Summary
We usually offer the most specialized services at the best prices on the market. If you found something that looks better, let's check, analyze and understand what is really included and considered in each option for your trip. It will be a pleasure to talk and analyze together!
Travel to Nepal and Bhutan
From 28 August to 3 September 2023
Land portion per person in group of 1: US$ 5730*
With online monitoring by Guilherme Samel
According to the itinerary on the trip program page: here
Value already including taxes US$ 200 per day from the Bhutanese government, hotels, breakfast in Nepal and Bhutan, lunch and dinner in Bhutan, car, driver, guides and tours.
Domestic flights Kathmandu – Paro – Kathmandu: approx. US$ 700*** in business class
Nepal and Tibet trip
From 3 to August to 18 September 2023
With 11 days in Tibet plus the days in Nepal 16 days in total
Land portion per person in group of 2: US$ 5131*
With online monitoring by Guilherme Samel
According to the itinerary on the trip program page: here
Single Room Supplement: US$1890**
Domestic flights Kathmandu – Lhasa – Kathmandu: approx. $700***
More Possibility of Group Sizes and Values for Bhutan and Tibet Trips
With online support from Guilherme Samel: here
With face-to-face assistance on Guilherme Samel's trip to Nepal and Tibet: here
International Flights
Latest quotations (São Paulo – Kathmandu / Kathmandu – São Paulo): from US$ 2200****
Chörten Supports
Creating the Travel Program in an extremely personalized way explained in more detail here;
Traveller Preparation to travel in these regions with quality as explained in more detail here;
Travel Logistics and Organization with the care and quality Chörten explained in more detail here;
Accompaniment During the Trip 24/7 as explained in more detail here;
Chörten Supports are already included in the trip price (above). More details here;
Land Arrangements
Arrivals and Departures are made with full assistance from our local partners. Upon international arrival in Kathmandu, our local partner maintains telephone contact with Guilherme Samel, Director of Chörten, who in this way accompanies carefully arriving at the hotel;
extra activities, described and provided for in travel programs with face-to-face monitoring by Guilherme Samel, are included. It is always possible and very meritorious to make some more spontaneous contribution to these teachers, if you wish;
Tips: in programs with face-to-face monitoring from Guilherme Samel we take care of good part of them for you leaving only around US$ 5 to 8 per day explained in more detail in the trip briefing;
Visits as mentioned in the travel program with the tickets included. If, by chance, there is any special opportunity for an extra activity consistent with the theme of the trip, the travel specialist may suggest changing the order of visits, such as, more rarely, exchanging a visit for this activity;
Local guides will accompany the group in visits to monuments and other tours in general, except for a few regions that the Brazilian specialist of the trip knows well and is more pleasant to visit without guides (explained in detail in the briefing as before being interested), or when mentioned accordingly in the program of trip;
Land transport in the group's own vehicles with extra care as the number of seats used, no need to use seats when they are not reclining and luggage space a little larger than what is often offered in these countries;
Accommodation in double rooms in the hotels mentioned on the accommodation page. In general, check-ins are at 14 pm and check-outs are at 12 pm. If you need an earlier check-in on your arrival in Kathmandu or a later check-out on your departure from Kathmandu, please let us know so that we can check the rates and make the reservations as you wish.
