Bhutan entry: visa, SDF, certified guides and customs

Who needs a visa, and your passport

Indian nationals need no visa: they travel on a permit, with an Indian passport or voter ID card. Indian under-18s may use a passport or birth certificate and must be accompanied by a legal guardian. Their standard SDF is Nu 1,200 per adult per night. Citizens of Bangladesh and the Maldives need a visa but may apply either in advance or on arrival in Bhutan. Other visitors normally apply online and must have the visa approved before travelling, including holders of ordinary British, Irish, EU, Swiss, Norwegian, US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and Brazilian passports. Swiss and Thai diplomatic or government-official passport holders may obtain a visa at the port of entry. No nationality is barred, and the visa allows a stay of up to 90 days from the date of entry.

Passport validity advice differs by country: the UK and Germany advise that your passport must be valid for at least six months after the date you plan to leave Bhutan, while France asks for six months from the date of entry; other EU/EEA travellers should check their own government's advice.

What to arrange first, and when

Book in this order. First fix your dates and a certified guide or tour operator, and plan your flights to and from Paro; the visa application asks for your arrival and departure dates and the SDF for your planned stay. Guided Bhutan, a DoT-listed operator, advises booking four to six months ahead for March to May, September to November and festival weeks, when hotels in Paro and Thimphu fill early, and two to three months ahead otherwise.

For a guide and car, ask operators for a quote for your dates, group size and route; Guided Bhutan quotes guide-only prices and adds a vehicle and driver on request, and our trip cost guide prices the whole week, all in, at three levels.

Then apply yourself, through the online application linked from the Department of Tourism's (DoT) visa page, or through your tour operator or hotel. One person can apply for the whole party, given each traveller's details. You need a digital copy of a valid passport, a recent digital passport photo, your arrival and departure dates and a payment card. Sign Bhutan's Pledge of Friendship, create an account, add your travel details, then pay the visa fee and the SDF for your planned stay. An application can be saved and finished later; once submitted, it is reviewed within five working days. The visa fee is a one-off, non-refundable USD 40 per applicant. International credit cards are accepted, but some banks block online payments to Bhutan, so tell your bank before you pay.

The Sustainable Development Fee, night by night

For US-dollar-paying tourists, the Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) is USD 100 per adult per night until 31 August 2027, USD 50 for children from 6 to under 12, and nothing under 6. Indian nationals normally pay Nu 1,200 per adult per night, with a half rate for children aged 6 to under 12 and no fee under 6; DoT also lists a reduced rate for the first 15,000 Bangladeshi guests. It is paid within the visa application, also when a tour operator or hotel applies for you. At the standard US-dollar rate, a seven-day trip with six nights costs USD 600 per adult. It goes to the national exchequer, which allocates funds to free healthcare and education, conservation, cultural preservation and infrastructure, and it is separate from your rooms, meals, guide and car. The government set this rate for four years from 1 September 2023 and may review it after 31 August 2027.

For two US-dollar-paying adults on a six-night trip, the government charges come to USD 1,280: USD 1,200 in SDF and USD 80 in visa fees. A child aged eight adds USD 340: USD 300 of SDF over the same six nights and USD 40 for the child's visa.

If you cancel or cut the trip short, the SDF for nights not spent in Bhutan is refunded, less bank charges: request it through the visa portal, and it is paid after you leave. To stay longer, apply before your visa expires. DoT says to request the extension and pay its processing fee and SDF through the same online visa portal; the UK advises asking the Department of Immigration in Thimphu.

One exception rarely affects a western-valleys trip: tourists who stay within the designated zones of the border towns of Phuentsholing, Samtse, Gelephu and Samdrup Jongkhar for up to 24 hours pay no SDF, a waiver that runs until August 2027. Travel beyond the zone, past the Rinchending checkpost above Phuentsholing for example, and the applicable SDF is charged.

Guides, drivers and certified hotels

You can book every part of the trip yourself, but a guide certified by the Department of Tourism must be with you at all times, and you may stay only in DoT-certified hotels, homestays or campsites. A guide is also needed to enter dzongs and monuments. Self-drive cars cannot be hired in Bhutan. You may bring your own vehicle, subject to requirements and a daily charge, but a guide must accompany you; otherwise hire a vehicle and driver. DoT's Tourism Services Portal (services.bhutan.travel) lists the certified tour operators, guides and hotels, so you can hire a guide and a car with driver yourself, or have an operator bundle them with rooms and meals.

With a certified guide no route permit is needed for most of Bhutan; DoT lists some areas as restricted or prohibited. National parks still need permits, applied for through DoT's online form; check the current permit conditions with DoT or your guide. All treks must be made with an accredited tour operator or guide.

Certification depends on DoT's approval, not on a star rating: one- and two-star hotels and certified village homestays qualify alongside three- to five-star hotels, and DoT says accommodation providers, including village homestays, must obtain certification before catering to tourists. Look a hotel up on the portal before you book it. Some dzongs and temples charge an entry fee, paid in cash or with the Bank of Bhutan's goBoB app; our Thimphu and Punakha guide gives the fees for the sights on the route.

