How much does a trip to Bhutan cost? Daily budget and prices

Bhutan's daily figures look high next to most of Asia because the Sustainable Development Fee sits inside them: US$100 per adult per night (check), roughly Nu 8,700, before any hotel, car or guide. The three bands below differ mainly in bed and transport, not in the SDF.

Budget means a 3★ certified hotel, set meals and a shared car with other travellers — the right band if you are flexible on dates and happy to split transport. Mid-range buys a 4★ hotel, restaurant meals and a private car and guide, and suits couples and small groups who want their own schedule. Luxury is the lodge tier — Amankora, Six Senses, COMO — where the room can cost more than everything else combined.

Figures are per person per day, sharing a room, and exclude international flights and the one-off visa fee. 2026 estimate.

Two charges apply to every foreign visitor and do not move with your travel style. The Sustainable Development Fee is charged per adult per night of your stay — US$100, about Nu 8,700 (check). A ten-night trip therefore carries roughly Nu 87,000 of SDF before you have booked a single room. The visa fee is US$40 once (check).

Both are settled in advance, not in cash at Paro airport. Confirm the current SDF rate, the payment route and any concessions for children or long stays before you commit, because this single line decides whether the trip is affordable at all.

On top of that, most dzongs and monuments charge entry of Nu 300–1,000, and Tiger's Nest (Taktsang) is about Nu 1,000 (check). These are small next to the SDF but add up over a two-week itinerary.

A plate of ema datshi with red rice costs Nu 200–500 at an ordinary restaurant, and a Druk 11000 beer Nu 150–300. Hotel restaurants and tourist-standard places charge more, but food is rarely the expensive part of a Bhutan trip. Set meals are usually included in the package, so your out-of-pocket food spend is snacks, coffee and drinks.

A taxi across Thimphu runs Nu 100–300. Outside the towns there is effectively no public transport for visitors, which is why the car and driver line exists in every package; a shared car lowers it, a private one raises it. A domestic flight such as Paro–Bumthang is about Nu 15,000 one way (check) and is usually quoted separately from the daily rate.

Cash still matters. Hotels and larger shops take cards, and ATMs exist in Thimphu and Paro but are sparse elsewhere, so carry ngultrum for markets, tips and small purchases. The ngultrum is pegged 1:1 to the Indian rupee and rupees are widely accepted, though check which notes are taken.

The SDF is fixed, so savings come from everything around it. Keep the itinerary short — every extra night adds another SDF charge — and choose certified 3★ hotels rather than lodges. A seven-night budget trip is a very different number from a fourteen-night mid-range one. Whether low-season dates lower hotel and car rates depends on your operator (check).

Ask for a line-by-line quote showing SDF, hotel, car, guide and monument fees separately. Packages are often quoted as one figure, and separating them is the only way to see what you are actually paying for. Confirm what happens if a flight is cancelled or a road closes: rebooking a domestic flight is a real cost.