Complete Tibet Travel & Tours Tips
Over the past 15 years in the field of Tibet Tourism, Tibet Travelers has witnessed the frequent changing of Tibet Travel Regulation.
Then there are more than 3000 claiming to be Tibet Travel Expert providing different information making it complicated again.
That is one of the reasons recently Tibet Travelers has written an article Tibet Travel Free Guide for Travelers to make it convenient for all the Travelers planning to travel to Tibet.
Today's article Tibet Travelers will share the Top 30 Tibet Travel Tips and Tibet Tours Tips to make it more convenient for all the Travelers around the world to travel to Tibet.
COMPLETE TIBET TRAVEL TIPS AND TIBET TOUR TIPS FOR TRAVELERS WITH UPDATE
1. Where is Tibet?
2. Why travel to Tibet?
3. Can Travelers travel to Tibet on their own?
4. When to travel to Tibet?
5. How to travel to Tibet?
6. Is Tibet a safe place to travel?
7. What are the documents required for travel to Tibet?
8. What are China visas and China group visas?
9. What is Tibet Travel Permit?
10. Why Travel with local Tibetan Travel agencies?
11. Which are the places open for travel to Tibet?
12. How to choose a Tour or Trek in Tibet?
13. How long in advance do Travelers have to book the tour to Tibet?
14. From which destination Travelers are allowed to enter Tibet?
15. How to buy a flight to Tibet from other cities in China or Nepal?
16. How to buy a flight or train to Tibet?
17. How are the hotel facilities in Tibet?
18. How are the Restaurants and Meals in Tibet?
19. Are they ATMs and Banks everywhere in Tibet?
20. What are the Travel Insurance Tips?
21. What are the Cancellation Policy Tips?
22. What is the packing list for Tibet?
23. Which Apps to download before traveling to Tibet?
24. What are the health Tips in Tibet?
25. What about 4G and Wifi Tips in Tibet?
26. What are Tibetan culture Tips?
27. What are the Photo Tips in Tibet?
28. How to travel to Tibet like a Tibetan?
29. How to boost the excitement of a trip to Tibet?
30. How to pay the tour fee for Tibet Travelers?
1. Where is Tibet?
Tibet Autonomous Region is one of the provinces of China, located on the roof of the world with an average altitude of 4,500m above sea level and surrounded by many high mountains.
2. Why travel to Tibet?
Tibet is the home of nature, the roof of our world, and the birthplace of many great Buddhist Yogis.
Everywhere in our world is developing with tall buildings and car horns with less nature so it is very hard to witness the true authentic beauties of nature. Tibet is a great place to be with nature and fill the positive energy.
Tibetan people are rated by many previous Travelers as one of the warmest people. The smile from Tibetans towards the Travelers gives some signals of positive connections without even having a conversation.
One of the special wonders Potala Palace, built in the 7th Century is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China.
Many important Buddhist monasteries.
Holist mountain Kailash and Lake Manasarovar.
The highest mountain in the world Mount Everest.
They are more than thousands of reasons to travel to Tibet.
3. Can Travelers travel to Tibet on their own?
This is a very important question to all the Travelers who are excited about traveling to Tibet.
Even though Tibet is a magical destination in the world, Travelers are not allowed to travel Tibet on their own.
Travelers will need a Tibet Travel Permit to travel. Travel agencies are not allowed to sell only the Tibet Travel Permit.
Travelers must be on an organized Tour from a local Travel agency.
Travelers planning to stay in Lhasa without even visiting sightseeing will also need to pay for Tour Guide every day as a Tourism Rule and Regulations.
4. When to travel to Tibet?
Tibet Travel season starts from April 1st to the mid of next year's February so Travelers can travel to Tibet only during these months.
This question about when is the best time to travel Tibet has many questions related to Tibet Travelers shared another article about what is mean by best from Travelers point of view?
Some Travelers love green and warm nature so for those we recommend traveling from mid-May to mid-October.
Travelers loving the snow with fewer tourists and more locals, we recommend traveling during the winter from November to mid-February of next year.
The best month to travel to Tibet
When is the best time to travel to Tibet?
