Pricing a private holiday is not the same as pricing a fixed "join a group" trip.
For your chosen Nepal or Bhutan Holiday Programme we will provide you with an up to date quote based specifically on your own private party and the exact customised itinerary you choose.
For each and every itinerary displayed on our website we provide a guide line price* along with what that price includes.
Various factors will determine the actual cost of your holiday.
Pricing for Bhutan is not the same as Nepal as Bhutan imposes an additional Sustainable Development Fee of $US200 per person, per night - see further below for more.
All prices displayed are PER PERSON. The prices displayed on our website were calculated on 19/02/19 and based on a private party of Four Persons travelling together in low season on a twin share rooming basis.
We elected to display prices for a private party of four persons as that is our average private party size based on historical bookings to date.
*Pricing is shown as $US Dollars. Both £GBP Sterling UK and €Euro's are solely for ease of reference purposes only. All payments made to us will be in $US only. We used the conversion rates from www.xe.com on 19/02/19 (£GBP 1 = $US 1.30, €EUR1 = $US 1.13). So, please use the prices we have displayed purely for guide lines purposes only as there are various factors (even if you choose an itinerary exactly as it is published) that can affect the actual price for your own private party's holiday. It's actually very rare that a party books a holiday itinerary precisely as published, because we tailor make holiday itineraries precisely to each individual party requirements. It may be that additional excursions and days are added, or removed, accommodation upgraded or downgraded, the size of the party is different, use of overland travel instead of internal flights, a different included meals requirement etc etc etc.
Of course the itinerary you decide upon and all it contains itself is what really creates the TOTAL cost of your holiday, but the cost per person will vary dependent upon the number of people travelling in your party. So, an identical holiday for one person costs much more per person than it would if there were twelve people all travelling together. This is because some substantial costs are 'shared' .
To help you with your budget expectations here are two examples as published on our website
The classic trek up to Everest Base Camp and back from Lukla
Includes: Snow Cat Travel Guide on trek, Porterage on trek, 2 nights in a 3* Kathmandu Hotel (twin share with breakfast), All meals on trek, 13 nights accommodation in trekking lodges (private twin share rooms), Sagarmatha National Park Fees, Trekking Permit, T.I.M.S. Registration, All airport transfers, Kathmandu-Lukla-Kathmandu Flights
For One Person $US 2410 per person
For Two People $US 1755 per person
For Four People $US 1625 per person
For Six People $US 1585 per person
For Eight People $US 1525 per person
For Ten People $US 1515 per person
For Twelve People $US 1485 per person
Lowest season rates
An overland private vehicle cultural tour - Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Nuwakot, Bandipur, Pokhara, Chitwan
Includes: Various guides, all overland travel in a private vehicle, most meals, all National Park and entry fees, all accommodation (quality hotels and rural inns, twin share), all airport transfers
For One Person $US 2185 per person
For Two People $US 1280 per person
For Four People $US 1175 per person
For Six People $US 1095 per person
For Eight People $US 1030 per person
For Ten People $US 1025 per person
For Twelve People $US 995 per person
Lowest season rates
Here are some other things we thought might be useful to you when considering the costs of a Custom Made Trip
Perhaps just like in your own country everything in your capital city seems to cost more than elsewhere. In our capital city, Kathmandu, it's just the same. In some ways it's difficult to avoid time in Kathmandu, and certainly if it's your first visit to Nepal then quite probably you'll want to have a day or two in Kathmandu. But, generally speaking the more days you spend in Kathmandu the more this affects the over all cost of your holidays. A very rough example being that one night in a luxury Kathmandu Hotel can cost the same as 5-6 days trekking (inc. all the trekking costs-accommodation, meals, guide, porters). To a slightly lesser degree the same principle applies to the Pokhara area and Chitwan too.
The level of accommodation
The costs of accommodation play a hugely significant role in the overall cost of your holiday. Particularly in Nepal. Whilst accommodation in Nepal is most likely cheaper than that of a similar standard in your own country, it is still by and large the biggest part of the total holiday cost. That doesn't mean that we're suggesting you need to worry about 'slumming it'. The cost of some five star hotels in Nepal is quite possibly the same as the cost of a three star hotel in the UK. But clearly it's advisable to also be realistic and not dream about a total luxury holiday in Nepal if your bank is telling you to go easy. Needless to say though, that in Nepal deluxe hotels are not everywhere either. It's really only the main urban and tourist areas where you'll find luxury levels of accommodation. Of course in the Everest and Annapurna regions of Nepal there are luxury trekking lodges . These are naturally and considerably more expensive than the teahouse/standard trekking lodges. Certainly we hope that when helping to plan your holiday we'll be able to talk with one another and by doing so we'll be able to manage your expectations much better and needless to say advise you as best we can. Certainly (dependent upon the itinerary itself) we can always give you costs upon request using various levels of accommodation where there are options.
Just like most tourist destinations there are peak and low seasons. Our main season is October - April, and October/November and March/April tend to be the busiest months and are considered peak season. It is perhaps the cost of your international flights to and from Nepal that are affected most by your travel dates and usually significantly much more than the effect on the cost of your holiday in Nepal itself. In Kathmandu particularly, prices are about the same all year round. But, elsewhere in Nepal accommodation rates during the monsoon are often a little lower.
Generally throughout our published, suggested itineraries (for Nepal) we include all meals on trek (or other activities in the mountains) and at other locations too, with the exception of when in Kathmandu and Pokhara. We find that this is helpful to our clients when considering their over all holiday budget. Indeed, in many locations there aren't any other options or they are very limited. By including meals in these places saves you the problem of carrying large amounts of cash to pay for meals as you go, or even worse running out of cash when the nearest bank of ATM could be many days away. It is of course entirely up to you, your holiday will be tailor-made to suit your wishes and along with that we can include/exclude meals too. As there is such a range of eating out options in Kathmandu & Pokhara that can invariably satisfy most tastes and budgets, we tend to include breakfast only here. Most restaurants in Kathmandu & Pokhara can accept card payments, and as there are many ATM's & Banks in both cities you can always take out what you'll need in these locations too. Again, it's up to you. If you prefer to have meals in Kathmandu and Pokhara included, that's OK too. In Bhutan, meals have to be included as part of the daily minimum tariff- See Bhutan below
We fully realise that Bhutan holidays are considerably more costly than Nepal holidays in comparison. If you're not already conversant with why this is, basically it's due to the SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FEE that ALL tourists visiting Bhutan must pay.
The SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FEE is $US 200 per person, per night.
On top of this fee are all the usual holiday costs e.g. accommodation, meals, transport, guide and other services etc.
Quite simply those are the rules imposed and regulated by the Govt of Bhutan.
For more read our Bhutan Tourist Charges Explained and Why is a Visit to Bhutan So Expensive articles.
Whether you're a first time visitor or a regular, our handy and illustrated travel guides showcase the beauty and wonders of Nepal and Bhutan, as well as containing lots of useful information too.