Tour companies

Hello,

We are planning a fall 2009 trip to Bhutan and haven%26#39;t yet zeroed in on a company to use. We prefer to use a local (US) company since they are easier to speak with on the phone as we have a few questions. Anyway, we would like to know if anyone has used or is familiar with either Mountain Travel Sobek, Far Fung Places, or Bhutan Travel???

Thanks

Tour companies

Hello,

You can ask as many questions as you wish by mail too.All local agency%26#39;s are connected by mail and will answer you. This way too you can see how patient they are with you.

Try to see what%26#39;s the difference in price, as anyhow the U.S. company has to work with a Bhutan agent, and so you pay for two organising your trip. Many will give you the discount for dealing with them directly.

Enjoy your planning, its part of the fun.

Tour companies

We thought about using FF Places, but it was so much more expensive than the local Bhutanese agencies. I spent a year planning my upcoming March trip, so I didn%26#39;t take it lightly. We are using Nirvana. I have been dealing with them via e-mail for a year, and all inquiries are answered within a day. I asked Dechen so many questions that she probably thought I was crazy. They helped us plan a custom tour for the 2 of us. Check to see if FF Places charges even more than packaged trip to do custom trip, if that is your plan. Yes, we are paying the supplement for not being in a group, but that is policy of gov. Nirvana didn%26#39;t charge us to plan or set up the custom trip. Big US companies might charge a fee to do that.

Dechen at Nirvana lived in the US and her English is perfect.

I can%26#39;t speak for other Bhutanese agencies, but dealing with Nirvana has been no different, and probably better than going with US agencies .....for us the extra $$ just wasn%26#39;t worth it nor needed.

But have fun with whoever you choose!

I%26#39;ll write a report when we get back in late March.

Jeanie

Hi, I%26#39;m also dealing with Nirvana for a 2 person trip in April. Their prices are reasonable and they turn around emails very quickly. You could also call long distance but I would safely say that most, if not, all possible questions can be handled via email.

I just returned from a 7 day trip to Bhutan. One observation for you--a US tour operator will have to in the end connect you to a Bhutanese operator, and also will be tacking on money for being the middle-man. It is cheaper and safe to go with a Bhutanese company. They speak good English and are very honest. I used All Access Bhutan and they were great. I met a lot of Americans there who all had very positive experiences with all of the companies.

Just left Bhutan yesterday. Used Nirvana. They are able to do anything....literally. Just had last night dinner with Dechen (co-owner) and she had fabulous info about the tour they were in the middle of, for a wealthy Texas oil guy...Nirvana provided him and his family with the most incredible trip I have heard of. The beauty of Nirvana is that they also provided little old me, with no wealth, with the trip of MY lifetime! I can%26#39;t stress enough how good they (Sonam and Dechen) are.

I will write more details later, when I get back to USA.

Hi JeanieT,

Good to hear you enjoyed Bhutan. I remember some of your specific questions and hope you experienced what you wished. If you can, please share some with us. Thank you.

Jeanie T.

Glad things went well for you! We also had a delightful dinner with Dechen - a fascinating individual. Can%26#39;t wait to hear about your trip.

Hi,

I have used Mountain Travel once (Turkey) and thought they were excellent. I have been told that Geographic Expeditions was the first American company to make serious inroads into Bhutan and they have a fabulous (though pricey) reputation. I have also used Asia Transpacific Journey (3 times!) and love them. THey do a lot of custom journeys into Bhutan. Although I know USA companies will be much pricier, I have also been warned about using local companies in far-flung and remote places . The cars they use, the drivers, etc, might not just be up to par. I am also planning a trip to Bhutan and reading these forums to try to see what people say -- money is important (especially now!) but I also know it%26#39;s a once in a lifetime trip and I want to know that everything is perfect and someone is REALLY in charge. I%26#39;ll be interested in hearing about your research (I%26#39;m planning an October trip).

Good luck.

Definitely use a local tour operator!

For the most part, the larger agencies are very reliable - Blue Poppy, Nirvana, etc. You will read many good reviews and I%26#39;m sure you can deal with them with confidence.

In some cases I would feel using a North American agency might even build in an element of risk for you - as you will have little say when dealing directly with the people that will be providing the service to you.

While the process for booking and paying a local agency appears somewhat sketchy (i.e., wiring money off to some bank in central asia); it has been done thousands of times and the process is established, and secure.

Feel free to ask any of us any questions about the different agencies we%26#39;ve used.

ozcanuck