Tibet Travelers recommend Travelers to travel from April to mid-June and mid-September to October-end for lower the cost and bit less tourist as compared to mid-July, August, and beginning of September, which is known as the highest tourist season in Tibet.
Photo: What is the source of happiness?
5. How to travel to Tibet?
Even though Tibet Autonomous Region is a border destination between Nepal, India, and Bhutan but only from Nepal and other cities in China, Travelers are allowed to travel in Tibet.
From other cities in China, they are 3 ways to travel to Tibet.
Flight
Train
Overland from Xinjiang and Golmud.
How to travel to Tibet from other cities in China?
From Nepal, they are 2 ways to travel to Tibet.
Flight
Overland
How to travel to Tibet from Nepal?
Tibet Travelers arranges many different types of tours.
6. Is Tibet a safe place to travel?
Tibet is one of the safest regions in our world to travel. There was never news of crime towards Travelers in Tibet tourism.
Is Tibet safe for solo female Travelers?
Tibet is also one of the safest regions to travel for solo female Travelers.
7. What are the documents required for travel to Tibet?
They are 2 important documents Travelers will require for traveling Tibet.
China visa
Tibet Travel Permit
If Travelers are traveling to Tibet from Nepal, Tibet Travelers will take care of both China visa and Tibet Travel Permit.
If Travelers are traveling to Tibet from other cities in China, Travelers will have to obtain a China visa from the Embassy in your country.
8. What are China visas and China group visas?
They are 2 documents required for travel to Tibet. China visa is the 1st document.
China visa is the document required for traveling to Tibet from other cities in China and to obtain the Tibet Travel Permit from the Tourism office in Lhasa.
China tourist visa (L) category
No China visa means no Tibet Travel Permit. Without a China visa, Tibet Travelers cannot obtain the Tibet Travel Permit.
China group visa is the document required for traveling to Tibet from Nepal.
The Easiest way to get a China group visa
Tibet Travelers will send the invitation letter to the China Embassy in Nepal to obtain the China group visa and Tibet Travel Permit.
Photo: Top Ten Dos and Don't in Tibet
9. What is Tibet Travel Permit?
They are 2 documents required for traveling Tibet. Tibet Travel Permit is the 2nd document. Tibet Travel Permit cannot be obtained on your own. Travelers must need a Travel agency to obtain the Tibet Travel Permit from the Tibet Tourism office.
Full information on Tibet Travel Permit
Travel agencies are not allowed to sell only the Tibet Travel Permit. Travelers must be on an organized tour in Tibet. Tibet Travelers will obtain the Tibet Travel Permit from the Tibet Tourism office.
10. Why Travel with local Travel agencies?
Traveling with local travel agencies to have a local taste.
Tibet Travelers will put our 100% energy into the tour to have a great time for Travelers.
Tibet Travelers has been rated 143 Excellent reviews from 144 Travelers. Even the 1 Traveler who has given us 3 stars had written strongly recommend and we also didn't found his or her booking confirmation with us.
We would like to thank all the previous Travelers including the 3-stars rated Traveler for taking precious time on Tibet Travelers.
Tibet Travelers Manager Tenzin is born at the feet of Mount Everest and Tenzin is listed in Lonely Planet Guidebook since 2006.
11. Which are the places open to travel to Tibet?
Even though Tibet is a beautiful place to travel but not all the places in Tibet are open to travel for Travelers.
Most of the places which are open for Travelers are listed on Tibet Travelers website.
At the moment overland from Yunnan to Lhasa is not open. Few places in western Tibet, northern Tibet Nakchu, eastern Tibet Nyingtri, and a few places in Tsetang prefectures are not open.
Every year Tibet Travel situation is getting better so we hope soon all the places in Tibet are open for Travelers to witness.
12. How to choose a Tour or Trek in Tibet?
To choose a tour or trek, one of the most important is the duration and budget.
Travelers should check the preferred duration of travel in Tibet and check the limit budget since traveling to Tibet is quite expensive so checking the budget is very important before choosing the dates and buying the flights to Tibet.
Tibet Travelers arranges a few different types of Tours and Trek.
Tibet Travelers has shared full detailed information about the above tours meaning in the below link.
