We had a very good time throughout the trip. Our guide Phub Tshering (Haba) looked after us very well, and I felt very safe in the hand of the driver with the mountainous windy road. Thank you for showing us the culture of Bhutan, we would love to come back and see more of Bhutan!

Everything about this trip was well-organised, efficient and professional. Organising, changing details and paying for the trip was easy with prompt email replies and confirmations. The visa and hotel information arrived a few days before it was scheduled to and the online traveller portal contained a wealth of important details in one place. In Bhutan, the trip was magical and we found no fault with the guides, vehicles and accommodation. A once in a lifetime experience made all the more memorable thanks to Druk Asia

The overall trip is great and one word that can best it was Sublime (spiritually enriching)!

Some detailed comment's:
 

1. Driver Thingley is an excellent driver. He drove with much caution and manage the rough road very well. All my team mates were very happy with his service. He even get out of his way to help the elder during the hard climb to Tiger Nest. He is witty, funny and take his job seriously and look after his customer, he is service is simply superb.

2. The Guide Jigme for me and my team think is only average. First he is not knowledgeable of the history of the Dzongs and finer details of the temples. Many time he will ask the lamas on the details. he claimed to be a guide for 10 years and yet my observations of him is that his knowledge is quite limited. He won't say much unless being ask. If I am to compare him to Tobgay the other guide of the bigger group (Roger Lim party of 17 pax) Jigme performance is lack luster.

3. Hotels. Rinchelling Hotel In Bumthang is the worst! Room are not clean , in fact one of my team had bad insect bites now she is seeing a doctor for treatment. Food is bad on the first night we arrive around 7 pm, we were offered cold food and was asked to wait as there are not enough plates to be used. Hot water in the rooms are not sufficient in fact one of my team mates had to take cold shower for three night. When we asked the owner of Rinchelling about this he was adamant and insisted that there are 100 liters of hot water allocated per room. My own room shower is not working! As for check in as we are all part of the big group they wrongly allocated our rooms and insist that some of the team mates wait for the big group to arrive to be able to check in, for me this is simply absurd and it took me 40 minutes to settle this. This prompted me to inform Jigme (our guide ) to switch my team to Village resort hotel all because of the poor service and unprofessionalism of Rinchelling Hotel. I will not recommend Rincheling hotel and will rate it poorly in the blog.

4. Food is not so good in the places we stayed. I supposed the cuisine does not appeal to me.

5. Van is good with an excellent driver, despite the poor road network as mostly all are under road works.

6. Dzongs, temples and monastery are all breath taking all deep in history and what fascinates me most are they are all well preserved and clean.

Hope these comments helped, the only show stopped is the poor service of Rincheling Hotel in Bumthang.

Dear Sonam,

Our trip to Bhutan was outstanding! Our guide and driver, Jigme and Tshering, met us at the airport as planned. They said the had also come the previous day because they had not heard that our flight was delayed. We began the tour right away, which we appreciated. Tshering is an excellent driver and we felt very safe with him at the wheel. Both our guide and driver were always polite and accommodating, willing to answer our questions or make a stop if we requested (we rarely requested).

Overall positives:

1. Hotels were very nice, although Metta was not within walking distance of anything. We like the Norbuling the best.
2. Guide and driver were informative and conscientious
3. Car was comfortable
4. We saw a lot but never felt rushed
5. We really enjoyed seeing the archery and would have liked to have seen more and maybe take a lesson
6. Guide was always willing to take pictures for us

A few thoughts on things for Druk Air to consider:

1. The itinerary said we would be loaned traditional dress to wear at the festivals. I saw other foreigners wearing it at the first festival and asked Jigme about it. It sounded as if he had forgotten and he did have clothing for me (Carole) for the second festival. However, Jigme said that he did not think they had any clothing that would fit Tom. I thought this was odd, considering I saw men larger than Tom with clothing, so it must be available. This is not overly important but it was disappointing, as I felt perhaps Jigme may not have tried very hard to satisfy this part of our itinerary.

