Planning a Budget Trip to Bhutan
Posted on 15/01/2020
The minimum daily tariff of US$ 250 per person per night price tag discourages most travelers from visiting Bhutan. While it is an intended regulation by the Government to avoid Bhutan being overrun by mass tourism, with a little research and advance planning, traveling to Bhutan does not necessarily have to be as expensive. In this article, we look at possible ways to lower your tour cost while traveling to Bhutan. Before going with the “Planning a Budget Trip to Bhutan” Let us take you through a brief of Bhutan Soul Tours and Travel.
ABOUT BHUTAN SOUL TOURS AND TRAVEL
Our biggest strength as a company is our passionate team members. We strive to be an informative and reliable partner for our guests to offer them a hassle-free experience while planning their trip to Bhutan and ensure a memorable trip during their stay in Bhutan.
Why travel with Bhutan Soul Tour and Travel?
- Our team is led by an experienced leader with over three decades of experience organizing tours to Bhutan for international tourists.
- We ensure that our guests are guided by some of the most seasoned certified tour guides in the country to ensure, quality time during their stay in the country.
- Our guests are chauffeured in well-maintained cars with an experienced professional driver to ensure their safety.
- Our dedicated support staff strives to respond to all your queries and ensure that we deliver on the expectations of our guests.
Planning a Budget Trip to Bhutan
Traveling during the lean season
This is an obvious reason; most savvy passionate travelers take advantage of planning their trip to Bhutan during the lean season. Like other seasonal destinations around the world, tourism activity slumps during the lean traveling season. Summer and winter seasons are generally categorized as the lean traveling seasons in Bhutan. The airlines struggle to fill in their seats and the hotel rooms rarely meet their desired room occupancy. Therefore travelers booking a trip to Bhutan during these periods can enjoy a lowered airfare from all sectors flying into Bhutan and also take advantage of the discounted hotel room rates. Another significant reduction is the tour price comes with a discount on the minimum daily tariff. During the lean season, a traveler has levied a minimum daily tariff of US$ 200 per person per night instead of US$ 250. Aside from the cost-benefit, planning a trip during the lean season is much easier and more convenient.
Traveling in a group of 3 or more people
This goes in tandem with the first point, traveling in a group of 3 or more people qualifies for the waiver of the FIT surcharge. Aside from the minimum daily tariff, a solo traveler has levied a FIT surcharge of US$ 40 per night and US$ 30 per person per night for a group of 2 people.
Exploring the Eastern Region of Bhutan
The minimum daily tariff includes a sustainable development fee of US$ 65. Planning your itinerary that includes destinations in the eastern region of Bhutan can also lower your tour cost. The eastern region includes Mongar, Lhuntse, Tashigang, Tashi Yangtse, Pema Gatshel, and Samdrup Jongkhar. To promote tourism in eastern Bhutan, the recent tourism regulation now offers a waiver of the sustainable development fee to tourists spending nights in eastern Bhutan. Locals in eastern Bhutan are predominantly farmers and the districts are relatively underdeveloped as compared to the western region which is ideal for travelers looking to experience authentic traditional aspects of Bhutan. The eastern region also has many ancient temples and pilgrim sites for explorers interested in cultural tours and national parks and wildlife sanctuaries ideal for nature-oriented tours.
Special Promotions Extended by the Royal Government of Bhutan
The Royal Government of Bhutan extends special one-time promotions to specific nations to celebrate diplomatic ties between Bhutan and other nations. The promotion period is generally organized during the summer months of June, July, and August. During this period, visitors holding passports of the nation the promotion is being extended to are entitled to the waiver of the minimum daily spending regulation. The hotels and airlines also offer significant discounts. The special offer was extended to Korean nationals in 2017, and Australian nationals in 2018, and such offers are expected in the future. Interested visitors should follow the Tourism Council of Bhutan website for such updates.
