Costs & Accommodation

What does it cost

Bhutan tours are priced according to a tariff set by the government. This is based on a “daily rate” which is levied for each night spent in Bhutan and this is currently set at US$250 per person per night in high season (March to May and September to November) and US$200 per person per night in low season (June to August and December to February). Those travelling in a group of two pay an additional US$30 per person per night and single travellers an additional US$40 per night by way of a small group surcharge. These amounts determine the basic cost of your trip.

Although our pricing is based on the tariff, we price itineraries according to the size of the group, the length of stay and we aim to offer competitive pricing – please contact us for a personalized quote.

Different rates apply for Indian, Bangladeshi and Maldives nationals, as the government tariff does not apply.  In this case payment may be made in local currency and need not be sent in US$.  Please contact us for a quote for the services you require – whether it be just transport, guide and/or accommodation or a fully inclusive tour.

The government applies a tourist tax (known as a sustainable development fee) which is used towards free education, free healthcare, poverty alleviation, along with the building of infrastructure. Approximately 30% of what you pay for your tour is used to pay this fee, providing benefits from tourism for the local population.  (Note that this fee does not apply for Indian, Bangladeshi and Maldives nationals.)

After deduction of the sustainable development fee, the remainder of your payment covers practically all the in-country costs for your holiday. This will be a private tailor made tour and you will have a personal guide and driver throughout your trip. All accommodation is included (unless you opt for luxury hotels for which you pay a supplement) and all food, transport, sightseeing and festival visits, permits, entrance fees, airport transfers and so on will be arranged for you and covered by the tour price. In effect this means that the only extra money you need to bring with you to spend during your holiday is for things such as gifts and souvenirs, personal items and laundry, drinks and tips. There is also a charge of US$40 per person for the visa which we arrange for you and a US$30 admin fee that we charge to cover bank charges and the other costs of processing the payment for your trip.

For more information about the accommodation options have a look at our accommodation page.

We arrange the flights in and out of Paro for you with Druk Air or Bhutan Airlines (Tashi Air), and these are charged separately from the tour price – for more information see our flights page.

We have to quote for our tours in US$ as this is the currency that the government tariff is based on. You may find this currency converter useful to help you calculate the cost of your trip. You can also use this to find out the current value of the ngultrum, the Bhutanese unit of currency.

The tourist tariff is discounted during the off season months of December, January, February, June, July and August.  A number of other discounts are available.

In some cases (for example treks, or tours for single travellers) the costs of running the trip are not covered in full by the rates referred to above as a result of a recent marked increase in local costs. In such cases we will quote a price for you based on us running the trip on an economic basis and will explain this to you when we quote.  We charge a supplement to arrange a trek for you to cover the additional costs of providing the staff required on trek, the camping equipment, plus the horses to carry luggage and equipment.  We are not able to arrange a trek for a person travelling alone.