Myanmar Forum: Changing Money

Hi! Dear Suzan

Changing Money at the airport is the best way not to waste the time .So, most of the travelers say the best rate get at the airport . But ,the prices were competed. The famous two for changing money are At the Airport and TheinPhyu Exchange Counter .

with regards,

Thanks! If everything is already paid for on our trip, do we need to change much? It sounds like we buy souvenirs and drinks with dollars. Correct?

Hi! Suzan

here is the update exchange information of travelers

www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa…

As an addition to the info in the LP thread above-- there was a donation box for the Myanmar Red Cross in the area where we waited for our Air Asia flight to BKK. Perhaps a very worthy recipient of your remaining kyats?

I would recommend you change ,say,$100 into kyat to cover snacks,drinks,souvenirs taxis etc.

Quick note to Royal-#4.

This link to TT was already given in my post #1

You will need to pay most hotel expenses in USD but other spending on souvenirs, drinks and food outside the hotels will need

Kyats. Basic good manners when in someone else's country to use their money!

I suggest you change dollars in one- or two-hundred dollar lots at a proper bank (the airport kiosks have rates pretty much the same as the banks). There are some in Yangon and Mandalay that do foreign exchange at very good rates. The (illegal) moneychangers sometimes try to rip you off. Use them if you know what you're doing but be warned. And you get better rates for large denominations (USD100 notes will get you over 800K per dollar but USD20 notes might not get you 770K per dollar). Make sure you have brand new, pristine, uncreased, large-headed (post 2006) notes, otherwise the banks might refuse them.

Hi!dear suzan

f you already prepare for your trip , 150 US dollars are enough for food ,some drinks and souvenirs . Even if you have more kyats at your departure , you can change back at the airport .

We have just returned from a two week tour on which our hotels, breakfast and transport were already paid.

We spent a total of $520 for 2 people. This covered all our lunches, dinners, drinks and souvenirs. We didn't try and economise either. The souvenirs included 2 men's traditional shirts, a silk/cotton blouse, a longyi, a hand made silver bracelet, a bamboo hat, a handmade paper parasol, 3 bags, 2 handwoven scarves, 2 T shirts, a lacquerware tray, lacquerware box and lacquerware drinks mats plus box!

So your money will go a long way. Also recommend buying things up country when you see them - better choice and quality than in Yangon we thought.

We changed all our money into kyats and did not need dollars, but some places you could use either, so useful to have dollars as back up.