FAQ

In Bhutan every season has its own charm; as such the country has variety of doings to the tourist according to their interest. But the most visited months are usually March, April and May during which the country is at its best scenery as the spring just hits off and of course in the later months of the year like August, September, October and November. These are the peak seasons as the weather during these time of the years are pleasant and warm and not to forget the festival months. However, Bhutan Travel Club is focusing to spread out visitation over the year because, come rain or shine, there is something for all parts of the year. The winters are cold, but we have winter treks and festivals in the southern parts of Bhutan, which has warm weather through out the year. A winter in Bhutan is characterized by clear blue skies, but you need your jackets with you.

All visitors traveling to Bhutan are required to obtain a Visa prior to your arrival to Bhutan. After your confirmation to visit Bhutan with us, we’ll book your hotels, flights and arrange all necessary logistics and once everything is finalised, we’ll send you an invoice of the tour payment that also includes all government taxes such as the Sustainable Development Fund of US$ 100 per night per person, one time visa fee of US$ 40 and other monument fees. Then, you have to make the tour payment to Bhutan and once received, we’ll do everything for you for a seamless booking process. As part of our SOP, we’ll send the visas and other arrival information to you about a month prior to your arrival date.

We’ll need your a digital photo of your Passport which has 6 months validity from the date of your departure from Bhutan and a recent passport-sized photo (dimensions are not important) of travellers. A properly scanned passport is best, but if that does not work, you may also take a photo of your passport by your phone (just the page with your details) but note that there should not be any glares and fingers on the sides. The image of your passport should be of good quality that cover the full page (with no corners cropped) and clearly visible. As for your photo, if you do not have a studio-made passport-sized photo of you, you can just take a photo of your upper body with your facial profile facing the camera, and preferably with a white background.

You can enter Bhutan by Air, with Drukair airline or Bhutan Airlines which are Bhutanese airlines. No other international airlines fly to Bhutan. You can enter through the following entry points;

Bangkok, Kathmandu, New Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai, Dhaka, Bagdogra, Singapore

You can also enter Bhutan by road through Phuntsholing, Gelephu and Samdrup Jongkhar in southern Bhutan.

You can directly purchase the Druk air tickets from their website (www.drukair.com.bt) or at Bhutan Airlines at (www.bhutanairlines.bt). However we strongly recommend you to book your Bhutan flights with us for your convenience and we are in a better position to follow-up with the airlines in case of changes in schedules etc.  Please note that all tickets are e-tickets and will be send to you via email.

Daily tariff to Bhutan is prescribed by the Government in order to maintain Bhutan’s exclusivity. A visitor has to pay an all-inclusive minimum amount depending on the season.

1. Sustainable Development Fund – US$ 100 per person per night payable to the Govt. of Bhutan
2. Visa fee – US$ 40 one time
3.  Monument fees – anything from US$ 100-300 depending on how many monuments you will visit during your time here. The above fees are directly payable to the Government and this fee is included in out overall tour pricing.
4. A standard tour including all government taxes, all accommodation in standard 3-star accredited properties, all transfers with guide and driver, all meals, monument entry-fees would cost approximately US$ 320 per night per person.

Individual tourists and smaller groups of less than three persons are required to pay a surcharge, over and above the minimum daily rates applicable.

The minimum price as prescribed by the government is inclusive of all your travel needs such as:

1. US$ 100 per person as government levy Sustainable Development Fund (which goes directly as Government revenue that is used for social sectors such as free education and free health and infrastructure development.
2. Accommodation in at least a 3 start hotels.
3. All meals
4. Airport transfers
5. Licensed English-speaking guide service.
6. Overland transport in a tourist standard car with licensed driver.
7. Trekking equipment and haulage using ponies for treks.
8. Bhutan flights etc (payable separately).
9. Note –  All accommodations are upgradable to 4-star and 5-star luxury properties for an extra fee based on the pricing offered by the properties chosen.

We are motivated by adventure, by our mountains and culture and our people, and we craft tours that highlight the four elements for a truly incredible experience here in Bhutan.  We also like slow-paced, small-group tours for an intimate experience and often take our guests to off the beaten path to see the “real Bhutan’ and not just the highlights.  OUr cultural trips focus on interaction with the locals and splice it up with trekking, mountain-biking, motorcycling, rafting, culinary and a long term engagement with communities and farmhouse experiences. Special interest groups such as marriage tours, textiles, homestays, fishing, bird watching and fishing tours are also popular. We are focusing on Community-based tours to enable more interaction between visitors and community residents and engage the local people to make income through our tourism services.

Tours and flights booked with us and subsequently cancelled shall be subject to cancellation charges as prescribed by the government as follows.

