Yangon for Two Days

We are due to dock centrally in Yangon for two days in February and are unsure whether to spend the two days in Yangon, or to go on the ship's trip to Bago for one of those days.

We want to experience the country and people and see some sights but not necessarily visit every tourist site. It would be good to see out of town areas as well as the city, but are not sure if we would be wasting time, (and money), just sitting on a coach if Bago does not supply more worthwhile sights and experiences than we would have in Yangon.

Also, would we be fine just getting tuk tuks or taxis to places in Yangon, or would we benefit from a guide who could explain about the tourist sites and the way of life in the country. We now know we are due to dock centrally in Yangon, rather than in the out of town port where most ships dock, (we will be on a very small cruise ship).

Any help greatly appreciated

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We spent time in Yangon at the beginning and end of our land trip to Myanmar. It is an interesting city but not as interesting as Bagan. Consider flying there and taking a one day tour. I can highly recomment One Stop as an agency which could make these arrangements for you. We got all our internal flights (4) through them and our tour driver for our full day in Bagan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagan

https://onestopmyanmar.com/

Thanks for the information. We are unlikely to do a big trip like that, but will look into it.

Barbara

Hi,

I have spent time in Yangon before, and will be there again for 2 days next month .

I would recommend you definitely hire a guide, as there are many things to see and the background and history and explanations of everyday life make a difference. It is not a place you can just "wander around" by yourself, except for maybe the market. I would also recommend you go to Bago, to get another exposure to Burmese life. It can easily be done in a day trip. And be sure to go to the Shwedegon Pagoda in Yangon at sunset or in the evening. It's spectacular--one of the most magnificent sights I've ever seen. You can find recommendations for a guide on Trip Advisor.

Enjoy your time in Myanmar. For me, it was one of the best trips I have ever taken!

Judy

Thank you for that travelinjudy. I was thinking a guide may be worthwhile for that reason, but over the two days we could still have some time on our own.

We are thinking of visiting the Shwedegon Pagoda late on one afternoon and staying until it gets dark, so we see both perspectives, (as long as the visits are not time limited). Will we be OK going to the Pagoda independently as we would not like to be rushed through that as tends to happen on tours?

All my tours were shipsexcursions.

I visited the Shwedagon Pagoda twice in the evening and once in the morning. I would go back again.

Bagan was a wonderful two day excursion including the flight back and forth which I would not have wanted to miss.

Bago was a full day tour. Interesting too. The pagoda there we visited around noon and my feet were almost grilled (all the pagodas are to be visited bare foot and the feet are likely to get dirty). This was probably the tour that got me closest to everyday life, visiting a market and the monastery.

All my tours were shipsexcursions.

I visited the Shwedagon Pagoda twice in the evening and once in the morning. I would go back again.

Bagan was a wonderful two day excursion including the flight back and forth which I would not have wanted to miss.

Bago was a full day tour. Interesting too. The pagoda there we visited around noon and my feet were almost grilled (all the pagodas are to be visited bare foot and the feet are likely to get dirty). This was probably the tour that got me closest to everyday life, visiting a market and the monastery.

Thank you for that information, it is very useful. As we only have two days (sailing at 8am the third day), we will definitely rule out Bagan on this occasion, but may go to Bago.

Ships tours would be much easier, but we would like some time on our own as well. If we arrive on the ship without making advance plans for sightseeing within Yangon for one or more days, are we likely to find taxis or tuk tuks (with or without guides) available when we dock and do the drivers speak English?

We walked around Yangon on our own, only using a taxi to visit Shwedagon Pagoda. It is no problem to walk in the area around the Scott (Bogyoke) Market and the Sule Pagoda. We stayed in a hotel between the two.

Thank you Maryann, that is most reassuring. I definitely think we should do more land holidays, then we can spend longer in the more interesting venues.

Barbara

Thank you for that travelinjudy. I was thinking a guide may be worthwhile for that reason, but over the two days we could still have some time on our own.

 

We are thinking of visiting the Shwedegon Pagoda late on one afternoon and staying until it gets dark, so we see both perspectives, (as long as the visits are not time limited). Will we be OK going to the Pagoda independently as we would not like to be rushed through that as tends to happen on tours?

