How much does it cost to travel to Bhutan in 2025?

Budgeting is a key part of planning any holiday, and if you're dreaming of exploring the Land of the Thunder Dragon, you're probably asking: How much does it cost to travel to Bhutan?

Bhutan is not a budget destination, and that’s entirely intentional. The country follows a “high value, low impact” tourism model to protect its culture and environment. So yes, visiting Bhutan is more expensive than many other places in Asia. But in return, you get a more meaningful, immersive, and sustainable travel experience.

We will break down all the main costs: visas, daily fees, accommodation, food, guides, and more, so you can budget smartly and know exactly what to expect.

Since opening its borders to tourism in 1974, Bhutan has followed a carefully crafted tourism policy designed to protect its unique culture and pristine environment.

In June 2022, Bhutan replaced its previous “Minimum Daily Tariff” with the Sustainable Development Fee (SDF), a daily charge that all tourists (except Indian nationals) must pay. This fee supports initiatives in conservation, education, and infrastructure.

The SDF is a per-person, per-night fee. Initially set at US$200, it was reduced in 2023 to US$100 for adults and US$50 for children aged six to 12 to encourage longer stays. This reduced rate is in effect until 31 August 2027.

Please note: While nationals from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, namely India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Maldives, are exempt from the SDF when visiting Bhutan for official or national business, this exemption doesn’t apply to tourism.

SAARC travellers visiting as tourists must pay the SDF on arrival at their port of entry. For Indian nationals, the Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) is set at 1,200 Bhutanese Ngultrum (around US$15) per person, per night—payable in either ngultrum or Indian rupees.

Simply put, the Sustainable Development Fee helps keep Bhutan special. By making travel here more exclusive and costly, Bhutan discourages mass tourism, which can lead to overcrowding, environmental damage, and loss of cultural authenticity.

While Bhutan doesn’t impose a strict limit on visitor numbers, the SDF acts as a smart filter, ensuring tourism remains sustainable and that this majestic country stays one of the most culturally intact and environmentally pristine destinations in the world.

If you’re planning your trip to Bhutan, understanding the Sustainable Development Fee is important to preparing your budget and appreciating the thoughtful approach Bhutan takes to protect its heritage and environment.

Bhutan's high-value, low-impact tourism policy has helped the country retain its character and pristine environment

Almost all travellers need a visa to visit Bhutan, except those from India, Bangladesh, and the Maldives. The visa costs US$40 per person and is non-refundable.

Visas must be arranged through a licensed Bhutanese tour operator or their international partner. While you can apply online, you still need to have your trip booked with a registered operator. This helps you get the most out of your daily SDF—after all, you don’t want to waste those US$100 days stuck on logistics. Also, remember you’ll need to pay the SDF for every day of your stay at the time you apply for your visa. Many travellers feel safer working with a trusted agency like Follow Alice, especially when making large online payments.

It's not cheap to visit Bhutan, but it's money very well spent!

With its stunning scenery and unique traditions, it’s easy to see why Bhutan is becoming a sought-after hotspot for travellers. But it’s important to understand how much a trip to Bhutan actually costs.

While travel insurance is no longer mandatory for visa processing, the Department of Tourism still strongly recommends getting it. This is just a sensible precaution to cover any unlikely emergencies during your international journey.

There’s been some confusion recently around whether tourists can travel independently in Bhutan without a guide. As of September 2023, the answer is no—a local tour guide is still mandatory for all foreign visitors. This requirement reflects Bhutan’s commitment to preserving its cultural integrity and ensuring visitors have meaningful, well-supported experiences. It also aligns with the country’s “high value, low impact” tourism model, which has helped make Bhutan one of the world’s most exclusive and environmentally conscious travel destinations.

A local tour guide is still compulsory on a Bhutan holiday

At Follow Alice, we believe that using local guides is a really good thing. Firstly, tourists' money must create jobs for locals. (Long live sustainable tourism. 💪🏾) And secondly, a tour guide offers many benefits to the traveller, such as:

We discuss the many ways tour guides are a blessing in 12 reasons why good tour guides are so important.

