How to Travel to Tibet from Italy
Now It’s much easier than before to go to Tibet from European countries such as Italy. First you need to apply for a tourist visa from the Chinese embassy in your country (if it’s not a “L” tourist visa, you need to provide relevant certificates and ask our professional travel consultant for instructions). With the proper visa and your Tibet travel permit, you can fly from Bangkok or any other big city to Beijing, Shanghai or Chengdu. After getting your Tibet Permit, you can then take a flight or a train to Lhasa. Another option is to fly to Nepal and then go to Tibet from Nepal. In this case, you need to apply for a Chinese group travel visa at the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Tibet permit is also needed. You can also fly directly from Kathmandu to Lhasa or take a van from Kathmandu to Lhasa via the Gyirong port. As an experienced Tibetan travel agency, we are dedicated to provide you with a variety of Tibetan trips. Here are the traffic tips from Italy to Lhasa:
How to travel from Italy to Tibet? Traffic tips from Italy to Tibet:
1. Fly to mainland China first, and then take a plane or a train to Lhasa
2. Fly to Nepal via Hon Kong and then take a flight or a van from Kathmandu to Lhasa.
There are 2 or 3 flights from Rome/Milan, Italy mainland to China/Nepal.
Way 1 to enter Tibet: Italy -- Beijing / Shanghai/Guangzhou -- Lhasa
There are many direct flights From Rome or Milan to Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou. There are several different airlines, so please pick a departure airport which is more convenient for you. If you’re going to fly from Rome or Milan to Beijing, the least expensive airlines is Air China CA940(21:15-13:10). It costs about $1000 and it takes about 9-10 hours. When arriving in Beijing, you can take either a plane or a train to Tibet:
1. Flight from Beijing to Lhasa
There are three flights from Beijing to Lhasa every day. They all take off from Beijing Capital International Airport T3. Their departure time are 07:35, 08:15 and 14:50. The price of a single trip ticket is $480. Adding the $10 airport construction fee and fuel cost, the total fare is $490. There is barely any discount throughout the year. Please click here for more information on Beijing-Lhasa flights.
2. Train from Beijing to Lhasa
The train from Beijing to Lhasa runs once a day. Train Z21 (20:00-12:40) arrives in 40 hours and 40 minutes. Since the soft sleeper has only one compartment of 36 beds, the train from Beijing to Lhasa during the tourist season is very difficult to book, especially during the busy season. The price of a train soft sleeper from Beijing to Lhasa is around $170. Please click for more Beijing-Lhasa train information.
If you are flying from Rome or Milan to Shanghai, it takes about 10 to 12 hours and the cost is about $1100. When arriving in Shanghai, you can take a plane or a train to Tibet:
1. Flight from Shanghai to Lhasa
The plane from Shanghai to Lhasa only has two shifts a day. The morning shift Tibet Airlines TV9882 (16:45-23:25) takes off from Pudong Airport T1. And the afternoon shift Tibet Airlines TV9882 (16:45-23:25) departs from Hongqiao Airport T2. The one-way ticket price is $490, Plus the airport construction fee and fuel fee is $10, it’s $500 in total. For more information, please check the Shanghai-Lhasa flights.
2. Train from Shanghai to Lhasa
The train from Shanghai to Lhasa runs once a day. Train Z164 （20:10-19:30） arrives in 47 hours and 20 minutes. The price of a train soft sleeper from Shanghai to Lhasa is around $190. It is also very difficult to book the train from Beijing to Lhasa during the busy season. Please click here to view more Shanghai-Lhasa train information.
Way 2 to enter Tibet: Italy -- Hong Kong – Mainland cities -- Lhasa
The best way to Tibet from Italy is to fly from Rome to and then transfer from Hong Kong to mainland China. No visa is required for Italian tourists to go to Hong Kong. The average cost of flying from Italy to Hongkong is about $1100 and it usually takes 12 hours. Cathay Pacific Airlines CX292 is one of the Least expensive airlines from Rome to Hong Kong. You are recommended to book tickets online ahead of your trip to have a better flight. A round flight trip from Hong Kong to Chengdu averagely costs about $500 per person and a single trip normally takes 3 hours.
Way 3 to enter Tibet：Italy – Kathmandu -- Lhasa
The cost of the flight from Milan to Kathmandu, Nepal varies from $400 to $500, and it takes 12 to 14 hours. It’s popular to travel from Nepal to Tibet. There is no train from Kathmandu to Tibet yet. However, the international tourists can take a van from Kathmandu to Tibet, where is close to the border of China and Nepal. And then fly or take our car to Tibet. Kathmandu is the only city that has the direct international flight to Lhasa, Tibet.
Flight from Kathmandu to Lhasa
Kathmandu is the only city that has the direct international flights to Lhasa. It costs about $275 and the 600-kilometer journey just takes one and a half hours. There are 2 shifts fly from Kathmandu to Lhasa everyday：CA408 (12：10-16：00) and 3U8720（11:30-15:10）.Both the flights can be checked and booked ahead of time online.
The road trip from Kathmandu to Lhasa:
Compared with flying, the road trip from Kathmandu to Lhasa is more favored by many tourists. Our staff will transfer you to Gyirong port (the Sino-Nepalese border). After you pass the customs, our Tibet tour guide will pick you up at the other side of Tibet. As the altitude increases, you will stay in Gyirong County to adapt to the environment, and gradually go east to visit Tinry, Everest Base Camp, Shigatse, and finally to Lhasa. This classic route has many stunning sceneries, Himalayas, magnificent Buddhist temples and sacred mountain lakes, as well as unlimited opportunities to meet local Tibetans to explore their exotic cultures and customs.
Tibet Permit Tips for Italians
1. From mainland China to Lhasa
Foreigners are required to present Tibet Permit and valid passports when boarding a plane or a train. Therefore, Italian tourists need to send us the valid passport and visa photocopy 30 days in advance of entering Tibet (if it is not an “L visa”, in addition to providing the passport and visa, a work certificate or invitation letter is also required). Under normal circumstances, the letter of entry can be processed 7-10 days in advance.
If you take the train into Tibet, we will send your scanned Tibet Permit copy to your mailbox. You can print it out and board the train with the photocopy.
If you fly into Tibet, we will send the original Tibet Permit to the domestic city where you are flying from and deliver it to you. The original Tibet Permit is required for flying to Tibet.
2. From Nepal to Tibet
A group tourist visa and a Tibet Permit are required if you are entering Tibet from Nepal. (If you enter Tibet from Nepal, regardless of whether you have applied for a Chinese visa before, it is regarded as invalid. You must apply for a group travel visa – a group visa to enter Tibet from Nepal.) Our travel agency can help you with the required documents.
So if you enter Tibet from Nepal, the foreigner only needs to provide a passport. Our company will help you get ready the Tibet Permit and the tourist invitation letter in advance and send it to our staff in Nepal. Once you arrive in Kathmandu, our staff will help you to get a tourist visa from the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu. Although it is called a "group visa”, you don't need to be a group to get it. The specific process is as follows：
Day 1: Arrival in Kathmandu, our staff collect your passport and help you fill out the application form.
Day 2: The staff will send the original passport and group visa back to you.
Day 3: Go to Tibet with Scanned Tibet Permit photocopy, group visa and original passport.
