Kathie, Nywoman or anyone else who's recently been to Burma:

I'm going to the bank today to get cash for the Burma trip but am wondering how much to take and what denominations might be best?

There are two of us, we're staying 6 nights/7 days. NOT including hotels and air travel, I'm thinking $80-$100 a day will be way more than enough for food, shopping, admission costs, taxis, Bagan driver... we have no extravagant plans (ie: the balloon).

And, any suggestions on what a good breakdown of bills would be?

Thanks so much!

You will need $ for airtravel and your hotels. I cashed $320 into Kyuats but I was there for 3 weeks. Most places except entrance fees wanted local currency. The exchange rates are lower than Yangon everywhere else.

I would bring $100 bills to exchange in Yangon, and to pay for airfares etc.

$50 singles $100 in tens that should cover you. 50 in 5's I never changed my 50's and only used a $20 last day when I needed a little more local currency.

Bagan driver prefer local currency 15,000 Kyats.

Go to a travelagency for you plane tickets and also hotels they are cheaper than listed prices.

You can get by on $50 a day with meals local transport admission fees etc for the 2 of you, unless you stay at a deluxe resort and eat there.

Do shop in Bagan, they need the money desperately and I am sorry I didn't by more sandpaintings of the monks as gifts. They are only $3 or so. Its a little like painting by number.
But much appreciated here.

Have a great time it is a wonderful place to visit.

i brought $600 in US money... about 3-4 $50 for guides, drivers...some $20... lots of $5's and at least $100 in 1's... i had 1's and 5's left over...
we were there 4 days... i paid for all our food in cash and for the driver/guide in cash but charged the hotel.... also used cash for small amount of gifty stuff....

Start by figuring our your fixed costs - airfare, hotels. Make sure you have enough cash to pay those (exact change) also, remember you'll likely eat some meals at hotels and have laundry done so you'll need US cash for that as well.

Do change money in Rangoon, as you'll get the best rate as per nywoman, above. You''l need kyat for taxis, horsecarts local eateries, and purchases you want to make. We exchanged about $300 US. We were glad we had $50s, 20s, 10s, 5s and 1s as well as the 100s, as we were able to pay exact amounts for everything.

I agree that your proposed budget of $80 - $100 per day for two should be ample unless you end up doing a lot of shopping.

There are a few places that will take credit cards but at a 5% - 20% premium. You want to make sure you have enough cash to avoid that!

Hmmm... thanks but now I'm getting more confused about this! I thought I would be changing money into kyats to pay for local expenses (food, shopping, local taxis) and would pay US dollars only for hotel, air, entrance fees and the initial taxi from the airport. So why the need to bring all the small bills if I'll be exchanging into kyat?

And just to clarify - our hotels and domestic flights have already been reserved through a local travel agent in Yangon. I'm bringing US dollars to pay for all of that when we arrive. But other than that, I thought there would be very little I would be paying for with US dollars.

Many vendors and places ask for US$

Your travel agent will prefer to be paid in $100 bills, and exchanging $100 bills with moneychangers will get you the best exchange rate.

You'll need smaller notes for entrance fees (bring a mix of $1 / $5 / $10 bills). Save a $10 bill for departure tax.

Those Kyat that you bought with $100 bills will pay for restaurant bills, taxis, souvenirs etc.

Read past posts regarding the standard of banknotes you must bring; i.e. Perfect!

Entrance fees for many places must be paid in US dollars. You want some small bills as anotherlostsoul says for some entrance fees ($2 or $3) and to make sure you can pay the exact amount at places like hotels when you check out. Providing change can be difficult for many places. And, as above you'll each need a $10 bill for your departure tax.

Anything you pay for at hotels like meals and laundry will be in US dollars as well.

(it is confusing!)

ok got it, thank you.

John, have a wonderful time in Burma and do report back with all of the details!

Hello John- We returned from a trip in October. Because of the instability of the the local currency- kyats- we found that many vendors, drivers, restaurants accepted US dollars as well. Kyats are not taded internationally so you have to use up all of your bills before you leave.
We paid for many items in US dollars though meals and incidentals were really inexpensive.

It is really true that you need crisp unmarked bills . We went to our bank and asked them for their newest/ best US dollars in small as well as large denominations. We brought 50 $1 bills, 20 $5 bills, 10 $10 bills, 10 $20 bills and $50's and $100s as needed. We came back spending less than expected and you can always use the dollars when you return home. Kyats were requested less frequently than dollar bills. We had one of those inner /hidden waist packs with a zip lock bag holding the cash for security.
The woman collecting the departure tax requested I give her another clean $10 bil as the one I initially handed her had a little tear in it!!!
Our Myanmar/Burma trip was fabulous and we hope you enjoy yourself as much as we did.

wmb, while many vendors, etc will accept US dollars, they are problematic for them to exchange. Technically, it is illegal for citizens to possess foreign currencies (with some exceptions like the horsecart drivers, taxi drivers in Rangoon, etc). For small vendors, they will get hassled when they try to exchange the dollars into kyat and the rate they will get will not be very good. Thus, you many have noticed vendors asking if you could exchange dollars for kyat.

Vendors will always accept dollars, especially if it is the difference between a sale and no sale, but it is better for them if you pay in kyat.

Would those with recent experience in Burma please comment on the issue of declaring money upon entry? Is there any reason NOT to declare the full amount that you are carrying?

There's no reason not to declare. If you take out more than US$2000 cash (and you didn't make a declaration on the way in), customs can confiscate anything above $2000. *They will assume you've been working illegally. Having said that, you'll almost certainly not be asked / searched on departure.

Thanks very much!

John now that you have been to Burma what would you recommend as a budget? Looking at your trip report I have a feeling for the types of meals etc you ate so that gives me an idea if you relate a budget to that. Anyone else have any more updates on this original question. DO NOT include hotels, flights, balloon rides. Do include entance fees, meals, etc. I think I understand the split between what you need to pay for in US$ & what you can use local currency for. Thanks in advance. J