Customer Supports for Your Tibet Travel

Traveling with Tibet Discovery, you will be supported and cared by our helpful travel consultants and experienced tour guide from the beginning to the end of your trip. Every detail, from the most essential travel guide, such as visa and permit, destinations, packing, to the experience during your trip, such as transportation, hotels, dining, will be well prepared and arranged.

Here we have listed out some vital things you can learn about how to plan your trip, and how your Tibet trip will be - how to choose the best destinations and attractions to go, learn about local travel policy and restrictions, design tour packages, visa and permits, hotels we use, what to eat on your trip, payment and booking guide, useful tips, etc. If you have any problem, you can also get support from our professional travel experts who are always ready to give their prompt and helpful advices.

Customer Support for Tibet Travel

How to Plan Tibet Trip

When you plan your Tibet trip, choosing of destinations and attractions will be considered first. Do some reading and figure out where you want to visit, Lhasa, Everest, Namtso, Shigatse, Ngari, etc. Then choose a great month with both pleasant weather and landscapes for your trip. You should also know there are restrictions on Tibet travel. Also get prepared well for High Altitude Sickness. Check following details:

Customer Support for Tibet Travel

Visa and Necessary Permits

Traveling in Tibet is not as easy as in other places in China. Foreign travelers have to obtain several special permits. A valid Chinese visa and your passport is always the first two documents needed. Then you also have to have the Tibet Entry Permit which allows you to enter Tibet by train or flight. If you want to visit other destinations beyond Lhasa, you will have to apply for Alien Travel Permit. Border Pass and Military Permits are required for some special regions. Check following details:

Essential Support for Tibet Travel

Here are some essential stuffs to know about your Tibet trip with Tibet Discovery, such as what kind of transportation you will use, where you will accommodate at, what food you can expect during your trip, what is the heath care and safety condition, how to book our travel service, how to make payment, etc. Check following details:

Transportation

Currently, travelers can only travel to Tibet from China's other regions or Nepal. Trains and flights are two major transportations to Tibet.

Trains to Tibet - you can take trains from Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xian, Lanzhou, Xining, Shanghai and Guangzhou to Tibet. The duration ranges from about 20hrs to 50hrs. Qinghai Tibet Railway is the best highlight.

Flights to Tibet - you have flexible gateway cities to catch a flight to Tibet. Chengdu, Xian and Beijing are the most popular ones. Kunming, Chongqing, Shanghai, also operate daily flights to Tibet. You can also fly to Tibet directly from Kathmandu. There are usually two daily flights in tourism peak season.

Transportation in Tibet

We use different vehicles for different tours – group or private tour, group size, overlanding or regular route. If you join our Group Tour, you will be escorted by tourist bus. If you choose our private tour, we usually use MPV or SUV. No matter what kind of vehicle is used, comfortable and safe transfer will be guaranteed.

Hotels

Recent years, the accommodation condition in Tibet has been greatly improved due to rapidly developing tourism in Tibet. You can find 5 start hotels in Lhasa, Shigatse and Nyingchi, such as Shangri-la, InterContinental, etc . Smaller cities and towns like Gyantse, Tsetang, also have some great hotels now. But in remote areas, such as Mount Everest, Namtso and Ngari, the hotels are very basic.

Food

What food you can expect during your trip? You have flexible choices for different cuisines and restaurants – western buffet, Nepali food, Indian food, Tibetan food, Sichuan Cuisine, etc. You have the right to choose which restaurants to have meals. If you have no idea, our tour guide will offer suggestions. Smaller and remote destinations, such as Tsetang, Ngari, only serve Chinese food and Tibetan food.

Booking & Payment Guide

To book a tour, including Tibet tour, China tour, Nepal Tour, etc, is easy and simple. Our professional and efficient staff of each department will take care of every detail of your trip, from first inquiry, itinerary design to quotation and payment. As for the payment, we currently accept flexible methods of payment, including PayPal, Credit Card, Western Union and Wire Transfer.