Many tours are not listed on Tibet Travelers website but Travelers can send us an email to inquire more about these customized tours.
Photo: Mount Kailash is the most desired destination in Tibet
13. How long in advance do Travelers have to book the tour to Tibet?
This is a very important tip for all the Travelers.
Traveling to Tibet need a China visa and Tibet Travel Permit as a document and to obtain these documents takes time so Tibet Travelers recommend Travelers to book the trip to Tibet around 20-30 days or even more so that Travelers can get the documents required to travel to Tibet on time.
Advance Booking Require for Tibet Travel Permit
Travelers planning to travel Mount Kailash, Rawok lake, or Western Tibet Ngari. Tibet Travelers recommend advance booking around 30 days.
14. From which destination Travelers are allowed to enter Tibet?
Even though the Tibet Autonomous Region is a travel destination between Nepal, China, India, and Bhutan but only from Nepal and China, Travelers are allowed to enter or travel Tibet.
15. How to buy a flight to China or Nepal?
Tibet Travelers has done some research and we have found a few websites.
These are a few recommendations from our research. Travelers can also check on google to compare the flight prices.
16. How to buy a flight or train to Tibet?
The prices of flights and trains to Tibet are listed on our website.
How to buy flight tickets to Tibet?
How to buy train tickets to Tibet?
Tibet Travelers can also help to find discount flight tickets for Travelers.
Train ticket in Tibet is sold around 1 month 20 days before. It is difficult to get a soft sleeper train ticket, especially in the summer from June to October. Hard sleeper is easier to buy but in the high season, it cost around 200-500RMB per ticket for the service charge to buy train tickets.
Photo: Mount Everest is my hometown
17. How are the hotel facilities in Tibet?
They are many 2-3-4-star hotels and a few 5-star hotels in Lhasa and Shigatse.
2 of the 5-stars hotel in Lhasa are St.Regis and Shangri-La Hotel.
They are also a few 3-star hotels in Gyantse, Nyingchi, Tsetang, and western Tibet Ngari.
There is also one 3-star hotel in Darchin town near Mount Kailash.
In most of the other places, it will be a 2-star hotel or guest house.
Tibet is still developing and many places do have not many hotel options. There are not possible to shower in Mount Everest base camp, Namtso lake, Mount Kailash, and a few other small towns.
They are ATM in Gyantse, Shigatse, Lhatse, Saga, Darchin, Tada, Ngari, Purang, Old Tingri, Tsetang, Nyingchi, Damxung, Pomi.
Banks, Money, Currency, ATM in Tibet
There is a limit withdrawal of around 4000-6000RMB depending on Travelers credit card. The only possible withdrawal cash will be the Chinese Renminbi.
20. What are the Travel Insurance Tips?
It is a wise decision to buy Travel insurance when Travelers are planning to travel to Tibet. The reason behind this is Tibet Travel Permit Regulation changes very often so we highly recommend Travelers to buy Travel insurance from your home country. One of our suggestions Travel Insurance website is Insure my Trip.
Travelers can also buy basic insurance in Lhasa which Tibet Travelers can also help.
21. What is the Cancellation Policy Tips?
Tour in Tibet might get canceled even after the booking since Tibet Travel Permit Regulation changes very often. If this happens, it will happy for all the Travel agencies in Tibet.
Tibet Travelers Cancellation Policy
Tour cancellation policy is important for both Travelers and Travel agencies.
22. What is the packing list for Tibet?
A sleeping bag is one of the best recommendations for packing list to all Travelers who are planning to travel to Tibet.
Travelers do not have a sleeping bag. They are lots of blankets even in Mount Everest base camp and Mount Kailash.
For travelers who prefer to trek in Tibet, we highly recommend bringing a warm sleeping bag. Travelers can also buy in Lhasa.
Photo: Beauties behind Tibetan ladies
23. Which Apps to download before traveling to Tibet?
Few of the popular App in the west are not working in Tibet including Facebook, Gmail, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube.
Best Apps to download before traveling to Tibet
We recommend using Wechat (a Popular China-based social media App) while traveling in Tibet. We are happy to help Travelers to set up Wechat.