Passang, seen here taking the group pic, is a Bhutanese tour guide

Tour guide prices vary. If you travel with a tour operator, the tour guide's fee will be included in your package fee. So you likely won't know what precise sum goes to the local guide unless you ask for a price breakdown.

Note that the minimum monthly wage in Bhutan is just under 50 USD (or 3,750 Bhutanese ngultrum – BTN). The Bhutanese Government is pretty good in terms of providing oversight to ensure employees of the tourism sector are being properly looked after. So you shouldn't come across any tour companies that are dodgy regarding the compensation of their guides. Schedule a call with our team, we would love to help you plan your trip to Bhutan.

Accommodation is one of the biggest items in any holiday budget. So this is a figure you want to calculate as accurately as possible.

Example of a simple, 3-star hotel bedroom in Paro

There are many three-, four- and five-star establishments in the country, and prices can vary wildly from one to the next within the same rating. For instance ...

So really, there's a wide range of accommodation in terms of both smartness and cost. Of course, you should also look for specials and discounts, as these can make all the difference.

The gorgeous entrance to Namgay Heritage Hotel in Thimphu

Finally, if you head to less-visited parts of the country, like the east and south, you can expect cheaper accommodation there.

If you go on a multiday trek like the Laya trek or Jomolhari trek, your accommodation (tents) will be included in your trekking package fee (which will also likely include meals, a cook, a porter, and your trek guide).

Here are the prices of some basic items and meals in Thimphu to help you plan your budget:

The restaurant at Terma Linca Resort & Spa in Thimphu

The best and easiest way to get around Bhutan outside of the cities and towns is by car. Bhutan has no trains. There are very few internal flights. And while public buses are available in certain districts, they're generally overcrowded and uncomfortable.

It used to be that a vehicle, petrol (fuel) and the services of a driver were part and parcel of the Bhutan daily visa. Now, however, hiring a car will be an added expense. And if you want a driver, that will be a further expense too.

While you can drive yourself in Bhutan (provided you have a valid driver's licence), there's a lot of value to hiring the services of a driver if you can. Most obviously, you can simply say where you'd like to go and be taken there, instead of trying to read a map or using your GPS (and then bickering over who is to blame when you end up in a cul-de-sac in a misty forest). 

You can expect to pay an entrance fee to visit museums, monasteries, palaces, memorials and other such sites in Bhutan. If you wish to attend a Bhutanese tschechu (festival) – and if you're smart, you wish to indeed! – You'll also need to pay an admission fee.

As of July 2022, most sacred sites now carry an entrance fee of between 1,000 BTN (~12.50 USD). These sacred sites include the country's many dzongs (fortress temples) as well as the famous Buddha Dordenma in Thimphu.

Taktsang (or Tiger's Nest Monastery) – Bhutan's most famous dzong – is an exception to the rule, costing 2,000 BTN (~25 USD) per person.

Bhutan's iconic Tiger's Nest Monastery

If you visit Bhutan with a tour operator, your tour guide will organise and pay for entrance fees on your behalf.

Finally, note that there are now six days in the year (national holidays) when many popular tourist sites will be closed to foreigners. This is because locals will be visiting in large numbers for celebrations. These dates are determined each year by the lunar calendar. So it's best to speak with your tour operator ahead of time to see if your visit will coincide with any such closures for tourists.

As you can see in our Bhutan itineraries, this is a country designed for adventure!

You can go for a multiday trek in the Himalayas, or keep it smaller by opting to go:

Rafting on the Mo River in Punakha

You can hire a quality mountain bike for the day for around 35 USD. For a rafting trip on the Mo, Po or Manas Rivers, you're looking at 250 USD per raft (which can take up to six people).

Something you’ll need to sort out yourself is your travel insurance.

Travel insurance is an absolute must whenever travelling outside your own country. If you travel with Follow Alice, it’s a compulsory purchase. Be sure to factor this important item into your Bhutan travel budget. 

When taking out travel insurance, we advise choosing one that offers cover for all of the following:

We give a few details about each item below ...

Delayed travel covers things outside of your control, like a traffic jam preventing you from reaching the airport on time, a mechanical issue with your plane, or severe weather preventing the plane from reaching its destination. Given that bad weather is a part of the Himalaya vibe, this is an important aspect to cover. Delayed travel also covers missed connections that are out of your control.

