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My Budget for Myanmar (Burma): Daily Cost of Travel

I spent 2 weeks in Myanmar and spent $717.09. Although day to day spending costs were exceptionally low, the capital purchases to get into the country were huge. Due to corrupt land crossings, I had to fly both in and out of Myanmar for $100 per ticket. In addition, the visa was $50, purchased online. If I exclude costs of the flights and visa, my total cost for two weeks in Myanmar is $465.09. I will analyze the costs of this country both including and excluding these factors.


Here is a link to the raw spending data I collected each day:



Including RT Flights from Thailand & Visa ($250 value)

Total Cost: $717.09

Average Cost per Day: $39.84


Excluding RT Flights from Thailand & Visa ($250 value)

Total Cost: $465.09

Average Cost: $25.84


My spending goal in Asia is $25 per day, excluding major transportation between cities. Considering that all intercity transportation is included in this average cost (excluding flights and visa), I am well within my spending limit. Myanmar does not have a lot of tourism, so a lot of local options are still accessible and easy to use. This made intercity transportation and street food especially cheap.


One exception to that generalization is the city of Bagan. This archaeological region charges for entrance, and hostels were at least $15 per night. These costs were outliers from the rest of Myanmar but not an experience to miss, so it is included in all calculations.


Finally, I did not drink at all in Myanmar and that has impacted the low cost of travel here. Drinking opportunities were limited, and even when available I did not take them. This is important to consider if you would budget that category differently.


Breakdown FOOD Food Total $116.22 Daily Avg Cost $6.46 ACCOMODATION Hostel Total $132.32 Daily Avg Cost $8.80

TRANSPORT Transport Total $101.11

Daily Avg Cost $5.62 OTHER Other Total $367.44 Daily Avg Cost $20.41

Other Total excluding flights & Visa

$115.44

Daily Avg Cost Excluding flights and Visa

$6.41


Food

Meals were especially cheap in Myanmar, and street food was readily available at low cost. The food was also absolutely delicious - particularly on the 3 day hike from Kalaw that included all accomodation and meals for $25!


Accomodation

Hostels in most Burmese cities were usually $5-9 per night. Cities like Inle Lake had especially cheap accommodation ($4), but in Bagan all hostels were at least $14/night.

I also spent one night in a hotel for privacy during a Skype interview, and that cost was not included in average cost calculations.


Transport

Myanmar is not as popular to backpack compared to other southeast asian countries, which made access to local transportation easier than expected. For example, I took a local truck 1.5 hours to the next city for $1.22.


Other

The vast majority of “other” costs were admission to city sights, and some of the money paid for a few souvenirs.


Here is a link to my blog post on what all I did in Myanmar:

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