Sure, you can easily do the Shwedegon on your own. It's worth spending at least a couple of hours there,(maybe more) to really take it all in.

Thanks Judy.

We had two days in Yangon in February 2016 but not as fortunate as you are, our ship (Volendam) docked at the port about an hour drive away from the city. Spent first day in Yangon and second day in Bago. We were on a tour with CC roll call members on a One Stop tour. Very well done. I have pictures of the trip under my signature if interested.

Thank you for sharing that, it was particularly good as it is not easy to find details about Yangon, though we have done fairly well with persistence.

I also looked at your port day in Kuala Lumpur and had looked at your Langkawi blog this afternoon, from a link you had posted earlier this year. They are also ports on our cruise next February.

You are very organised making such a good record of your travels, our pictures just seem to be saved, but with no written explanation, which in no way compares.

Thanks again,

Barbara

If we arrive on the ship without making advance plans for sightseeing within Yangon for one or more days, are we likely to find taxis or tuk tuks (with or without guides) available when we dock and do the drivers speak English?

To be honest: I do not know.

English is widely used but I am not sure that everyone speaks it well in the particular field where you would need it.

Sorry and best wishes.

Thanks FO2, useful to know.

I think I have found a company who we can do some places with and other parts of the city can easily be a DIY as we are fairly well travelled in less developed countries.

Cheers and happy cruising all,

Barbara

To be honest: I do not know.

English is widely used but I am not sure that everyone speaks it well in the particular field where you would need it.

Sorry and best wishes.

Avoid this issue by prebooking a recommended guide ahead of time. We did a wonderful two days tour in Yangon (Rangoon) and Bago (Myanmar) last year and used an excellent guide with great English skills. I can highly recommend Tony Hla Shwe who had been previously recommended to me by another cruise critic member.

Better choose an experienced and knowledgeable guide rather than relying of a possible taxi driver...with possible limited English skills.These 2 places are great to visit and for many persons the opportunity to see them properly is once in a life time.

You can reach Tony at tonyhlashwe@gmail.com

Good luck with your planning. :)

I second the recommendation to pre-book a guide. Taxi drivers are not allowed in the port area, so you would have to walk outside the port and hope to find a taxi. Most drivers do not speak English. Myanmar is a developing country that has been under a military dictatorship for many years and is just starting to rejoin the world community. You would probably have to show the taxi driver a screen shot of the shwedegon pagoda since he may not be literate in English. A guide can help you to gain a better understanding of all the ceremony and activities taking place and get you a taxi to return to the ship. We really benefited from having a guide show us around Yangon when we visited 3 years ago.

We just finished a 10-day trip in Myanmar and in every place that we visited, every taxi driver randomly picked on the street spoke enough English, even in smaller towns.

We did not use guides but we could hear some with their clients while we were visited and were impressed with the quality of their English,, french, Italian, Spanish, etc. which they often spoke with nearly no accent. They most probably lived abroad for a while.

We were on the Volendam in February too. We went on a CC inspired group with

https://www.toursbylocals.com/ a Vancouver based company who set up tours everywhere. Very good two day tour, excellent driver and guide - very helpful. We really experienced Myanmar, and even saw the Commonwealth War Cemetery en route. Take z look at their website.

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Have only just seen the posts from November and December as we have been away for a month. We have booked an extended half day tour with our cruise company for the first morning, which we are looking at as an overview (includes Shwedegon Pagoda and the reclining Budha), and intend to return by taxi to the Shwedegon Pagoda by night to get a contrasting view and have time to view at leisure.

We are hoping the Scott market and Sule Pagoda area may be walkable from our ship the second day as we will be docked centrally - though we have been given three possible docking locations in the centre which will apparently not be finalised until much nearer to the time and not all are near as others. It would only need a very short taxi ride though at most. We have decided to leave Bago on this occasion, but never know we may return one day.

Thank you all for the replies and I am sure this thread will be of use to others, though of course most ships (even ones of about 30,000 ton) have to dock out of town, which leaves more difficulties.