Upon arriving at the international airport in Yangon (RGN) you will first of all need to go through passport control to get the stamp(visa) that will allow you to enter to the country, more information can be found in our article about Myanmar Visa.

When you get your luggage you can change money in one of the exchange points that are situated in the baggage claim area, generally those kiosks are branches of street banks and the exchange rate is almost the same to the one you can get in the center of Yangon, so you can exchange all your money right at the airport, the local currency is the Kyat (Kyat) and the exchange rate’s about 1 € = 1320 Kyats (April 2016) or 1$ = 1200 Kyats. It’s better for you to have all your banknotes in very good condition (unfolded and without scratches) because they examine them thoroughly and very often refuse to accept the ones that are in bad condition.

Getting from the airport to the center

The airport is located about 15 km from the city center and the most common and easy way to get to the center is by taxi, since there aren’t any direct transport connections: no direct busses, trains or minibuses. Taxis can be booked at predetermined kiosks in the arrival area, there is a marked kiosk right next to the baggage claim area, the price for the taxi is about 12,000 Kyat (10$ or 9€). If you want to try a little more adventurous, but definitely the most economical way to get to the center, you can do the following:

After walking out of the arrival hall, take the road (there is only one road so you won’t miss it) to your right, walk along, till you reach the first major intersection (it’s about a 10-15 minutes walk), from there, go cross the road to the opposite side and wait at the bus stop for the bus № 51 that will take you directly to the city center, the cost is only 200 kyats (€ 0,15) and the ticket can be bought from the conductors on the bus, the journey depending on the traffic can take up to 1 hour. Alternatively, you can take also a tuk tuk from the main road outside airport with direction to the right, you can ask them to drop you off when you will be at the main intersection (as shown on the map below). The cost of the tuk tuk is only 200 kyats

 As for the way back to the airport from the Center – follow the same instructions backwards, the exact point of departure of the bus 51 from the center is between the  Merchant Rd & 30th street (as shown in the picture above). All you need to worry about are the numbers in Myanmar, as they aren’t written as the numbers we’re used to so, to identify the number of the bus, see the image below, it might help you.