Bhutan Travel Information

BHUTAN TRAVEL INFORMATION

When to visit Bhutan: Bhutan is all season tourist destination for cultural tours. However the month of February, March, April, and September, October, November are considered the best time due to pleasant weather conditions. December and January are winter months and June, July and August, the rainy season. It is important to note that the climatic conditions during the winter months are not extreme. The average temperature would range from 10-17 degree Celsius during day time.

Entering Bhutan: Bhutan is connected to the outside world through Druk Air (Royal Bhutan Airlines), the national carrier which is the only airline operating flights in and out of the kingdom. The country’s only airport is situated at Paro. Druk Air operates daily flight (once daily) from Bangkok (Thailand) and four flights a week from New Delhi, Kathmandu and Calcutta (India) and two flights a week from Dacca (Bangladesh). There are different flight schedules for the summer and the winter seasons. For Druk Air schedules click on Flights Details or you can also visit Druk Air web site at www.drukair.com.bt. You can also enter Bhutan via Bagdogra Airport, Siliguri (West Bengal) in India. It has regular flights from New Delhi (twice daily) and it is about 4 hrs drive from Phuentsholing, Bhutan’s border town. Phuentsholing is one of the main and convenient point of entry to Bhutan by road. It is 4 hrs drive from Siliguri, one of the major Indian towns in West Bengal. There is a distance of 176 km (6 hours) from Phuentsholing to the capital city, Thimphu.

Visa formalities: Except for travelers from India, Bangladesh and Maldives, all visitors to Bhutan are required to obtain visa approval prior to their arrival, which will be processed by us. For the government to issue visa, we require

Finalized tour itinerary and the date of travel
Filled visa application form
Total tour payment remitted to the Department of Tourism, Bhutan. Visa of the transit countries must be processed at your end (For example, visa for India, Nepal & Katmandu).

Tariff: The policy of High Value Low Volume tourism is best supported by a system of a daily minimum tariff. The price is fixed by the government. From the tariff, certain portion is deducted by the government as the royalty. This portion goes to the government exchequer, which mainly supports free medical care, free education and other welfare schemes. In fact, every visitor is making a valuable contribution to the welfare system of the country.

For a group of less than three people there is surcharge on and above the daily tariff. For details on tariff click here. The tariff is cheaper for people traveling in a group of more than three people and we recommend our potential visitors to come in a group.

Tour programs: We offer a variety of holiday packages under two broad categories, Cultural Tours and Nature Trek. The duration of the holiday packages can be customized according to your budget and interest. Therefore we advise you to check our prices and then let us know the number of days you would like to spend in Bhutan. Accordingly we will prepare your tour program.

Custom regulations: The Bhutanese authorities strictly prohibit the export of any religious antiquity or antiques of any type. Electronic items for personal use like cameras, handy cam and laptops can be brought into the country but they must be declared on the customs form provided on arrival at Paro and will be checked at departure.

Cigarettes and other tobacco related products are forbidden. However, for personal consumption you are permitted to bring in 200 cigarettes on payment of 200% duty.

Bhutan Time: Bhutanese time is six hours ahead of GMT and thirty minutes ahead of Indian Standard Time

Bhutan Travel Information

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