There are a number of things to think about when planning your trip.
- The availability of international flights into Bhutan are limited, to ensure that visitor numbers are kept to a low volume for sustainable tourism. International flights around key festivals are often full months in advance, and domestic flights can fill well in advance too.
- Whether you have the time / inclination to fly within Bhutan to one of the domestic airports to give you less driving time.
- What you want to see; if you are wanting to come for a specific festival or to see the spring colours, or Black-Necked Cranes, this will determine the timing.
- What time you have available to explore; how long do you have to spend in Bhutan, and how much time you want to spend in a car vs what you want to see and experience. And whether you want to move from place to place to experience as much as possible, or spend more time in some key locations to really explore and experience.
- The type of vacation you want; do you want to be deeply immersed in the Buddhist stories and temples / monasteries, or do you want a broader, more expansive experience of Bhutan. Are you interested in adventure activities like rafting, and trekking, or are you looking for a slower immersion.
- The kind of schedule you like. Do you want to know you will have a good lunch at 12 / 12:30 every day, a coffee stop, dinner planned? Or are you more interested in following the flow and working it out as you go along?
- Your interests. If you are interested in photography, you can spend more time in bird watching spots, or visit the lhakhangs around sunrise / sunset to get the right light, or after dark to catch them lit up. If you want to take some time to fish, permits can be organised (it’s catch and release). If you want to horse ride, that is a possibility too. Want to learn about the different culinary tradition in each region and to cook momos (Himalayan dumplings)? And, more importantly, then eat them? That is also possible.
- The kind of accommodation you want to stay in. Tourist accommodations are relatively high quality by global standards, and 3* accommodations are clean, comfortable, inexpensive and plentiful. 4* and 5* are less available and much, much more expensive. Homestays are a good choice, but good homestays are small and so tend to be booked up well in advance. See approximate costs here.
These are all highly personal choices and will result in a different itinerary, theme / focus, and pace. We have provided some examples of itineraries in the linked pages to inspire you!
We hope we have given you enough information in these pages to have a better idea of what you want to see and do. We would also be more than happy to help design an itinerary that suits you, or to execute on an itinerary you have planned; supporting you with any local bookings required. e have provided some ideas for itineraries in the