A six-day Bhutan trip from South India costs about ₹1.35 lakh to ₹2.22 lakh for two people in 2026, or roughly ₹67,000 to ₹1,11,000 per person, once the land package, the flights, the Sustainable Development Fee, lunches and monument tickets are all counted. The biggest swing is how you get in: flying to Paro through Delhi or Kolkata costs far more than flying to Bagdogra and driving across the border at Phuentsholing. This Bhutan trip cost from India is added up line by line, and each line says whether it is our published package price, an official fee or a typical market range, as of September 2026.
The whole trip for two, line by line
| Line, for two people | By road via Bagdogra | By air to Paro |
|---|---|---|
| Land package, 6 days, twin sharing | ₹77,980 | ₹78,580 |
| Sustainable Development Fee, 5 nights | Up to ₹12,000 | Listed as included |
| Return flights, typical range | ₹34,000 to ₹80,000 | ₹80,000 to ₹1,20,000 |
| Lunches and snacks | ₹6,000 to ₹15,000 | ₹6,000 to ₹15,000 |
| Monument tickets | ₹4,600 to ₹6,400 | ₹8,400 |
| Total for two | ₹1.35 to ₹1.91 lakh | ₹1.73 to ₹2.22 lakh |
The road column uses our 6 Days Bhutan Escape from Siliguri at ₹38,990 per person, which starts and ends at Bagdogra airport or New Jalpaiguri station. The air column uses the 6 Days Bhutan Sightseeing Getaway at ₹39,290 per person, which lands at Paro and adds Punakha; its trip page lists the Sustainable Development Fee among the inclusions, so confirm that line on your quote. Both prices are per person on twin sharing, without flights. The flight, lunch and ticket lines are typical ranges, not quotes; the road trip skips Punakha, so its ticket line is lower, and both packages include breakfast and dinner on most days. Travel insurance, tips and shopping are not counted.
Flights: the line that decides the budget
No Indian airline flies into Bhutan. Paro is served only by Drukair and Bhutan Airlines, from Delhi (about 2 hours 20 minutes) and Kolkata (about an hour) every day, so from South India you connect. In September 2026 Bhutan Airlines was advertising one-way fares from US$191 Kolkata to Paro and US$246 Delhi to Paro; add the domestic ticket and expect very roughly ₹40,000 to ₹60,000 return per person from South India, highest around the spring Paro Tshechu and in October. Paro flights run in daylight only, and Bhutan Airlines' daily Kolkata departure is around 8:30 am (9 am from mid-November), so from South India you would usually reach Kolkata the evening before.
The road route is cheaper. As of September 2026, IndiGo and Air India Express each fly non-stop from Hyderabad to Bagdogra once a day, in about 2 hours 15 to 30 minutes; Bengaluru has a single early-morning Air India Express non-stop of about 2 hours 50 minutes; and from Chennai, booking sites showed only one-stop journeys. A return in economy is very roughly ₹17,000 to ₹40,000, and fares tend to climb around Durga Puja and Diwali and in the April to June holidays. Flights are never part of our land packages; we quote them separately on request. Routings by city are on the Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai pages.
The Sustainable Development Fee: ₹1,200 a night
The SDF is a government levy on top of the hotel, car and guide. As of September 2026 Indians pay ₹1,200 per adult per night, ₹600 for children aged 6 to 11 and nothing for children under 6; most other nationalities pay US$100. It is paid with the permit application, and the permit itself is free, so Indians pay no visa fee. Two adults on a five-night trip pay ₹12,000, and a family of two adults and a nine-year-old pays ₹15,000.
Most of our Bhutan trip pages list the SDF as extra, and the planner adds the exact amount for your dates. A Department of Immigration scheme lets travellers with a permit processed in advance claim back one night's SDF for a hotel night in a border town such as Phuentsholing, but the official sites give different end dates for it and we could not confirm how it works in practice, so budget the full fee. The rules are in Bhutan permit and SDF for Indians.
Hotels: ₹2,200 to ₹50,000 a night
Tourists may stay only in hotels approved by Bhutan's Department of Tourism. Rough prices for a double room in Thimphu or Paro, from Booking.com rates for mid-October 2026 checked in September 2026:
- Certified 3-star: ₹2,200 to ₹4,500 a night.
- 4-star, or a well-rated boutique 3-star: ₹5,000 to ₹8,000.
- Five-star and upscale resorts: about ₹20,000 to ₹50,000. Le Meridien Paro Riverfront was about ₹46,000 for a mid-October night, and the Aman, COMO Uma and Six Senses lodges cost far more.
Five nights in a mid-range room booked on your own come to ₹25,000 to ₹40,000 before a car, a guide or a meal; a package puts the hotel together with meals, sightseeing and, on most of our trips, private transfers and a guide.