Trip cancellation covers having to abort your trip beforehand for reasons such as injury, illness, severe weather, a natural disaster or a terrorist attack at your destination.

Trip interruption covers the costs involved when you have to abort your trip post-departure, for any of the same reasons listed for trip cancellation. Both trip cancellation and trip interruption should also cover having to cancel or abort a trip as a consequence of illness or injury of a travel companion or family member. 

Regular medical aids don’t cover medical expenses incurred outside of your own country. This is why medical insurance is a critical component of any traveller’s insurance. Proper medical insurance covers medical emergencies as well as medical evacuation. This means that should you fall ill or be injured, your insurance will pay for all hospitalisation and doctor fees as well as all transportation to and from the hospital (including ambulance services) and to get you back home.

The cover for lost or damaged luggage is important. Should your luggage go missing en route to Bhutan, you could use the insurance money to gather together what’s needed in Paro. You can then continue with your trip without having to wear the same smelly pair of socks every day.

We recommend that you cover yourself to the tune of at least 200,000 USD for each of the above categories of insurance (save luggage).

Most of us at Follow Alice, as well as many of our clients, opt to buy travel insurance from World Nomads. We would, however, recommend that you also do your own research into finding a company that you feel offers comprehensive yet affordable insurance.

Whichever travel insurance you choose, we’ll require you to send us the details of your policy before you arrive in Bhutan.

Note that many credit cards offer free, automatic travel insurance when you book your flights with them, so do look into this. The cover usually isn’t enough on its own, but it’s a useful extra. Also, pay special attention to exactly what is and isn’t covered by your credit card. This is to ensure your independent traveller’s insurance covers all gaps and shortfalls.

We don't ever advise exploring a new country without comprehensive travel insurance

We can recommend World Nomads as a reputable travel insurance company you might like to research. They offer coverage for more than 150 adventure activities, including high-altitude trekking.

Tipping isn’t compulsory in Bhutan, though it's appreciated.

If you go with a tour guide and driver, please budget for tipping them at the end. If you're happy with the service received, then 10 USD per day for your tour guide is a good figure, and we recommend 6 USD per day for your driver.

If you go trekking in Bhutan, then tipping your support staff (like your guide, cook and porter/horseman) is also an appreciated gesture. Around 8 to 10 USD for your guide per day is a good rule of thumb if you decide to budget for tipping. Consider 5 to 8 USD per day for your other support staff.

Consider bringing along a little extra cash to buy souvenirs and other local items. The Bhutanese are renowned for their beautiful handwoven textiles, for instance, and you might wish to pad your luggage with a gorgeous silk wrap or stylish gho (long robe). 

The Bhutanese make gorgeous, high-quality handwoven textiles

The currency in Bhutan is the Bhutanese Ngultrum (BTN). It’s set to trade at the same value as the Indian rupee. As of mid‑2025, the exchange rate between the US Dollar and Bhutanese Ngultrum (BTN) is approximately 1 USD ≈ 86 BTN.

Should you want to draw cash while in Bhutan, you’ll find ATMs in all of the major towns.

The cheapest way to stay connected while in Bhutan is to buy a local SIM card or buy a data package through an eSIM app.

You can purchase a special, short validity traditional tourist SIM card when you land in Paro for 200 BTN. Just note that you’ll need to fill in a form, and the seller will want to photocopy your passport photo. Your tour guide will help you with this if you have one and would like assistance. You can then buy 1 GB of data for as little as 150 BTN (that's less than 1 USD or 1 euro).

Don't expect the same level of cell service throughout Bhutan!

A more expensive option (though still far cheaper than using roaming) is to use an eSIM. This is a virtual SIM card that you can acquire before heading off on your trip, and doesn't require a registration process within the visited country.

If you're unfamiliar with how eSIMs work and wish to know more, please read Why you should use an eSIM on your next trip instead of buying a SIM card.

eSIM costs vary depending on the provider you choose. But with Airalo, for instance, which is the current world leader in eSIM services, you can expect to pay around 9.50 USD for 1 GB of data for a week.

We can help! Take a look at our suggested Discover Bhutan itinerary. And please feel free to contact us to ask any questions you might have – we’re here to help!