From Britain to Tibet, you may firstly hold a national passport and Chinese Visa (preferably “Tourist Visa” or “Type-L Visa”) fly to Beijing, and then take the train or flight to Lhasa via “Tibet Travel Permit”. Another option is landed in Nepal first, and then enter Tibet via Nepal. In such condition, you may apply for “Chinese Group Tourist Visa” from Chinese embassy were located at Katmandu, Nepal. Of course, “Tibet Travel Permit” is essential. As a senior Tibetan travel agency, we dedicate to provide you all sorts of Tibet travel service. The following is the travel strategies from Ireland to Lhasa, hopefully it would find you some help.
How to enter Tibet from Britain? Ways to enter Tibet from Britain:
1. You may firstly fly to the capital city Beijing, China, and then enters Lhasa by flight or train.
There are direct flight from London, Manchester to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Chengdu, the following are the relevant flight information:
London to Beijing, there are three flights per day:
British Airways BA039 (16:30 – 09:30), the flight time is approximately 10 hours, economy class of one way ticket starts with USD 850.00 per person
Air China CA938 (20:25 – 13:05), the flight time is approximately 10 hours, economy class one of one way ticket starts with USD 850.00 per person
Air China CA856 (22:40 – 15:25), the flight time is approximately 10 hours, economy class of one way ticket starts with USD 800.00 per person
London to Shanghai, there are three flights per day:
British Airways BA169 (13:40 – 07:55), the flight time is approximately 11.5 hours, economy class of one way ticket starts with USD 950.00 per person
Virgin Atlantic Airways BA039 (15:15 – 09:25), the flight time is approximately 11.5 hours, economy class of one way ticket starts with USD 700.00 per person
China Eastern Airlines MU552 (21:20 – 15:50), the flight time is approximately 11.5 hours, economy class of one way ticket starts with USD 950.00 per person
Every Monday, Thursday, Saturday, the British Airways BA161 (22:40 - 17.00), he flight time is approximately 11.5 hours, economy class of one way ticket starts with USD 950.00 per person
London to Guangzhou, one commercial flight a day, China Southern Airlines CZ304 (22:35 – 16:45), the flight time is approximately 11 hours, economy class of one way ticket starts with USD 550.00 per person
London to Chengdu, every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday, Air China CA424 (22:25 – 15:40), the flight time is approximately 10.5 hours, economy class of one way ticket starts with USD 800.00 per person
Manchester to Beijing, every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, Hainan Airlines HU7904 (12:15 – 05:25), the flight time is approximately 10.5 hours, economy class of one way ticket starts with USD 850.00 per person
Besides, you may choose to fly to China via Edinburgh, for more details please click for instant information.
2. You may land in Nepal, and then choose to enter Lhasa from Katmandu by flight or on overland road trip.
Unfortunately, there’s no direct flight from Ireland to Katmandu. If you have no plan to travel in Nepal, no need to take the way to enter Tibet via Nepal. But if you wish to take some time to travel in Nepal, entry from Nepal is a good choice.
Way to Tibet 1: Britain – Beijing / Shanghai / Guangzhou / Chengdu - Lhasa
If you choose to fly from Britain to Beijing first, may choose to enter Tibet by train or flight later.
1. Beijing – Lhasa by flight
There are three flights per day to fly from Beijing to Lhasa, depart from Beijing International Airport T3, departure times are: 07:35, 08:15 in the morning, and 02:50 in the afternoon; the economy class is relatively expensive, for one-way ticket it cost RMB 3, 260.00 per person, plus airport construction and fuel costs RMB 60.00, the full price is RMB 3, 320.00, annual discount is very few. Click for more Beijing to Lhasa flight information.
2. Beijing – Lhasa by train
There is one train from Beijing to Lhasa each day, Z21 (20.00 – 12:40), takes 40 hours and 40 minutes to arrive. Due to there is only one class with 36 soft berths, it’s very hard to order during tourist season, especially during peak periods (July, August, and September). The soft berth class train costs about RMB 1, 200.00 per person. Click for more train information.
1. Shanghai – Lhasa
There are two flights per day from Shanghai to Lhasa: Morning flight (MU2335, 06:45 – 14:40) depart from Pudong Airport T1, Afternoon flight (TV9882, 16:45 – 23:25) depart from Hongqiao Airport T2. For one-way ticket it cost RMB 3, 360.00 per person, plus airport construction and fuel costs RMB 60.00, the full price is RMB 3, 420.00. Click for more Shanghai to Lhasa flight information.
2. Shanghai – Lhasa by train
There is one train from Shanghai to Lhasa each day, Z164 (20.10 – 19:30), takes 47 hours and 20 minutes to arrive. The soft berth ticket is approximately RMB 1, 300.00. Due to there is only one class of soft berth, it’s very hard to order during tourist season, especially in the peak period. Recommend those who wish to take train to Tibet from Shanghai, to confirm with your travel consultant whether need to book train tickets from our agency in advance. Click for more train information from Shanghai to Lhasa.
