6 things to know before visiting Bhutan

Up until 2022, you couldn't travel independently within Bhutan. You were required by the Government of Bhutan to submit your proposed itinerary in advance for approval. And then you had to be accompanied by a Bhutanese tour guide throughout your time in the country. You would also have a driver assigned to you.

As of September 2022, however, you can travel without a tour guide (and driver) in Bhutan! This is a big change.

This makes your options for the type of travel you'd like to do within Bhutan more varied.

A traditional homestead

If you're interested, we explain the Government's reasoning for this change in A tourist visa for Bhutan now costs more (2022 update).

The Bhutanese visa works differently from other tourist visas. First off, you have to buy a visa for every night you spend in Bhutan. This is different from most other countries, which let you pay a standard fee per fortnight, month, three months or more. 

The daily visa fee is also relatively expensive. In fact, it has become even more expensive as of September 2022.

As per the Government's press release, visitors must now pay US$200 per person per night in Bhutan. For those familiar with the previous visa system, please note that this money no longer includes any services (such as accommodation). Instead, it's purely a sustainable development fee (SDF). This means all other expenses for your trip are for your account.

Note that you must obtain your tourist visa before heading to Bhutan. We recommend applying for it at least two months before your trip. That said, it may be possible to obtain one in as short a time as a week before your trip.

Locals sit outside a shop in the Haa district

Bhutan's high visa fee has always meant that most visitors don’t spend terribly long in the country. This is actually part of the Government's tourism strategy of "High quality, low volume tourism".

In other words, the Bhutanese Government is eager to avoid the perils of mass tourism. They want to have only a few visitors at a time, and to offer those visitors an exceptional experience. There is, in fact, a cap to the number of tourists that can be admitted to the country each year. 

When travelling in Bhutan with Follow Alice, you'll have a local tour guide with you

At Follow Alice we believe there's immense value in being hosted by a local guide (what we call a "local leader"). Local guides are invaluable in many ways, such as:

Here are a few rules you should endeavour to follow when visiting Bhutan:

When visiting religious sites, you should dress conservatively and ask before taking photos

Bhutan has two mobile network operators, namely B-Mobile and TashiCell. Roaming fees in Bhutan are pretty expensive, so many visitors opt to buy a cheap local SIM card. Both 3G and 4G SIM cards are available, and cost only 200 Ngultrum (around €2.50). Data is also very affordable. Note that you’ll need to fill in a form and let the dealer photocopy your passport in order to purchase the SIM card.

The main thing we pointed out here, however, is that you cannot buy a micro (or nano) SIM card. So check your mobile device for SIM compatibility before visiting Bhutan if you’re wanting to go the SIM card route.

Bhutan is a landlocked nation that encloses parts of the Himalayan mountain range. As such, much of the country sits at a very high elevation. The northern half of the country, specifically, is very mountainous and high.

That said, if you stick to the major towns of the town, like Paro and Thimphu, you'll be fine, as these are 2,200 m and 2,334 m above sea level respectively. You only need to concern yourself with combatting any potential altitude sickness if you go above 3,000 m.

If, however, you decide to do one of Bhutan's beautiful high-altitude Himalayan treks, such as the Jomolhari trek, then you might think about visiting your GP to obtain altitude meds to help reduce the chances that you develop altitude sickness.

Kang Bum (6,526 m) mountain in Bhutan's Jigme Dorji National Park

Bhutan’s district and town names can be pretty confusing for anyone unfamiliar with the country. The important thing to note here is that most of the capitals of Bhutan’s 20 districts have the same name as their district! So the capital of Punakha District is Punakha, for instance, and the capital of Thimphu District is Thimphu. The capital of Paro District is …? You guessed it: Paro. 

To make matters worse, districts are often referred to without the word district. So if someone speaks of Paro, you need to look for the context or ask for clarity to determine if they’re talking about the district or its capital. We hope this helps you to avoid some confusion in your Bhutan travel planning!