Friday, October 19, 2012

7D Bhutan Festival Tour Itinerary


BHUTAN STUNNING TOURS

Toughest Trek in the World - Snowman Trek
Bhutan Festival Dates 2013
Map of Bhutan
Bhutan weather
Gross National Happiness
Flights to Bhutan
Visa
Recommended 3 Star Hotels
Classic Treks of Bhutan
11 Days Enchanting Bhutan itinerary
7 Days Bhutan Festival Tour Itinerary

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The peak seasons in Bhutan are in Spring (Mar-May), and Autumn (Sep-Nov). Do note that the hotels/lodges are mostly quite small with not more than 20 rooms. Due to the many festivals that are being held in September, Thimphu, being the most festival, most of the hotels were fully booked a few months ahead. I had problem trying to get the hotel room, and in the end, had to settle for staying only in two places, in order to go ahead with our travel plan.

From Singapore, we have only two flights in a week, every Sunday, and Thursday, and then two returning flights - every Saturday, and Wednesday. But the tickets are not cheap, as it is a monopoly by DrukAir. Simply there is no competition, and hence, we have to pay $1,600 + including taxes, just to fly to Bhutan. Yes, the ticket costs more than flying to Europe!!!! So, many people were wondering why would a package to Bhutan costs so much!
I had checked for other alternatives from flying into the country, but again the tickets were fully sold, about three months prior to our departure. There are many International Tour Agencies that organise Bhutan holiday packages into the country, and most of them have to fly into Bhutan from Kathmandu or Delhi.

So, there are actually a few flights into Paro, the airport city.
Bangkok, Thailand
Kathmandu, Nepal
Delhi, India
Kolkatta, India
(In fact, the flight from Singapore make one stop at Kolkatta before flying into Paro)
Bear in mind that you need to apply for visa for entry into Nepal, and India. For Nepal, you could easily get the visa upon arrival for USD25 (up to 14 days stay, multiply entry). However, the visa for India is much more tricky. The India High Commission in Singapore actually grants a multiple entry for up to 6 months, but there is a catch. After the departure from India, you need to be away for two months before re-entering the country. So if you fly to Kolkatta, and transit (one night stay required due to the early morning flight from Kolkatta to Paro), you will need to apply for Re-entry visa, in order to be able to enter the country again on your returning leg. Yes, you would need to stay overnight again, as there are no daily flights from Kolkatta back to Singapore. So, you can see, that is quite a hassle, to apply not only for Indian visa, but also the need to apply for re-entry visa thereafter. This applies to Singaporeans.

Anyway, enough said of the flight into Paro. So, here is the itinerary that I covered Bhutan - with the main highlight , being the Thimphu Festival, and then the other, the excursion to Haa Valley, on the road to the most western part of the country.


To Achieve Massive Success

Festival Tour
08Feb, 11Feb - 12D Nepal & Bhutan

Do feel free to email me should you have any question regarding the planning of your trip to Bhutan.
Olevia Cheong
olevia@gmail.com

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