Meals: breakfasts are included in the hotel rates for the entire trip. Specifically in Bhutan, lunches and dinners are also included except bottled drinks;
Government Visas and Fees in Bhutan travel programs are included in the terrestrial part;
Visas and Special Permissions in Tibet travel programs are included in the terrestrial part;
*Group values and sizes: will be calculated according to the number of people in the group on each day of the trip. For example, on the last days when the group breaks up, each part of the group will have the value adjusted to the number of people traveling together on those days. With the difference that the part of the group that continues to travel with Guilherme Samel in person will have the value including Guilherme's travel costs. The part of the group that continues to travel without being accompanied by Guilherme Samel will not have the value including Guilherme's travel costs. If by chance it does not form a group with the numbers of people mentioned above, as if the number of people is greater, we will recalculate the value of the land part accordingly. Values already calculated: here;
**Single room supplement in case of your preference or need if there is not a partner for accommodation in a double room;
Does not include:
Meals and drinks except breakfast (except on days in Bhutan which include lunches and dinners as mentioned above). On average we can consider that with US$ 35 per day we eat very well in these countries, depending on what, where and how much we eat and in small towns much less;
Transport where not mentioned in the program (short and medium taxis usually cost between $5 and 10);
Part of the tips (very important in these cultures) when with face-to-face monitoring from Guilherme Samel (around US$ 5 and 8 per day) or tips fully explained in the trip briefing;
Voluntary contributions to monasteries, temples, and Dharma teachers that we may encounter while traveling;
Nepal Visa ($50 for up to 30 days between your first and last days in Nepal on your trip, more here);
Travel insurance: very important and therefore highly recommended;
Entrance fees to the monuments for camera and/or camcorder when available (usually between US$ 1 and 5 only in cases where it is charged);
Program changes in case of political unforeseen events, flight cancellations, political conflicts, epidemic, climatic and geographic unforeseen events, new fees and taxes, etc., as well as by governments and/or local service providers in Brazil / Nepal / Bhutan / Tibet;
*** Domestic airlines
Economic class economy on flights from Lhasa and business on flights from Paro. Please let us know in advance (at the time of registration) if you would like to take a look at the possibility of business class on domestic flights. Values subject to change, only confirmed at the time of purchase of tickets;
Maximum weight Allowed checked bag on flights between India/Nepal/Bhutan/Tibet: around 20kg. Excess weight may be charged by the airline at check-in: around US$ 5 to 8 per extra kg (except some specific routes that airlines started to charge more / we will check carefully); More information: here
Values subject to change no prior notice from airlines;
**** International Flights
In advance: in general, the sooner we issue our tickets, the better fares and routes we find. Promotional rates are unpredictable, tend to run out very quickly and have extremely high fees for any kind of changes in the future. These, when made available, are very worthwhile if we have very certain round-trip dates, that is, the main programs and extensions that we will make;
Purchasing it: it is always prudent to wait for confirmation from the group before issuing the international air. We confirm our groups with a very small number of people;
Form of payment: the international air fare is normally paid in 5 interest-free installments by airlines on Visa and Mastercard cards;
Search for São Paulo on 9 May 2023:
- Emirates with good connections between São Paulo and Kathmandu in economy class for 1913 usd *****
- Qatar with good connections between São Paulo and Kathmandu in economy class for 2062 usd *****
- Qatar with good connections between São Paulo and Kathmandu in business class from 9211 usd *****
- Emirates with good connections between São Paulo and Kathmandu in business class (on available flights) for 7823 usd*****
- Dates: departure from São Paulo at dawn on 27 Aug or night on 26 Aug to arrive in Kathmandu on 28 Aug. Return on 18 Sep.
***** Values can change at any time until the ticket is confirmed (purchased). Exchange rates between research sites and airline sites also vary slightly in the values presented.
Search for Houston on 16 May 2023:
- Qatar with slightly longer connections in Doha in economy class for 1422 usd *****
- Emirates with slightly longer connections in Dubai in economy class for 1709 usd *****
- Turkish with good and very fast connections in Istanbul in economy class for 1935 usd *****
- Qatar with slightly longer connections in Doha in business class for 8172 usd *****
- Emirates with medium and long connections in Dubai in business class for 7518 usd *****
- Turkish with good and very fast connections in Istanbul in business class for 6473 usd *****
- Dates: departure from Houston in the early hours of September 2nd or evening on September 1st to arrive in Kathmandu on September 3rd. Return on 18 Sep.
***** Values can change at any time until the ticket is confirmed (purchased). Exchange rates between research sites and airline sites also vary slightly in the values presented.
Tibet situation
Tibet has just opened to foreigners. In our face-to-face conversation at the embassy in Kathmandu, only two small groups had applied for a visa and permit for the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). The visa procedure is still very similar to how it was in the years before the pandemic. With the difference that we do biometrics in person at the embassy now. They explained that now it is also possible to apply for a visa and permit in our countries. We are checking this information and confirming which one is more practical. Tibet is a politically sensitive region. So it's unpredictable. We have a lot of experience and we guarantee the trip in the best possible way, to the point that sometimes we are almost the only foreign travellers there. It was never necessary with our groups, but it is important for us to know that, due to this instability in the region, Tibet could close at any time: which has never happened to us. Once it happened that Tibet closed when we were already in Tibet and with a second group arriving in a few days. We were able to continue traveling through Tibet and the group that arrived next was one of the only ones to enter Tibet on those dates. We will, of course, always do our best.
