Tibet Tours out of Nepal (Kathmandu - Lhasa)

Sev

Hey,

Has anybody ever visited lhasa from nepal by one of these 8 day overland tours or 4/5 day return flight trips that a lot of tour companies seem to do?

e.g.

http://www.kailashmanasarover.com/fixeddeparture/tibetoverland.php

or

http://www.travel-library.com/tours/asia/tibet/lhasa/8_day_tibet_to_nepal_overland_tour.html

What was it like and what company did you travel with?

Wanna book something like this, just not sure which company to go with.

galek

I just found this post as I was searching for similar tours myself. Did you ever end up going? Was it good? Any information on what company you used and how you liked it would be much appreciated!

Thanks.

Miss Fluff

Have not been via Nepal but spent 5 days in Tibet and flew in from Beijing visa Chengdu. If you need any info let me know.

Lhasa is mind-blowing, well worth a visit.:)

jackbhoy

galek wrote: »

I just found this post as I was searching for similar tours myself. Did you ever end up going? Was it good? Any information on what company you used and how you liked it would be much appreciated!

Thanks.

Doing this the opposite way (i.e. Lhasa-Nepal-Bhutan) and be interested in any feedback too!!

galek

jackbhoy wrote: »

Doing this the opposite way (i.e. Lhasa-Nepal-Bhutan) and be interested in any feedback too!!

Hi!

I haven't researched going the opposite way at all, but I think you still have to go in from a city outside of Tibet with a tour. So you may go from Chengdu, China, instead of Nepal. I've found a lot of the tours I'm looking at on the following sites - it may be helpful for you to just see what's out there:

http://www.responsibletravel.com/

http://www.adventurecenter.com/

http://intrepidtravel.com/

Good luck!

galek

Thanks for the quick answer Miss Fluff! Any tips you could give on where to go/avoid would be welcomed!

Ideo

I was in Nepal for 5 weeks during the summer and I can't wait to go back. I didn't meet a single person who didn't like the place - its just amazing! If you have any questions I can prob give you a few pointers. I also have the details of a travel agent and I can absolutely guarantee you that if you use him you'll be happy. Think he can organise those tours too if you decide to go the other way

galek

Ideo, I would love to get the info for your travel agent - good to see all options! Also, tips are more than welcome. I'd love to find out about some places that the tours may not take us on, but we should really try to get to.

Thanks!

Ideo

Galek sorry I havent been on this in a bit, had exams during the week.

Anyway my cousin and I used a travel agents called himalayan magic adventure, and its run by a guy called Hirmal Nakarmi, n2@vianet.com.np

He was a really decent guy and he looked after us very well. I done EBC through him and we had a great Sherpa, so after the trek we basically booked everything else that we needed to book with him. bus and train tickets to india, a 3 day tour of chitwan and accomodation in pokhara. the accom was a bargain, prob the cheapest place we stayed in and yet the best!

anyway he can do the overland trips to tibet which i hear are easier to do from nepal than to tibet then the other way around. we travelled with a northen irish couple who came from tibet and they had a bit of trouble with their car and driver so i think if you can get a decent travel agent it makes the diff. oh, and our sherpa brought us out for a day around kathmandu in his car for nothing. it was deadly, went to these off the track villages in katmandu and saw some festival. pretty cool!

have you thought about doing that bungy jump in nepal on the rainbow highway? its the 2nd highest in the world or something!

jackbhoy

Ideo, gonna be doing Tibet-Nepal-Bhutan this winter. Just wondering if you booked the EBC/tour before leaving or only when you got there? We are going overland (and Irish sea) from Dublin so want to stay as flexible as possible and not book anything ahead. Also seen on other forums that its cheaper to find local company when you get there.

Ideo

I provisionally set some dates with Nirmal and then emailed him from India about 2 weeks before the trek to confirm the dates. He then booked the flights so we met him when we got to Kathmandu and paid him then so it was probably the most flexible in terms of travel agents, not having to confirm a date until two weeks before the trek.

Our trek cost $666 (dollars) per person including flights food and accomodation on the trek and i thought that was pretty good. i saw some quotes online from $800-$900, and we only paid about €500 so that was good. anyway thats an indication of what it should cost, give or take a few %.

Id definitely recommend Nirmal and HMA anyway. dont want to keep going on about it but you wont be disappointed if you use him, just drop him an email and ask about costs and dates and he'll get back to you quick enough. it will at least give you an idea of what to expect! oh and if you do email him tell him I said hello, its paul

jackbhoy

Ideo wrote: »

.... oh and if you do email him tell him I said hello, its paul

Why? Are you on commission?

Thanks for the info, will drop him a mail and see what he comes back with. Been onto a few local agents and they all seem to offer very similar prices/trips, the price you quoted seems very good, especially as it includes flights (which we won't need).

Ideo

jackbhoy wrote: »

Why, are you on commission?

Thanks for the info, will drop him a mail and see what he comes back with. Been onto a few local agents and they all seem to offer very similar prices/trips, the price you quoted seems very good, especially as it includes flights which we won't need.

No I 'm not on a commission unfortunately! Wish I was though, might earn myself a few quid for my trip away this year Seriously though, its been a tough time for the travel agents in the last few years with the maoists, and while the maosits aren't active any more the tourists are only trickling in. He emailed me before christmas to wish me a happy christmas and was saying that the sherpa we had hasn't been on a trek since my trek in august so you can only imagine what its like for the country as a whole! it must be pretty tough to stay in business and recommendations make a big difference to trade so i'm only happy to recommend him as he really did do a lot for us and really looekd after us. He's a genuine guy.

That price included flights from Kathmandu to Lukla for the trek, sorry if i wasnt clear in the first post.

when are you thinking of going? and how are you going to work it overland?