2. When we were ready to leave the second festival in Paro, Jigme could not locate Tshering and we had to walk from the festival to our lunch restaurant.

3. While the food was good, it was almost the same each day for both lunch and dinner. It might be nice to have some variety or at least give some options on other places we could go, even if we had to pay.

4. Our flight to Paro was via Kolkata. Even though we stayed in the airport in Kolkata to wait for the Paro flight, India required that we have a visa! Fortunately, we had gotten one for a different purpose (to use on the return trip for a short city tour of Kolkata). We had to use the one meant for the end of the trip at the beginning. Since it was a single-entry visa, we had to figure out how to get another before returning to India. It would be helpful if Druk Air would let customers transiting through India know that they need an Indian visa to simply stay at the airport and wait for our flight.

5. The highlight of the trip was the hike to the Tiger's Nest, which was spectacular. We had a beautiful day and were very excited that we made it and got to see some of the temples at the top. It was too bad that we had to miss a day of the tour due to our flight problems, but we managed to squeeze in a few things from that day later in the trip. We will recommend Druk Asia, as we were very satisfied with our experience. We appreciate your assistance in re-booking our flight when we missed our connection.

Thank you for helping us have such a memorable adventure!

Kind regards,
Carole Fenton

Dear Sonam,

We had a great time, and were thoroughly impressed with Bhutan, our guide and driver.
We all look forward to going back again one day, and hopefully doing the Snowman Trek!
Thanks for your help in organizing an amazing trip that we will never forget.

All the best,
Keith Buck

Dear Sonam,

Happy New Year!

Visiting Bhutan was truly an eye opening experience for the both of us. It was a joy to be able to learn so much from the unique culture and history. I can't stop raving about our guide Jigme. He made every effort to make sure our holiday was enjoyable. I would definitely recommend both our guide and driver to other visitors who wish to explore this beautiful country.

Our hike to the Tiger's Nest in Bhutan was the highlight of our trip. Unfortunately, a horrific accident occurred where we saw a Thai tourist fall off to her death. Although December is the low season in this region, the Tiger's Nest was relatively crowded which makes it unsafe as the passage is narrow and steep. We would recommend other visitors to bring the appropriate trekking shoes for the climb up and warn elderly visitors to avoid climbing up all the way to the top as it can be quite strenuous and dangerous.

I've attached some photos of the highlights of our trip!

Kadin-Chhey,
Sara Tan

Hi Sangay,

The trip was great and we enjoyed the company of Jigme and Kuenzang!

One thing that we would like to feedback is on the food. Bhutanese food is simple but limited variety. We didn't like the vegetarian dinner at Kichu Resort. Luckily the stay at Metta Resort and Spa gave us a change and we enjoyed the food that Mdm Wan prepared for us.

Cheers!

Kuzuzangpo Sangay!

My visit to Bhutan met all of my expectations and exceeded them in many respects. By far the best thing about Bhutan is your ability to maintain your cultural independence in the face of globalisation. By that I mean the fact that Bhutan remains truly different from anywhere else I've been in the world (and I've been to 67 countries) and true to your culture and religion. Your kings have been wise in their approach to what should be introduced from outside and what should be retained so that Bhutan is independent in the best sense of the word. The stories of Bhutanese Buddhism are not purely religious, but also record the history of the country and the battles between warlords up to its unification under your first king. I loved it!

I also really liked the hotels. They were not the nondescript high polished stone and brass of the big hotels in Singapore - each had its own character and warmth added to immeasurably by the friendly staff. Here's a photo I took one morning from the window of my hotel room of the rays of sunlight through the morning mist.

This was two women by the side of the road

And these are the apple trees in the central courtyard in my hotel in Bumthang. My room is at the back

I love dogs - so do Bhutanese apparently!

One thing I would do is to advise in your notes that certain dress standards are expected in temples. In particular, men must wear long trousers and either long sleeved shirts or shirts with collars - no hats or shoes. My son and I brought a number of pairs of shorts so I ended up wearing one pair of long trousers for most of the trip. That wasn't an issue, but I would have been better prepared if I'd known.
 