24. What are the health Tips in Tibet?
Tibet is located on the roof of the world so high altitude mountain sickness is one of the important subjects for Travelers.
Mountain sickness is when Travelers travel from a lower altitude to a high altitude quickly.
As one article on Fotor wrote, the air in Tibet has 40% less oxygen.
No need to worry about this, through our experience, the only thing Travelers get altitude sickness is when Travelers travel very fast without even staying a few days in Lhasa to acclimatize with the altitude.
One tour we don't recommend Travelers is 8 days group tour to Mount Everest, traveling from Shigatse 3950m to 5200m altitude in one day with around 11-12 hours driving.
Since all the Travel agencies are arranging this and also many Travelers ask us about this tour so we do arrange this 8 days group tour but we recommend Travelers who are reading this article consider traveling to Mount Everest base camp in 9-10 days.
We recommend Travelers prepare a healthy body before getting to Tibet by doing exercise and taking the medical exam.
Bringing the Diamox and small First Aids with you in case.
Tibet Travelers do bring an Oxygen tank in the vehicle for safety.
They are also many small clinics in each town for an emergency but the best is to spend a few days in Lhasa and travel slowly to Mount Everest or Mount Kailash.
Travelers can read our article about health tips in Tibet.
25. What about 4G and Wifi Tips in Tibet?
Almost all the hotels and few restaurants in Lhasa, Gyantse, Shigatse, Lhatse, Sakya, Saga, Darchin, Tada, Ngari, Tsetang, Nyingchi, Tingri, even at my village Pasum which is around 30-40km from Mount Everest, there is Free Wifi.
Recently Tibet Travelers asked at the China Telecom office about the 4G internet Sim Card. We have found that it is possible to buy the Sim Card via using the Tour Guide's ID, the cost is 199RMB per month, which is around 30 US dollars and Travelers can use as much data as they want.
26. What are Tibetan culture Tips?
Inside the monastery, it is great to respect wearing long pants, taking off hats, not smoking.
Smiling towards Travelers without any reason is one of the Tibetan's ways of respect and love.
Photo: Top Ten useful Tibetan Phrases
27. What are the Photo Tips in Tibet?
It is a great respect to ask before taking the photos.
We request Travelers not to take photos of the military, not to take photos inside the monastery where it is not allowed. Some monasteries allow for some charge.
Sun is very strong in the afternoon making the light of the photo too strong so we recommend Travelers to take photos of nature in the morning and late afternoon as one of the best times to take photos. During the night taking photos of stars are also a good choice.
28. How to travel to Tibet like a Tibetan?
Respecting the local Tibetan culture and obeying the rules and regulations of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China is one of the best ways to travel like Tibetan.
While interacting with Tibetans, we highly request never to do a discussion on politics.
Visiting random Tibetan villages via having some tea and Tsampa ( Barley organic food) to feel the life of Tibetan villagers.
Travelers can also learn some Tibetan phrases to show love for Tibetans via traveling as a Tibetan.
29. How to boost the excitement of a trip to Tibet?
The best way to boost the excitement of a trip is not to have high expectations.
Having expectations is the door to disappointments since Tibet is not developed like many other regions in our world so having big expectations will make the trip worse instead of boosting.
If Travelers didn't expect good weather in Everest, even rain in Everest will make us feel like a blessing so no expectation means everything becomes a surprise gift.
Traveling in Tibet with Tibetan Tour Guide and Tour Driver like a family or friends will definitely boost the excitement of the trip.
We love seeing both Travelers and Tour Guide get emotional when the moment Travelers have to leave at the airport.
We would like to thank Travelers for your love for Tibet and Tibetans.
30. How to pay for the Tour fee to Tibet Travelers?
Tibet Travelers request a deposit of 100 US dollars from the whole group together via Paypal or international bank transfer.
Tibet Travelers Payment Options
These are the Top 30 Tibet Travel Tips and Tibet Tours Tips from Tibet Travelers to all the Travelers who are traveling to Tibet.
For Tibet travel information or booking a tour to Tibet. Email us at info@tibettravelers.com
Feb 26, 2018