To big fans of train journey and budget travelers with enough holidays, travelling to Lhasa all the way from Guangzhou works best for you. You first travel from HK to Guangzhou via Kowloon—Guangzhou Train (2h) and later take Guangzhou-Lhasa train (53:45h) to Tibet. The epic ride covers 4980km and 8 provinces across mainland China. The long hours of train ride are a big challenge for one’s stamina and patience. However, to Railfan, it’s nothing but a heaven. It’s a great opportunity to take a panoramic view of the varied Chinese topography and spectacular landscape.
The good news is that the direct Hong Kong - Lhasa flight (TV9911/ TV9912) operated by Tibet Airlines opened to public from mid-Jan. 2020. The direct flight from Hong Kong to Lhasa takes 4 hours 10min; and 4 hours in reverse. Besides, you also can fly from HK to Xining or Chengdu and later keep flying from Xining or Chengdu to Lhasa. The total flight will take around 10-11 hours to reach Lhasa. Travelling in this way, the cost is fairly expensive and the drastic altitude change from pleasant coastal city to soar Qinghai-Tibet Plateau forms a touchstone to one’s physical fitness. In this case, tourists are more likely to have altitude sickness due to the quick ascent. If you have a tight schedule, this travel route could be an option.
In fact, using both flight and train to Lhasa from HK is the best option you can get. Firstly you take flight from HK to Xining and later take Xining-Lhasa train to Lhasa. The entire journey takes your around 29 hours to reach Lhasa. The benefit is that you can enjoy the most beautiful scenery of Qinghai-Tibet railway on Xining to Lhasa train. Meanwhile, taking train to enter Tibet gives you more time to acclimatize to high altitude. Therefore, after you reach Lhasa, it’s unlikely to develop acute altitude sickness. This travel route is especially recommended for those who have concerns about altitude sickness and want to enjoy the unparalleled ride and stunning scenery on world’s highest train.
For international tourists who stopover in Hong Kong and plan to enter Tibet from Hong Kong, the prerequisite for Tibet travel is to get Tibet Visa (also known as Tibet Travel Permit). You may follow the easy steps below to get this indispensable travel document.
a. E-mail us the photo copy of your passport and Chinese Visa at least 20 days before your Tibet tour starts.
b. Normally, Tibet Visa will be issued after 2-5 days after we pass your documents to Tibet Tourism Bureau.
For Hong Kong residents, there is no need to apply for the Tibet travel permit. All you need to take is your HK SAR Passport and Home Return Permit.
As a common practice, after we get your Tibet Visa, then we will mail it to your hotel in mainland China, 5-7 days prior to your departure for Lhasa. To make sure your Tibet Visa will not get lost via mailing, we only mail it to the hotel you stay in mainland China, not in HK. In some extreme cases, our staff will even deliver it to your hand before departure at airport or railway station.