Tibet Tour Cost
If you decide to travel to Tibet, you may have a lot of questions about Tibet. For example, can you afford the price of traveling to Tibet and where the money will be mainly spent? Tibet is not the cheapest place, but you can afford it if you want to. To help you get an idea of your travel expenses, this part will list some of the items you need to pay.
Get Your Tibet Travel Permit
You need your Tibet Travel Permit to board a flight or a train, so you have to get your Tibet Travel Permit first. The Tibet Tourism Bureau does not charge anything to issue the permit. Any cost associated with processing the Tibet Travel Permit is charged by the travel agency that you hire, and is usually just included in your tour price. That is, Tibet travel permit price depends on the travel agency. There are also some travel agencies free of charge, if you choose the travel agency’s itinerary.
Transportation
As Tibet is a remote area with harsh environment and high altitude, the cost on a tour to Tibet may be a little higher than the one in other places of China. On one hand, Tibet is remote, vast and the attractions are scattered in different places. foreign travelers need to hire a car or mini-bus to go to those places, which will add much to the cost on trip in Tibet. Therefore, the expense on transportation takes up a big part of the total Tibet tour cost.
Here are several Scenarios:
1. If you only travel to Lhasa City, you don’t have to hire a private travel vehicle, you can use local transportation such as taxis, tricycles and buses. However, if your tour is anywhere outside Lhasa, you will have to rent a private tourist car, the price of which depends on the kilometers you travel.
2. If you travel to Tibet during the peak season from July to the end of October. The price of all services will rise, however, if you go to Tibet in the off-season, the price of all services may fall to half of the peak season. Private travel vehicles can cost more than $1 a kilometer in off-season, up to $1.59 a kilometer.
3. Number of Travelers in your group plays an important role in reducing the cost of the travel as all the group members would be sharing the cost of the car and fees for the Guide. If you do join a group tour, you can reduce the cost of the travel.
The Cost of Getting in and out Tibet
There are two main options: airplane and train. Both options are departing from mainland China(except for one flight) and are relatively fast, depending on which city you start from. However, in order to get a ticket into Tibet, you will need your Tibet travel permit.
The first option to enter Tibet is by air. All flights to Tibet can arrive in Lhasa, the main city of Tibet. For now, there are one international flight(departing from Kathmandu, Nepal) and many domestic flights from mainland China flying to Tibet. This means that if you want to fly to China, you may need to stop in China first. This option gives you time to see some good places in China first. If you’re thinking about flying from a major central city like Chengdu, stay for a while before you set off and check out the awesome panda sanctuary there.
There are also flights in Kunming (2000 meters above sea level), Dali (1800 meters), Lijiang and Shangri-la(3200 meters and 1800 meters). Lijiang may be the best choice if you’re worried about altitude reactions or don’t know where to start. If you fly from a lower altitude, you have up to 90 percent chance of catching altitude sickness. Lijiang’s higher altitude means that it’s a loss less likely.
For specific flight costs, please refer to the current price list of airlines and airport routes.
The second option is to take the train. You can enjoy the beautiful scenery on the way. You can see many places of Tibet Autonomous region and other parts of China. Most importantly, taking the train has a huge impact on preventing altitude reactions.
Taking a train, you may probably want to buy a sleeper. This means you’ll have a distracting place during the journey, and taking a train takes longer than flying. If you decide to take the train from Beijing, you will find it will take you three days. Alternatively, you can leave from Chengdu, it takes only 2 days, the price is also cheaper.
For specific costs, Please refer to the current price list of different seats at the railway station.
Tour Guide
You are not allowed to travel independently in Tibet, so all travelers to Tibet should hire a tour guide for all days in Tibet. This means that even if you are taking a free day, tourists ought to have a tour guide hired. This will inevitably increase the cost of travel.
Accommodation
All the international travelers are supposed to stay in hotels which licensed to accommodate international travel, hence there is no hostel with such a license. Hotels which are licensed to accommodation international traveler are Three stars and equivalent local hotels, which makes accommodations in Tibet little expensive for the budget travelers.
In Tibet, the average meal cost is less than $5. If you want a lower price, your tour guide will recommend cheaper meal options.
If you book a Tibet tour from our travel agency, the service usually included:
1. Tibet Entry Permit and Alien’s Travel Permit.
2. Admission fee of all tourist sites in itinerary.
3. Professional Tibetan English speaking tour guide.
4. Travel Agency Service Charge.
5. Transportation.
6. Tourist Accident/Casualty Insurance.
7. Accommodation with breakfast buffet in Tibet.
8. Tibetan Style dinner.
