How Much is our finance series, meant to tell you how much you should—and shouldn't—spend on the road.
Over and over you'll hear that Burma is an expensive destination for backpackers. Is it true?
Judge for yourself. We each spent $33.87 per day over the course of two and a half weeks. This even includes our flight out of Burma and into Thailand!
Expensive? I think not, but your spending is different from other SE Asia countries, so it's best to come prepared. We have lots of tips for budget travel in Burma on our blog, but the most important thing to remember is that accommodation is overpriced... and it sucks. Once you get over this, you'll enjoy your trip a whole lot more!
We spent over 40% of our money on accommodation in Burma, and we had to use our sleep sheet almost every night! But everything else, including food in restaurants and the major sites, were quite affordable.
Here's just a taste of what you can experience for $33 a day in Burma:
- The largest and most incredible Buddhist pagoda in Southeast Asia, conveniently located in Yangon
- Thousands of crumbling red brick stupas scattered across the desert in Bagan
- A dip in a luxury infinity pool complete with views
- The amazing people, who will shake your hand, take your picture, and invite you into their home to see their photos of Obama
- A multi-day trek through hill tribe villages, complete with smiling children and water buffalo plowing rice fields
- The delicious food—a mix of Indian and Chinese flavors, but distinctly Burmese
- The monks, who parade up and down streets shoeless while puffing on cigarettes and take you on tours of hidden temples
- A complicated relationship with the bicycle
- The most unbelievable sunrise of your life, totally worth the 4am wakeup
- The still waters and hand-free fishermen of Inle Lake
Interested in reading more about traveling cheap in Burma? Check out our destination pages, Burma itinerary, and top tips for budget travel in Burma.
If you have any tips for backpacking Burma, leave a comment!
Disclosure
If you read our About Us page, you know that we're not your typical backpackers. Leaving our beautiful San Francisco loft and Lina's designer shoe collection behind didn't mean we'd revert to the way we traveled (or lived) when we were 17. So even if our trip looks cheap, know that you could spend a lot less. Most backpackers do!
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