If you choose to get to Guangzhou first, may choose a flight or train to Tibet:
1. Guangzhou – Lhasa by flight
There is only one flight from Guangzhou to Lhasa per day, depart from Guangzhou Baiyun Airport T2, departure time is 08:10 am, the arrival time is 14:05, the flight stopped in Chongqing the economy class is relatively expensive, for one-way ticket it costs RMB 2, 930.00 per person, plus airport construction and fuel costs RMB 60.00, the full price is RMB 2, 990.00. Click for more Guangzhou to Lhasa flight information.
2. Guangzhou – Lhasa by train
There is only one train from Guangzhou to Lhasa, Z264 (11:45 – 16:19) takes 52 hours and 34 minutes to arrive. During tourist season, it is also very hard to purchase train ticket, the soft berth price is about RMB 1, 500.00. Click for more train ticket from Guangzhou to Lhasa.
If you choose to arrive in Chengdu first, may choose to enter Tibet by flight or train.
1. Chengdu – Lhasa by flight
There are many choices from Chengdu to Lhasa, from the earliest MU5281 (05:40 – 10:15) to the last flight TV9848 (21:55 – 00:20), Saperately depart from T1 or T2 according to different airlines. The one-way ticket of economy class costs RMB 1, 790.00 per person, plus airport construction and fuel costs RMB 60.00, the full price is RMB 1, 85.00. Click for more Chengdu to Lhasa flight information.
2. Chengdu – Lhasa by train
The train from Chengdu – Lhasa leaves each other day, Z322 (21:37 – 09:55), takes 36 hours and 18 minutes. The soft berth prices are about RMB 1, 100.00, and likewise very hard to purchase during tourist season. Because the train does not leave every day, recommend those who need to take the train from Chengdu to Lhasa to confirm the train schedule with your travel consultant in advance, to avoid delay your travel plan. Click for more train information from Chengdu – Lhasa.
Way to enter Tibet 2: Britain – Katmandu - Lhasa
All the flights from Britain to Katmandu, Nepal request transit, cost about USD 500.00, the whole journey costs 13 hours. From Nepal to Tibet is also a very popular choice, currently, there’s no train to enter Tibet from Katmandu. But you may enter into Tibet via Gyilong Port, which is the Sino – Tibet border, a very good choice for international tourists. Or you may take the direct flight to reach to Tibet.
The flight from Katmandu to Lhasa
Katmandu is the only venue which has direct flight to Lhasa. To fly from Katmandu to Lhasa, the full price costs about USD 275.00, with short distance of 600km and takes about 1.5 hours. There are two flights each day: CA 408 (12:10 – 16:00) and 3U8720 (11:30 – 15:10), you may wish to check the direct flight detail in advance.
From Katmandu to Lhasa via overland road trip.
Compare with flight, overland road trip is more popular. If needed, our Nepalese coworkers can accompany you to Gyirong Port which nowadays called the border of Sino – Nepal. After you cross the border, you may find the Tibetan guider is waiting for you. Of course you may wish to rent a car from Katmandu to reach to Gyirong Port all by yourself. Due to the raising of the altitude, you shall stay in Gyirong county to get adjust the environment, and progressively move to the north to visit tiny, EBC and Shigatse, and eventually reach to Lhasa. The classic travel route abounds with epic vista of Himalayan peaks, holy Buddhist monasteries and sacred alpine lakes… Besides, you may explore the Tibetan exotic life and culture through unlimited chances to meet them.
Tibet Travel Permit Application for British Tourists
1. Enter from mainland China
From mainland China to Lhasa, you need to provide Tibet Travel Permit and valid passport. Therefore, before the Irish tourist depart to Tibet, need to send us the scan format of your valid passport and visa 30 days in advance, if your visa is not Type-L, besides the mentioned scanned files, you also have to provide an Employment Certificate and Invitation Letter. Generally, Tibet Travel Permit can be issued 7 – 10 days in advance. If take the Tibet train, we shall send the scanned Tibet Travel Permit into your e-mail box, you only need to print it out before boarding the train, you may board the train via the hard-copy of the Tibet Travel Permit. If you go to Tibet by flight, we shall send the original file to your transit, city (can be one of the major city in mainland China), and hand it to you personally. With the Permit you are allowed to board the flight.
2. Enter from Nepal
From Nepal to enter Tibet request Chinese Group Tourist Visa (if enter from Nepal, even if you hold Chinese Visa, it’s invalid, must go to the Chinese embassy were located in Katmandu to apply a group visa for enter Tibet) and our travel agency can assist you to apply all the requested certificates. For those entering from Nepal, only need to provide scanned passport file, we shall arrange the group visa invitation letter in advance and send to our Nepalese co-worker. Once you reached to Katmandu, our co-worker shall assist you to get the Group Tourist Visa.