Flights have not yet been published by the airline. We spoke to them in person. They explained that they should publish the flights from the end of June or July. We understand that it should happen that way even as they explained it to us.
hotels in Bhutan
The hotels in the category we have chosen are more demanding with regard to reservation and cancellation policies. They work with a non-refundable down payment for booking confirmation. They do not refund payments (even if there is an unforeseen situation with Tibet).
Service Providers, Infrastructure and Local Cultures
We have a lot of experience operating travel in these regions of the world. We work with very good local partners within the possibilities of these countries. Even so, it is important to bear in mind that the quality of services and local infrastructure (hotels, transportation, food, etc.) are not the same as in Brazil, Europe and North America. Most of the time, they will surprise us very positively, for example, for their human qualities and, sometimes, even for the technical aspect of the service. But unforeseen and problems must happen. It is our job, responsibility and even pleasure, at Chörten and our partners, to foresee them and, when necessary, take care of getting around them in the best possible way. So that, in this way, the most important responsibility falls to Travellers: to enjoy the trip in the most peaceful, pleasant and profitable way possible. As part of this responsibility, we understand that we are traveling in these incredible countries and cultures, very different from ours in many aspects and that teach us so much. The better we understand these cultures, the better quality and tranquility we will enjoy our trip.
With the preparations for the trip well taken care of, with all our assistance and support, from boarding the flight here in Brazil until your return, you will see that your trip will be very smooth, well cared for, very well enjoyed, fun, with significant lessons that we will bring from come back and they will be of great value to us in our lives.
Exchange (only for Brazilians)
https://economia.uol.com.br/cotacoes/cambio/dolar-turismo-estados-unidos-historico.jhtm
Cancellation Policies
About the Chörten Supports: if there is a change in plans by the Traveller(s) between setting up the trip program and the end of the trip, the Support already provided by Chörten (explained in chorten.com.br/apoios/), such as Mentoring for My Trip, Personalized Travel Program, Sometimes How to Travel in These Regions with Quality, Support with Logistics and Travel Organization, will not be refunded (as explained on the Possibilities of Support and Investment page: chorten.com.br/apoios/investimento/). They can even be used at another time. Chörten Support not provided, such as 24/7 Online Monitoring While Traveling, will be fully refunded.
The cancellation policy of Land Arrangements e Domestic Air They come into effect from the moment the deposit is paid, when we confirm the accommodation reservations, we issue air and train tickets in accordance with the necessary advance notice for each trip. These vary from service provider to service provider that we use on our trip (hotels, airlines, etc). In general, for cancellations up to 90 days before the start of the trip, payments are almost fully refunded, with small cancellation fees from local airlines, train tickets, hotels, local operators and banks (with the exception of Bhutan as explained above). From 60 days before the start of the trip, cancellation fees gradually increase, varying from service provider to service provider. Still, we will certainly do our best and talk to each service provider to see what we can get for reimbursement even after this date. With regard to airline tickets, each airline and fare has its own cancellation policy.
Payment
O signal (values corresponding to Chörten Support presented here: https://chorten.com.br/apoios/investimento/) is paid into Chörten's account in Brazil at the time of registration;
The balance of land part and domestic air: will be paid according to the confirmation policy of each hotel. In general approx. 50% after registration to confirm the hotels and issue the internal tickets for the trip. With approx. 50% remaining up to 60 days before travel. These can be paid directly to operators with bank transfer. We recommend this way so that we can legally obtain the lowest possible values. It is possible to pay directly to Chörten's account in Brazil, but government fees in Brazil will be higher and will need to be included;
Apply now
To confirm your place on the trip we ask:
- Application form: on here
- Copy (scan) of passport here
- Advance payment: on here
Travel with us and more information here on our Whatsapp + 55 11 968270047by message here e email viaje@chorten.com.br!