Travel Insurance, Visas & Health

Bhutan Lady with a prayer wheel

Page updated – 13 January 2025 

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Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is an essential consideration for your protection whilst travelling. 

Bhutan & Beyond have partnered with the great team at GO Insurance and we are delighted to offer our travellers insurance policies that are both cost competitive and extremely well suited for travel to the south Asia region.

Please note travel agents are not permitted by law to provide guidance as to which travel insurance policy is best for you. It is your personal responsibility to carefully review any travel insurance policy PDS (product disclosure statement) in order you can make an informed decision when purchasing a travel insurance policy.

To arrange your GO Travel Insurance quote & policy please follow the steps below.


STEP 1: REVIEW THE GO INSURANCE PDS CAREFULLY.

For your own protection it is essential you carefully review the GO insurance PDS & FSG (updated 20NOV24), BEFORE you arrange a quote or purchase a policy, to ensure this cover is right for you.

Some extra tips to help you along:

  • You can remove some sections of the insurance cover, if they are not relevant to your circumstances & travel plans, to reduce your premium (ie. LEGAL – which is really only used when hiring a vehicle).
  • A new policy feature in 2025 requires travellers to divulge their total trip costs, to determine the required level of cancellation cover.
  • Please choose your preferred policy excess (between A$0 and A$300) to obtain the policy premium that suits you best.
  • We also urge travellers to review the ‘General Exclusions’ on the PDS; tedious, but well worthwhile in this new era of travel!
  • Please review the list of ‘included pre-existing medical conditions’ on page 9 of the PDS if this holds relevance.
  • Please review page 18 of the PDS for the ‘Schedule Of Benefits’.

STEP 2: OBTAIN A BASE INSURANCE QUOTE. 
Contact James or Nicola at Bhutan & Beyond to arrange your preliminary GO insurance travel policy quote, which will be emailed to you.
Please note travel agents are not permitted by law to provide personal guidance as to what insurance policy is right for you.

STEP 3: REVIEW AND EDIT YOUR INSURANCE QUOTE AS REQUIRED.
Bhutan & Beyond will automatically quote your insurance premium based on a A$300 excess per claim, in order to give you the lowest possible premium. We will also remove the “Legal Cover” from your policy to further reduce the premium. Should you wish to amend the excess to either A$200, A$100 & A$0 and/or include the ‘Legal Cover’ you may edit these details at your end using the back button at the lower left side of your quote, and your new premium options will be displayed. Please then save the quote if you have made any amendments and advise James or Nicola.

STEP 4: DO YOU HAVE ANY PRE-EXISTING MEDICAL CONDITIONS YOU NEED EXTRA COVER FOR?
If so, please contact GO Insurance, direct on T; 1300 819 888 or email info@goinsurance.com.au  to discuss your requirements. Please note you will need to pass your travel insurance quote reference number to GO Insurance who will assess your request/s & will either advise acceptance of extra cover (usually at additional expense), or they may decline to provide extra cover upon their underwriters instructions.

HOT TIP:
Please refer to page 9 of the GO Insurance PDS which offers a list of pre-existing medical conditions that are automatically covered at no additional premium. 

STEP 5: PURCHASE YOUR POLICY. 
If you are happy with your GO insurance quote, please make payment online direct by credit card and request your policy be issued . To do this please Retrieve your quote, via the link on your quote that reads click here to view the quote or purchase this policy.

Once your policy has been issued please email a copy to Bhutan & Beyond.

VERY IMPORTANT – Some other travel insurance companies no longer offer cover for trekking, rafting or other adventure activities.
GO Insurance will cover you for most adventure activities. Please ensure your policy covers exactly the activities you will undertake on your journey.

  • If you are hiking or trekking up to a max of 4000m, your travel insurance cover must allow for altitudes of up to 4000 metres. GO Insurance does.
  • If you are high-altitude trekking over 4000m your travel insurance cover must allow for altitudes of up to 4930 metres. GO Insurance does & you will also need to complete the trek quote request form .
  • Motorcyclists MUST have a travel insurance policy which will cover them whilst riding an ‘over 250cc motorcycle’ in Bhutan. We may be able to arrange this insurance cover for you; please enquire if required.

