Offroad Driving in Bumthang

Expeditions India & Bhutan 12 Days

Absolutely Brilliant

I reviewed the india part of this tour last week (for which i also gave 5 stars). This review is focused on beautiful Bhutan. It has been a once in a lifetime experience. Our driver and guide Yangka and Yeshi have been outstanding. They have gone the extra mile every day, particularly organising a wheelchair for us and taking it safely over some interesting terrain! Always with a courteous smile and excellent conversation. Their knowledge of all the sites we visited was exceptional, and we have learned so much about the Bhutanese culture and Buddism. We travelled to Thimpu, Punakha and Paro seeing all the amazing Dzongs , temples, the Dochula pass and the awe-inspiring Tigers Nest. I would recommend Yeshi and Yangka to anyone. Brilliant experience.

16 Days Amazing Bhutan From East to West

Amazing Experience - Fantastic guide and driver!

The title of this tour is right on! This was an amazing trip from the moment we climbed aboard our plane from Paro to Yonphula in eastern Bhutan. Our guide, Sonam Phuntsho and driver, Leki Dorji, welcomed us and immediately made sure we were comfortable and happy. They both know their way around in the many small villages we visited, and facilitated access to villagers' homes and lifestyles. We felt like we had friends everywhere we went. All the things we were hoping to experience and see (yaks, yak herders, high elevation camps, hikes, monasteries and temples (oh my!), wildlife, Himalayan scenery, festivals, people, flowers, plants, rivers! I could go on. Sonam and Leki made our trip memorable in so many ways --- from the little things they did behind the scenes to dressing us up in the native costume. I feel like we made life-long friends with our hosts. I also want to thank Karma Sangay Phuntsho, for Bhutan Acorn Travel, who responded to my many questions quickly and completely and managed logistics. What a great tour company -- I highly recommend both the 16-day tour (you really learn and experience the country and people), and Acorn with its experienced and awesome guides, drivers and directors.

Bhutan Photography Tour: (10N/11D)

13 day custom tour of Bhutan including Haa, Thimphu, Punakha, Bhumthan, Tsongsa, Phobjika

Had an amazing experience in Bhutan. My partner and I are huge travelers (Angkor Wat, Egypt, Jordan, etc) and Bhutan really takes the cake. We loved the cultural immersion - a truly low tourist country with much of the customs and monuments intact with limited tourist floods. Our tour agent Madu did a phenomenal job customizing our trip. My partner is a maximizer and she really worked with him that we could go to three festivals, see temples, visit tigers nest, stay in hotels and homestays, and more. We really maxed the 13 days, it was amazing. Our tour guide Tandin Dorji is one of the best. He's done tours year round for eight years (he’s not just a seasonal guide) and his English is excellent (characterized by his great humor - we laughed the whole trip). He does an outstanding job of sharing everything from culture, Buddhism, food, music (we played in the car and went to a small music festival as a surprise at night in Tsongsa with some of Bhutans most famous), animals (we saw wild macaques, golden langur, grey langur, and martens, in addition to a zoo on animals. Tandin and Rinzen always made a point to stop at amazing viewpoints, great lunch spots, and at animal sightings. The two of them really made the trip. Rinzen was a phenomenal driver and also kept us laughing immensely with her jokes, Tik Toks, and music. We always felt safe and she drove us through some modestly dicey roads with ease. On the last night she invited us to her house for dinner and it was fabulous. Bhutan truly was a once in a lifetime experience. We did hikes with breathtaking views, slept at a high altitude monestary, saw exotic wildlife, ate food beyond our wildest expectations (it was actually VERY good when at restaurants and homesteads! Hotel food left something to be desired, though perhaps mass made). My personal favorites were the hot stone baths at amaoums, Mountain View’s, and variety of activities with low tourist density (hate the feeling for being shuttle bussed from site to site and this was NOT that). Lastly, guides/drivers really make your trip. You’re with them the vast majority of waking hours. They all seemed to be good, but can absolutely attest to Tandin and Rinzen being TOP NOTCH. Thanks for an amazing trip all!!!