From the moment I reached out to Bhutan Acorn Tours & Travel to inquire about a potential trip to Bhutan, Mr. Karma was extremely responsive, accommodating, and helpful. We had all sorts of information we needed to ensure our trip was successful.
Once we arrived in Bhutan, we were greeted by our personal guide (Mr. Tashi) and our driver (Mr. Nidup). Both gentlemen were with us, and only us, for the duration of our trip. Both are extremely personable and knowledgeable. We learned so much and laughed a lot. Mr. Tashi always ensured every restaurant or host accommodated my lactose intolerance. They both ensured we always had enough to eat and drink throughout our visit and made us as comfortable as possible throughout.
When an unexpected rainstorm hit us on our first day, Mr. Tashi recommended we change to a different hike/monastery since it would be less steep and muddy, which resulted in us getting an unexpected blessing/ritual bath from the lama (head monk) of the monastery. We saw so many amazing views and learned a ton about Buddhism and Bhutanese history and culture. We ended up changing our itinerary on the fly to exclude the Bumdrak Trek and camping for health reasons, which Mr. Tashi accommodated without complaint. We chose instead to trek up to Tiger's Nest and had the chance to meditate in one of the temple rooms for 30 minutes undisturbed. It allowed us to reflect on life’s journey that ultimately lead us here, the culmination of years of healing and personal growth. I'd highly recommend starting the trek early. We started around 6am and were pretty much the only people on the entire trek up. It made the trek so much more spiritual and personal for us. Mr. Tashi and Mr. Nidup provided us with their own personal trekking poles to use.
Some tips when visiting Bhutan: pack toilet paper with you as many of the public and/or rural restrooms do not have toilet paper, have hand sanitizer available as many also do not have soap, and get into hiking shape to truly enjoy the experience.
Bottom line...we absolutely loved Bhutan and plan to return. We would definitely go with Bhutan Acorn Tours & Travel again and highly recommend you check them out too. Ask for Mr. Tashi and Mr. Nidup if possible!