GETTING THERE BASICS
Getting there In the autumn and spring tourist high seasons (late Sept to mid-Nov and late Feb to late March), flights to Kathmandu – Nepal’s only international airport – often fill up months ahead. Most people book tickets through to Kathmandu, but you can also make your own way to a major regional air hub such as Delhi, and arrange transport from there. Airfares depend on the time of year, but timings of the high, low and shoulder seasons are calculated differently by each airline, and may not always coincide with tourist seasons. You can sometimes cut costs by going through a specialist flight agent such as STA Travel (W statravel.com) or Trailfinders (W trailfinders.com), but the best deals tend to be found online (compare prices on an aggregator like W momondo.com or W kayak.com). Round-the-World tickets are worth considering, but cheaper off-the-peg tickets don’t generally allow you to fly both into and out of Kathmandu. Figure on around at least £1500/ US$2250 for a ticket that includes Nepal.
Flights from the UK and Ireland
MOUNTAIN VIEWS If you’re flying into or out of Kathmandu via Delhi or the Gulf, it’s worth trying to book a daytime flight, as the views on clear days are astounding. Flying west from Kathmandu, many flights now take a particularly astonishing route, during which the western Himalayas scroll right past your window. Check in early to ensure a window seat on the best side: on the left on the way in (seats lettered A), and on the right on the way out.
Travellers from Ireland will generally have to journey via London or another European city.
Flights from the US and Canada If you live on the east coast it’s quicker to fly to Nepal via Europe and then – typically – the Middle East or India (see p.22). From the west coast it’s easier to go via the Far East on a carrier like Singapore Airlines (W singaporeair.com), Thai Airways (W thaiairways.com), Malaysian Airlines (W malaysiaairlines.com) or Cathay Pacific (W cathay pacific.com). Expect to spend 20–24 hours on planes if you travel via these routes. Seasonal considerations may help determine which route you fly; note that these airline seasons don’t necessarily coincide with Nepal’s autumn and spring tourist seasons. Most airlines consider high season to be summer and the period around Christmas; low season is winter (excluding Christmas), while spring and autumn may be considered low or shoulder season, depending on your route. High-season prices from both the east and west coasts are around US$1350–2000. From Canada, the cheapest flights tend to be from Toronto, flying eastwards, and cost around Can$1750–2400 in the high season.
There are no direct flights from London, Ireland or indeed Europe as a whole to Kathmandu, so you’ll have to make at least one stop en route. Fares are seasonal, and airlines generally charge full whack (around £650–900) from late September to mid-November, late February to late March, and during the Christmas period. It’s often possible, however, to find discounted fares (around £550–700), especially on less convenient routes, and prices drop outside of these periods, when you may be able to get a flight for as little as £500. From London, Emirates (W emirates.com) and Qatar Airways (W qatarairways.com) offer the most direct routings via the Middle East. Another good Flights from Australia, New option is to fly on Jet Airways (W jetairways.com) or Zealand and South Africa Air India (W airindia.com) via Delhi/Mumbai. Travelling ipi8hfBu+Fu1Tqp6g5eaALs= by other routes takes longer (sometimes with long The cheapest flights by far from Australia (and stopovers), but relatively inexpensive deals can often more or less everywhere else in Asia) are with Air be found on carriers such as Etihad Airways (W etihad Asia (W airasia.com). These can cost as little as .com), Oman Air (W omanair.com) or a Virgin Atlantic/ Aus$850 return, and are often quicker than travelling with other airlines. Air Asia don’t fly from New Jet Airways combo (through an online agent). Flights Zealand however. on Malaysian Airlines (W malaysiaairlines.com) and Flying from Australia or New Zealand with a Singapore Airlines (W singaporeair.com) aren’t really mainstream carrier invariably means travelling worth considering because you’ll have to double with Malaysian Airlines (W malaysiaairlines.com) back from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.
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