Tibet Travel Tips & FAQs

There is one international flight to Lhasa from Kathmandu while there are many domestic flights connecting with Tibet from major cities of China like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xian, Shangri La and so on.
And if you are interested in taking the Qinghai-Tibet Train, you can take trains from Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Xian, Lanzhou, Chongqing and Xining to Lhasa. For the few soft-sleeper and long journey, you can take flight to Xining, then take train from Xining to Lhasa.

For clothing, casual and long-sleeved clothes are enough, but if you want to remote areas like the Everest Camp or further to Mt.Kailash, down coat is a must. For the strong solar radiation in Tibet, sunscreen with high SPF, sunglasses and noisture scream are necessary to prevent you get sunburnt.

Chinese Yuan ( RMB or CNY)is the currency using in Tibet now. Besides it, US dollars can be accepted too. But you'd better exchange your money to Chinese currency.
Credit cards can only be accepted by the Bank of China, up-market and large shopping department in Lhasa and Shigatse.

You can withdraw cash from the Bank of China ATM which are available in Lhasa, Shigatse and Tsedang. But in rural areas, there will be no ATMs at all. You are suggested bring some cash with you when you come to Tibet.

Don't take photos of Tibetan people without permission. You'd better ask for permission before taking pictures.
Don't enter a monastery without permission. Don't smoke in monasteries. Don't touch Buddha statues, religious objects or prayer flags.
Don't step on the threshold when entering a tent, house, or monastery.
Don't touch the head of a Tibetan. The head is considered as a sacred part of the body.
Don't drive away or hurt eagles. Eagles are considered holy birds in the hearts of Tibetan people.
Do not kiss or hug in public places, especially in monasteries!

Since 2008, independent tour has been prohibited in Tibet. so all the foreign travellers should take part in an organized tour group or come under the arragement of local tour agency.

Four permits:

Tibet Tourism Bureau Permit - "TTB permit", "Tibet Entry Permit", "Tibet Visa" or "Lhasa Visa"; a must-have permission for foreign tourists entering Tibet from mainland China, Nepal or other countries.

Aliens' Travel Permit - "PSB permit"; a must permit for foreign tourists visiting the "unopened areas" out of Lhasa, such as Nyingchi region, Ngari region. Your passport and TTB permit are required for applying for.

Military Permit - a permit for those who are planning to travel the military sensitive areas in Tibet, such as the border with other countries. Traveling together with TTB permit and PSB permit.

Frontier Pass - the official permit for all travelers from home and aboard, who travel to the border between Tibet with other regions or countries.

Two visas:

Chinese Visa - "China Visa" or "China Entry Visa"; an officially approved document to foreign tourists applying for, to enter, leave or transit through mainland China.

Group Visa - a "must" for tourists entering Tibet from Kathmandu, Nepal, no mater whether you already have a Chinese Visa or not. Traveling together with other Tibet Travel Permits.

Because Tibet Tourism Bureau does not accept individual applications for permits, visitors must entrust a Tibet local travel agency to apply for TTB permit, Frontier Pass and Military Permit. As a local travel agency, we can do for you. You need to contact us at contact@tour-tibet.com, book our service, tell us your detailed personal information, send us the documents: copy of your passport, copy of your China visa and work/ study certificates. Then we send your permits to your places.

Aliens' Travel Permit can be applied for after your arrival from Public Security Bureau in Tibet. But we suggest that you entrust us to apply for you, because it is much easy via our service.

Group Visa must be applied for at Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal. You need get TTB permit and Invitation Letter from Tibet local travel agency, and they entrust Nepal local travel agency to apply for Group Visa.

Usually, it can be issued in 3 - 5 working days. But if you want to travel some restricted or unopened areas like Everest Base Camp, Mount Kailash, it need several different permits, then it would take more time. If you need our service, please contact us at least 25 days prior to your Tibet tour starting.

TTB Permit is free for foreign tourists. But you need to pay $100 to $200 per person for the application service of travel agency. For us, we spend a lot on human resource to handle the application: such as sorting out travel information, preparing paper and electronic documents, dealing with several government departments, delivering the document to tourists, etc.
Alien's Travel Permit: 50 yuan per person
Military Permit: 100 yuan person
Frontier Pass: 50 yuan per person
Group Visa: different price for foreign tourists from different countries.

Trains to Tibet are few but popular. According to our past experience, you'd better book ticket 3 or 6 months before your date to leave.

Because you need to fill in a health form before depart and it will take mang time to wait for the line. So you'd better arrive at the train station 2 hours in advance before your departure time.

There are three types of seats on the train: hard seat, hard sleeper, soft sleeper. Hard seat is less expensive for it is just a metal seat and you need to sit at it during your long trip to Lhasa. Hard sleeper is better than hard seat for you can sleep when you are tired. There are 6 berths in a cabin. Soft sleeper is the most comfortable and most expensive for the privacy and the soft beds.

Yes, there is water boiler in each car and the boiled water are free for you to take. But cups are not available, so you need to take one cup to have it.

