We do not sell one tour covering both countries. Here is how to join a private Nepal trip to a private Bhutan trip: what each half costs, the Kathmandu–Paro flight nobody mentions, and the two windows that work.
One mountain range, two countries, and a question we get every autumn: can you see both in one trip? Yes. Just not the way most search results imply.
Is there one tour that does both Nepal and Bhutan?
No. We do not sell a single itinerary covering both countries. We run six trips in Nepal and three in Bhutan, and every one of them stays inside one country from arrival to departure. To do both, you book two private trips back to back and we join them into one booking.
We say so plainly because plenty of pages offer a "Nepal and Bhutan tour" as though it were one product. What you get from us is two private, guided trips with two separate ground teams.
What each half costs and how long it takes
Nepal, six trips:
- The world of Nepal — 9 days, from EUR 930. Kathmandu Valley, Chitwan, Pokhara, Dhulikhel, Nagarkot.
- Trekking tour through Nepal — 11 days, from EUR 1,575.
- Temples, shrines & Himalayas — 14 days, from EUR 1,350.
- Culture and Himalayan hiking — 14 days, from EUR 1,760.
- Impressions of Nepal — 17 days, from EUR 1,640.
- Majestic Himalayas — 17 days, from EUR 1,640.
Bhutan, three trips:
- The land of happiness — 6 days, from EUR 2,160. Thimphu, Punakha, Paro.
- The magic of the gigantic Himalayas — 8 days, from EUR 2,010. Adds the Ha Valley and the Chelela Pass.
- The Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon — 8 days, from EUR 2,500. Includes a camp night below Bumdra Monastery at about 3,800 m.
Two things stand out. The 8-day Magic trip is EUR 150 cheaper than the 6-day Land of happiness, so compare both rather than sorting by length. And Bhutan costs two to three times what Nepal does per day: our Nepal trips run roughly EUR 95 to 145 a day, the Bhutan ones EUR 250 to 360. That ratio decides how you split your days.
The routing detail: Delhi, not Kathmandu
Read our three Bhutan itineraries and the flights point at Delhi. All three send you home via Delhi on the final day; The Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon also routes the outbound that way. The other two just say you fly in to Paro. None of the three mentions Kathmandu anywhere.
Drukair and Bhutan Airlines fly Kathmandu–Paro directly, in a little over an hour. That flight is not written into any of our itineraries, it is an international sector, and international flights are not included on any of these trips. You book it yourself, or ask us to quote it. Schedules are seasonal, so check before fixing your dates.
In practice: your Nepal trip ends with a transfer to Kathmandu airport, you fly Kathmandu–Paro, and our Bhutan representative meets you at Paro exactly as written on day one. The Delhi leg falls away.
Leave a buffer night in Kathmandu rather than connecting the same day. Paro takes daylight-only approaches and cancels for weather, and a missed connection costs a full day of a trip that is already expensive per day.
The two windows when both countries work
Late October into November, and March into April. That is when the mountains are out in Nepal and the Bhutanese passes are open and dry.
- Kathmandu, 1,400 m — late October days around 23–25 °C, nights 10–12 °C. By late November, nights drop toward 6 °C.
- Chitwan, around 150 m — still near 28 °C in the afternoon in November. Pack hot-weather clothes even for a November trip.
- Paro and Thimphu, 2,200–2,320 m — November days roughly 12–17 °C, nights at or just below freezing.
- Punakha, around 1,250 m — the warm valley, high teens to low twenties, which is why the itineraries put one or two nights there.
- The Chelela Pass at 3,988 m can still hold snow into March.
Avoid June to September. Our Nepal itineraries state it outright: no jeep safaris run in Chitwan National Park during July, August and September. The mountain views go at the same time.
December and January give the clearest air of the year, but the Bumdra camp night at 3,800 m is properly cold by then. Take one of the two hotel-based Bhutan trips if you are travelling in winter.
Which country first
Nepal first, in most cases — though not for the reason people assume.
The culture-led Nepal trips are mild: Kathmandu at 1,400 m, Chitwan on the plains, the Sarangkot sunrise viewpoint above Pokhara at 1,592 m, Nagarkot at 2,175 m. None of that acclimatises you.
The walking trips are different. Culture and Himalayan hiking climbs from Nayapul at 1,070 m to Ghorepani at 2,850 m and Poon Hill at 3,210 m — higher than Bhutan's Dochula Pass (3,080 m) and higher than the Tiger's Nest itself, around 3,000 m and roughly 900 m above the Paro valley floor. Only the Chelela Pass and the Bumdra camp go above it.
So a Nepal trek first is real preparation for Bhutan. If your Nepal half is culture-led, put it first anyway: the Tiger's Nest climb is a different experience in week three than on day five.
Three combinations, with the real numbers
Culture-led, about two weeks. The world of Nepal (9 days) plus The land of happiness (6 days), from EUR 3,090 per person. Kathmandu Valley, Chitwan, Pokhara and Nagarkot, then Thimphu, Punakha and Paro. The Tiger's Nest here is a one-hour walk to the viewpoint, with the option to carry on up, about two hours.
More of Bhutan, about 17 days. The world of Nepal plus The magic of the gigantic Himalayas, from EUR 2,940 — less than the shorter pairing above, because of that price quirk. You get the Ha Valley, the Chelela Pass with the walk down to the Keeli Nunnery at 3,600 m, and the full three to four hour climb to the Tiger's Nest.
Walking, about three weeks. Culture and Himalayan hiking (14 days) plus The Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon (8 days), from EUR 4,260. The Poon Hill trek, then the Bumdra camp night and the descent to the Tiger's Nest from above rather than the climb up to it.
On paper those are 15, 17 and 22 tour days. The last Nepal day and the first Bhutan day collapse into one if you connect straight through, so the buffer night puts you back at the number shown. All figures are per-person from-prices, land arrangements only.
What is included, and what is not
Every trip is private and guided. There are no scheduled group departures, so the dates are yours.
Included on each: hotel accommodation, breakfast, your guide, and 24-hour contact throughout. Not included: international flights, and that covers the Kathmandu–Paro sector.
A German-speaking guide is listed as included on all three Bhutan trips and five of the six Nepal trips. Majestic Himalayas is the exception — it lists the guide as not included. Worth checking if that matters.
Rooms come at four levels: Standard, Deluxe, Superior and Executive. In Bhutan that means hotels such as Hotel Thimpu Tower, Hotel River Valley in Punakha and Tshang Tshang Villa in Paro. The 8-day Magic trip is the one with published upgrades, up through Zhingkham Resort and Tashi Namgay Resort to Dhensa Boutique Resort in Punakha and Le Meridien in Paro. There is no luxury-lodge tier above Executive. If that is what you want, we are not the right operator for you.
Bhutan also charges a government Sustainable Development Fee, set per person per night. The rate has changed more than once in recent years, so ask us what applies to your dates and whether it sits inside your quote.
Nepal issues a visa on arrival at Kathmandu airport for most UK, US and EU passport holders. Bhutan's visa has to be arranged in advance through a licensed Bhutanese operator, as part of the booking. You cannot collect it at Paro on your own.
When not to combine them
Skip it under twelve days. Bhutan alone takes six and you will spend two more in transit. Skip it in July, August and September. And if your main goal is a long high trek, put all your days into Nepal rather than splitting the budget.
To work out which pairing fits your dates, start with our Nepal trips and our Bhutan trips, or browse the full range of tours and tell us which two you are weighing up.
