Visa to Bhutan: Step-by-Step To Visit the Happiest Country in the World

In the past, Bhutan used to be a very difficult country to visit, for questions of bureaucracy, difficulty in communication, price, etc. Sometimes people just quit planning because they couldn’t communicate directly with the country. To get a visa to Bhutan could take months! Well, while visiting Bhutan is still reasonably difficult, I can safely say it’s easier than ever. In this post, I will explain all the formalities to facilitate your visit to the Happiest Country in the World!.

What to do to get the visa to Bhutan?

If you have ever contemplated the idea of coming to Bhutan, you probably wondered: “Man, what do I do to get there?”. First of all, let me get straight to the point: You will not be able to purchase an online ticket and only turn up to the country. Just as you will not be able to make a hotel booking by Booking for example. You also won’t be able to get your visa to Bhutan at your local embassy. Tickets and visas for Bhutan are organised by Bhutanese tour agencies. Any other agency you contact, in any country in the world, gets in touch with a local travel agency. It’s the only way.

Booking.com

Visa to Bhutan: The Daily Tax

Your ticket and visa to Bhutan will only be issued after payment of the daily fee of $250/$200, as the immigration department needs these documents, together with a copy of your passport. What do you mean, daily rate? As a measure to control tourism in Bhutan, there is a daily tax that must be paid by almost all tourists. But don’t worry, this daily tax includes everything you’ll need to stay in the country, except your airline tickets.

There is a standard expected by the Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB). In the package, TCB expects a minimum standard of quality for hotels, cars, and foods offered to visitors by the travel agencies. The daily minimum daily tax offers the most basic of what is included, offering the most basic comfort for a tourist in the country. Tourism agencies have agreements with local hotels and the standard of quality for 3-star hotels is very large. There are 3-star hotels that are very bad and others that look more like a 4-star hotel. There is a great price difference in how much is charged amongst these hotels. This will have a great impact on the profit of the tourism agencies.

Extra Fees and Discounts

The $250 daily rate actually covers a single person’s tourist costs. Often, tourism agencies end up losing money with solo travelers. For solo tourists, an extra fee of $40 per night will be charged. That’s the only way for the agencies to have a small amount of profit. An extra fee of $30 per night per person exists for those traveling in two. There are no extra fees for groups of 3 or more people. For groups of 11-15 people, one person will receive a 50% discount on the daily tax, thus lowering it for everyone. Groups of 16 or more people, ONE person will be exempt from the daily fee altogether.

When this service for large groups is contracted by a foreign company (American, British etc, for example), it pays for the guide contracted by the company. Having your own guide does not exempt the presence of a Bhutanese guide with the group. The last rate (I promise, it’s the last!) is the $40 (one-off payment, not daily) processing of your visa to Bhutan.

Should I contact a Bhutanese or foreign tour agency?

Well, the rates, even including everything, are still high and not just anyone who can afford them. Hiring an agency from your home country to plan your trip (for example, from the US) can make your trip a little more expensive. But why would it be expensive? Well, two things can happen: Your agency has an agreement with an Indian agency which, in turn, has an agreement with a Bhutanese agency. The second is that your agency has a direct agreement with a Bhutanese agency. At every step of the transaction, they take a service fee, as they are offering a service, of course! But additional costs can often be excessive.

As I explained earlier, Bhutan’s tour agencies are tied to a minimum standard of services. All has been set by the Tourism Council of Bhutan. So, in a nutshell, the services offered by tour agencies are more or less the same. Many foreign agencies will charge more to close with them for several reasons:

• They will offer more experienced guides;
• More luxurious cars;
• Campsites with ceramic dishes and hot water for your bath;
• Treks (previously combined, excluding Tiger’s Nest and short day-treks);

among other things. If you want a simple tour and are being charged more than the daily rate and additional fees per number of travelers, the difference does not reach Bhutan. It stays at the local-foreign agency.

Example of Costs

Let’s assume that a British Agency is charging US$1800 for a tour of 5 days and 4 nights for one person, excluding tickets. For a single person, the daily value would be $1200 (($250 + $40) per night x 4 + $40 from the visa to Bhutan). The difference of $600 stays in the UK and only the minimum value is transferred to Bhutan. So for a Bhutanese agency to get any profit, they need to negotiate (and negotiate a LOT) to be able to bring hotel prices down. Also negotiate with guides etc. So, often, for one person only, the profit is almost nil, often the agencies have to pay from their own pocket.

Can I stay in more expensive hotels?

But of course, my dear! Bhutan is full of 4 and 5-star hotels, many of them offer their hotel’s own “experience”. This means that if you stay with them during your stay, you only stay in hotels of their chain throughout the country.

How much does it Cost?

The sky is the limit. In addition to the daily rate, you will pay for the hotel room, which can reach beyond $2000 per night (only for the hotel room, of course). Not for everyone, right? All this is dealt with any agency. These 5-star hotel experiences, from what I hear, are wonderful. Just as an idea, for a country where fishing is forbidden, they have fresh salmon every day. I don’t know if it’s worth $2000 per night, but that’s good, it’s very!!!

So, how to get to Bhutan?

To summarise, coming to Bhutan is easier than ever, but not cheaper. I’ve prepared an infographic to summarise all bureaucratic logistics. As previously mentioned, there is no direct flight to Bhutan. The means the flights to get here can be via Delhi/Calcutta (India), Bangkok (Thailand), Kathmandu (Nepal), Singapore and Dhaka (Bangladesh). Thailand and Singapore do not require visas for most countries, but India does (do not worry because it is quite easy to get a visa to India). The tickets via Singapore and Bangkok to Bhutan are much more expensive, around $950 (round trip). Via Delhi, the tickets to Bhutan will cost around $600 (round trip).

There are daily flights from most countries to India by several airline companies. The tourist visa for one month in India, with double entry to the country, costs $100 for most nationalities (a bit more expensive for UK citizens). It can be made online (e-visa) from the comfort of your home.

Suggested Order

Do your research, but coming through India is the cheapest option unless you’re already traveling through Southeast Asia. Find a tour agency (Bhutanese, British, American, or else where). At first, the tour agencies will ask for dates and numbers of days to stay in the country. Once the dates and values are agreed, the payment will be made, including the value of the airfare from your home country to Bhutan or just from the last leg to Bhutan. Only after the payment has been made, the itinerary will be organised.

With the organized itinerary and everyone happy, the Bhutanese tour agency will apply for your visa, permission to travel within the country (I’ll discuss it in another post soon) and your tickets. So, a short time before your trip, an email with the tickets and your visa to Bhutan will be sent.

Then, with everything settled, it’s time to do some research and find out a little more about one of the most beautiful countries in the world! We suggest you have a look in 10 things to do in Bhutan from ETLR blog and Places to Visit in Bhutan from My Simple Sojourn Blog! You can gather some good ideas from them!

And, of course, have a great trip!

If you need help, we know some very reliable tour agencies and we can put you directly in touch with them, leaving your trip a little cheaper! Contact us here!

With all settle, have a fantastic trip!

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Posted by Wagner Nogueira

Wagner studied Theoretical Physics (B.Sc) and Climatology (M.Sc) at University College Dublin, in Ireland. He has Ph.D. in Meteorology from the University of Reading the Post-Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of Oxford. Today, he teaches physics and maths in Bhutan. He has a passion for history, animation, gardening and has visited 52 countries.