Essential Tibet

• Accommodations per the itinerary. All room types, even in upgraded properties, are standard entry-level doubles or twins. Please call for room category upgrade pricing and information.
• Meals, as noted in the itinerary: 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 5 dinners.
• Arrival/departure airport transfers. MIR will arrange for all travelers to be met on arrival and seen off on departure whether we make your flight arrangements or not, provided you arrive and depart on the tour start/end dates in the tour start/end city.
• Ground transportation throughout itinerary by private vehicle.
• Guided sightseeing tours and entrance fees as outlined in the itinerary.
• Special events, excursions, and cultural performances per the itinerary.
• Services of experienced, English-speaking local guides, drivers, and other staff.
• Bottled water at group meals.
• Complete pre-departure electronic document that includes detailed packing suggestions, reading list links, country-specific information, maps, travel tips and more.
• Assistance booking your custom flight arrangements (on request; please note that international airfare is not included in the land tour cost).
• Customized visa application and instruction kit (please note, visa fees are not included in the tour price).
• Electronic final update bulletin, with any late news, updates and important information.

• International airfare or taxes/fuel surcharges.
• Meals not specified as included in the itinerary.
• Single supplement charge, if requested or required.
• Items of a personal nature (phone calls, email, laundry, alcohol, excess baggage, etc).
• Gratuities to local guides, drivers, porters and other service personnel.
• Baggage handling.
• Visa/passport fees, airport departure fees.
• Expenses incurred as a result of delay, modification or extension of a tour due to causes beyond MIR’s control.
• Travel and trip cancellation insurance.

Level 3: Medium, but Customizable

This ‘Essential’ itinerary, designed for private travel, features extended periods at high elevations, long days walking and standing, some long overland travel segments on rough roads or off-road conditions, and overnight accommodations in smaller and more rustic properties. While some of these challenges are inherent in the destinations and sites, as this trip can be modified as needed for those travelers who are looking for a less challenging (or more challenging) program.

The elevation in Tibet is over 10,000 feet. The altitudes can cause difficulty even in healthy travelers, and potential problems can include headaches, shortness of breath, and other more serious complications. Those with a history of medical problems, particularly cardiac or respiratory, must consult a doctor before considering this trip.

There is a significant amount of touring on foot, and those travelers planning to take the program as written should be able to walk two miles a day on a variety of terrain surfaces including dirt paths, grass, unpaved sidewalks, uneven surfaces and steps, packed-dirt streets, broken pavement (streets or sidewalks), and with a general absence of handrails or ramps. Some attractions are only accessible via steep staircases with tall, uneven steps. In particular, staircases at Potala Palace in Lhasa are notorious for their length, steepness, and unevenness of the steps. Other monastery/temple visits will also require negotiating steep and narrow stairways for travelers who want to visit the upper stories. Some toilets on this itinerary will be eastern/squatting style toilets. Elevators are not available at touring sites, nor at a few of the hotels.

Other challenges include overall shortcomings in the tourism infrastructure of these developing destinations. Accommodations vary from three-star to four-star hotels including some in more remote areas with lower levels of amenities. Past travelers have also encountered challenges with plumbing, bureaucratic service, variety of locally available foods, and availability and quality of public restrooms.