Trip report ----Tour company and guide

Just got back from 13 days in Bhutan. We used Nirvana Expeditions. Dechen and Sonam are wife and husband owners. They lived for several years in the US, so they understand our mentality/personality. I dealt with Dechen via email for almost a year, and she made it easy to plan the trip. The trip was wonderful, no problems at all. Our guide was Tenzin aka Thunder. Driver was Namgey (the younger....they also have a Namgey the older). Tenzin took care of every need, and then some. He found good food (outside of hotel buffets) and when the planned for festival didn%26#39;t happen as planned, he found another one for us. I had asked Dechen if I could get a special blessing due to health reasons, and although she got the ball rolling, Tenzin made it happen. More on that later.

So, if anyone needs a superb tour agency, use Nirvana. They also have handled Robert Kennedy, Christie Brinkley, Micheal Dell (Dell computers, and the wealth Texas oil guy, along with us regular folks. Dechen met us with both first and last nights. The guide was in touch with her or Sonam almost daily.

I%26#39;ll be writing other posts about hotels, food, and experiences.

Trip report ----Tour company and guide

This isn%26#39;t your first trip with them is it? I think you mentioned that you%26#39;ve used them before too.

Trip report ----Tour company and guide

No, we have never been to Bhutan before this trip.

Bhutantraveller is the poster who has been there several times with Nirvana.

Ah. Ok, I got confused. I booked with them too so hopefully I%26#39;ll have as good as experience as you two did.

Hi,

My husband and I (both middle-aged+) are planning a custom journey to Bhutan in October, 2009. We have only contacted two American companies (one in Colorado!) but are reading a lot on TA about using a local company. You seemed to love Nirvana. USA companies say we need to use them because if something happens to our health....or if they have cars that aren%26#39;t safe (dangerous roads!) or guides who have ';iffy'; English...etc. etc. We want a great trip and know it will cost us some but aren%26#39;t willing or able to pay Michael Dell%26#39;s prices!! Don%26#39;t like the government standard hotels and want to go off the beaten track as well. Can Nirvana help us REALLY customize the trip or is it a pretty stock itinerary they use? Any thoughts, guidance, tips are MOST appreciated.

Yes, Nirvana can do whatever you want. Be as specific with them as you can, so they can do exactly what you want. And while you are there, you can also ask for anything you might think of, as long as it really deosn%26#39;t involve hotel changes (during high season that is).

As far as hotels-----if you want to pay the big bucks then you will get the luxury hotels. If not, then you will have the standard hotels.

A tip about tsechus (festivals)----there are several big, touristy ones, which are probably more beautiful and professional than the little one we went to, and the dates are pretty much guaranteed for the big ones. But Dechen told us that the tourists sometimes almost outnumber locals, and rooms and restaurants are packed.

So it is important to decide which type of experience you are looking for.

Regarding safety----like I said, Nirvana uses only newer Toyota SUV%26#39;s. The guide was in constant contact with Sonam or Dechen, who are totally fluent in English and lived for several years in the US, getting advanced degrees. Dechen will be coming back to US soon to get Ph.D in public health. So, if there were any emergency, I am SURE they could figure out what to do. But, I do advise getting trip insurance with the medical evac coverage in casee you would need to be evacuated out.

My husband actually slipped in one of the bathrooms and cracked 3 ribs (which we didn%26#39;t find out until we got back to US) but the guide was constantly checking with him to see if he needed any medical attention.