Yes, there is hot water for passengers to clean and wash at the sink area. you can use them for free.

Yes, there are tow electric outlets in each car. You can charge your cell phone, camera or computer. But they may be not enough for all passengers to use, so you'd better save the electric.

Actually, taking a train to Tibet has already released some risk to suffer the high altitude sickness. But is is possible to be sick and breathless. There are two kinds of oxygen system on the train. If you feel sick, you can either use the individual oxygen port or call the attendants to help you.

Yes, There is a dining car on each Tibet train where you will get meals to eat. For breakfast, you can have pickles, cakes, eggs, bread and milk. For breakfast and dinner, you can have only Chinese or Western style dishes. Each dish will cost about 25 RMB.

It will take only about 20 minutes to get to the downtown Lhasa from Lhasa Train Station.

No, there is only one international flight to Tibet grom Nepal. You need to fly to the major cities in China, then get your Tibet Travel Permit and fly to Tibet.

During the Tibet travel low season, the tickets will be less expensive which is from November to March.

In Tibet, there are 5 airports: Lhasa Gonga Airport, Chamdo Bangda Airport, Linzhi (Nyintri) Airport, Shigatse Airport and Ali Airport. Chamdo and Linzhi Airport only manage flights between Chengdu while Shigatse and Ali Airports only manage flights between Lhasa. It is possible you can fly from Chengdu to other parts in Tibet.

Yes, many airline companies offer discounted airfare for infants and children. Children between 2 to 12 will enjoy the children's tickets which are 50% of the full price while infants under 2 years old will take the infants' tickets which are 10% of the full price but without separate seat.

Passengers hold the first class ticket can take luggage of 40 kg; passengers hold business class tickets can take luggage of 30 kg; passengers hold economy class can take luggage of 20 kg; Passengers traveling with infants are allowed to check an additional 10kg.

Passengers hold first class tickets can take two pieces of carry-on luggage; passengers hold business and economy class can take one piece of carry-on luggage. The maximum carry-on baggage allowance is 5kg.

The methods and rates are different to each airline companies which you should pay attention to.

Most of the Chinese airlines stop the check-in procedures 30 minutes or even one hour before the departure time? so, you should get to the airport at least 1.5 hour in advance.

The Lhasa airport is 68 km from Lhasa which will take about one and a half hour drive to the Lhasa city.

Headache
Dizziness or light-headedness
Shortness of breath with exertion
Loss of appetite
Nausea or vomiting
Fatigue
Rapid pulse (heart rate)
Poor sleeping

Before you go to Tibet, try to get as fit and healthy as possible both physically and psychologically. And get a medical examination if you've never been to plateaus. Don't get sick, especially catch cold or respiratory problems.
After entering Tibet, you should avoid brisk walking or running immediately or carry heavy things. During the first 24 hours, do not do strenuous activities, but light activities are better for your remission from Altitude Sickness. About diet, drink plenty of water and try to eat high-carbohydrate food. If your symptoms are just mild and you can handle it, it is better not to take oxygen. The most important things is take it easy, go to higher altitude place gradually, breathe deeply and take more rest than usual.

Visitors who have already caught a cold, have severe anemia, high blood pressure, severe heart disease, woman with an adavanced pregnancy and children under three years old ahould avoid go to high altitude places.

If you get altitude sickness, you should get enough rest and to climb down to a lower altitude place as quickly and safely as possible. If necessary, extra oxygen should be taken. And if you don't get any better or get worse after 3 to 4 hours, you need to be taken to hospital as soon as possible.

Medications you may need include: cold and flu tablets, throat lozenges, nasal decongestants, and Aspirin.

For most tourists when they first go to the high plateau, experiencing AMS is very common. The symptoms vary based on your own health condition.

Because all of our tours are customizable, you can travel with us on any date you wish ( depending on flights ).
The itineraries provided on our website are only sample, and you can change any destinations to suit your tastes and budget. Your travel consultant will provide advice and answer your questions.

Once you are satisfied with all the arrangements and your tour is confirmed, you need to pay a deposit of 20% of the total cost of your trip, via PayPal, Credit Card, Western Union, Wire Transfer.
When starting your tour, you need to finish the final payment and then start your dream Tibet tour with us!

Yes ! We welcome our clients to come to our company and speak with our travel consultant face to face. And then customize your Tibet tour together with you.

No. Our tailor-made trips are arranged on an individual basis, which mean you are not tied to the wishes of a group and you can arrange your itinerary at your own pace.
If you are interested in a Group Tour, we do offer a arranged tour in a small group of up to 16 people.

No. When you plan to tour Tibet, you firstly need to apply for the Tibet Travel Permits, which must be entrusted to a local travel agency for application from Tibet Tourist Bureau.

Yes ! If you want to cancel your tailor-made tour due to some factors, you can. But you will be liable to pay cancellation charges that are bounded by Tour Tibet cancellation policy. Please read more about Terms and Conditions.