One thing I must share with you is that taxis are abundant in Yangon and they are not expensive. Traditionally to get a taxi in Yangon you need to hail a cab from the kerb.
However most drivers speak only a smattering of English and they don’t use taxi meter i.e. you must be prepared to bargain with them before the journey start. It is quite common for foreign tourists to be charge double the fare for the same ride that a local Myanmar person would have paid if you hail a taxi from the kerb and you do not speak Burmese. With the worsening traffic situations in Yangon and the oversupply of taxis some unscrupulous drivers may try to fleece unsuspecting tourists that do not establish the fare for the trip in advance.
There are currently 4 taxi hailing companies in Myanmar – Grab, Oway, Hello & OK Taxi. All 4 companies have their own taxi hailing apps on the Apple and Google Apps Store.
As of 8th April 2018 Grab has acquired all the business of Uber in South-East Asia (including Myanmar). Currently Grab is the dominant taxi hailing company in Yangon.
Our advice for tourist landing for the first time at Yangon Airport is to use the official taxi booking counter near the exit of the custom station at the Arrival Hall where they offer fixed price taxi fare with booking slips issued to the taxi driver that brings you to most hotels in Yangon based on an agreed upon fare schedule.
As a guide the journey from Yangon Airport to downtown Yangon (Sule Pagoda) is only Kyat 12,000 for a journey of 17 km i.e. if you book the taxi from the official airport taxi booth. Most taxi journey within the downtown area should be less than Kyat 3,000. (Updated 1st August 2018)
I suggest you download the apps of Grab & Oway and give it a try when in Yangon. Our assessment is that Grab with it’s deep pocket and superior technology is taking away many of the experienced drivers from Oway and Hello by giving better signup bonus and incentives. Now with a press of the button on your Grab app a taxi will appear in front of you in 5 mins and there is no need to haggle in Burmese to get the best price! Grab has taught the taxi driver to read Google Map and they even teach the taxi driver to keep their car clean and to be polite! What an improvement for all of us living and working in Yangon!
