which currency best to take on trip to Myanmar

[watgate]

I am planning on going on a packaged tour with my g/f to Myanmar upon my return to Chiang Mai this September. Is it better to take US currency or Thai baht with me? Although most of are meals and hotels will be paid for, I do need to bring some money for incidentals such as gift purchases, maybe some side excursions, food,etc.

[zeichen]

US dollar would be better if in Rangoon. The Thai border towns Thai baht is fine.

[uptheos]

US Dollars every time.

Walk through Bogyoke Aung San market, lots of unofficial money changers will approach you, with very good rates.

If you have a Myanmar friend email and find how much Kyat they are currently giving to the dollar on the street

[phetphet]

You might want to try and take only pristine notes. I was told by someone that several of their US$ notes were refused because of pen marks and creases.

[siam2007]

US Dollars every time.

Walk through Bogyoke Aung San market, lots of unofficial money changers will approach you, with very good rates.

If you have a Myanmar friend email and find how much Kyat they are currently giving to the dollar on the street

The times when it was necessary to change Dollars on the streets or at Bogyoke are actually over. Currency exchange is perfectly legal now and offered by many non-dodgy places and institutions.

As others have suggested, bring only US$, and only those that are 100% pristine. bring a lot of smaller bills too. If you buy US$ in Thailand, tell them you are going to Myanmar, then they will know how the Dollars have to look like. Myanmar now has ATMs too, so - unlike until 2013 or so - you will not have to flee the country once your cash has thinned out....

[phuketrichard]

take $$ a also buy at least $20 worht of Kyat for every day ur going to stay when you arrive at the ariport

I usually buy $300 for a 10-12 day trip and use it all; Food, travel, shopping, etc are all in Kyat,

My last trip was in April an used local currency for everything BUT hotels

Not always are $$ accepted,

Make sure u take crisp bills with no tears, or lots of folds.

Atms all over

if u want to take ur smart phone /Tablet buy a sim card on arrival and u have internet at ur hands, not super fast but i found in most areas ( i was up north) fast enough.

Edited May 17, 2015 by phuketrichard

[Tomtomtom69]

take $$ a also buy at least $20 worht of Kyat for every day ur going to stay when you arrive at the ariport

I usually buy $300 for a 10-12 day trip and use it all; Food, travel, shopping, etc are all in Kyat,

My last trip was in April an used local currency for everything BUT hotels

Not always are $$ accepted,

Make sure u take crisp bills with no tears, or lots of folds.

Atms all over

if u want to take ur smart phone /Tablet buy a sim card on arrival and u have internet at ur hands, not super fast but i found in most areas ( i was up north) fast enough.

I've been paying for hotels only in Kyat since 2013 and US$ have only been used for flights (domestic or international). But even if you don't have any USD, you can easily source them in Yangon and Mandalay (and other major cities) by purchasing them at banks and money changers dealing in foreign exchange.

You can also book hotels in advance through Agoda and for everything else, withdraw money locally via an ATM.

Of course you would go through US$300 in 10-12 days. Most of us would easily go through that in 3-4 days in Myanmar, once you factor in hotels and transport. It would be a struggle to only spend US$300 in 10-12 days I think.

I generally don't bring in anything other than a cursory amount of foreign currency - Baht if coming in overland (which I exchange in Mae Sot or Myawady) and USD or EUR if flying in, but not much since I can always withdraw what I need via an ATM and as just mentioned, hotels are typically pre-booked anyway, unless travelling in remote areas where no hotels can be booked online.

[phuketrichard]

i pulled $200 from an atm on my scb atm card in April cost me $11!!

good reason to carry cash/Kyat

I change $300 inot Kyat when i arrive, that is NOT all i spend, as i said i also carry $$ :-)

MY past 4 trips in the last 18 months i find hotels are cheaper ( even in out of the way places) in $$ than using their exchange rate!

I NEVER pre book hotels except for my first night

as i like to have the freedom to go where i want, when i want and stay or leave as it fancies me.

Last trip i averaged about $45/day (not including the jade jewelry/gems i brought ) an that was splitting a room with my friend except in Katha where we each had $7 singles

[Tomtomtom69]

i pulled $200 from an atm on my scb atm card in April cost me $11!!

good reason to carry cash/Kyat

I change $300 inot Kyat when i arrive, that is NOT all i spend, as i said i also carry $$ :-)

MY past 4 trips in the last 18 months i find hotels are cheaper ( even in out of the way places) in $$ than using their exchange rate!

I NEVER pre book hotels except for my first night

as i like to have the freedom to go where i want, when i want and stay or leave as it fancies me.

Last trip i averaged about $45/day (not including the jade jewelry/gems i brought ) an that was splitting a room with my friend except in Katha where we each had $7 singles

Prebooking all your hotels is always a good idea, mainly because you can save money by paying a hotel booking website directly in your own currency, thus avoiding currency conversion fees and it reduces your need to carry cash, or get money out of an ATM.

You can always book your hotels, one night at a time when you're on the road. I almost always do this. Very easy to book your next night in say Naypyidaw, if you're currently in Yangon, assuming you know that's where you will end up the next night.

I usually just book my hotels for my onward journey just before I go to sleep or the following morning before leaving. Agoda covers much of the country. Obviously you can't book everywhere, but Agoda does cover most of the main destinations.

Also, ATM fees are unavoidable. Even in Thailand most of us will be stung with fees somewhere, most of us keep our money in the bank so when it comes time to access it, nothing you can do but pay the commissions the banks charge. Obviously it will be cheaper to withdraw money out of a Thai bank account in Thailand than in a foreign country, but like most other expats, I've paid thousands of dollars in commissions/withdrawal fees for taking money out of an ATM, there's little one can do to avoid this, there are only ways to manage it. Depends where you are getting paid and in which country you are in.

For most travellers though, it's not realistic to carry around thousands of dollars in cash just to avoid a few dollars of commission. The risk involved greatly outweighs the convenience of making an ATM withdrawal.

But each person's circumstances are different.