Bhutan Travel Information

All leisure travel to Bhutan attracts a government levy known as the Sustainable Development Fee (SDF), charged per person per night. The official rate is USD 200, but a 50% concession is currently in effect, making the fee USD 100 per person per night. This is separate from the one-time, non-refundable visa fee of USD 40 per person.

Although a Bhutan visa, once approved, is valid for 90 days, visitors are only permitted to enter and remain in the country for the duration for which the SDF has been paid in advance. During the 90-day visa validity period, the length of stay may be extended, provided the required SDF is deposited before the commencement of the additional period.

Indian nationals do not require a visa but must obtain a permit to enter Bhutan. For leisure travel, a concessional SDF of INR 1,200 per Indian person per night is levied.

The visa can be applied for either directly by the traveler or through a registered Bhutanese service provider such as ourselves. For the visa application, a digital copy of the passport and a passport-size photograph with relevant information, must be provided. You may apply for the visa yourself and then contact us for your travel arrangements, or we can handle the entire process, including the visa application. Arranging everything through us allows for a single payment transfer and incurs no additional charges.

Here are other general Bhutan travel information. More details will follow once we establish your trip preferences.

Tour Booking Process:

We can recommend suitable events and seasons to help you tentatively plan your travel dates. We may also ask whether there are any additional destinations you would like to include along the way, or specific aspects of Bhutan you are particularly interested in. Based on your responses, we will tailor our recommendations accordingly.

Once the travel period, itinerary, and level of service are finalized, bookings must be secured through payment—either partial or full—via wire transfer (SWIFT).

Cancellation Policy: Depending on the timing of the booking, a partial or full deposit may be required to confirm arrangements. Cancellation charges vary based on how close the cancellation is to the travel start date, and may result in partial or full forfeiture of payments. For complete details on the tiered cancellation terms, please contact us and we will provide the full conditions. These terms supersede any standard conditions issued by regulatory authorities such as Bhutan’s Department of Tourism, airlines, or hotels.

Visa, permit & Other fees

All visitors (except Indian nationals) traveling to Bhutan need a visa, which can be obtained by paying one time non-refundable visa fee of USD40 per person. Instead of visa, the Indian nationals require permit.

For leisure travel, the visa fee has to be supplemented with government fee (also called SDF: Sustainable Development Fee) of USD 200 per night per person (but 50% discount is in effect till end of August 2027). For leisure travel of Indian nationals, concessionary SDF Rs. 1200/- per person per night is levied.

The visa is valid for 90 days, during which any extension is permissible provided the applicable SDF is paid prior to start of new period.

The visitors from Bangladesh and the Maldives can process their visas on arrival at their port of entry and visitors from India can process their permits on arrival. The nationals of Switzerland and Thailand who hold diplomatic or government-official passports, are also eligible for a visa on arrival at their port of entry.

A digital copy of your passport if applying online (or the hard copy of your passport if applying in person) has to be submitted for visa application. The passport must be valid for six months from the intended date of departure from Bhutan. A recent passport-size photograph along with valid travel insurance for the duration of the trip, is also required during the time of application.

The visa will be processed through the Department of Immigration, which can be applied directly by yourself or us.

Once the online application is approved, a visa clearance letter (in PDF) will be issued, which has to be produced at the port of entry (including at the airline counter to board flight to Bhutan). Then on arrival, the visa will be stamped in your passport.

Once in the country, there are entry fees to popular attractions and sites. Our packages include these charges along with the SDF, unless you specifically would like to pay on your own.

Sustainable development fee (SDF)

The Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) is a government levy applied to all inbound leisure travel to Bhutan. The standard SDF is USD 200 per person per night for all nationalities, with a 50% discount currently in effect until 31 August 2027. Indian nationals are subject to a concessional rate of INR 1,200 per person per night.

The SDF is separate from the one-time visa fee of USD 40 (required for all nationalities except Indian citizens).

Several SDF discount categories apply:

Special Period Discount: From September 2023 until the end of August 2027, a 50% reduction on the USD 200 SDF is applicable. This discount does not apply in conjunction with other special nationality-based concessions.

Children’s Discount: Children under 12 and above 6 years of age receive a 50% discount on the applicable SDF. Children under 6 years are exempt from the SDF.

Special Nationality Provision: Indian nationals currently pay a concessional SDF of INR 1,200 per person per night for a limited period. During this time, the general 50% special period discount does not apply to Indian nationals.

Land Entry Rule: For travelers entering Bhutan by road through designated border points, the SDF is waived for the first 24 hours of entry.

The SDF must be paid during the visa or permit application process via wire transfer or credit card. Payments are made in US dollars, while Indian nationals may pay in Indian rupees. Additional bank charges may apply. We can also facilitate these payments on your behalf as part of our service package.

Visitors eligible for visa on arrival must pay the applicable SDF in US dollars at the port of entry.

