How to Avoid Bagan Entry Fee?
There are different reasons why people want to avoid Bagan entry fee. Some people don’t want to support the government and military of Myanmar, some people travel on super tight budget and cannot afford to pay it. Don’t judge and do whatever suits your beliefs!
Beautiful sunrise in Bagan,
What is the fee to enter Bagan? Bagan entrance fee (Updated 2018).
Officially the fee to enter Bagan archeological area is 25 000 Kyats. You can also pay in dollars or euros, but then the price is higher. You shouldn’t pay more than that!
Well known Bagan tourists scam
Be careful as the officials trying to sell you tickets might say you higher prices (let’s say 30 000 kyats). Be aware of that and never pay higher than the price shown on the ticket (25 000 kyat)!
Where to pay Bagan Entrance fee?
There are checkpoints before entering Bagan area. If you will not try to avoid it 99% that you will be stopped at one of them and you will need to pay the 25 000 kyat fee. The main post is on the road from the train/bus station.
How to avoid Bagan entrance fee?
This is a question often asked by travelers with super tight budget. If you arrive by train or bus there are 2 options how you can avoid paying the fee:
- You can ask your taxi driver or the person driving you from the station to the city to not stop at the ticket booth. If you give him some extra money it will not be a big deal for him. Make sure to agree about that before sitting in the car!
- You can walk from the bus or train station of Bagan and try to go past the ticket booth which is located (21.170597, 94.920369). There are different options how you can do that and if you have OSM maps on your phone (maps.me) then you should see the road which will help you avoid this booth. Then you can take a cheap taxi after the post.
99% that you will not be asked for your ticket while in Bagan but if this happens have an excuse. Best one- “I left it at my hotel/hostel”. But I guess this one is the most used one, so try to be original! Have fun in Bagan.
Where to stay at Bagan?
There are a lot of accommodation options in Bagan. Although, I recommend to book your accommodation in advance. It gets pretty busy in Bagan during high season. Check out cheapest hotels in Bagan – CLICK HERE. If you are interested in staying with locals and sharing experiences together Airbnb is a good option to do that. Get $25 discount for your first order from Airbnb – CLICK HERE.
Thanks for the amazing tip. Going to bagan in a few days and will give this a go:)
The path to avoid the ticket booth is right next to the airport right 🙂 (so don’t want to give money to the government:)
Did anyone check your ticket whilst you were in Bagan?
No problem! How did it go? My tickets haven’t been checked, but I heard stories where people were checked 🙂
My girlfriend and I took a late night minibus from Mandalay to Bagan and they never stopped at any ticket booth before entering Bagan. We were the only tourists on board anyway so that might have been why, although she is Thai, so I was the only white person. Maybe they forgot or just didn’t want to stop because it would inconvenience all the locals on board, or just too late at night? Who knows, but we never had to pay the fee and nobody ever asked us anyway in Bagan, but we never did go to the biggest temples were they might ask.
So if you’re coming from Mandalay there seems to be a good chance you won’t have to pay, probably because most tourists come from Yangon. This happened a couple of months ago by the way.
Hi Zachary, thanks for such detailed comment. Hope it will be useful for other backpackers in Myanmar.
Great tip. I’ve always wanted to visit Myanmar, I hope I make it there one day. I love the photos on your website 🙂
Thanks for good words, Ali! Myanmar is a country where I definitely want to come back one day.
You are all privileged spoiled kids travelling around the world and you cannot pay the 15 euros entrance fee that go to help restoring the temples crumbling down on the top of which you are climbing to put a shot on your instagram. Shame on you!
Berto, it’s your choice to support the government with your money or not. I chose not to because I don’t think what the government doing is right.