Myanmar Bus
How to take Myanmar bus?
With so many travel Myanmar Buses companies plying the same routes at the same time, for the same price with the same kind of travel Myanmar buses. It is rather tricky to make the right choice in Myanmar. Sticking to those with the largest fleet is usually a safe bet: a Myanmar company with travel Myanmar buses only will have little time for technical controls.
Some Myanmar buses companies have a big fleet but they alternate old & new Myanmar buses. The good thing about Myanmar old buses is that Myanmar driver had time to develop a close relationship with them: if Myanmar buses brake down, they can usually be fixed. New modern travel Myanmar buses might be technically more challenging in Myanmar.
With so many travel Myanmar Buses companies plying the same routes at the same time, for the same price with the same kind of travel Myanmar buses. It is rather tricky to make the right choice in Myanmar. Sticking to those with the largest fleet is usually a safe bet: a Myanmar company with travel Myanmar buses only will have little time for technical controls.
Some Myanmar buses companies have a big fleet but they alternate old & new Myanmar buses. The good thing about Myanmar old buses is that Myanmar driver had time to develop a close relationship with them: if Myanmar buses brake down, they can usually be fixed. New modern travel Myanmar buses might be technically more challenging in Myanmar.
Anyway, you sometimes have no choice as popular Myanmar companies fill up fast. You should always try to reserve as early as possible in Myanmar. Ask your Myanmar GH to call for you. Seats can usually be booked over the phone but you will have to pick up the ticket at least a few hours before departure, which is not too convenient if the Myanmar buses station is far away from the town center. Fortunately, Myanmar buses companies have sometimes also represent in Myanmar towns which can issue the Myanmar buses ticket, sometimes for an additional fee, most of the time at the same cost.
To summarize, here is how to proceed:
- Ask Myanmar local people for the most reliable Myanmar buses company
- Ask whether they have an office downtown in Myanmar
(in such case, going Myanmar buses company office would let you choose a seat)
- Ask for where they leave and whether they have a free pick-up to the Myanmar buses station
- Clarify before what time you have to get your Myanmar buses ticket
Almost always faster than Myanmar trains , Myanmar buses come in different sizes. Options include Myanmar luxury air-con express buses, less luxurious but nice Myanmar buses (without aircon), local Myanmar buses, and mini 32 seaters. Most are operated by private Myanmar buses companies, but some particularly on shorter routes that are geared more to Myanmar locals bring home rice are still run by Myanmar government.
To summarize, here is how to proceed:
- Ask Myanmar local people for the most reliable Myanmar buses company
- Ask whether they have an office downtown in Myanmar
(in such case, going Myanmar buses company office would let you choose a seat)
- Ask for where they leave and whether they have a free pick-up to the Myanmar buses station
- Clarify before what time you have to get your Myanmar buses ticket
Almost always faster than Myanmar trains , Myanmar buses come in different sizes. Options include Myanmar luxury air-con express buses, less luxurious but nice Myanmar buses (without aircon), local Myanmar buses, and mini 32 seaters. Most are operated by private Myanmar buses companies, but some particularly on shorter routes that are geared more to Myanmar locals bring home rice are still run by Myanmar government.
Classes and conditions
Many long-hual travel Myanmar buses trips, such as from Yangon to Mandalay, allow the greatest comfort, with new(ish) air con express Myanmar buses some of which are quite nice. A lot of Myanmar buses activity happens at night, with Myanmar buses leaving form 3pm to 6 pm or later, and arriving at the final destination in the wee hours (often 5am to 6 am). If you wan t extra air con comfort but don't want to go the whole way on one of these routes, you usually have to pay the full Myanmar buses fare (eg going from Mandalay to Taungoo you pay the full fare to Yangon)and will have to deal with a 3 am arrival time. Similarly, by paying the full fare for the route, you can jump on a bus at a stop along the way, eg catch the Mandalay to Yangon bus at Meiktila. Staff at your Myanmar guesthouse or hotel should be able to help with this.
A bottle of water is often handed out on better quality travel Myanmar buses. There are no bath rooms on the Myanmar buses, but frequent toilet and soup stops perforate the night frustrating if you've just got to sleep and the bus stops at 3 am to breakfast. Often TVs blare for much of travel Myanmar buses trip usually sticking with Myanmar made movies detailing things such as, oh, protagonists dying bloody deaths in car crashes, but the occasional raiders of the lost Ark slips in.
