Yangon for 12 hours
 

Can anyone recommend an English-speaking tour guide for Yangoon for a 12 hour layover who can pick me up and drop me off at the airport? I will be arriving around 9am and leaving around 9pm.

We used Myanmar Damsel Travel & Tours for an 8 day trip (Yangon, Inle, Bagan, and Mandalay) and were happy with all aspects of the service including airport transfers and guide services.

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What are you planning on doing in Yangon?

95% of my taxi drivers in Yangon spoke excellent English and were great drivers (of course, the one I got to take me back to RGN during rush hour was atrocious, kept trying to pick up more passengers-who were going elsewhere- and stopped TWICE for gas...) and could easily take you around for the day.

I would allot 1hr+ for transport into the city center, and possibly a bit more to get back to RGN because of traffic. So that leaves you at 10am-6/7pm (unsure if your flight is at 9pm, or leaving the city at 9pm).
You could hit Shwedagon, Bogyoke market, and take the circle train- no need for a guide. I enjoy the circle train/line as it shows you the local life.

I did do a food tour, Yangon Food Walks I believe, that was great- but be HUNGRY! So much food, and a nice walking tour around city hall/downtown. It was 25,000kyat, so just about $25USD.

My flight arrives at the airport at 9am and leaves the the airport at 10pm.

I really want to see Schwedagon pagoda and eating as much food as possible. Anything else I do not care much for, but I also don't want to go just go into the city just to do one thing. So I can really spend the rest of the time for what works best itinerary-wise.

Well, Shwedagon is in the city, and I would recommend eating there as well. Plus, I'm not sure what you'd do elsewhere closer to the airport...

You'll probably get to town between 10:30-11 depending on how long the lines are at immigration. And you'll want to be back at the airport by 8:30, so leave the city at 7. (It's not really that far, when I landed at 5:30am, it took 20 minutes to the city, but everyone was still asleep!)

That's plenty of time for lunch and dinner and a visit to Shwedagon. Drinks at the Strand are fun as well.

The two ideal times is either sunrise or sunset. Since you arrive too late for former, suggest you plan to arrive by 4:30 pm and take southern or eastern entrance. English guides available at entrances for 1-2 hr tour for about 11,000 kiyak. That would leave enough time for 10 pm flight.

totally agree that late afternoon/sunset is the time to visit Shwedagon given your time frame.

That is really THE highlight of Yangon. When I was there we also went to Sule Pagoda which is one of the other main tourist sights, but it's nothing exciting. My guide took me on the local ferry across the river to tour around and see more how the locals live which was kind of interesting. We walked some and took one of the bicycle rickshaws part of the time.

Frankly I didn't find Yangon all that interesting other than Shwedagon. The rest of the country has a lot more to offer. Especially Bagan.

Okay, then I will plan to be there around sunset. Any recommendations on what to do earlier on in the day?

Sule Pagoda, a lunch food tour, Boygoke market...

If I was going to only see one place in Burma, I'd go to Bagan. I'm not sure the visa process is worth it for 10 hours on the ground.

Thanks! I just have a connection there and thought I'd make the most of it.

Lunch option - I would recommend Feel Myanmar. Great way to experience a good spread of authentic Burmese food. Popular with locals and expats, its similar to a buffet where you can go and point & choose various dishes. Talk to the wait staff and have one of them make some recommendations. Its located on Pyi Htaung Su Yeikthar Road, but any driver will know Feel Myanmar.

Else if you're downtown, try Nilar Biryani on Anawrahta Street, couple of blocks from Traders Hotel. Popular with local lunch crowd, cheap and will fill you up!

A walk around Kandawgyi Lake offers various food/restaurant/cafe options and a chance to mix with the locals - Royal Garden does a popular dim sum there too with a view over the lake.

A walk around the heritage buildings of downtown Yangon is worthwhile and another good chance to see the city centre. Start on Strand Road at The Strand Hotel, and wind your way back north towards the Sule Pagoda.

Agreed on the recommendations above to do a sunset visit to Shwedagon.

If you do want to pay for a tour guide/driver and have a car for the day - contact Dr Thant or Miss Kyaw at Myanmar2Go. Highly recommended and worth the money to make the most of a day trip.

Small correction, but probably worth pointing out.

Myanmar currency (MMK) is called "Kyat" and it is pronounced "Chat"

Currently USD1 fetches around 1250-1275 kyat

Thanks so much for all the recommendations. I changed my schedule a bit so my departing flight is the following morning 1am to HKG. This way perhaps I can spend a bit of time in Yangon at night, unless there's a reason not to.

Actually, Yangon nightlife has come a long way in the past few years, so an evening there would be good.
Scores of new bars, restaurants, rooftop establishments, galleries, expat functions, events etc

Go to Myanmore.com, and sign up for their weekly newsletter "7 Days in Yangon"
Its a great way to get an idea of what is happening and what might be interesting for you to see while there.

Don't suppose you are there on a Friday night by chance? The Strand has a famous Friday happy hour (runs throughout the evening), as a meeting place for expats and locals, usually find some interesting types to meet and chat with.

Also, 50th Street Bar and Restaurant is something of an institution in Yangon.
The Union Bar and Grill is another that comes to mind.
Plenty of choices, but Myanmore is the best starting point.