Yangon with Kids: What to see and do in 24 hours.

Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, was a necessary and hugely enjoyable one-day stopover for us.

Our international flights went in and out of Myanmar’s historic capital. We used it as a base for our trips to Bagan and Inle Lake. There is plenty to do in Yangon with kids and I highly recommend skimming through our Yangon highlights below – our kids H and Zizi had a wonderful time.

It only takes around 15-30 minutes from the airport into the city, depending on where you are staying, meaning the taxi into Yangon with kids is fine after your flight. Once you are in central Yangon, there are temples and pagodas aplenty as well as open space in the parks and around the lake.

Here’s what I recommend doing if you have one day in Yangon with kids.

One day in Yangon with Kids: MORNING

We started our one day in Yangon with kids at the biggest attraction in town – Shwedagon Paya. There are four staircases up to the colourful and bejewelled complex, all centred around the 325ft golden stupa. The entire area is a feast for the eyes, with sparkling golds, silvers and greens decorating the monuments. It’s an incredible spectacle and not to be missed if you have one day in Yangon with kids.

Shwedagon Pagoda

If you have been to the Grand Palace in Bangkok then you will understand the magnificence of the site. However, Shwedagon Paya offers a very different experience, not least because there are far less tourists around. Since Shwedagon Paya is less crowded, it made it more relaxing for us with kids, plus we could appreciate it more as a place of worship than as a tourist attraction.

Being some of the few Western faces in there wasn’t perfect though, it meant that H and Zizi became their own tourist attraction, with the locals constantly asking for photos with them. If you are in Yangon with kids and visit Shwedagon Paya or other tourist sites then I advise you speak to your children and warn them about the attention. Our approach was to always ask H and Zizi if they wanted a photo taken and, more often than not, they willingly obliged.

Zizi was very curious about what the monk was doing…

One day in Yangon with Kids: AFTERNOON

We were all hungry and thirsty after Shwedagon Paya, so we headed to the Rangoon Tea House for lunch. Not exactly a local secret, but the long-established tourist favourite serves an excellent variety of food and drinks. Among our order were aubergine and butterfish bao, tea-leaf salad, fish and noodle soup, tandoori chicken wrap, tofu fries, rice and fried chicken. I told you we were hungry! Between us, we also had 3-fruit smoothies, iced coffee, iced tea and a craft pale ale. Everything hit the spot! Even if you only have one day in Yangon with kids, this is a great place for lunch or dinner.

Feeling fully nourished, it was time to do something for H and Zizi. A mere 5-minute walk away from the Rangoon Tea House is Mahabandoola Garden. This neatly manicured park has the Independence Monument in the middle and impressive colonial buildings around it but more importantly, hosts a children’s playground. H and Zizi had a wonderful time here playing with the local children. In our entire time travelling around Myanmar, this was the only children’s playground we saw that was in a good enough state for our children to play safely in it. So, if you have one day in Yangon with kids, make the most of this playground.

The playground at Mahabandoola Garden

After more than an hour of fun in Mahabandoola Garden, we had time for one more activity and so visited Botataung Paya. I have to admit that H and Zizi found it a bit repetitive after Shwedagon Paya but it’s worth a quick visit. They liked the bronze Buddha best of all, perhaps because this is where the child trainee monks and nuns were hanging out.

This group of young nuns really wanted their photo with our son at a temple in Yangon

To complete our one day in Yangon with kids, we had dinner in Thain Yin Thar. The food was excellent, like practically all the meals we had in Myanmar. We chose this restaurant as it was on our way back to our hotel and highly rated on Tripadvisor, so perhaps you could choose somewhere on your way home too.

Our Tips for one day in Yangon with kids

• Every ATM that we tried in Myanmar worked for us and dispensed local currency. So don’t worry too much about bringing cash into the country. If you do, bring USD and insist that the notes are in pristine condition.

• We didn’t even use cash to get from the airport and used the Grab taxi app instead. Whilst there are available taxis everywhere in town, we used Grab as we would make clear our destination without any language barrier.

• I’ve written this blog as one day in Yangon with kids but we actually had one-and-a-half days in Yangon with kids. Our extra half a day in Yangon with kids was spent at our hotel’s swimming pool. I recommend that you get a hotel with a pool as it was great for us to unwind after our international flight by splashing around.

The kids loved splashing around in the pool at our Yangon hotel

When visiting the religious sites like Shwedagon Paya, then dress respectfully including covering your knees. This isn’t a much an issue for children who could wear shorts.

DID YOU KNOW?

Daw Mya Sein was the first Burmese woman to graduate from the University of Oxford, UK and spent her lifetime building the reputation of women in academia. After university, she served as a representative to the League of Nations and also led the Burma Women’s Council. She was also an educator and writer, authoring ‘The Future of Burma’ in 1944. Between 1950 and 1960, Mya Sein was a lecturer of history and political science at Rangoon (Yangon) University. Later, she became a visiting professor of Burmese history at multiple international universities where she spread knowledge of life in Burma.

I can honestly say, Myanmar is one of our favourite holidays we have taken with our kids.

Are you planning a trip to Myanmar with young children? We have published a whole series of guides on travelling to Myanmar with kids.

Bagan with Kids: Incredible temples and more!

Inle Lake with kids: 5 awesome things to do PLUS useful tips

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