Arriving at Paro, or overland from India

Paro International Airport (PBH) is the gateway for the western valleys; Gelephu, in the south, is Bhutan's other international airport, and Drukair's November 2026 schedule shows a Paro-Gelephu-Kolkata flight on Mondays and Fridays. Drukair and Bhutan Airlines fly into Bhutan from cities including Bangkok, Delhi, Kolkata, Bagdogra, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Guwahati, Dubai and Singapore. For a Delhi connection, India's embassy says no transit visa is needed if you remain airside, have confirmed onward travel on one PNR, and the airline handles your bags through to the next flight. If you must clear immigration to collect and re-check bags or change terminals, you need an appropriate Indian visa. In Kathmandu, UK and EU/EEA passport holders who must enter Nepal can obtain a visa on arrival at the airport or a visa in advance from a Nepalese embassy, and the UK advises applying for the visa on arrival online up to 15 days ahead or at the airport; check the rules for your passport. Flights in and out of Paro depend on the weather and can be delayed or cancelled, so leave a spare day before an onward long-haul flight.

At Paro immigration the pre-approved visa is issued and stamped into your passport; make sure the officer stamps it before you leave the desk. Carry a printed copy of the visa approval with the passport you applied with, for airline check-in and the immigration desk. After baggage claim you hand in the customs declaration, described below.

At Paro airport, DoT's visitor information centre sells tourist SIM cards and you can change money into ngultrum on arrival. Outside there is a taxi rank but no other public transport, so arrange to be met by your guide and driver, or book a transfer with the hotel or tour operator. Thimphu is 47 km from Paro, one to one and a half hours by road. France strongly discourages travel by road at night, even with a driver; and in the monsoon, June to September, allow for landslides that can close roads for days. Our Paro and Tiger's Nest guide covers the valley, its dzong and the Tiger's Nest hike.

By land, tourists enter at the designated ports of Phuentsholing, Gelephu, Samdrup Jongkhar and Samtse. Phuentsholing is the usual crossing from West Bengal, four to five hours by road from Bagdogra airport, and Thimphu is 165 km and five to five and a half hours beyond it. A guide is required as soon as you travel beyond the border town, so book yours to meet you at the Phuentsholing border gate. Check Indian entry requirements for your passport: France advises that its nationals need an Indian visa to reach the crossing, and a double-entry visa if they also leave Bhutan through India.

Customs: allowances, tobacco, cash and medicines

Arriving passengers fill in a customs declaration and take the green channel with nothing to declare, or the red channel with goods to declare. Under Bhutan's Customs Rules and Regulations of 2017, a foreign tourist may bring in used personal effects for the visit, to be re-exported on departure, plus goods worth up to Nu 10,000 duty-free for personal use or as gifts, carried on the person or in accompanied baggage, including no more than two litres of spirits and 100 ml of perfume. Professional, sound-recording and video equipment can be brought in temporarily against a written list handed to airport customs, which checks it again when you leave.

Tobacco is legal to buy in Bhutan. UK advice is that British visitors may bring a small supply for personal use, but must pay tax and duty and be able to show proof of payment whenever the authorities ask during the visit; EU/EEA visitors should check their own government's advice before packing tobacco. Smoking is banned in public places, including temples and monasteries, shops, public transport and inside private vehicles.

UK advice for British visitors is that foreign currency worth USD 10,000 or more, coming in or going out, must be declared to customs and cleared with the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan; Bhutan's own customs rules list currency above the prescribed limit among restricted goods for every passenger, EU/EEA visitors included. Medicines that contain internationally controlled drugs need a permit from the Bhutan Food and Drug Authority, and illegal drugs carry sentences of three years to life. Tourists are generally not permitted to bring drones, and flying one needs a permit obtained in advance.

Antiques may not be taken out of Bhutan, and customs officials may inspect anything that looks old. Handicrafts and other non-antique artefacts need an Export Permit for Non-Antique Artefacts; handicraft shops usually seal goods that may be exported.

Insurance, hospitals and altitude

Travel insurance has not been a visa condition since 23 April 2024, but DoT strongly recommends it; take cover for medical treatment, emergency helicopter evacuation and repatriation. In Thimphu, the national referral hospital can provide surgery and emergency treatment, while hospitals elsewhere generally offer basic care, and more complex cases need evacuation to India or Thailand.

Tiger's Nest lies at about 3,120 m; consider keeping the climb for later in your trip to allow time to adjust. Germany advises anyone travelling above 2,300 m to see a doctor experienced in altitude medicine before final planning, and France lists pregnancy and a history of heart, lung, kidney or neurological illness as reasons against high altitude.

Conduct and everyday safety

Bhutanese people take their customs and traditions very seriously: above all, avoid criticising the King. At religious sites, wear clothing that covers you from shoulders to knees, with long sleeves and covered legs in temples; photography inside temples, monasteries and official buildings is forbidden. Our first-trip guide covers money, SIM cards and how a guided week fits together.

Crime is low. Keep copies of your passport photo page, visa and flight ticket apart from the originals, avoid demonstrations, keep away from the closed, disputed border with China, and be wary of stray dogs, going straight to hospital for rabies treatment after a bite.