Be aware that temperatures can drop substantially at night in Myanmar. Take a jacket or blanket (preferably both) on air con Myanmar buses in particular, which can get quite bone chillingly cold.
Similar sized but older Myanmar buses, with no air con, make shorter haul travel Myanmar buses trips, such as direct links from Yangon to Pyay or Pyinmana to Yangon.
A bottle of water is often handed out on better quality travel Myanmar buses. There are no bath rooms on the Myanmar buses, but frequent toilet and soup stops perforate the night frustrating if you've just got to sleep and the bus stops at 3 am to breakfast. Often TVs blare for much of travel Myanmar buses trip usually sticking with Myanmar made movies detailing things such as, oh, protagonists dying bloody deaths in car crashes, but the occasional raiders of the lost Ark slips in.
Be aware that temperatures can drop substantially at night in Myanmar. Take a jacket or blanket (preferably both) on air con Myanmar buses in particular, which can get quite bone chillingly cold.
Similar sized but older Myanmar buses, with no air con, make shorter haul travel Myanmar buses trips, such as direct links from Yangon to Pyay or Pyinmana to Yangon.
Myanmar local buses, or 34 seat minibuses, bounce along the Myanmar highways too. These tend to use the aisles, if not for blokes, for bags of rice, veggies or (worst) dried fish. Sometimes the floor in front of you is filled too, so you'll find your knees to your chin for some bouncy hours with travel Myanmar buses. Getting up to stretch your legs while moving just isn't an option.(Try to sit in the front couple of rows, which sometimes have fewer bags stored, and better visibility.)
Trip durations for all forms of Myanmar public road transportation are very elastic. We hear of travelers on the nicest Myanmar buses who where stopped for hours on the Yangon Mandalay highway. Myanmar superstition says that when you're on a journey you shouldn't ask anyone "how much longer?" or "Brother, when will we arrive?", as this is only tempting fate. Myanmar Buses of all types do break down sometimes. Older Myanmar buses often stop to hose down a hot engine. Some roads on lane, mangled deals (read: very rough) don't help matters, and tyre punctures occur too.
Myanmar Government bus
Formerly, many Myanmar buses were operated by the Myanmar government's road transport enterprise(RTE). Now essentially only Myanmar buses between Yangon and Monywa, and Yangon and Kyuakpaduaung, are RTE. These are more geared towards transporting cargo. There's no clear sign to indicate which Myanmar vehicles be long to the RTE, but it's very unlikely you'll be on one.
COST
Unlike for Myanmar train, plane and most Myanmar boat tickets, you can pay kyat for all Myanmar bus fares. But, similarly, foreigners will pay more than Myanmar locals. Generally minibuses, local 32 seaters, express Myanmar buses with no aircon, and aircon luxury jobbies charge roughly the same on overlapping routes. Sample foreigner Myanmar buses fare and trip times.
| From | To | Price | Duration |
|
Bagan Mandalay Mandalay Mandalay Pyay Yangon Yangon Yangon Yangon Yangon Yangon Yangon Yangon |
Taunggyi Bagan Hsipaw Taunggyi Taunggok Bagan Bago(pegu) Chaungtha Kyaiktiyo Mandalay Taunggyi Pyay Thandwe |
K 6000 K 4200 K 2300 K 4500 K 2500 to 4000 K 6500 K 500 to 1000 K 5000 K 2500 K 6000 K 6000 K 1550 K 4500 |
10 hrs 8 hrs 5 hrs 10-12 hrs 8 hrs 14-15 hrs 2 hrs 6-7 hrs 41/2 hrs 12-15 hrs 20 hrs 6 hrs 17-18 hrs |
Myanmar buses Reservations
From November to February, it's necessary to book travel Myanmar buses that ply some key routes a couple of days in advance, notably to/from Bagan or Inle Lake, where options are few. Seat reservations are make for all Myanmar buses. Ask to see the bus ahead of time to choose the seat you'd like.
Restricted Roads
Foreigners are permitted to buy bus tickets of any class, using kyat, to any Myanmar destination within or near the main Yangon-Bagan-Mandalay-Taunggyi quadrangle. We also found that Myanmar buses were easily boarded in most other places in Myanmar country, except for some Myanmar areas of restricted travel towards the Thai border with travel Myanmar buses.
