As of the date of this article in March 2020, most nationalities can get their visa on arrival in Nepal. It’s a pretty easy process. You can find out everything you need at the official Nepal Government Website.
Get That Stamp!
You’ll unload from the plane onto the tarmac and be driven to the front entrance of the Tribhuvan International Airport. From here you will walk into the airport.
As you walk through the airport doors turn right and you’ll find kiosks to select the kind of visa you want: 15 ($30usd), 30 ($50usd), or 90 ($125usd) day visas and their corresponding prices.
NOTE 1: You can skip the kiosk process by going to the Official Tourist Visa website and applying for the visa online. You will need a scanned copy of your passport and a passport photo to upload.
NOTE 2: You can extend for 15 days after entering but it is more costly at $3usd per day, minimum of 15 days.
Once you have your visa paper with a barcode on it, you can head directly left of where you entered into the airport. There you will pay for the visa (an extra $1 for credit card) and get a piece of paper to take to customs.
Customs is straight ahead from when you entered into the airport. Get in line and you’re all set for your stay in Nepal 😀 [I have no photo here because security yelled at me :'( ]
Getting to Thamel
You can take a taxi for 700npr (~$7usd), or if you walk outside a bit you can find 500npr (~$5usd).
You can try to find a motorcycle taxi. I got lucky my first time and found one for 100npr (~$1usd).
You can walk outside of the airport and catch a local bus to Thamel. This should cost ~50npr (~$0.50usd). There is nothing directly to Thamel, but you can get a bus to “Ratna” and from there it is about 1km or less to most hostels in Thamel. To catch a bus follow these instructions:
1. Walk out of the airport, turn right
2. Reach the restrooms and turn left – heading towards the main road
3. After walking under the main arch (picture below) turn left (do not cross the street)
4. The bus station is a short walk in this direction. You should find many buses pulling over and picking up passengers. Ask for Thamel and Ratna. Sometimes they say “Yes” to Thamel and sometimes not.
I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful. If any info is out of date please type a comment below so people know and I will also update the article. Head over to the Support Me page to help keep this website flowing.
