How to Travel to Tibet from the USA
It is very easy to enter Tibet from US, all you need is to fly from US to either one of the major cities such as: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, etc. And then as you attained the “Tibet Permit”, you may enter Lhasa by either Tibet train or domestic flight. There is another choice, thus Nepal is geographically near to Tibet, you may consider this route if you hold the “Tibet Travel Permit” and “Group Tourist Visa”. You may take the direct flight from Katmandu to Lhasa or may even enter by overland road trip. As a senior Tibetan travel agency, our service covers China, Tibet and Nepal. The following is the travel strategies from US to Lhasa.
How to enter Tibet from the US?
1. You may fly to mainland China first, and then take flight or Tibet train to Lhasa.
2. You may land Nepal, and then choose the direct flight from Katmandu to Lhasa or by overland road trip.
There are several flight to enter mainland China and Nepal, from different airport of four time zones.
Pacific Ocean: Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles
Mountain Region: Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City
Center: Dallas, Michigan, Chicago, Mississippi
East: New York, New Jersey, Miami, Tampa, Washington DC, Philadelphia
Way to Tibet 1: US – Beijing/Shanghai - Lhasa
There are many flights with different airline to enter Beijing and Shanghai. Therefore, you may choose a most suitable departure airport accordingly.
1. Beijing – Lhasa on air
There are three flights per day from Beijing to Lhasa, departure from Beijing International Airport T3, and the departure times are: 07:35am, 08:15am, and 2:50pm. The ticket might be expensive, the one-way ticket cost RMB 3, 260.00, plus airport construction fee and fuel charge, the whole price shall be up to RMB 3, 320.00, annual discount is very few. Click for more flight information.
2. Beijing – Lhasa by train
There is only one train per day to Lhasa, Z21 (20:00 – 12:40) takes 40 hours and 40 minutes to enter. Since there is only one carriage for soft berth, with 36 beds, it’s very hard to order during the tourist season, especially peak season. The train ticket costs about RMB 1, 200.00. Click for more information.
If choosing a flight to Shanghai, may cost 17 to 23 flight hours, and it cost about USD 1, 200.00. After arriving Shanghai, may choose to take flight or by train to enter Tibet.
1. Shanghai – Lhasa on air
There are two flights per day to Lhasa, early flight (MU2335 06:45 – 14:40) departure from Pudong Airport T1, the late flight (TV9882 16: 45 – 23:25) departure from Hongqiao Airport T2. Each one-way ticket costs RMB 3, 360.00, plus airport construction fee and fuel charge RMB 60.00, the total price is RMB 3,420.00/person. For more information, please check Shanghai – Lhasa flight.
2. Shanghai – Lhasa by train
There is one train per day from Shanghai to Lhasa, Z164 (20:10 – 19:30), takes 47 hours and 20 minutes. The soft berth price is about RMB 1.300.00, thus there is only one train per day, it is very hard to get the ticket during peak season, confirm with your travel consultant in advance is highly recommended. Click for more information about the ticket information.
Way to Tibet 2: US – Hong Kong - Lhasa
One of the best routes from US – Lhasa is to transit through Hong Kong. As there is no limit for travel in Hong Kong, the US tourist may fly to Hong Kong without visa. The best suggestion is to order tickets online, to arrange the most suitable flight. It may take about 15 hours from Los Angeles to Hong Kong. For the flight from Hong Kong to Chengdu, the average return tickets cost USD 590.00 – 700.00 per person, tax included. The whole travel schedule might be different due to your departure place and transit time, but the average time is between 17 – 20 hours.
Relate to Beijing / Shanghai, the problem to enter from Hong Kong is even you arrived in Hong Kong, you may still transit from other cities of mainland China to reach Lhasa. Currently, there are many options as the transit city such as: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Xian, Kunming, Xiamen, etc. For more way to enter Tibet from Hong Kong, please check the relevant information.
Way to Tibet 3: US – Katmandu - Lhasa
From US to Katmandu, Nepal, the flight fee is between USD 1,200.00 – 1,400.00, takes 22 – 26 hours, the actual condition depends on departure place. Enter from Nepal is another popular choice. So far, there is no any train to enter Lhasa from Katmandu. Yet, you still can enter Tibet via overland road trip, which is Nepal border, which can be another good choice for international tourists. Lastly, you may even fly to Lhasa directly from Katmandu.
The highway from Katmandu to Lhasa
Compare with flight, overland road trip is more popular. Our co-worker shall assist you reach to Gyirong Port, which now is considered the border between China and Nepal. Once you go through the customs, our Tibetan tour guide shall pick you on the other side. You may stay in Gyirong country for a while to suite the environment due to the promote of altitude, and eventually visit the eastern side such as: tiny, EBC and Shigatse, finally reach to Lhasa. This classical tour route contained a lot of amazing scenery, a Himalayan peak, magnificent Buddhist temples, and sacred mountain lakes, plus unlimited opportunities to visit local Tibetan people, explore their exotic culture and customs.
Apply Tibet Travel Permit for US travellers
1. From mainland China to Lhasa
"Tibet Travel Permit” and valid passport are requested while travel from mainland China to Lhasa. Therefore, need to submit a scanned file of valid passport and visa 30 days in advance (For none “L visa”, besides passport and visa, still quest to provide a working certificate or invitation letter). Generally, “Tibet Travel Permit” can be applied 7 – 10 days in advance.
2. From Nepal to Lhasa
Tibet tour permit and group tourist visa are requested if entered via Nepal (if entered via Nepal, regardless Chinese visa, group tourist visa is the unique way to enter Lhasa), our travel agency can assist you to apply the requested permit. Therefore, if entered via Nepal, all the foreigners only need to prepare passport, we shall arrange “Tibet Travel Permit” and “Travel invitation” (requested by Tourist Administration, used for getting the group tourist visa) in advance, and send to our Nepalese co-workers. Once you landed Katmandu, our co-worker shall assist you to attain the Group Tourist Visa. It was even called “Group” Visa, you actually no need to wait till a team to be formed.
The details are as follows:
Day 1: Arrived Katmandu, our co-worker collects your passport and assist you to fill in the application form.
Day 2: Co-worker shall return the passport and bring the “Group Tourist Visa” back to your hotel.
Day 3: With the scanned file of “Tibet Travel Permit”, “Group Tourist Visa” and the original passport, you may ahead for
