Festivals of Bhutan

Better than expected. Loved it!

Bhutan is a unique country and Chencho, ably assisted byTandin and driver Captain John, was central to an excellent local team. He was enthusiastic, informative, cheerful and helpful and was a first class ambassador for his country and culture. Fortresses, temples and monasteries were fascinating however equally so were the delightful people, scenery, high passes and the iconic Tiger’s Nest. Accommodation was made by the staff, with Thimphu’s centrally located hotel being excellent, with the best hotel food. Paro’s hotel, with lovely staff, was too far out of town for me and limited local independent sightseeing. Pre and post Bhutan in Kathmandu, Sandar was an excellent leader, transport coordinator and guide, with the Ambassador Hotel being well located and excellent. Kathmandu guided tour was very good despite this being a long day, post a very early flight from Paro. The Drukair flights to Paro were very good however an important area for improvement is to arrange for the group Bhutan flight booking to enable individual online check in and seat selection on the favourable side of the plane for Himalayas views. With airport check in, one ends up with what seat is left, or in the case of the outbound flight, what’s right!

Kinzang was an excellent tour leader and along with our driver Ngawang made our trip very memorable. Kinzang was always informative and helpful, and Ngawang was an excellent and careful driver. Our highlights: 1. The Punakha festival, which was a wonderful colourful spectacle. However you will be sitting for several hours on the paved stone ground so bring a cushion or mat to sit on. 2. Our walk up to the Tigers Nest Monastry. A challenging but rewarding trip. Kinzang was excellent and thoughtful in setting a pace to suit us all. Bhutan is a beautiful country, with lovely friendly people.

Bhutan is very interesting and staggeringly beautiful. The Black Crane festival is great. The walk up to the Tigers' Nest Monastery is very hard but totally worth it. The Kichu resort and spa was disappointing. Hotels without a reliable electricity supply should have generators. It was much warmer than I was expecting, even in November I needed T shirts rather than warm clothes most of the time. Almost all the meals are hotel buffets aimed at visitors. It was great to have a meal in a local farmhouse and taste some local food. Most younger people speak very good English which makes life easy for British tourists. Go to the National Textile Museum in Thimpu, the skill in weaving and crafts is so impressive. The driver, Captain John, is one of the best drivers I have had in more than 20 Explore holidays.

An excellent trip with a great Bhutanese tour leader and driver. Such a beautiful and peaceful country and a big contrast to hectic, noisy and dirty Kathmandu. A fairly relaxed tour with highlights of the black crane festival, Tiger’s Nest monastery, Punakha and more. Generally good hotels except in Phobjika Valley, which had power cuts, cold rooms and poor food. Food in Bhutan was a bit monotonous- generally very similar buffets. Excellent guide and driver. Recommended.

I had a fantastic time on the Festivals of Bhutan trip! The programme was excellent - we saw so much and learnt so much, but there were only a couple of early mornings, so I wasn't too exhausted. Kinsang our guide was excellent too. He was very knowledgeable about his country and very helpful too. He organised a wonderful stone bath experience for some of us, and made sure that we all got to see what we wanted to see in Thimpu. Bhutan is a beautiful country and the people are delightful, and English is fairly widely spoken. We saw so many photogenic places that I took hundreds of photos, and the weather was bright and sunny every day - although it was chilly at altitude. The food was a little repetitive - buffets with the same dishes for most meals and it was all rather bland. I don't think they know how to cook without chilli! The hotels were mainly very good, but the one in Phobjikha was pretty poor - freezing cold with multiple long-lasting power cuts and terrible food ... chilli chips and cold toast for breakfast. All in all, I would throoughly recommend this trip to Bhutan - the climb to the Tiger's Nest is exhilarating, and I felt very privileged to witness the Festival of the Black Necked Crane.