Health Care & Safety

The average altitude of Tibet is over 4,000m. Namtso, EBC, Mount Kailash are all located around 5,000m above the sea level. Please get fully prepared. Please note the health care condition in Tibet is relatively behind other parts of China. Only larger cities offer great public hospitals. In remote areas, only clinics can be found in towns. Not matter where you travel to, always remember safety comes first.

Most Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

After operating Tibet tours for over 10 years, we have already achieved a deep understanding about What Tibet has to offer, what our customers want to see and experience most, what are the major concerns during our customers’ trip. Here we list out the most frequently asked questions that our former customers about tour planning, travel documents, itinerary, hotel, booking, dinning. You are also welcomed to submit your question to us, our travel experts are always ready to help.

China National Tourism Administration stipulates that all foreign tourists, including Taiwanese, are not allowed to travel Tibet independently. You are only permitted to travel to Tibet with a China travel agency which will arrange travel services for you, including creating itinerary, tour guide, driver and vehicle, permit application, etc. This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a free and relaxing trip in Tibet. Actually, most areas in Tibet are open for foreign travelers, and can be visited with a tour, private tour or group tour, with China travel agency.

We offer both private customizable Tibet tours and fix-departure group tours. What are the differences?

Private tours - firstly, you have the flexibility to arrange the group activities according to your personal interests; secondly, you can also travel at a slower and comfortable pace; thirdly, you will have your own private local tour guide, private vehicle and private driver for your group.

Group tours - traveling with a group tour, you will join other people in a fixed-departure date, and share the itinerary, vehicle and tour guide, which will greatly cut down your expense. To ensuring high quality service, we limit the group size to a maximum of 12 people.

First, you have to have a valid passport which proves your identity and allows you to leave your country; second, you have to apply for and obtain a Chinese visa before your trip. If you travel from Nepal or Indian to Tibet, you have to obtain a Group Visa (a special Chinese Visa); third, you must get a Tibet Entry Permit with which you can board your flight/train to Tibet and travel in Tibet; forth, other extra Tibet permits: 1) traveling beyond Lhasa, you have to have an Alien Travel Permit; 2) traveling to border area, such as Mount Everest, Mount Kailash, you have to get a Border Pass; traveling to military restrict areas, such as Mount Kailash, you have to hold a Military Permit.

Tibet is vast, but not every place in Tibet is ideal for family travel maybe because of harsh weather, inaccessibility or other facts. Based on our local experience and knowledge, we recommend Lhasa, Yamdrok Lake, Gyantse and Shigatse for you because they are rich in culture and landscape, and have better hotels and restaurants. Besides, these destinations are not very far away from Lhasa.

Tibet Discovery specializes in finding the highlighting family-friendly experience in the vast land – 1) learn a vivid lesson of Tibetan history and Buddhism culture with your children; 2) experience the real Tibetan living and even be a Tibetan for a day – making handicrafts, such as thangka, bracelet, etc, eating Zanba, drinking buttered tea… 3) take your children to make friends with local Tibetan kids; 4) explore the featured landscape which you can only see in Tibet; 5) take a Tibetan food cooking class… With the benefit of our know-how, you and your family will experience far more in a single trip.

Nepal-Tibet border ports had been closed for travelers for a long time since 2015 Nepal Earthquake. But currently Gyirong Port at the Nepal-Tibet border has been opened for foreign travelers. From 30 August, 2017, foreign travelers can enter Tibet from Nepal or leave Tibet for Nepal at Gyirong Port.

Gyirong Port is located in Gyilong Town, bordering Rasuwa Port in Nepal. It is only about 89km from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, about 25km from Gyirong Town, about 820km from lhasa, and about 360km from Mount Everest (Tibet Side). If you arrive at Gyilong Port in the morning, you can directly drive to Mount Everest in a day. If you travel from Lhasa, via Mount Everest to Kathmandu, you can usually accommodate for a night at Gyirong Town, then leavel for Kathmandu in the next day.