Food, getting around and monument tickets
Eating in local and hotel restaurants costs roughly ₹1,000 to ₹2,500 per person a day, an estimate rather than an official figure, and Indian food is easy to find. There are no self-drive rental cars and no public transport from Paro airport apart from taxis, so tourists travel in a private car with a driver and a certified guide. Most of our Bhutan trip pages list private transfers and a guide among the inclusions, but not all of them do, so check the trip you pick.
Monument fees are paid on the spot, in cash or through the goBoB app, and one ngultrum equals one rupee:
- Paro Taktsang (Tiger's Nest): Nu 1,000.
- Punakha Dzong and Chimi Lhakhang: Nu 500 each.
- Tashichho Dzong, the National Memorial Chorten and Kyichu Lhakhang: Nu 500 each.
- Ta Dzong (National Museum) and the Takin Preserve: Nu 300 each. Folk Heritage Museum: Nu 100 for Indians.
- Buddha Dordenma, Rinpung Dzong and Simtokha Dzong: free.
All of them together come to ₹4,200 a person; under-18s pay half and children aged five and below go free. The fee sheet is undated, so check the rate on the day.
Our Bhutan packages: prices and what they cover
| Trip | From, per person | SDF on top, per adult |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Days Bhutan Paro Thimphu Getaway | ₹28,500 | ₹4,800 |
| 6 Days Bhutan Paro Thimphu Escape | ₹28,500 | Up to ₹6,000 |
| 6 Days Bhutan Escape from Siliguri | ₹38,990 | Up to ₹6,000 |
| 6 Days Bhutan Sightseeing Getaway | ₹39,290 | Listed as included |
| 7 Days Bhutan Punakha Dochula Escape | ₹45,499 | Up to ₹7,200 |
| 8 Days Bhutan Gangtey Valley Escape | ₹48,299 | Up to ₹8,400 |
| 8 Days Bhutan Taktsang Trek Adventure | ₹52,990 | Up to ₹8,400 |
| 11 Days Bhutan Sikkim Darjeeling Grand Escape | ₹61,000 | Up to ₹6,000 |
Prices are our published September 2026 figures, per person on twin sharing, for a private trip without flights. The SDF column counts nights inside Bhutan; "up to" marks trips with a night in Phuentsholing. The 5-day and Sightseeing trips fly into Paro; the others drive in through Phuentsholing, and the Gangtey trip flies home from Paro. Every trip covers hotels with breakfast (most add one more meal), the planned sightseeing and the Tiger's Nest hike, and most also list private transfers and an English-speaking guide, so check the inclusions on each trip page. None includes flights, travel insurance, unlisted meals or tips. The 6 Days Bhutan Sightseeing Honeymoon at ₹41,290 adds room decor and a candlelight dinner.
How to bring the number down
- Go in by road. Bagdogra flights from Hyderabad and Bengaluru usually cost far less than a Paro connection; the price is two long drives and no Punakha on a six-day plan.
- Avoid October and the spring festival weeks. October is the busiest and dearest month; December to February is cold but quiet, and the monsoon months have quieter hotels but cloudy views.
- Travel as a family with young children: the SDF is half for ages 6 to 11 and nothing under 6, and monuments are half price under 18.
- Pay in rupees. The ngultrum is pegged one to one and rupee cash is widely accepted, so there is no exchange margin; do not rely on UPI alone.
Questions we are asked most
How much does a Bhutan trip cost from India?
For two people on a six-day trip from South India, about ₹1.35 lakh to ₹2.22 lakh in 2026, counting flights, the SDF, lunches and monument tickets. Going in by road via Bagdogra is the cheaper way; flying to Paro through Delhi or Kolkata costs more.
Is the SDF included in Bhutan tour packages?
On most of ours, no. Indians pay ₹1,200 per adult per night as of September 2026, on top of the package price. Our 6 Days Bhutan Sightseeing Getaway and its honeymoon version list it as included; on our other Bhutan trips the planner adds it for your dates.
Is it cheaper to go to Bhutan by road or by air?
By road, usually. Return flights to Bagdogra run very roughly ₹17,000 to ₹40,000 per person, against ₹40,000 to ₹60,000 to Paro through Delhi or Kolkata, as of September 2026. The road trip adds a long travel day each way.
The day-by-day plan is in the 6 day Bhutan itinerary, the quieter and busier months in the best time to visit Bhutan, and the Sikkim alternative in Bhutan or Sikkim. For the trip itself, start from the Bhutan tour packages and tell the planner your dates, your city and who is travelling; the SDF for your nights is set out on the quote, and flights are quoted separately if you want them.
