If you can only spend two days in Yangon and you don’t know which places are worth visiting, you are in the right place. I’ve put together the perfect Yangon 2 day itinerary which includes the best attractions in the city.
Are you undecided between visiting Yangon or Mandalay? Click here to find out which one to choose.
1. Is Yangon worth visiting?
There are so many beautiful places to choose from in Myanmar (read more about Myanmar’s hidden gems here) that it’s hard to decide which ones are worth visiting. The former capital city of Myanmar – Yangon – is definitely among the most beautiful cities in Myanmar.
With golden pagodas, diverse food and countless tourist attractions, Yangon has a lot to offer. It is also a great place to discover more of Myanmar’s culture and explore countless British colonial buildings.
The Yangon cityscape is unique and intriguing. For me, Yangon will always remain the original concrete jungle. With tall apartment buildings, old colonial buildings and a dense population, Yangon’s unique look is nothing like any city I’ve seen before. Here, the buildings, trees and electricity cables seem to live in harmony and close to each other.
Another thing that stood out was that all the locals were selling food right on the streets and sidewalks. In Yangon you’ll find a mix of smells and tastes that is hard to forget.
Some of the Burmese handicrafts are also performed right on the streets. Everybody seems to be selling something in Yangon. Fruits, food, tea, clothes – just take a short walk and you’ll find everything you need.
2. The best time to visit Yangon
The temperatures in Yangon are quite high year-round (the average is 33 degrees Celsius). However, there are two seasons that may affect your travel plans: the rainy season and the dry season.
If you want to avoid heavy rains, then you should definitely skip the months June, July and August. Keep in mind that even though it is rainy season, this doesn’t mean that it rains daily. The advantage of visiting Yangon during the rainy season is that there are almost no tourists around.
Personal tip: I know that the weather can be unpredictable. We visited Yangon at the end of August, beginning of September and the weather was great (out of one month only 3 days were rainy).
Are you planning to backpack Myanmar? Here is everything you need to know.
3. Two days in Yangon itinerary
Can you explore Yangon in 2 days? Don’t worry, you can see the most important tourist attractions in the city. 48 hours in Yangon are more than enough to discover the Burmese culture and history.
Good to know: When visiting temples in Myanmar, you will have to dress conservatively. To ready more about the dress code in Myanmar and how to dress when entering a temple, click here.
Day 1
In the first day of this 2 day itinerary in Yangon I’ve included some of the most important highlights. Start your day with a visit at the beautiful Sule Pagoda, get immersed in the local community while traveling by train around the city and see the sunset from one of the most beautiful temples in Southeast Asia. Are you excited yet?
Sule Pagoda
Duration (getting there + visiting): 1 hour
This beautiful 44 meter tall pagoda, situated right in the heart of the city is one of the must sees in Yangon. Take a few minutes and also visit the inside of Sule Pagoda and admire its beautiful architecture.
The best views you can get of this pagoda are from the pedestrian passage from Sule Pagoda Road. If you are confused about the differences between temples, pagoda and stupas, read this article.
Sule Pagoda entrance fee: $3
Sule Pagoda opening hours: 6am – 10pm
Yangon circular train
Duration (getting there + visiting): 4 hours
A ride on the Yagon circular train is an eye-opening experience. You’ll get the chance to sit in a train full of locals and be a part of their community for 3 hours. Local vendors will make their way through the wagons while selling fruits and vegetables and you’ll get to experience a traditional Burmese market.
The train will stop in the middle of a huge market and many local people will get off the train, do their groceries and then come back. The Yangon circular train is one of the top things you have to experience if you only have two days in Yangon.
To read more about this amazing experience, click here.
Yangon circular train ticket price: 200 Kiats
Yangon circular train opening hours: 6.10am – 5.10pm
Shwedagon Pagoda
Duration (getting there + visiting): 3 hours
The first day will end with one of the most beautiful temples in Myanmar – the Shwedagon Pagoda. The main pagoda is 99m tall and it’s surrounded by other smaller temples, shrines and statues which seem like they are cropped out of a fairy tale.
