Free to roam?

I%26#39;m heading to Bhutan in october.

My friend and I have a guide and tour all set. I%26#39;m wondering how free we will be to roam around without our guide? I understand you can%26#39;t travel from town to town alone but once you are in a location, does the guide stay by your side or can you just have a day where you freely roam Paro or Thimphu on your own? Sometimes its just nice to get lost and roam where ever you want without a guide.

thanks,

Dion

Free to roam?

You are absolutely free to roam. A couple of times at our request our guides left us for a few hours to explore.

Paro will take about 20 minutes to explore on your own, Thimphu significantly longer. Realistically they don%26#39;t want to hang out with you when you%26#39;re checking our souvenir shops or doing internet stuff - and in fact at most meals they won%26#39;t join you unless you ask (and the restuarant/hotel allows).

At most sites, however, you%26#39;ll need your guide with you to gain entrance. (Any religious/administrative buildings, for instance).

Free to roam?

Hi Dion,

Yes, you can walk around wherever you want, taking small walks, doing your shopping, going to an internet-cafe, etc. You usually get some free time too, to absorb the surroundings alone.

In Phbojikha I took walks alone in the early morning and had some nice contacts with kids just going to school.I visited them last time, also alone when we came to the same place, again.

Your guide probably wants to have some free time too.

Enjoy your trip!

We have just returned from Bhutan. I would concur with the other posts. Without a guide it would be difficult (maybe impossible) to get into the Dzongs etc. However when you do enter they really only act as a tour guide providing information, answering questions and ensuring that visitors understand the relgious do%26#39;s and dont%26#39;s. A number of Dzongs act as administrative/government officies and as in any part of the world tourists would not be welcomed.

Without your guide and driver it would be impossible to get from one sight to another.

We wondered around Thimpu on our own for an afternoon.At night as we are older there was not much we felt we wanted to wander to other than local bars/other hotels.However you can wander at any time and are not %26#39;controlled%26#39; where you go or what you can see.It was quite strange as we almost felt %26#39;invisible%26#39; as we were never approached by touts/hawkers/beggers etc but were engaged in polite conversation by shopkeepers only when we entered the shops and by others when we invited contact. We felt safe and comfortable at all times. Given the lack of %26#39;real%26#39; tourist infastructure there is not at lot of roaming you can do. We roamed in Tronga (not much to see) and around the little town near Wangdu. We also went to an archery contest where we chatted to other onlookers and supporters. Paro has only two/three streets but is fine for walking around and looking into shops etc.

You must ask your guide to take you restaurants outside of the hotels (in Thimpu/Paro and elsewhere they do exist)as the hotel buffets are not so hot, at least in our experience.

If you want anything more specific please get in touch.