Insurance
Insurance is not included in our tour charges as there is no system of Insurance related to Travel in Bhutan. Clients desiring to have Insurance Coverage have to do it with their local Insurance Company.
Following are few suggestions and areas that you may want to consider for insurance coverage.
Vehicle based Tours:
Should you fall ill while traveling around the country, Doctor services, medication and general checkup (x-ray, blood test etc) will be provided free in Bhutan if you hold a valid tourist visa.
All District towns have a Hospital and you will have access to a Hospital if you are not on a trek. Apart from the Hospital in Thimphu the rest of the hospitals are not as sophisticated but is manned by a Medical Doctor and most drugs will be available at the hospital.
The only means of transport in Bhutan is by cars. Extra precaution is taken to avoid a car accident in the tourism Industry. Cars used for Tourism activities are in excellent condition, the most important is the driver who is well experienced and the speed of the car which is maintained to less than 30-35km per hour in the windy road conditions here. With these precautions and proper briefing to the driver before each trip, incidents during a Tourist trip is minimal. For the more careful traveler, we advise for Insurance.
Trekking Trip:
On a trekking trip the only major problem that will arise is should the client fall sick due to Altitude or a fracture and enter a no walking condition or due to some serious illness.
To avoid such trips, proper planning of Physical condition is required before you come for a trek to Bhutan. On any of the treks in Bhutan, you will have to walk for several hours and hillsides are steep and longer treks reach altitudes that can make a person prone to altitude sickness, there are no tea houses/lodges like in Nepal where you can break you trek for the day if it gets difficult.
Understanding the symptoms of Altitude Sickness and acclimatizing before you start your trek is important. We usually conduct your cultural tour before you start you trek to acclimatize. The elevation of Paro is 2280m and Thimphu is 2300m and similarly the other towns are around this range and will tell you how you acclimatise. The next thing to see how you get along as you start your trek, usually each day you gain an average of 400-600 m and you can easily tell if you are getting sick and descent is the best solution. If you are on your first treks and you are not sure about your body’s willingness to acclimatise, then the safest solution will be to go for the shorter 3-4 day treks.
The most important decision if you want to enjoy your Bhutan trek will be to select the trek according to your physical capability. There are easy 3-4 day treks to moderate 8-9 day treks to strenuous and difficult 14-23 day treks. For this decision we will advice you accordingly with itineraries, elevations, walking distance etc.
Pages 260-261 of the Lonely Planet Guidebook(2nd edition) on Bhutan by Author Stan Armington has good information on Acclimatisation and Altitude Illness
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Insurance for Air-Lift
There are no Rescue Helicopters in Bhutan. Should an emergency arise during a trek and airlift is required, we can get one from the Indian Army or from a Rescue Service in Nepal.
Paper work is quite complicated but the choppers can get to the emergency point in less than 24 hours. For this purpose we advice the clients to insure for Air Lift. The rates for air lift keep changing and you should contact us if you intend to have Insurance for Air lift.
Insurance for personal belonging:
Expensive Audio/Video equipments and other travel equipments (GPS, Satellite phones etc) maybe a option for Insurance. Damages are a possibility while on treks. Theft is very rare in Bhutan, but if your tour extends to the Indian Subcontinent then Insurance may be advisable. Expensive jewellery should not be brought for your tours, if you have to have them then they may also be considered for insurance.
If you are on a cycling/rafting or any outdoor activity tour, then you may want to insure your expensive bicycle/ raft or equipments. You may also want to insure against bodily injury.
Insurance for cancellation of trips is also advisable although it is minimal if cancelled 30 days prior to your trip. Cancellation charges are as follows:
Canceling/ Changing your trip
If you must cancel your trip the following cancellation fees will be charged:
30 days before the trip : Administration fee of $ 200 will be charged
0-30 days before the trip : 50% of Trip cost
No intimation of cancellation and No show : 100% of Trip Cost and Druk-Air fare
If you don’t want to cancel, you can decide to change to a tourist trip to be taken within a year from the day of intimation of postponement. For this there will not be no cancellation charges on Trip Cost
Cancellation of Druk-Air
Druk-Air has very strict cancellation charges due to limited seats and over booking.
60 days before the trip : US$ 25 charge
Less than 60 days : No refund.
Page 79 of the Lonely Planet Guidebook (2nd edition) on Bhutan by Author Stan Armington has some suggestions on Travel Insurance.
Should you require immediate & complicated medications and of International Standards, then the nearest best hospitals are in Bangkok, Thailand. The Bumrungrad Hospital In Bangkok has a reputation of having World Standard facilities, staff and medications. You can visit their website at www.bumrungrad.com
There are several other Insurance coverage’s when travelling to this part of Asia and your local Insurance Company would be the best adviser and usually has a standard insurance policy that you can follow.
The end option is left to the traveler, we have travelers who come to Bhutan with basic Insurance coverage as well as travellers who Insure more than required.
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