Travel Tibet from a visitor's views
It would be much better if you do correctly and efficiently something with suggestions or instructions, though some other people would venture to do it personally. The policy applies to Tibet tours too because it is a remote, mythic, and dreamed-of place.
Here, Mark Lee, a used-to-be guide and now Tibet tours advisor with over than 25 years of working experience in Tibet tourism, would like to share his tricks or tour notes, or give suggestions on how to travel Tibet efficiently, correctly, and happily.
Would you like it? if so, go on with the following please
His travel notes, an authentic guide for tourists including you and me to follow when you want to travel Tibet, show you step-by-step how to get to Tibet, with what documentations you are allowed to enter Tibet, what type of tours you like, etc. And the most important, which is the key point of the website, is to help you have a better Tibet tour as well as spend less money. Fun for less !
You may search in Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. by using a keyword or phrase such as "Tibet tours", "Tibet tour operator" for a right choice of a travel agency or consultant. However
Can a travel agency supply Tibet travels & tours with Anybody ?
The answer is absolutely NOT correct.
Yes, Everybody can come to Tibet, but not all are with a travel agency. See the details in the following
- A. Government officials, Journalists, and diplomatists ARE much warmly welcomed to Tibet. However any of the three kinds are non-travel-agency’s customers while Tibet Autonomous Region Foreign Affairs Office is responsible to meet and accept them.
- B. Tourists with regular passports are the major customers that any travel agency can offer Tibet tours of any kinds.
- C. Taiwanese or Indians are also those who hold regular passports, but they can be accepted by some appointed travel agencies but not all, any of which has special qualifications
Thus, make sure you choose the right travel agency when you pick up the searching result from Searching Engines.
Similarly,
Don’t think that you can go to Tibet by only possessing passports.
Besides passports, people wanting to travel to Tibet must have visas before applying for Tibet permit with which they can go in to Tibet
With what type of visa can you apply for tibet permit in a common and tourist way ?
- “L” type
Tourists with this type of visa will be easier to obtain Tibet permit than all the other visa types. With this type of visa, people don’t supply any other affiliated documentations when applying for Tibet permit.
2. “F”, “M”, ”Z”, ”J”, etc. and all the other types of visas.
Other than “L” type of visa, if you have the listed types of visas and etc. you have to supply with us a certificate such as working documentary evidence when applying for Tibet permit. This is seldom known by tourists until they are informed of
Tourists like you always mention Tibet permit. But do you know anything more about the word "Tibet permit" ? Actually there are various types permits with which you can enter Tibet and launch Tibet tours.
- Tibet entry permit
This is for tourists’ use when they are onboard Tibet train or take flights to come in to Tibet. And only with the original one (but NOT the copy one) people can be onboard Tibet train or take the flights. Otherwise you cannot get train tickets or not allowed to the aircraft.
- Foreign Aliens’ permit
This is for tourists’ use when they travel to any other not-completely-opening places, such as Tingri, border town Gyirong, and Tsedang, etc. besides Tibet entry permit. But it is to be obtained once you get Tibet entry permit. Or you don't need it unless you go to some places like in the list above.
- Military Permit
Furthermore, if you in-depth travel to military-not-opened area like Mt. Kailash, and etc. Besides the two types of permits mentioned above, you have to have it for that kind of tours.
- Foreign Affairs Office Permit
When traveling to any in-depth places and also military-not-opened area, such as Ngari area, Overland from Chengdu to Lhasa, etc. you have to have it, together with Military Permit, and then you can go there.
- Taiwan compatriots affairs office permit
This kind of permit is only to issue for Taiwanese who travel in Tibet.
Please be notified that, tourists from Hong Kong (own citizenship) and Macau do NOT apply for Tibet permit because they are part of China, and are treated as mainland of China.
No matter you like it or not, but it is an incontestable fact that Westerner Tourists have to have China visa before getting Tibet permit. Thus, you have to apply in the places close to your living area for China visa first.
Till here, you have finished stepping your first foot in the door of going to Tibet. To draw a conclusion of the "first foot", you can understand that you are ready and well-prepared for having a Tibet tour. Those are China visa, Tibet permit.
Then what about the other step to move forward to Tibet tour? Now, the next step is how you get to Tibet. I mean by what means you go there?