Los Martes
al
Sol...
Tuesdays under the sun:
A blog about soaking in the world.
Nepal is a country that can be visited with a very small budget, especially if you belong to one of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) nations: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Of course, you need to prove this when paying for entrance fees to monuments by showing ID, or trying to convince them by speaking in Hindi (and even then, some sort of proof, such as the Overseas Citizen of India visa is usually necessary). Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a budget breakdown.
Nepal... in a nutshell
Visas
We paid €40 for a 15 day visa in the Nepalese embassy in Madrid (Cuzco). There were no queues and it was a simple case of filling out a form and paying for the visa which was added to our passports immediately . For more information visit http://www.nepal.es or the Nepalese embassy website in your country.
A visa can be be bought upon arrival, and will save you around €10, as long as you're prepared to queue in the airport. I think it's worth it if you're on a budget... after all, what's the rush?
Accommodation
We paid around €10 a night for accommodation in Kathmandu and were in Thamel, the heart of the tourist district (there weren't many tourists due to it being off-peak season). This was the price for a very budget hostel with no "luxuries" other than the location. Double the price per night and you'll find yourself in a decent hotel where you can get some peace and quiet of a night. It just depends on what you're looking for, and how much you want to spend.
Food and drink
A variety of different cuisine can be found in Nepal and portion sizes tend to be decent; Indian, Mexican and Chinese being amongst the most popular when eating out. Nepalese food consists of dhaal (lentils), pickle, rice and vegetarian, fish, lamb or chicken curries and is normally served on a "thali" or tray. But, be prepared to feel as though you've been given the leftovers if you order a "non veg thali"...I've seen more meat on Kate Moss' ankles.
Nepalese food may look like Indian food at first, but it's not as spicy and can seem a bit tasteless (even the spicy dishes taste of chilli but not much else). The "sizzlers" are a good option and are usually big enough to share, but again they can be quite bland unless you add some sort of sauce. You can't go wrong with soup - it was good in every restaurant.
On average, a set breakfast costs between 150 PR and 200 NPR (Nepalese Rupees) depending on how central you are. This currently converts to about 2USD or €1.75 which is great because the breakfast is pretty filling. Lunch usually costs about €7 without alcohol, and dinner around €9. The night when we went "mad" and got wine and a three course meal in a very central, trendy restaurant we managed to spend €15 in total!
In terms of drink, a 1 litre bottle of beer came in at around €3or €4; there are also options to buy small bottles of spirits if you want more than just one (who wouldn't?!) for around €7.
A bottle of wine costs around €9 and I recommend the Sauvignon Blanc from India if there's nothing more familiar available. It was surprisingly good!
Remember these prices are the total for 2 people so if you're sharing like we are, it works out dirt cheap per person. Most restaurants in Kathmandu have a rooftop terrace with patio heaters or blankets in winter (in the evening) and are the kinds of places you would pay a fortune to eat in if you were in Europe.
Transport
The best way to get around in Nepal is by hiring a driver, as the public buses are not recommended. They look like 10 seater buses with about 30 people on them. As we booked a driver with accommodation and excursions I am not sure of the exact price per day for a driver, but I recommend Sharma Travel
Money makes the world go round...
You can pay for pretty much anything in US dollars if you have them, and funnily enough they convert 1000 NPR as 10 USD regardless; depending on the current exchange rate, this means you actually end up paying a lot less for everything in dollars, especially if you’re handing over large amounts of moeny for excursions or activities etc. (sometimes, of course, it means the opposite, just use a conversion app on your mobile to check what works out more beneficial). However, as I mentioned before, you’re probably being charged more for being a foreigner, so in the long-term you’re still the loser. ;)
So, how much?!
Based on 2 people sharing accommodation and food, the total budget is around:
Visas: €40 per person
Food and drink: €20 a day (without alcohol)
Accommodation: €15 - €20 a day, depending on how "budget" you want to go.
Excursions: anything between €10 - €25 for Non-SAARC tourists.