Services
Travel Services in Bhutan
Airport transfers, hotel bookings and a vehicle with a driver, for travellers who have arranged the rest themselves.
Since September 2022 visitors to Bhutan have been free to make their own arrangements. If that is how you are travelling, we can supply the parts you still need.
Airport transfers
There is no public transport from Paro airport. We meet your flight and drive you to your hotel in Paro, or to Thimphu, 54 km and about an hour away, and collect you again for your departure.
Hotel booking
Visitors may stay only in accommodation approved by the Department of Tourism. We book approved hotels, lodges and homestays across the country, and can advise which suit your dates and budget.
A vehicle with a driver
It is not possible to hire a car to drive yourself in Bhutan: a vehicle comes with a driver. We provide both, by the day or for a whole journey.
What a driver is not
A driver is not a guide. You must be with a certified guide to enter dzongs and monuments, and anyone who enters the country by road needs one to travel beyond the border town. If you would like a guide as well, it is usually simpler to book a tailor-made tour.
Visas
Whoever arranges your trip, you need a visa and must pay the Sustainable Development Fee before you arrive. You can apply yourself, online. See visa and entry permits.
Questions
Can I travel in Bhutan without a guide?
Booking through a tour operator has not been compulsory since Bhutan reopened in September 2022, but a guide still is in most of the situations a visitor meets. The Department of Tourism names treks, visits to dzongs and other monuments, and travel beyond the border towns for anyone arriving by land.
In practice a guide and a driver are how the country is travelled: there is no self-drive car hire, and public transport between valleys is thin.
Can I hire a car and drive myself?
No. Self-drive car hire is not available in Bhutan: a vehicle comes with a driver. Visitors who bring their own vehicle pay Nu. 4,500 a day for it and must travel with a guide.
What are the hotels like?
In Paro, Thimphu and Punakha there are hotels of every grade, from simple guesthouses to international luxury names. In Phobjikha, Bumthang and the east the choice is smaller and simpler. On a trek you sleep in tents.
Tell us how you like to travel
A few lines are enough: when, how long, and what draws you to Bhutan. We answer with a suggested route and what it would cost.
We reply ["within 24 hours"].