Hi Sonam,

Thanks so much again!!! we had an amazing time!!!!! please see the pics attached. It was a great privileged to visit Bhutan. I have the receipt of the breakfast from the Bangkok hotel stay. How do you wish to reimburse it?

Kind regards,
Carolyne Hughes

Hi Sonam,

It has been a fantastic trip to Bhutan with Druk Asia. Tour guide Jigme Dorji has been attentive and Driver Tensin Phuentsho has made every effort to make the bumpy road trip entertaining. Thank you for the remarkable services the two have provided.

Attached please find a photo while riding on a horse to Tiger's Nest temple.

Druk Asia would definitely be my choice of tour operator if I shall do another visit to Bhutan.
 

Hi Sangay,

Hope you had a Merry Christmas :) We just came back from another trip and finally got down to writing the feedback. Thanks for the patience!

Ellson and I had a very enjoyable and memorable 6-day in Bhutan. Initially, we were afraid that we might be bored in Bhutan with the relatively short itinerary each day. However, as the days went by, we found ourselves very relaxed and well rested with the well-paced itinerary. During the 6 days, we immersed ourselves in the beautiful scenery, fresh cool air as well as understanding the culture and history of Bhutan.

We particularly enjoyed the stay in Gangtey and Paro. We were excited to watch the endangered black-neck crane in Gangtey and the stay in the beautiful resort amidst the breathtaking scenery was a very memorable experience for us. As for Paro, we enjoyed the horseback-riding and trekking experience to the famed Tiger's nest. Though it was tiring to trek up and down the mountain, to personally witness the amazing view of the Tiger's Nest was worth all the effort and time. The hot stone bath experience within a hut in an open field at near 0 degree Celsius also a very pleasant surprise and memorable experience for us. Last but not least, we were glad to end off our stay with a very enjoyable and comfortable stay in Uma Paro Hotel.

Our overall experience in Bhutan was a very memorable one and we would recommend nature lovers to visit this beautiful country. It would be great if a map of Bhutan could be included in the itinerary so we could better appreciate the places we visit during the trip. It would also be more ideal if there could be a wider variety of food selection during the trip.

Thanks Druk Asia for making all the arrangements!

 

Dear Sonam,

On behalf of the group, I would like to thank you for your effort in making all arrangements for us during our trip to Bhutan. It was an experience we will all treasure and the guides and everyone on trek were great. Metta Resorts and Spa was fantastic. I am sure Jigme has sent you some funny pictures of us during the trek. Stay well and thanks again.

Hello Sonam,

Kuzuzangpo La!

I am well, in fact I just started my new job and that explains my late reply to your email. Please accept my sincere apologies.

I thoroughly enjoyed Bhutan and I must say its has been a wonderful experience. I have provided my feedback earlier through the feedback form that I was given. My only comments were that for Bumthang, the duration of stay is too long as I had 2 half days of tour, as the other attractions within Bumthang is too far to be cramped into a single day. Also, if you could also include the admission of the beer factory and cheese making, that would be great. I skipped these 2 attractions. Maybe also partly maybe I was also tired.

I would love to share with you my photos, and I have attached some in the next email. If there’s any specific ones, do let me know and I’ll see if I have, I have start referring my friends to Druk Asia if they do want to travel, and I will contact you once it’s more firmed up.

Best regards,
Edwin

Dear Sonam,

It was nice seeing you in Paro! We came back one month ago and our minds are also still in Bhutan haha. Although we were sick, we enjoyed ourselves.

The 10-day itinerary Druk Asia offered was very comprehensive, but unfortunately, we arrived on a weekend in Thimphu. We did not get to visit some of the museums which we wanted to go to. Probably you can suggest future travellers to schedule their arrival in Bhutan on weekdays. The temples and dzongs were really fascinating, and the Tiger Nest Monastery was simply awesome. Now we really feel like we have been to Bhutan! And we really appreciate the cultural performance put up in Metta Hotel, which was an eye-opener for us.