The Sustainable Development Fee, whether paid directly or through an authorized service provider, is remitted to the Government of Bhutan. It is considered an “active contribution” by visitors toward the country’s development, including socio-economic progress, cultural preservation, environmental conservation, and youth education.

Hotels & Accommodation

Our packages include minimum of 3-star level accommodation. The standard packages features 3-star level accommodation, with deluxe and luxury packages having 4 and 5 star properties. Our recommended packages have mix of classes, reflecting logistical sense and trip needs rather than the accommodation levels.

meals & Drinks

The meals throughout the trip are included in your package. Drinks generally, alcoholic or soft drinks, by default, are excluded but can be included with premium coverage.

Ground Transport

The ground transport for throughout the trip are included in our packages. This includes the airport transfers, site visits and transfer between different destinations/ accommodation within the country. Often it is same vehicle and accompanying staff that are used throughout trip, though it can be changed according to the needs. The terrains, road conditions, group size or preferences for premium determines the vehicle type and use.

Time

Bhutan Standard Time (BST) is UTC +6 hours, which is the same time zone as Dhaka. This is half an hour ahead of India, 15 minutes ahead of Nepal, one hour behind Bangkok and two hours behind Singapore. This is 13 hours ahead of PST and 5 hours ahead of CET.

Temperature, Clothing & Packing

Bhutan is a mountainous country, placed quite close to equator with latitude of 27°30” N. While Bhutan has some of the highest elevations in the world, it also has land close to sea level. The altitude range is from 150m/495ft to 7540m/ 24800ft approximately. Just in an hour of driving, one can experience sub-tropical as well as alpine conditions. Once the time and places of your travel in Bhutan is set, we will furbish you with custom packing list but generally, layered clothing is recommended. Please refer ‘Location, Geography & Temperature‘ page in About Bhutan for average temperatures in some of the common places of visit in Bhutan.

Ports of Entry

By air, one can enter Bhutan from Bangkok (Thailand), Delhi (India), Dhaka (Bangladesh, periodic), Kathmandu (Nepal), Kolkata (India), Singapore (periodic) and Bagdogra (India, Seasonal). As of now, the only port of air arrival in Bhutan is Paro International Airport, from where one can fly to 3 other domestic airports.

By land, you can enter the country from south western Bhutanese border town of Phuentsholing, alongside Indian town of Jaigaon, West Bengal. There are other points of entry along the border that is subject is special approval as of now and in state plans to be approved for future use.

Flights

There are two airlines that operate in and out of Bhutan – namely state owned Druk Air and private Bhutan Airlines. Their fleet includes Airbus A320neo and Airbus A319. Only Druk Air operates domestic short haul flights (with average air time of 20 minutes ) for which, an ATR-42 turboprop airplane is used.

There maybe delays and cancellation since all the airports in Bhutan (including the Paro International Airport) have visual runways and requires visual approach procedures, which are affected by weather.

Original Bhutan is authorized agent for both Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines.

Druk Air have recently taken over the corporation that provides state helicopter services. They run 3 Airbus H130 helicopters that can be chartered for sightseeing but used in-country mainly for medical emergencies.

Delays & Insurance

If there is delay in departure because of cancelled flight, there are no extra visa fees and airline will arrange for your accommodations. One would need to bear the resulting incidentals. On early departure, there are no refunds for unused services or cancelled during the time of travel. There are different terms applied for cancellations prior to the trip.

The Bhutanese tourism regulations recommends all travelers to Bhutan to have travel insurance. Many of the destinations en-route to Bhutan may have similar requirement of travel insurance. There are local travel insurance providers and we have international partners, who can provide same.

Money

The Bhutanese money called ‘Ngultrum’ (pronounced without the ‘g’ in the spelling) is tied to Indian rupee (INR) with fixed exchange rate. A dollar (US) is exchanged for an average 81 of Ngultrum (as of Sept 2024), but this will also vary depending on the denomination of the currency as well. The Indian rupee is also accepted in smaller denominations. The 2000 note of INR is not accepted.

Some of the larger properties and most of the souvenir ships will accept credit card, with addition of bank charges (usually 3% or more). For your incidentals, you can exchange your cash into local currency or withdraw from the local ATM (that is of Bank of Bhutan or Bhutan National Bank) subject to bank charges. One of the banks (Bank of Bhutan) provides digital wallet app with use of local phone SIM card through which you can load local currency from your credit card (authenticated through OTPs received on your local SIM). The app then can be used for online/ offline transaction while in the country.

Other regulations to consider

• • There is no public smoking allowed in Bhutan. One has to go to designated smoking areas, while in restaurants or public places.

• • The use and distribution of disposable plastic is banned in the country. (Though you can find them easily!).

• • One is forbidden to export any antiques or things that is more than 100 years old. All of the antiques purchased in the country have to be verified by Department of Culture before departure.

Please note that our pre-trip literature will include more details, necessary information on regulations and local etiquette.