Tariff - How much does it cost to go to Bhutan?

Tariff for all services related to tourism in Bhutan are fixed by the Government of Bhutan which are consolidated into a package and charged on a per night per person basis. The package comes with all meals; private transportation regardless of destination/sightseeing spots, government royalty, all necessary taxes, agent's handling charge and all other necessary logistic arrangement.


The Royal Government of Bhutan sets minimum selling prices for packages to Bhutan and this must be paid in US dollars prior to arrival in Bhutan.

MINIMUM DAILY PACKAGE

Official Link: http://www.tourism.gov.bt/plan/minimum-daily-package

The minimum daily package covers the following services

- after tariff is paid one can almost come here literally without any money :)

• A minimum of 3 star accommodation (4 & 5 star may require an additional premium).
• All meals at 3 star restaurants or other restaurants of the guests' choosing. If at 4 or 5 Star Restaurants then the guests have to bear these costs separately
• A licensed Englsh speaking Bhutanese tour guide for the extent of your stay included in tariff. Language guides such as Japanese, Chiese, German, French and Spanish will cost extra.
• All internal transport (excluding internal flights)
• Camping equipment and haulage etc. for trekking tours

It also includes:
• All internal taxes and charges included in tariff.
• A sustainable development fee of $65. This sustainable development fee goes towards free education, free healthcare, poverty alleviation, along with the building of infrastructure. This is included intariff.

The Minimum Daily Package for tourists travelling in a group of 3 persons or more is as follows:
Low Season: USD $200 per person per night for the months of January, February, June, July, August, and December.
High Season: USD $250 per person per night for the months of March, April, May, September, October, and November.


These rates are applicable per tourist per night halt in Bhutan. Tariff is calculated by nights spent not days.

The list of three star hotels and lodges approved by the Tourism Cuncil of Bhutan to provide accommodation are all listed on the Tourism Council website. If your accommodation is not listed on the Tourism Council website then it is not licensed to cater to international tourists.

The Royal Government of Bhutan sets minimum selling prices for packages to Bhutan. These must be paid in US dollars prior to arrival in Bhutan sent by wire transfer.

CANCELLATIONS

To confirm your Bhutan trip booking, full tour payment has to be made prior to your arrival in Bhutan. In the event of Bhutan tour booked and subsequently cancelled by you, your full tour cost will be refunded to you after deducting the following scale of charges depending on when the notification of your tour cancellation is received:

  • If notification of your tour cancellation is received more than 30 days before your arrival in Bhutan, there shall be no cancellation charges.
  • if notification of your tour cancellation is received less than 30 days but more than 15 days before your arrival in Bhutan, 20% of your Bhutan tour cost shall be deducted as cancellation charges.
  • If notification of your tour cancellation is received less than 15 days before your arrival in Bhutan, 50% of your Bhutan trip cost shall be deducted as cancellation charges.
  • If you cancel your tour after your arrival in Bhutan, 100% of the cost of your remaining days in Bhutan shall be deducted as cancellation charges-meaning no refund.

DELAYED ARRIVALS

There is no charge for delays in arrival and departure because of weather conditions disrupting flights or road blocks. The tourist must however bear the cost of food, accommodation, transportation, and other services required.


SURCHARGES

These are as follows:

  • Single individual - US$ 40 per night surcharge (extra to be added to daily tariff)
  • Group of 2 persons only - US$ 30 per person per night surcharge (extra to be added to daily tariff)
  • Group of 3 persons and above- No surcharge
  • The 10% agency commission payable to agents abroad shall not be deductible from the surcharge.
  • There is an extra room surcharge when guests desire individual rooms instead of on a twin sharing basis. This is US$ 20 per person per night. Like a group of 2 persons stay in individual rooms instead of sharing one twin/double room.