It was very interesting to eat Bhutanese food throughout the trip, however it would have been nice if there could have been more alternatives. We really wanted to go to the Swiss guest house in Bumthang for pizza however the guide said there would be a problem with payment as they did not accept credit card. Is this the case for most foreign dining places? Perhaps then it should either be removed from the itinerary or informed to the guests so we could prepare extra money if we really wanted to visit these restaurants. We were also interested in dining at the restaurant at Uma Paro. However our guide said that it was extremely expensive and we even had to go and ask for ourselves the price and menu at Uma Paro after the hike around it. Is it normally the case that guests have to inquire for themselves regarding these dining matters?

We were a bit confused with our guide’s behaviour. Although he was extremely knowledgeable about the sites and was admirably fit during the treks, he was quite awkward in terms of communicating with us. For instance he seemed to prefer not to speak to us beyond what is necessary e.g. info regarding the temples. Sometimes it ended up that this other tour guide (the Indian couple’s guide) who travelled on the same route, was looking out more for us than he was. In contrast, our driver was so observant and responsive to our needs. He was sincerely concerned for us when we were sick and even tried to advise us on how to relieve the sickness. He even offered to buy medicine for us. In the car he was always concerned if his driving was making us sick. There were also times when he offered to stop the car for us to take photos when we were merely touching our phones aka camera. The last day we were really interested to try archery and while the guide dismissively said that it was unavailable, the driver took the initiative himself to ask around for a bow and some arrows so we could just try it out. We really appreciated it very much.

All in all, it was still a very good experience and if there are new itineraries available in the future, we would consider going back to Bhutan again! Our driver even invited us to a game of archery after we train in Singapore hahaha.

Thanks for arranging this trip and good luck in planning for your future trips!
 

We have just returned from our "7 day essential Bhutan tour" and it was one of our best family trip and adventure. It is such a privilege to visit your lovely country and we are thoroughly impressed by the unspoiled beautiful landscape, the rich culture and most of all, the religious devotion and good nature of the Bhutanese people.

We want to thank you for the arrangement, providing us with useful information (not found in guidebooks) before the trip and we really appreciated your personal phone call during the trip to check on our needs. Our trip was very enjoyable and even our 11 year old son said he would like to go back to Bhutan again! We also want to compliment both the guide (Jigme Dorji) and driver (Tenzin Dhendup) as they have been instrumental in making this a smooth and hassle free journey for us. They have become our two new friends in Bhutan and we really appreciated their warm and considerate treatment during the trip.

Jigme spoke good English and was able to explain the history and significance of each destination clearly. He checked on us regularly and made sure we were comfortable with the lodging, food at every restaurant and even during the car ride. He was very patient throughout the trip, especially during the hike up to Tiger’s Nest, where he paced it slower to make sure it was not too strenuous for our son. He also accommodated to our additional requests eg. arranging for us to sample the Ara, looking for Bhutanese CDs, stopping by the river stream, etc. We also enjoyed all the conversations we had during the long car rides where we learnt alot about the Bhutanese way of life!

Tenzin, our driver really impressed us with his attentiveness throughout the trip. His driving skill was superb and we feel very fortunate to have him take us safely through the windy mountain roads. Throughout the trip, he was always punctual and was always waiting ahead of us. Although he spoke very little, he was very observant during the journey - without any prompting, he knew exactly when to slow down the driving and tried to avoid the potholes when our son had a little car sickness. At Meri Puensum, when we casually asked about the dzong above the hotel and without any hesitation, he offered to drive us up. He also took the effort to get an auxiliary cable so that I could play my iPhone songs during the car journey - these are just a few examples of his kindness but his efforts are well appreciated and have not gone unnoticed.

This short note is not enough to fully expressed the memorable experience which we will treasure for a long time. Nevertheless, we hope you will provide this feedback as well to their respective companies and we are sure they will also give other travellers this wonderful experience that they have shared with us.