OR CALL THE BHUTAN TRAVEL EXPERTSJames – 0412 416 111Nicola – 0413 598 669

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Bhutan Visa

All visitors to Bhutan must hold a valid visa and this will be pre-arranged for you by Bhutan & Beyond.

To obtain a Bhutan visa we require a scanned copy of your passport photo page. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months longer than your journey. Your scanned passport photo page must be emailed to us as follows. 

  • Your passport scan must be in colour & under 2MB file size.
  • Your scan must be exceptionally clear with no shadows, reflections or fingers in the image.
  • The outer edges of the passport photo page must be inside the image.

In addition a recent headshot image is now required, taken against a plain background. This may be taken as a selfie of your head and shoulders.

Bhutan visa costs are included in your travel package.  An e-Visa is issued after prepayment for your travel arrangements and the actual visa is entered into your passport on arrival at Paro Airport or at one of the land border crossings. When entering Bhutan through a land border crossing two passport sized photos are also required.

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Health

There are no mandatory vaccinations to enter India, Nepal & Bhutan, however please note public health facilities are basic in some regions. There is a low-level rabies risk in the entire south Asia region plus there is a malaria risk in some regions. It is your duty to seek professional health advice (from either your GP or nearest travel medicine vaccination centre) at least 8 weeks prior to your departure. We also encourage all travellers to ensure that their hepatitis & tetanus vaccinations are kept up to date at all times.

Your nearest Travel Doctor in Australia can be contacted by telephoning: 1300 421 142.

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Altitude & Motion Sickness

If you arrive at an altitude of 2000m or more, it is advisable to avoid any hiking/trekking  until day 3,  unless you are at least moderately fit and do not suffer from any lung related conditions such as asthma. As a precaution, for high altitude trekking, we suggest you carry a small amount of Diamox for altitude sickness as the trekking crews rarely carry such medication. If you suffer from altitude sickness please descend as quickly as possible and drink plenty of fluids. Diamox (Acetazolamide) maybe combined with Ibuprofen or Paracetamol and after initial treatment, symptoms may last for a few days. Additionally Himalayan roads may be very windy and motion sickness medication is recommended as a precaution.

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Update on Nepal & India Visa Applications

NEPAL VISA:
Here are the latest visa fees and websites for information and visa processing. It is possible to obtain your visa in Australia. However most visitors to Nepal obtain their visa at Kathmandu airport on arrival. 

Nepal Visa On Arrival:
To pre-arrange your visa on arrival at Kathmandu (Tribhuvan) International Airport, please follow the link above to the NepaliPort Department of Immigration on arrival visa application form, which should be completed no earlier than 15 days prior to arrival in Kathmandu. Once you have completed your visa on arrival application form, please download and print off the form.

On arrival at Kathmandu airport proceed to the bank, show your completed visa application form and make payment of the visa fee. Once you have made payment of the visa fee you are fine to proceed to immigration once again show your completed visa application form and visa fee payment receipt. Your passport will then be endorsed with your Nepal Visa. 

Official Nepal Tourism Board website.   

Current visa fees are as follows:

US$30.00 – 15 day Visa
US$50.00 – 30 day Visa
US$125 – 90 day Visa

You can obtain more visa application details on these web pages.
http://nepalimmigration.gov.np

INDIA VISAS AND ONLINE ADVANCE ARRIVAL REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT:
You MUST obtain your India visa in advance from your home country of residence, ie Australia. Please proceed to the web pages below for all India visa information and processing options:

INDIA e-Tourist Visa: 
You don’t have to send your passport away for this visa option however it is essential you read the conditions VERY carefully! This visa application should be commenced 20-30 days before arrival in India.
https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html

Or for those who do not qualify for an e-tourist visa please use this web link for visa application information.

Smart Traveller Bhutan, India & Nepal Govt Updates.

Travellers to Bhutan, India & Nepal, please refer to the smartraveller.gov.au website for the most up to date advice information on health & safety as these can change at any any time.