How to travel to Tibet?

They are three ways to travel to Tibet. 

1. Flight

2. Train

3. Overland

They are 2 destinations from where Travelers can travel into Tibet.

1. Travel to Tibet via flight, train, or overland from China

2. Travel to Tibet via flight or overland from Nepal

Few important questions before traveling to Tibet.

1. How to travel to Tibet?

One of the best ways to travel to Tibet is from China.

They are 3 ways to travel to Tibet from China. By flight or by train or by overland from Golmud or Xinjiang.

Another way to travel to Tibet is from Nepal.

They are 2 ways to travel to Tibet from Nepal. By flight or by overland from Kyirong Border.

They are around 3-4 flights per week from Kathmandu to Lhasa. Recently on August 28th, 2017- the Nepal border through Kyirong has been open, which is great news for both travel agencies and travelers. It is possible to travel overland from Nepal to Tibet through Kyirong, starting the trip in Lhasa and ending at Kathmandu, or start the trip in Kathmandu and ending at Lhasa.

2. What documents are required to travel to Tibet?

Tibet is one of the destinations where we need a Tibet Travel Permit to travel. Tibet Travel Permit can be issued easily with Passport and China visa scan.

There is no Tibet visa, China visa is the only visa required to travel to Tibet. Even with the China visa, you will still need the Tibet Travel Permit to travel in Tibet. So, the questions arise, how to issue the China visa and Tibet Travel Permit?

China visa

If Travelers plan to travel Tibet through Nepal, Tibet Travelers will issue the China visa for you with the help of Travelers Passport Scan and the date of entering Tibet. China visa fee cost 110USD Per Person for non-US and Canadian citizens and 200USD Per Person for US and Canadian Citizens including the service fee of our Nepal friend agency.

If Travelers plan to travel to Tibet through China, a China visa can be issued in your home country at the Chinese Embassy but before issuing the China visa, there is one thing to be mindful is do not mention traveling to Tibet since China visa can be difficult to get or can be even rejected if you mention that you are traveling to Tibet, you can mention about your trip to other cities in China like Chengdu, Beijing or Shanghai or others. For more information on this, Tibet Travelers are happy to send our PDF version of an easier way to obtain the China visa through Email. 

China visa type

The best visa is to issue the tourist visa, which is the (L) category. For other visas like working visas, we will need employ letter or working card to issue the Tibet Travel Permit.

Tibet Travel Permit

After getting China Visa, Travelers can send a clear scan of their Passport and China Visa, with these documents, Tibet Travelers can easily issue the Tibet Travel Permit from the Tibet Tourism office in Lhasa, Tibet.

Duration and destination on Tibet Travel Permit

Total travel duration and destinations places you will visit in Tibet will be written on the Tibet Travel Permit so let us know all the places you would like to travel in Tibet since once the permit is issued, it is difficult to extend or add extra places, sometimes it won't be possible since the lack of time. 

What happens if travel to Tibet without Tibet Travel Permit?

If Travelers don't have the Tibet Travel Permit, Travelers can't travel to Tibet. Even if by luck travel gets to Lhasa but will be informed by hotels or train station security or airport security to the PSB (Public Security Bureau) and transferred back to China with some fine. 

How long in advance do Travelers have to issue the Tibet Travel Permit?

How long does it take to issue the Tibet Travel Permit?

Now, we know that Tibet Travel Permit is a very important document to travel in Tibet.

The next two important questions are how long in advance do I have to issue the Tibet Travel Permit? It is much better to issue the Tibet Travel Permit as many days advance as you can since once it's issued, it can't be canceled by the tourism office even if there are some changes in tourism policy.

Travelers who don't plan a trip in advance, must at least issue the Tibet Travel Permit around 20-30 days in advance so that Tibet Travelers have enough time to issue the Tibet Travel Permit and mail it to your hotel in China.  

The second question is, How long does it take to issue the Tibet Travel Permit?

Normally, it takes around 10-20 days to issue the Tibet Travel Permit.

Flights to Tibet or Train to Tibet

When you plan to fly to Tibet, you will need the original Tibet Travel Permit so you must stay 1 night in China before traveling to Tibet so Tibet Travelers can mail the permit to your hotel in China, you can pick the Tibet Travel Permit from the hotel and board the flight to Tibet the next day. 

Around ten days before the trip, you can provide the hotel information with phone number and booking number or name so Tibet Travelers can call the hotel and request them to keep the Tibet Travel Permit safe until you arrive in the hotel, once getting the Tibet Travel Permit from the hotel, please bring it safely to Tibet with you and give to our Tour Guide once you meet him at Lhasa Gonggar airport. 

If you are planning to take a train into Tibet, a Print version of the Tibet Travel Permit will be okay for picking up the train ticket from the train station and boarding the train, Tibet Travelers will send you the scan of the Tibet Travel Permit so you can print and buy or pick the train ticket and board the train to Tibet.

Once you have reliable Tibetan Lhasa-based travel agency Tibet Travelers, we will handle all the required documents to travel to Tibet for you. Email us for your journey to Tibet. info@tibettravelers.com