Yangon Nightlife - Best Nightclubs and Bars

Yangon's nightlife is better than what I expected, even though it will need a few more years before it becomes travel-worthy.

For now, it is still a bit rough around the edges and somewhat repetitive. I counted over 15 nightclubs, but only 3-4 that I really enjoyed. The others are either too loud, too quiet or they simply have too many prostitutes. On the plus side, I was happy to find out that they are usually open every night of the week, sometimes until late, and that Burmese are enthusiastic party-goers.

Update 2021: Since this review was written before the 2021 Military Coup d'état in Myanmar and before COVID-19, I deleted most of the venues that were previously listed below.

For the latest information in English about what's happening in Yangon, I recommend checking the Instagram page of Myanmar Mix. It's up-to-date and it covers anything from art, travel, food, politics, and nightlife.

Note: The Myanmar currency is the Kyat (MMK). At the time of writing: 1 USD = 2,000 MMK

Yangon Nightlife - Quick Summary

If you don't have time to read my whole review, below is a short summary:

Where to stay near the nightlife?

To be close to both the nightlife and the tourist sites, stay in the downtown area near the Sule Pagoda.

5-star:

Shangri-La Hotel Sule: 200$/night

4-star:

Best Western Chinatown Hotel (80$/night)

3-star:

City Star Yangon (40$/night)

2-star and dormitory

Backpacker Bed and Breakfast

Hotels With Nightclubs

Parkroyal (Music 5), Yangon International Hotel (Pioneer), Inya Lake Hotel (DJ's Bar, Inya Bar) and Kandawgyi Palace Hotel (The Clubhouse).

Where to party?

• If you are a backpacker: Go to 19th street to eat, drink beer and meet other travelers. More recently, Sanchaung Street has become more popular with the local youth. They have several bars with live music, cheap beer, and some street food. Another popular sport for travelers and backpackers is the reggae bar 7th Joint.

• If you live in the North of Yangon: Go to Kanbawza Street for eating or to Kan Yeik Thar Street for drinking. If you are young, Fuse Club in Myanmar Plaza Mall is trendy.

• Tourists/Expats with a comfortable budget: Sunset at a rooftop (Atlas, Penthouse, Yangon Yangon), dinner in Shwe Sa Bwe, Opera (Italian) or Le Planteur (French). More drinks on 50th Street. For partying, go to the bar in Parkroyal to enjoy some live music.

How to get around?

Taxis don't have a meter so you need to negotiate directly with the driver. Crossing Yangon from Chinatown to Inya Lake costs about 4,000MMK. Traffic jams are a big problem during the day (average speed: 10 kilometers/hour) but it gets better after 8pm.

Thankfully, you can now use transportation apps such as Grab, which is the equivalent of Uber in Southeast Asia. It is cheaper, safer and easier.

Walking is fine for short distances, especially during the cooler months from December to February. Sidewalks are generally well-maintained. At night, it is not so safe as the streets are dark and filled with stray dogs. Burmese drive like crazy and they'd run over you just to avoid slowing down.

Travel Insurance

Dog bites, dengue fever, car accidents, food poisoning, etc... Your health is more at risk in Myanmar and the proper hospitals (International Clinic in Parami Hospital) are very expensive. Make sure you have solid travel insurance that covers your whole trip. If you don't have one, I suggest WorldNomads.

Nightlife Areas in Yangon

I created the map above to give you an idea about the different nightlife areas in Yangon. I also made a more detailed Google Maps that you can see at the bottom of this article.

The 6 major nightlife areas in Yangon are the following (ranked from North to South):

1) Inya Lake Hotel Compound

Within the Inya Lake Hotel compound, there are 2 upmarket nightclubs. A few hundred meters away, in Kan Yeik Thar Street, there are some less expensive bars and restaurants targeting both expats and wealthy Burmese.

2) Myanmar Plaza and Bahan

One of the poshest neighborhoods in Yangon, it is also where you'll find the trendiest nightclubs and bars. They can be found in the brand new mall Myanmar Plaza (Fuse), on Kabar Aye Road or in Kanbawza Street.

3) Kandawgyi Lake and Shwedagon Pagoda

This is not exactly a nightlife area, but you have several rooftop bars and cafés targeting tourists and locals. You can have a drink there at sunset time. In particular, The Penthouse has a beautiful view of Shwedagon Pagoda. At night, it becomes more sketchy. On the main road, you may encounter ladyboys looking for customers. There are also luxury KTVs such as VIP and The One.

4) Yangon International Hotel Compound

This popular complex next to the Summit Parkview Hotel and the Yangon International Hotel is home to Pioneer club and a few more bars. I'm not writing down their names as they may change frequently.

5) Mingalar Mon Market

UPDATE JUNE 2017: This area of Yangon has been closed down by the police. It used to be a multi-storey complex with several huge nightclubs and KTVs.

6) Downtown Yangon, Chinatown (19th Street)

This is the older part of town where most tourists stay when they visit Yangon. The clubs, bars and restaurants are diverse and they are scattered around a large area. Some are popular with backpackers (part of 19th Street and particularly Kosan bar), some with Chinese visitors (Emperor KTV in City Central Plaza), some with NGO workers (7th Joint), some with businessmen (Club 5 in Parkroyal Hotel) and some with expats (50th Street Café).