Should we wait to book our flight to Lhasa upon arriving KTM

We are traveling to Kathmandu late March and want to spend a week in Lhasa. Should we book our flight to Lhasa at home before we go %26amp; expect to become part of a tour or arrange for a guide in either Kathmandu or upon our arrival in Lhasa? We have read that everyone traveling to Lhasa must be part of a tour group or at minimum have a Chinese guide. This is the only reason we%26#39;re asking about a guide or group.

Does anyone know if there are daily flights or 1 or 2 a week from Kathmandu to Lhasa?

Any suggestions on hotes in Lhasa. We%26#39;d prefer to stay in a place run by tibetans but would like higher end.

Thanks

Should we wait to book our flight to Lhasa upon arriving KTM

Zendream:

The first thing would be to check on the flight situation. During the spring/summer/fall season China airlines has three flights to Lhasa per week - Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I know they%26#39;re more limited in the winter. You do need to make your arrangements at home as the flights fill up and time must be taken to process paperwork. We worked with a local guide/agency in Kathmandu. You will need to get a travel permit to be able to travel to Tibet. What we did was to send in our information ( photo copies of passport) to our guide. He made the flight arrangements and worked with a Tibetian agency in Lhasa. Yes you have to travel with a group, but our ';group'; was my wife and I. Also, once you get to Kathmandu you have to get the permit itself at the Chinese embassy since the actual passport is required. They are only open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We flew into Kathmandu from Bangkok on a Sunday, the guide%26#39;s agency took care of the permit on Monday while we did some touring and we flew out on Tuesday. If you haven%26#39;t been to Kathmandu, you might want to spend a couple of days touring the area. I%26#39;m assuming you%26#39;re going to fly back to Kathmandu. We came back overland. I%26#39;m not sure that is possible in March due to the roads but folks on the forum can fill you in. We had a Tibetian guide and driver which made things a lot easier and more educational. You can tour Lhasa on your own but a guide is useful. If you do go beyond Lhasa you do need a guide. I would suggest that you also spend a couple of days going outside Lhasa to Gyantse and Xigase. In Lhasa, we stayed in one of the newer modern hotels - the Bhramapurma. Would highly recommend it. We were scheduled to stay in the Lhasa Hotel, but there was a government conference there. After reading some of the hotel reviews, we really lucked out. It%26#39;s a bit away from the downtown area but easily reached by taxi. If you%26#39;re coming from the LA area, you might want to use the Thai Air non stop to Bangkok. We used the non stop from JFK and it was great. If you need more information please feel free to contact me via the forum.

Should we wait to book our flight to Lhasa upon arriving KTM

Thank you so much for the instant reply. It was very helpful. (We live an hour from Chicago) We have never been to either Nepal or Tibet, but have traveled quite a bit in SE Asia since 1990. Several times in Thailand, took tour through China, been to Cambodia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Bali, etc.. My husband has business in Hong Kong for a few days and we booked our round trip out of Hong Kong to KTM. We are in process of getting our double entry China visas at the moment, and realize that we need a special Tibet one which we will get once we arrive in KTM. We arrive in KTM March 19 and return to Hong Kong April 8, so somewhere in there we’d like to spend at least a week in Lhasa. From what I’ve read, it appears it may be difficult to travel outside Lhasa even though we would like to. We have 19 days, but I know you have to lay around for a day or two to acclimate to altitude. Was it a problem for the two of you? We are trying to figure out how long to stay in Lhasa area %26amp; Kathmandu and try to get in as much as possible. In your opinion since you have been to both, where would you spend a longer time if you had 19 days?

We would also like to use Tibetans as much as possible since it is their land. My husband may also want to get your input on some things when he gets home from work. Thanks again

Yes, it%26#39;s probably a good idea to arrange your flights to Lhasa in advance. I%26#39;d agree that the overland trip between Lhasa and Kathmandu would be worthwhile if you can do it in March.

%26gt;%26gt;We are in process of getting our double entry China visas at the moment, and realize that we need a special Tibet one which we will get once we arrive in KTM.%26lt;%26lt;

Don%26#39;t get a Chinese visa in advance if you will be entering China through Tibet. You will be issued a new group visa and any other Chinese visa in your passport will be canceled.

Zendream:

jerm%26#39;s advice is correct. I am assuming that you are going to go accross the border to China while you%26#39;re in Hong Kong and thus the reason for the Chinese visa. You do not need a visa if you%26#39;re entering Tibet from Nepal - just the travel permit. Given the fact that you have 19 days I think three days in the Kathmandu area would be enough and maybe a couple or three in Pokhara. Then as someone has suggested I would do what we did - fly to Lhasa and come back to Nepal overland. It was one of our travel highlights. Regarding the altitude - we are both in our early 60%26#39;s and my wife had part of a lung removed about three years ago. We%26#39;re both in pretty good health and physical shape otherwise. We both took Diamox starting on Sunday and flew into Lhasa Tuesday. We pretty much hung around the hotel on Tuesday afternoon. Note: because all of China is in the same time zone Lhasa is 3 to 4 hours ahead of Nepal timewise. Since it%26#39;s about an hour%26#39;s drive from the airport to Lhasa plus immigration, you don%26#39;t get to your hotel until the afternoon. We had only mild symptoms - you feel like you have a perpetual cold, and wake up several times during the night. I had a couple of very mild headaches that were solved by a couple of Advil. We had no problems with appetite. Also, our rear ends were dragging during the climb to the top of the Potala Palace. So I guess I would recommend the Diamox plus we drank a lot of water.