Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A group visa is a separate sheet of paper with all the names and passport numbers of the
group members. It's useful to get your own individual 'group' visa (a 'group' can be as
small as one person!) because, otherwise, come the end of your tour in Lhasa, you will
have to exit China with your fellow group members.
Group visas are generally issued for 15 days, though 30 days or more is possible, espe-
cially for trips to Kailash or if you want to travel through China at the end of your Tibet
trip. Note that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to extend the duration of a group visa
or to split from your group visa, regardless of what agents in Kathmandu may tell you.
Once your trip is arranged and your permits secured, your Tibetan agent will send your
Tibetan guide and driver to meet you on the Chinese side of the border at Kodari. At cus-
toms on the Chinese side of the Friendship Bridge you will be asked to present your TTB
permit.
If you are flying in to Lhasa you will need to show your group visa and TTB permit at
check-in in Kathmandu. Your Tibetan guide will meet you at Lhasa airport.
A simpler option is to join an organised tour from Kathmandu. Travel agents there offer
'budget' tours of Tibet from around US$350 per person for a basic seven-day trip stopping
in Zhāngmù/Nyalam, Lhatse, Shigatse, Gyantse and then Lhasa for two days. These trips
generally run every Tuesday and Saturday. A nine-day trip that adds a visit to Everest Base
Camp costs up to double this and will be harder to find. Prices include transport, permits, a
Chinese group visa, dormitory accommodation for the first two nights and then shared
twin rooms, a fairly useless guide and admission fees.
Bear in mind that most agencies are just subcontractors and normally pool clients, so
you could find yourself travelling in a larger group than expected and probably on a bus
instead of the promised 4WD. Other potential inconsistencies may include having to share
a room when you were told you would be given a single, or paying a double-room supple-
ment and ending up in a dorm. We do get a fair number of complaints about the service of
some of these tours; it's best just to view it as the cheapest way to get to Tibet.
