Trip Includes
- Tibet entry permit.
- Accommodation on double occupancy basis.
- Daily Breakfast at your hotel
- All transfers and sightseeing by a private air-conditioned van or minibus.
- Sightseeing admission fees.
- English speaking local certified Guide.
Trip Does Not Include
- International and internal airfare.
- Airport Taxes.
- Chinese visa fee.
- Lunch and dinner.
- Drinks, tipping, laundry, phone, internet, and other personal expenses.
- Travel & Health Insurance.
- All extra costs due to nature or unforeseen events.
- Excess baggage charges.
Passport and visa
The remaining validity of your passport must be a minimum of six months beyond your return date. And please make sure you have two blank visa pages for China only.
You will need to apply for a Chinese visa at your nearest Chinese embassy. We will help you with the form and necessary supporting documents. Please, initiate the application process in a minimum of three months before the travel date. We need a copy of your Chinese visa forty-five days before the planned arrival date in China. We will obtain the Tibetan Entry permit for you and ship it to your hotel in the gateway city (Chengdu or Beijing). You need to present this document when you check-in for the flight to Lhasa. Your Guide will be holding all other necessary permits required for this trip.
Accommodation
In Lhasa, we will book a mid-range tourist standard hotel in Barkhor Area. Our choices of hotels are Dhekhang, Kyichu, or Gorkha Hotel, located in the old Tibetan quarter of Lhasa. These are locally managed mid-size properties with an adequate comfort level. There are a few four stars and 5-star hotels such as 4-Points By Sheraton, Shangrila Hotel, St. Regis, etc. and we can book them for you on an additional cost. In Shigatse also, we book a local three-star hotel. Accommodation in Rongbuk is rudimentary. The toilet is a Tibetan style squat with no running water. There is no shower here. Hotels in Tibet provide limited supplies of toiletries, and so, please bring your own set. They may not also have a hairdryer, iron, and ironing boards. If the preferred hotels listed in the program are not available, we will book the next best possible property in that price category.
Most hotels in Lhasa and Shigatse provide with WiFi, but some hotels may charge some nominal fee for using the WiFi.
Food
The trip cost includes breakfast only. The hotels serve Chinese, Tibetan, Indian, Nepali, and western-style breakfasts. The trip does not include lunch and dinner and so budget $10-12 for a meal. You may want to bring some dry fruits, chocolates, energy bars, vitamin supplements, etc.
Roads and Transportation
Now the road in Tibet is in good condition! They are all paved through the basecamp. However, vehicles have to stop at Rongbuk Monastery- the last point you can get by car. Depending on the final group size, we use a minivan or coaster bus all transfers and tours. Bring a protection mask for your nose to avoid inhaling dust! The driver may or may not speak English, but he knows the Tibetan roads and will be an experienced one.
Guide
You will be accompanied by experienced and knowledgeable English speaking Tibetan Guide who you meet on arrival at Lhasa airport. Besides guiding you on tour, your guide will also be responsible for dealing with check posts, and local bureaucracies and complete necessary paperwork. Guide and driver are different persons.
Altitude sickness and Health Issues
There are no mandatory vaccinations required for traveling to China and Tibet unless you have visited any yellow fever affected areas in the last six months. However, you may consider protection against rabies Hep A, Typhoid, etc. Travelers with cardiac-pulmonary issues or any other medical conditions are recommended to consult their physician. The primary health consideration in Tibet is altitude-related illness or Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). You may experience some mild symptoms initially, such as headache, lethargy, nausea, and sleeplessness, but these should lessen within a few days.
Although the trip doesn't expect you to be athletic, you will be glad if you are fit. So, please, start some physical exercises like jogging, swimming, cycling, hiking, etc. about several weeks before the trip.
Note on Itinerary
Although we will do our very best to adhere to the itinerary schedule as listed, it is subject to change for numerous reasons beyond our control.
Booking and Cancellation
We request a deposit of US$300 along with a completed trip application form and passport copies. If you need us to book the airfare to Lhasa, we will give you the quote. The final payment is due 90 days before the trip date. Balance payment on credit card attracts an additional 3.5% fee.
Cancellation Fee
- Ninety days prior departure: Administrative fee US$ 150 per person.
- Sixty-Eighty-nine day's prior departure: US$ 250 or 25% of the land cost whichever is higher.
- Forty-five days to Fifty-nine days prior departure: US$ 450 or 50% of the land cost whichever is higher.
- Thirty days to Forty-four days before departure: US$ 600 or 75% of the land cost whichever is higher.
- Less than Thirty days: 100%,
Travel Protection Plan
We plan and do our best to make your trip smooth and seamless. But there still may be chances of unforeseen events and conditions such as illness, accident, inclement weather, and flight cancellation or missed connection or loss of baggage, etc. It may cause interruption or delay or total cancellation of your trip, putting your hard-earned travel investment in jeopardy. It’s also possible that you may need medical assistance, emergency evacuation, or medical transportation when you get ill or involve in an accident. Our trip cost does not cover any of these expenses or losses. So we strongly recommend you that you should protect yourself and your travel investment against those unfavorable conditions.