DISCOUNTS

  • There shall be no charge other than visa fee of USD 40 for children below the age of 5 years. 
  • Children between the ages of 5-12 years shall be given 50% discount on minimum daily package rate.
  • Full time students below the age of 25 years, holding valid identity cards from their academic institutions, shall be given 25% discount on minimum daily package rate.
  • A GROUP SIZE DISCOUNT of 50% on minimum daily package shall be given to one person in a group of 11 people. 100% discount shall be given to one member in a group exceeding 16 persons.
  • A 50% DURATION DISCOUNT on SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FEE shall be provided after the 8th night and 100% discount on SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FEE shall be provided after 14th night.
  • 100% SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FEE FREE ZONE DISCOUNT shall be provided on SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FEE on first and/or last night for groups with night halt in Phuntsholing, Sarpang and Samdrup Jongkhar on arrival and/or departure

Please Note: Children below 5 years will not be eligible for GROUP SIZE DISCOUNTS, DURATION DISCOUNTS and SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FEE FREE ZONE DISCOUNT and All Children and Students will not be eligible for DURATION DISCOUNTS


WIRE TRANSFER

You must wire the tour payment calculated by your tour operator as well as USD 40 (one time visa fee) to the Bhutan National Bank through one of their certified international partners with the Bhutanese tour operator specified as the ultimate beneficiary. Please email the bank wire receipt copy to the local Bhutanese tour operator. 

The payment is by wire transfer only. Credit cards, PayPal etc are still not possible for payment of tariff. The transfer is to be to a "suspense account" of the Bhutan National Bank with beneficiary listed as Bhutan Rebirth and this is released only after the guests have left the country satisfied and royalties, taxes etc have been deducted. We have no authority over this suspense account except for transferring it to the airlines, high end hotels, if any, and the Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB). The visas and route permits can only be processed after the payment has been transferred to the TCB via this Suspense Account. We are not allowed to deposit any sum ourselves to this Suspense Account. The royalties, taxes etc are deducted by the TCB and given to the agent only after the guest has left the country fully satisfied. This is to ensure standard and quality.


The All Costs Inclusive Tariff mentioned above covers completely:

  • Three Star Certified Hotels (certified by the Tourism Council of Bhutan) on twin sharing basis,
  • Japanese/Korean SUV Transport,
  • All Meals at Three Star Certified Restaurants,
  • English Speaking Guide,
  • Mineral Water,
  • All Entrance Fees when required,
  • Trekking costs if trekking with camps such as tents, horses, guides, cooks, meals etc.
  • and so on...
**It does not cover Airfares (shown below), Alcohol, Phone Calls and the like.

If you wish to use high end Four or Five Star Hotels please let us know and we will let you know the rates and their web links. What we do in these cases is remove the costs of the three star room and add the cost of the high end hotel room.

We can do your air tickets to and from Bhutan. It will cost the same whether you do it directly with the airlines or through us. There are 2 airlines- Druk Air (Royal Bhutan Airlines) and Tashi Air (Bhutan Airlines). The similarity in names is still a cause of mystery here ;) Druk Air is the older government owned airline while Tashi Air is company owned. You can fly in and out of Bhutan from Bangkok, Kathmandu, New Delhi, Kolkota, Dhaka, Singapore and the small Indian airports of Bagdogra and Gaya, the last two flights being fairly infrequent.

To give you an idea of the airfares (which does fluctuate occasionally depending on the exchange rates on the day of purchase).

DRUK AIR- Royal Bhutan Airlines ECONOMY   TASHI AIR- Bhutan Airlines ECONOMY
Bangkok-Paro-Bangkok US$ 782.70 Bangkok-Paro-Bangkok US$ 782.70
Kathmandu-Paro-Kathmandu US$ 426.80 Kathmandu-Paro-Kathmandu US$ 426.80
Delhi-Paro-Delhi US$ 647.20 Delhi-Paro-Delhi US$ 647.20
Kolkota-Paro-Kolkota US$ 455.50 Kolkota-Paro-Kolkota US$ 455.50
Dhaka-Paro-Dhaka US$ 400.40 No flight to Dhaka
Singapore-Paro-Singapore US$ 967.40 No flight to Singapore
www.drukair.com.bt www.bhutanairlines.bt

Druk Air Domestic: Paro to Bumthang= US$ 177; Bumthang to Paro= US$177: Roundtrip= US$ 354
Tashi Air has no domestic flight.

* Fares may fluctuate a bit depending on exchange rates on day of purchase of tickets
** Fares as of 21 October 2017

These tours can be combined with a festival. Please click here to check festival dates 2017.

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