sightseeing.
- Near military installations, ministry compounds or checkpoints
Those locations are the documented targets of attacks in Yangon. There is no upside to sleeping next to one.
Best restaurants in Yangon
SEEDS Restaurant & Lounge
Swiss run contemporary European fine dining in a lakeside house, called the best fine dining in the city.
Le Planteur
French fine dining in a colonial mansion and garden by Inya Lake, the long standing celebration venue.
Le Cellier
French restaurant and wine bar in the Novotel with the most serious wine cellar experience in the city.
The Strand Restaurant
Grand hotel dining in a 1901 room, European classics and afternoon tea when its operating status is confirmed.
Rangoon Tea House
A beautiful heritage tea house restaging the Burmese tea shop canon with English menus and cocktail polish.
Babett Eatery & Bar
French bistro meets Yangon social hub at Hotel G, the best normal good evening out in downtown.
Shan Yoe Yar
The sit down Shan restaurant for noodles, warm chickpea tofu and sour pork rice in a handsome house.
The Market
Hotel all day dining rated at fine dining scores, useful for mixed groups who want reliability and choice.
Outdoor things to do in Yangon
Pun Hlaing Golf Club
Gary Player championship course through lakes on the Hlaing River, rated the best course in Myanmar.
Yangon Golf Club
The historic local members course in the north of the city, a cheaper and more local golf morning.
Bago
Former Mon royal capital packing Shwemawdaw, a huge reclining Buddha and Kyaik Pun into one road trip day.
Kyaiktiyo Pagoda
A gold leafed boulder balanced on a cliff edge above Kinpun, best done as an overnight for sunset and dawn.
Dala
Ten minutes by ferry from downtown, unpaved lanes, trishaws and village temples, with pottery workshops in Twante.
Yele Pagoda
A gilded island pagoda reached by boat in Thanlyin, where visitors feed the large catfish massing around it.
Inya Lake
The larger, leafier lake promenade for a dawn run or walk, paired with Kandawgyi in the resident lakes circuit.
Hlawga Park
A large park and lake an hour north for picnics, cycling and green space, with run down facilities to expect.
Best hotels in Yangon
The Strand Yangon
The 1901 Sarkies grand hotel on the riverfront, all suites with butlers, a living piece of Rangoon history.
Governor's Residence, A Belmond Hotel
A 1920s colonial mansion in embassy quarter gardens, with a pool among frangipani and praised afternoon tea.
LOTTE Hotel Yangon
Big modern luxury tower on Inya Lake with a lake view infinity pool, serious spa and flawless service.
Melia Yangon
Contemporary lake facing hotel attached to Myanmar Plaza, the business leisure default where things simply work.
Chatrium Hotel Royal Lake Yangon
Long running five star directly on Kandawgyi Lake with a resort scale pool and Shwedagon views up high.
Pan Pacific Yangon
Modern tower over downtown in a mall complex, with an infinity pool looking toward Shwedagon and strong value.
PARKROYAL Yangon
Dependable international workhorse a few minutes from City Hall, chosen for location and consistency.
Hotel G Yangon
The design boutique pick in a handsome heritage style building, with Babett as its social engine.
Is Yangon expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | MMK 180,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | MMK 450,000 a person |
| Splurge | MMK 1,000,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Yangon Heritage Trust: a few days ahead
- The Secretariat: a few days ahead
- Private full-day guided Yangon tour: a few days ahead
- Pun Hlaing Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Yangon Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Bago: a few days ahead
- Kyaiktiyo Pagoda: a few days ahead
- Dala: a few days ahead
- Book SEEDS and Le Planteur ahead, and pre order the Shan Yoe Yar signature hotpot about two hours ahead.
- Book private guides, heritage walks, the evening food tour and golf tee times days ahead, then re confirm.
- Bogyoke Market closes Mondays and public holidays. Re check every venue in the same week, as status shifts.
Is Yangon safe?
- Myanmar is under military rule, with a civil war elsewhere in the country. Read the safety notes first.
- Never photograph military personnel, checkpoints or vehicles, and avoid demonstrations and large gatherings.
- Rolling blackouts are everyday, stray dogs and rabies are a real risk, and medical evacuation insurance is essential.
Yangon travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Gems at Bogyoke Market without independent certification and export paperwork. Buy stones only as souvenirs.
- The Dala jetty unofficial guide whose fee is negotiated afterwards. Fix the person and price before crossing.
- Money changers offering a rate too good to be the market rate. Use hotel recommended licensed changers.
Getting around Yangon: public transport and more
- Grab is the default for cars and its price anchors street taxi negotiation, agreed before you get in.
- Cash for all transport, and budget traffic time into every plan, especially on Pyay Road.
- Walk downtown and the lakes only. After dark take a Grab or hotel car door to door.
Who Yangon suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Yangon your trip
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