Planning A Return to Tibet
Air? This time we flew United from Chicago to Beijing and instantly connected to an Air China flight going to Chengdu. Chengdu is the usual departure point for Tibet and most tour operators will meet you there with air tickets to Lhasa and entry documents. (See below.)
Visa? You must have a Chinese Visa which is easy to get at your local Chinese Embassy/Consulate. In Chicago, you can pay extra and arrange for one in the same day. But, you must arrange the air and permits to Lhasa through a tour operator. Chengdu is the easiest place to arrange this and Tomas took care of all the formalities for us.
Hotels? The entire trip was hotel/guesthouse based with no camping. We only needed one hotel for Chengdu at the end of this trip and decided on the Sheraton Chengdu Lido.
Travel Insurance? Medical, emergency evacuation, baggage loss and trip cancellation is recommended and necessary. We think it's foolhardy not to take out Travel Insurance - it can turn out to be the best investment you'll ever make!
Other Health Concerns? The usual: Hepatitus, Tetanus, etc. Take your own medical kit with "drugs of choice." We also carry Diamox for altitude sickness as ex-Marine (husband, Steve) is very sensitive to altitude and acclimitizes slowly. Sometimes it helps...sometimes it doesn't...but is always worth a try especially flying directly into Lhasa at 11,975' feet above sea level.
Clothing and Equipment? The best time to visit is April-October. The sun is extremely strong at this altitude and the days heat up quickly. Conversely, the nights become very cool to cold. Long pants, short sleeved shirts, hiking boots, tevas, warm jackets, hats and gloves were necessary. Munchies, tissues, spare roll of toilet paper for emergency stops, wet wipes, cameras (with ample batteries) and film were our only other necessities.
Included?
- ***hotels with breakfast only.
- Tibetan tour guide
- Tibetan driver and Toyota Land Cruiser
- All permits
- Sightseeing throughout with entry tickets to all sites
- Bottles of mineral water every day
Everything else was on us. Such a deal and we were ready to revisit Tibet.....
