Tickets to Tibet: How to Book Your Flight or Train to Tibet Successfully for your Tibet tour?

Currently, the most popular ways to get to Tibet is to take a Tibet train or flight to Lhasa. Although there are many choices for tourists on both flight and trains, it still requires much efforts to successfully get a proper ticket to Tibet. One reason may be that travelling in Tibet is quite different from that in other places in China, especially for foreign travelers. To help tourists to successfully book a flight to train to Tibet, here we have listed some important tips for your reference.

Status of Train and Flight Tickets to Tibet

Trains to Tibet

Tibet trains depart from the major cities in mainland China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi’an, Lanzhou, Xining, Chengdu, and Chongqing etc. Except Xining, where the Qinghai-Tibet Railway starts, to most departure cities, there is only one train scheduled to run to Lhasa every day. As a result, getting a train ticket to Tibet will always be a challenging task on most occasions.

Besides, many travelers tend to travel to Tibet by train from Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Xi’an, since they usually enter China through one of these cities from overseas and would like to have a sightseeing there before travel to Tibet. Therefore, booking the train ticket of these popular routes will be more difficult to some degree.

Flights to Tibet

On the other hand, tourists can book a domestic flight to Lhasa from mainland China, or an international flight from Kathmandu. There is no other direct flights from New York, London, Singapore or the rest overseas destinations. Foreign travelers who want to fly to Tibet need to first take an international flight to Beijing, Shanghai or other gateway cities, and then take the flight to Lhasa.

Tourists can book a domestic flight to Lhasa from mainland China.

Compared with the limited train tickets to Tibet, the supply of flights tickets to Tibet is adequate, especially for the flights from Chengdu to Lhasa, which will offer a dozen in peak travel season. But the ticket fare on flights to Tibet will also be very expensive, and there will be fewer chance to get a big discount.

How to Book the Train or Flight to Tibet Successfully?

When thinking of booking a ticket to Tibet, one may find it is more complicated than one thought. There are rules and regulations specifically for tour in Tibet, and the situations of booking a train or flight to Tibet may vary from that to other places. So getting a ticket to Tibet successfully will be a result of an attempt for many travelers.

Prepare the Required Tibet Travel Documents

First of all, before purchasing your train to flight ticket to Tibet, you should get your Tibet Travel Permit as a foreign traveler. The Tibet Travel Permit is a must for all non-Chinese passport holders to enter and travel around Tibet. It can only be obtained by a local travel agency on behalf of travelers. Without the permit, you will not be allowed to book Tibet train ticket at the railway station and board the train or flight to Tibet.

Book Your Tickets to Tibet in Advance

Getting a Tibet train ticket for the date you want to travel to Tibet can be quite difficult, since the huge demand always exceeds the supply of the train tickets in China. And the earlier you begin to book your train ticket to Tibet, the more chances you will have to get a proper seat you want. Normally, you can book the train ticket 30 days in advance online, 28 days in advance at the railway station. When booking the train to Tibet from the ticket office of the railway station, foreigners need to show their valid passports and Tibet Travel Permit.

It is recommended to book your ticket to Tibet in advance.

If you plan to book a flight to Tibet, the situation may be different. As the flight fares keep changing, and the schedules are greatly affected by climate and seasonal change, tourists need to pay attention to the flight you want to book closely. Generally, it is advised to book your flight to Tibet 15 to 50 days before the departure date. It is hard to guarantee the ticket if you book too late while you may miss the discounted opportunity if you book too early.

Avoid Booking in Peak Seasons

During the peak travel season when more tourists flood into Tibet, there will be less chance for you to get a flight or train ticket to Tibet. For Tibet tour, the peak season is normally from April to October. While in some national holidays in China, like National Day, May Day, Chinses Spring Festival, lots of people on leave will travel to Tibet as well. Therefore, it is better to avoid booking your Tibet train ticket or flight during these periods.

Book the Flight to Xining and Train Ticket from Xining to Lhasa

If you can barely get a train ticket to Tibet and find the flights to Tibet not cost-effective at the same time, there is an alternative option for you: buy a flight ticket to Xining and a connecting Xining to Lhasa train ticket together. One reason to take this option is that you can have more chances to get the train ticket, as every Tibet train to Lhasa will stop over at Xining. Besides, you can also cut down the cost on tickets to Tibet, as the flights to Xining will be much cheaper compared to the direct flights to Lhasa.

Make Successful Book with a Reliable Travel Agency

When book the train ticket or air ticket to Tibet on your own, you may face a series of challenges and difficulties. For example, ticket sellers at some railway stations may know little about English. Or, you will find the transaction online unable to proceed successfully when you haven’t provided the permit in time. To avoid those unnecessary troubles and to save more time and energy, the best option is to entrust a local travel agency to book the ticket for you.

As a matter of fact, booking through a reliable local travel agency is the easiest and most guaranteed way to successfully get the ticket you want. Just like us, a leading tour operator in Tibet, we will not only help to get the train ticket or flight ticket on your required travel dates, but also offer excellent one-package service of Tibet Travel Permit application, tour arrangement, transportation, airport transfer etc. With every details being sorted out, you will be more likely to enjoy a pleasant and hassle-free tour in Tibet.