Are you planning to visit Nepal? From the best time to visit, where to stay, how to get around, visa requirements, how much budget we spent and useful tips… Here’s everything you need to know before you go to Nepal!
Read also: Nepal in 3 weeks: travel itinerary + tips
Visa requirements for Nepal
Most tourists will need a visa to enter Nepal and it can only be purchased on arrival. When you arrive you need to do the following steps:
- Choose how many days you want to spend in Nepal (Read our 3-week itinerary for more inspiration)
- Fill in the Arrival Card
- Fill in the ‘Tourist Visa’ form at the Kiosk machines or save time and fill in your ‘Tourist Visa’ form on the website of the Department of Immigration before traveling to Nepal.
- Make the payment at the office on the left side in the arrival hall
- Get the receipt and go to the immigration office.
VISA COST:
15 Days – 30 USD
30 Days – 50 USD
90 Days – 125 USD
Read more information about extending your visa on the website of immigration
Please note: visa requirements keep changing for every country. Please make sure you check all visa and passport requirements in your own country before booking your tickets.
Best time to travel to Nepal
Before you visit Nepal, it’s important to know which period is the best time to visit this beautiful country. Octobre & November are considered to be the best months to visit Nepal but as in almost every country, the weather is unpredictable. We traveled through Nepal from mid-September till mid-October and we had quite a lot of rainy days.
High season: Octobre & November
Octobre and November seem the best months to go to Nepal. During these months the sky is clear and blue and temperatures are pleasant. However, the weather is never predictable and for sure not in the mountains of Nepal.
Shoulder season: March & April
Prices will be lower during this period and the weather is getting more pleasant.
Low season: June till September
This is the monsoon season that brings a lot of downpours and rain showers. Our advice is to avoid this period as we went at the beginning of September till the beginning of October and we had almost everyday rain. Of course, the weather can not be predicted but it ruins your trekking motivation
The best apps to download for Nepal
- Booking.com is the best and our most favorite app to find hotels and hostels in Nepal
- Maps.me is the best offline mapping app on the planet. Download the map, choose your route, save favorite places and explore the country without using the internet. (money saver!)
- Currency XE calculates currencies on-the-go. With the app, you can access live exchange rates and calculate prices on your smartphone super easily.
- HappyCow is an amazing app to find the best vegan & vegetarian food around you. Very useful when you visit Nepal.
- Not really an app, but the ebooks of Lonely Planet needs to be highlighted too. The ebooks are an easy, quick and cheap way to carry almost every Lonely Planet guidebook in your pocket. From destination tips, beautiful images to great road trip routes, you’ll find everything to get the most out of your trip.
- Hotels.com is the app we use often besides booking.com. If you book 10 nights on Hotels.com you’ll get one night for free, which is awesome
- HoneyGuide helps you to plan your trekking through the mountains, find teahouses along the way and many more features.
Read also: The 11 best and free travel apps every traveler needs
Cheapest flights to Nepal
The fastest way and best website we always use is Skyscanner. You can easily search and compare tickets from all different airlines and when you want to book it redirects you to the partners’ websites. We booked our tickets from Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian Airlines as they offered the best prices.
Find cheap flights to Nepal here
Read also: Best websites to find the cheapest flights
Best places to stay in Nepal
Are you looking for the best places to stay in Nepal? In our article about where to stay in Nepal, we listed our favorites accommodations. They all have a good location, excellent rating and the best part: all at an affordable price.
Money-saving tip: use this link to save up to $45 on your first booking on Airbnb
Staying connected in Nepal
Staying connected in Nepal is easy and cheap. You simply buy a sim card, choose a data plan and you’re ready to go! NCell is the sim card we used and also the best one you can find in Nepal. You can buy the sim card at the airport or in the cities of Kathmandu & Pokhara. We bought 16GB for 30 days and paid Rs 1500 ($17) per person.
Travel budget for Nepal
Nepal is a very cheap country to travel around but your budget can quickly increase if you like to do many activities such as a scenic flight over Mt. Everest or a Safari in Chitwan National Park. We wrote this article about our travel budget for 3 weeks in Nepal with a total cost breakdown.
Getting around in Nepal
Getting around and traveling from one place to another is very easy and cheap in Nepal and there are many options to choose from and only a few main roads. Roads can become very dangerous after heavy rainfalls and landslides are very common, so be careful anytime.
Read also: Nepal in 3 weeks: travel itinerary + tips
- You can travel by bus: Buses are the most common way of transport in Nepal. Most tourists will use the tourist buses between Kathmandu, Pohkara, and Chitwan but there are also local buses to all other places in Nepal. Tourist buses are more comfortable and you’ll have a reserved seat as local buses are very crowded and if you are lucky you’ll have a seat.
- Shuttles or minivans: Many tourist offices offer shared shuttles & vans to the places you want to go to.
- Taxi: We used a few taxis in Kathmandu to go to some temples, Bhaktapur and to go to the airport because they are cheapcompared to european taxis.
- Rickshaws: A 2-wheeled cabin that is pulled by a local. Just sit down and relax the authentic way of traveling through the narrow streets of Kathmandu
Electricity in Nepal
The standard voltage is 230 V and the frequency is 50 Hz. In Nepal, the power plugs and sockets are of type C, D, and M, it’s always useful before you visit Nepal to check if you haven adaptor that’s suitable with this sockets. For our adventure in Nepal we bought the Skross Pro World Adaptor. For long bus rides or hiking adventures in the mountains of Nepal, we often used a power bank to charge our camera’s & phones
Laundry service in Nepal
Laundry is super cheap in Nepal. There are many local laundry-shops or families that offer a laundry service in Kathmandu and Pokhara because many tourist wats to do their laundry after the treks. Also, most of the hostels and hotels in Nepal offer laundry services. Prices vary from Rs 100-150 per kilo.
Vaccinations for Nepal
Vaccinations that are mandatory:
- Yellow fever (only if you have been to a yellow fever country in the seven days before you enter Nepal or if you have been in transit for more than 12 hours in an airport in a country with yellow fever)
Vaccinations that are recommended:
- DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, and polio) and hepatitis A (regardless of the length of your trip)
- Typhoid fever (for a stay of longer than two weeks)
Note: As with all destinations, it is essential that you see a doctor or pharmacist at least 6 – 8 weeks before your visit to Nepal. Your itinerary, your medical history and the activities you have planned all effect which vaccinations you need.
Now you’ve read everything you need to know before you go to Nepal, you might be ready to go. Following websites can help you plan the perfect trip:
- Skyscanner to book and find the best flights
- Booking.com to book your accommodation
- Lonely Planet to get a complete travel guide
- Tourradar to join one of the amazing adventure group tours
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