Gordon Leung
Travelled to 9 countries / regions
Written 29 briefs
I went to visit Myanmar in December 2018
Asia
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Myanmar
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Mandalay
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Useful Info
Updated on Mar 08, 2019
Useful Info
How to get to the city from Mandalay International Airport
- Mandalay International Airport is located 40 km south of the city centre, and 1 hour drive away
- There are a couple of ways to get into the city from Mandalay's airport
- By taxi:
- There are booths for fixed-rate taxi services right outside of the baggage claim area, where you can purchase a coupon that lets you take a taxi to your hotel in the city
- The fare for the fixed rate taxis are: 12,000 kyat ($8USD) for a non-air conditioned taxi and 15,000 ($10USD) for air conditioned taxi. Prices in Myanmar is going up quickly in recently years so chances are when you visit the prices have already gone up
- There are also touts who will come up to you to offer taxi services. Nothing wrong with using them, just negotiate a rate before you get on. You should be able to get them for not much more than 12,000 kyat (ask if they have AC or not, if no AC then should be 10,000 kyat)
- Grab is also available in Mandalay. I use Grab a lot in Singapore so it was nice to be able to use in Myanmar. I didn't use it to get into the city but you can use it to check prices. Don't rely on the airport wifi, it didn't work when I was there. To use Grab you're going to have to get a local sim card
- Payment is by cash kyat
- Taxis take about 45-55 minutes to get to the city
- By bus:
- After you exit the baggage booth, you should see booths of bus services going to the city. The prices are 4000 kyat, or $4 USD
- I used this bus: https://shwenansanmyanmar.com
- The bus will drop you off at your hotel in the city. I'm not sure if they will do that for Airbnb and other smaller hostels and guesthouses
- These buses don't necessarily run on a schedule, they depart when they have enough people. But chances are you won't have to wait too long
- The bus takes a long time because it makes several stops. If you plan to take the bus option you should budget 1.5-2 hours to get to your hotel
- You need cash Kyat or USD to buy tickets. If you pay with USD they will demand the notes to be in very good condition
- By private transfer:
- You can use sites like Klook to find private airport transfers. I found this one when I was researching
- Prices are usually a lot more expensive than local taxis or Grab taxis. When I checked the rates it was $18USD, which is about twice what you'd pay for a local taxi
- Private transfers are paid in advance on the booking platforms so you don't pay in person. Tipping is not required, but if you want $1-2USD or 2000-3000 kyat is good