To travel from Nepal to Tibet, you have to apply for several documents, including a Group Visa, Tibet Border Pass and Tibet Entry Permit.

More than 80% of our former customers chose to get to China's other regions first, then travel from some major gateway cities to Tibet. Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu are most popular international arrival hubs in China which are connected to the most countries in the world.

Before leaving for Tibet, you can spend some days exploring the most featured destinations in China, such as Beijing, Xian, Chengdu, Guilin, Zhangjiajie, Huangshan, etc. Then take a flight or train to Tibet from popular gateway cities, such as Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, Xian, Xining, Shanghai, etc.

Traveling with Tibet Discovery, you don’t have to spend much time search for flight/train schedules, and get troubled by complicated and unreadable booking process. As a part of our tour package, your flights and trains in the itinerary will usually be booked for you by your travel consultant. You just need to provide us your passport information.

Currently, cities including Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xian, Shanghai, Lanzhou, Xining, offer both flights and trains to Tibet. Flights are usually scheduled daily. While some trains run daily and some run every other day.

Every day, the diligent Tibet trains unload about 2000 tourists to the holy city Lhasa from different cities around China. What makes so many travelers flock into Tibet by train?

The first also the biggest reason is to experience the world engineering wonder which has created 9 extraordinary world records (the highest railway – 5072m, highest railway station - 5072m, the longest plateau railway -1976kkm, longest rail bridge – 11.7km, longest plateau tunnel in permafrost – 1686m …) and check out how the engineers overcame the biggest three technical challenges during the construction Qinghai Tibet Railway - widespread frozen earth, high altitude sickness and eco-environment protection. The second reason is to enjoy the breathtaking plateau landscape along the railway – huge salt lakes Qinghai and Qarhan, vast and mysterious Hoh Xil Depopulated Zone, the Elf of Qinghai Tibet Plateau – Tibetan Antelope, Dominating Tanggula Mountains, Blue Diamond - Tsonag Lake, plains dotted with yaks and herder’s tents… The third reason is the much lower cost, compared with air transfer, especially during peak seasons.

1) Spending some leisure day in Lhasa city to see the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and join local pilgrimage kora; 2) traveling to Everest Base Camp(5200m) on the world’s highest peak; 3) enjoying the breathtaking landscape at holy Namtso Lake; 4) going to see the famous Kumbum in Palcho Monastery; 5) Visiting the official seat of His Holiness Panchen Lama - Tashilhunpo Monastery; 6) joining pilgirms to have a memorable trek around Asia’s holiest mountain – Mount Kailash; 7) exploring the first Tibetan monastery and palace in Tibetan history – Samye Monastery and Yumbulangkang Palace in Tsetang; 8) attending the annual Nyingchi Peach Blossom Festival.

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Our Community

As a local based Tibet travel agency, our dream is not only to help travelers to explore the magnificent Tibet culture and beautiful landscape of our holy land, but also to build reliable friendships with friends from around the world. In the past years, we have managed to help thousands of friends to realize their Tibet dream tours. We shared our knowledge of local culture and nature with our customers. As return, they shared their wonderful stories and experiences in Tibet with us. That’s why we create this Community - let us know each more and have more fun!

  • Customer Support for Tibet Travel
    Customers Photos

    Here are some photo galleries shared by our dear customers. You can find how they enjoyed their Tibet trips to the most popular destinations in Tibet – Lhasa, Everest, Namtso, Gyantse, Mount Kailash, etc.

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  • Customer Support for Tibet Travel
    Trip Stories

    Here are some trip stories shared by our nice customers. You will get to know their real feelings and opinions in their Tibet trips. You can also get inspirations on how to plan your own Tibet itinerary.

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  • Customer Support for Tibet Travel
    Meeting Us

    It is our pleasure to introduce our Tibet Discovery Team to you - Sales Department, Tour Guides, Vehicles & Drivers Team, Tour Operators, Marketing Department, etc. Come to meet us in Lhasa and Chengdu.

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