1 independent reviews for Bhutan, Nepal and Sikkim tour
Reviews for Bhutan, Nepal and Sikkim tour
Jennie Martzloff review 26 Aug 2025
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Unfortunately my husband became ill at our initial stop before the Nepal and Bhutan trip, so we were not able to visit Nepal. However, thanks to our contact at Bespoke India we were able to rejoin the original itinerary and complete the whole Bhutan tour. We really loved Bhutan. The country is beautiful, the landscapes so gorgeous, the people are warm, welcoming and interested in sharing information about their country. The Government takes tourism very seriously. They want to make it a very good experience so they train the guides (and presumably the drivers) so they are very knowledgeable. We were assigned guide and driver for our whole trip. The guide Pema spoke English very well, he was very knowledgeable and willing to talk about all aspects of life in Bhutan, including the significance of various Buddhist temples, paintings and artifacts. The most memorable part of the trip was the hike up to Tiger's Nest Monastery. It took us (myself and the guide) about 7 hours round trip, including stops for lunch and snacks, and an hour visit to the Monastery itself. I found the change in altitude challenging at first and gradually got used to it. The guide was very helpful in leading the way. The altitude change was about 3000 ft up from the base (7300 ft) to the monastery which is at 10500 ft above sea level. It's the hike every Bhutanese is supposed to do at least once. Beautiful views and interesting temples in the Monastery.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
We booked this as a trip for two since it was off season and we had a time constraint we were working within.That worked very well. The hotels (we chose to upgrade from the 3 -star to 4-star) were lovely and had great food. Their special settings added to the trip. We travelled during August because of an event we needed to attend, however we were unsure if travelling in the monsoon season was a bad idea. It turned out that we only experienced one, 1-hour downpour in our 5 days in Bhutan (we understand that Nepal is considerably wetter, and roads sometimes wash out), so that was not an issue. The temperature was moderate mid 60s F to mid 70s F, so quite pleasant. The benefit of travelling in off season was that the roads, sites, and hotels were not inundated with tourists. I can imagine that travelling in spring our fall the visitor may spend considerably more time on the road in traffic behind other cars since there is only one main road through the country.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, visitors are very welcome in Bhutan. The daily tourist fee per person levied by Bhutan government and included in the cost of our trip, pays for free education and healthcare for the Bhutanese people. Tourism is the second largest source of income for the country. Our guiding, dining, hotel stays and tickets to the sights we visited benefited the local people who work there. We were careful to not bring in items we would need to discard there (ie packaging) and didn't create a lot of waste.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
This was an excellent trip due in part by the planning and organization of the operator who, through our conversations initially to customize our trip made it fit for us, and, once we got started, helped us reorganize the trip so we were able to reach Bhutan even though we needed to cancel our Nepal visit. The country, people, our guide and driver in Bhutan were excellent and added to memories of the trip.Holiday Reviews
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