You’ll need at least 2 hours to see everything and enjoy this wonderful pagoda. When visiting, make sure to walk clockwise.
Shwedagon Pagoda entrance fee: $6.5
Shwedagon Pagoda opening hours: 4am – 10pm
Day 2
The second day of my Yangon 2 day itinerary is focused around the Burmese culture. Visiting a local market is the perfect way to discover local products, handicrafts and food while getting lost in the Yangon concrete jungle will give you a better idea about how the people live here.
The day will end with a trip to the Kandawgyi Lake where you can mingle with locals and a visit to the beautiful Tooth Relic Pagoda.
Bogyoke Aung San Market
Duration (getting there + visiting): 2 hours
Visiting a local market is a great way to explore more of Myanmar’s culture. Here you will find a wide variety of local products, souvenirs, clothes and food. With more than 2000 shops, Bogyoke Aung San Market has everything you can wish for!
If you want to buy some tailor-made clothes, this market is perfect! Just head at the second floor and you’ll find a wide selection of tailors and garments. If you’re feeling hungry, just choose from the tens of stalls from the ground floor and discover new tastes while eating with locals.
Bogyoke Aung San Market opening hours: 8am – 5.30pm
Get lost in the concrete jungle
Duration (getting there + visiting): 2 hours
The best way to discover Yangon is to get lost between the tall apartment buildings. After visiting Bogyoke Aung San Market, just head towards one of the nearby streets and you’ll discover local shops and hundreds of street vendors.
Getting lost in Yangon is particularly interesting due to the city’s architecture. Most of the building are so old that trees have started growing out of them. There are so many cables between the tall buildings that sometimes it’s hard to even grasp the sky.
Kandawgyi Lake
Duration (getting there + visiting): 2 hours
Kandawgi Lake is one of the biggest lakes in Yangon. The lake is artificial and it was built by the British as a supply of fresh water for Yangon.
Here you can admire the Karaweik Hall which looks like a huge golden boat from the distance. The hall is actually a concrete building with two enormous golden birds and an ornate roof.
If you’re feeling hungry, you can choose from several open air restaurants in the park.
Tooth Relic Pagoda
Duration (getting there + visiting): 1 hour
The last stop of my two day Yangon itinerary is the beautiful Tooth Relic Pagoda. This pagoda is an important spiritual place for Burmese people because it enshrines a sacred Buddha tooth relic.
To read more about the amazing Yangon temples, click here.
5. How to get around Yangon
The best way to get around Yangon is to use Grab App. It’s easy to use, convenient and cheap. Just enter your destination in the app, wait until a driver is assigned and you’re ready to go! The app will also tell you how much the ride costs and you can choose to pay cash or by card.
I definitely recommend using Grab App in Yangon!
4. Where to stay in Yangon
Below are the best places to stay in Yangon for every budget:
Low Budget – Backpacker Hostel – excellent location, clean, good breakfast included
Mid Budget – Hotel G Yangon – modern, excellent location, spacious room, beautiful decor
Luxury – Pan Pacific Yangon – beautiful infinity pool, excellent views, excellent location, friendly staff
If you were wondering how to spend two days in Yangon, I hope that you’ve found all the answers in this article. Yangon is definitely a beautiful city but there are other amazing places to visit in Myanmar such as Hpa An, Bagan or Inle Lake.
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments section.
May the travel bug bite you!
More about Myanmar:
- The biggest reclining Buddha in the world (180m!) – click here
- Temples you can still climb in Bagan in 2019 – click here
- Myanmar hidden gems – click here
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Aurelia Teslaru is a professional travel blogger and the writer behind Daily Travel Pill. With a 4-year experience as a travel writer and photographer, Aurelia only shares travel guides about destinations that she visited.
She has been to more than 40 countries during the past 10 years and aims to explore 50 countries before turning 30 years old. Aurelia is a digital nomad who transformed her passion for travel into a lifestyle. Read more about her here.
To follow her adventures, check out her Instagram and Facebook pages!