1. Before 60 days of start of trip ~ 100% refund of tour payment  and airfare (no charges).
2. Before 45 days prior to trip ~ 75 % of tour costs and airfare refundable.
3. Before 30 days prior to trip ~ 50% of tour costs and airfare refundable
4. Before 15 days prior to trip ~ 25% of tour costs and airfare refundable
5. Less than 15 days ~ No refunds of tour costs and airfare.

All refunds are subject to an additional administrative fee of US$ 100 per person.

The remaining amount is remitted back to your bank account, or redeemable if you post-pone to a later indefinite date.

Yes, our discount schemes are given as follows;

1. Children below 5 years are exempted from the Sustainable Development Fund tax, and kids aged 6 to 12 are given 50% discount on SDF (Only US$ 50 per night SDF is payable). Teenagers who are 13 years and above are considered adults and are subject to the full SDF of US$ 100 per night as per government tourism regulation.

We make sure of your comfort to or fullest and therefore we use comfortable, clean, well-maintained vehicles. Our fleet of vehicles include Toyota Land Cruiser Prados, Toyota Hiace vans, Toyota Coaster buses, Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Tucson SUVs. Through our Corporate Social Responsibility criteria, we at Bhutan Travel Club do not use vehicles that are more than 3 years, in order to minimize our company’s carbon footprints.

If you can book your tour as early as possible, it will give us more time to plan your travel. However, given our company’s purchasing power and experience, we can also hand last minute bookings without hassle. It is however advised to book your travel 6-8 weeks in advance if it is coinciding with popular festivals like Thimphu and Paro Tsechu. Given that we only have one airline, tickets are notoriously overbooked during that period. If you are a last-minute booker, we can also arrange your visa 3 days prior to arrival but we first need to confirm the trip by securing your hotels and flights.

You will have a variety of cuisines to choose from – Bhutanese, Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, and Thai to Continental. The main staple diet of Bhutanese is rice which is savored with the most favorite dish made out of chilies and cheese called “ema datshi”. Meat is widely eaten in Bhutan as are the vegetables. Our partner hotels and restaurants are always aware of your eating habits and serve according to your palate. Even if you want to try Bhutanese, we do not make it as spicy as we are used to.

The official language of Bhutan is Dzongkha, though there are many other dialects that each region in the country has maintained. Since English is an official language, it is easy to communicate with most Bhutanese people.

We only have an Indian embassy in the country. There are consulate offices of the Netherlands, Kuwait, and Canada. The closest international embassies are in Delhi, India, Kathmandu, Nepal and Bangkok, Thailand.

We do not need any vaccination certification to come to Bhutan and risk of rabies and malaria are rare, but for your own safety if you are travelling in the region, please check the following website for the latest international requirements (Centre for disease control website www.cdc.gov/).

The currency of Bhutan is Ngultrum. The value of Ngulturm is equivalent to the currency of Indain Rupee. You cannot buy Ngultrum prior to your arrival to Bhutan but once you arrive, you can easily exchange your currency to Ngultrum at the banks or even in your hotel. Please check the current exchange rates at www.bnb.bt.

You can use your Mastercard and Visa cards to withdraw Ngultrums from local banks. Some handicrafts shops also accept these international credit cards.

There are ATM machines in most parts of the country and you can use your Debit and Credit cards to withdraw local currency.  The limit is Nu. 10,000 per day (USD 140).

Bhutan has only one time zone. It is six hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), 3o mins ahead of India, 15 mins ahead of Nepal and an hour behind Thailand. In USA during daylight saving time, Bhutan is 10 hours ahead of New York City and during standard time, Bhutan is 11 hours ahead of New Your City. The country telephone code for Bhutan is +975.

Given the minimal crime records in the country, it is very safe to travel in Bhutan.

Payment will have to be done through a wire transfer or Internet Banking through one of the correspondent banks. Please send us an email and we’ll send you the banking details. You can also pay by credit card but please note that our bank charges a 5% processing fee for Credit card payments.

For the economy class, your check-in luggage cannot exceed more than 30 kg and for first class, and upto 40 kg for Business Class. You can carry some few extra kg in your luggage but the airlines will charge a resonable fee of US$ 3-5 per kg of excess weight.

No, there is no such official ceiling on the numbers of visitors to Bhutan. However, the premium which visitors have to pay as dailySDF and the requirement of taking a tour operator maintains exclusivity and limits arrivals. This is the high-value, low volume tourism policy that is aimed at averting mass tourism and backpackers that would compromise our exclusivity.

The elevations on our trips range between 7000 feet and 12,000 feet. Altitude is definitely an important consideration for anyone planning to visit Bhutan as most of the people are not used to it. The average elevation is about 7000 feet. Most of our itineraries entail travel as high as about 12,000 feet, including a highest sleeping elevation of about 10,000 feet. We make sure to minimize the risks of altitude sickness and this is something we’re happy to discuss with our travelers.