Asia - Going on the Amankora Journey in Bhutan - Feb '06

Hello
I' wil be going to bhutan in Feb for the 7 day amanlora journey. Will be flying from KTM and out to BKK on the PBH-CCU-BKK flight.

Has anyone experienced Amankora Paro and the other Aman properties in Bhutan ? how do they compare with Aman in general ( let's say I know quite a few) ?

Also, is mid Feb a good time to travel ? We figured out it was not too bad weatherwise, but it seems very difficult to get accurate information. Evryone seems to say something different.

The program they offer is as follows (sorry, i don't put all details) :
day 1 amankora paro
day 2 paro valley taksang monastery night at amankora paro
day 3 transfer to punkaha valley - amankora punakha
day 4 punakha valley exploration - amankora punakha
day 5 transfer to gantey - amankora gantey
day 6 transfer to thimphu valley amankora Thimphu
day 7 Haa excursion amankora paro
day 8 leaving for BKK

my questions ....
- any picture of Druk air business cabin ?
- any lounge at KTM, PBH ?
- how about the weather in Mid Feb for our itinerary ? what should we be expecting ?
- any picture / comment (other than the 3 pictures in the amankora brochure) for the other 3 aman resorts other than paro ?
Thank you for your comment and advices ...

i'm not very good at doing reports (i'm already not good at doing my own family website ! ) but will try to post something when i get back, if anyone is interested.

Thanks,

France USA

How much did the package cost? I would love to go see Bhutan.

YOu're not going to be seeing much of the country of Bhutan. Haa, Thimpu and Paro are all within a 3-hour drive of each other.

Druk AIr Business cabin in nice, like a Domestic F cabin in the US. No lounge at PBH or KTM, if I remember right.

Weather should be a bit cold, but not too bad.

I've been to Bhutan before and have seen the Paro Aman--the other ones weren't open--but we decided to take a longer, and much less expensive Bhutan trip not using the Aman resorts.

The Amankora Journey is US$1,189 nett per day x 7 days minimum. That doesn't include the flights to Paro.

Keep in mind that you can get an all-inclusive trip to Bhutan for $200 per day from any travel agent. All-inclusive really means everything, car, driver, hotel, meals, admission to museums, etc.

That extra price is for the Aman.

Trip report. France usa I would be interested in seeing a trip report when you return. This is a trip I intend to take in the future. I will probablly opt for a more inexpensive version but any info or impressions about your tour would be appreciated.

france usa,

Did you end up going? I'm do to hand over my non-refundable deposit the 1st of April for a May trip. Since I come in from Delhi I can do either a 6 night or 8 night trip and I need someone's advice. Do I stay 6 or 8 nights? Which lodges to stay in? If its 6 nights then we will spend 5 nights at Amanbagh in Jaipur in May and wonder if anyone delt with the heat at that time of year in India?

france usa,

Did you end up going? I'm do to hand over my non-refundable deposit the 1st of April for a May trip. Since I come in from Delhi I can do either a 6 night or 8 night trip and I need someone's advice. Do I stay 6 or 8 nights? Which lodges to stay in? If its 6 nights then we will spend 5 nights at Amanbagh in Jaipur in May and wonder if anyone delt with the heat at that time of year in India?


Hello ZIGZAG
Sorry, cannot help you, we cancelled this trip 3 weeks before going - due to personal reasons, and Aman refunded without question. No problem with the flights as well as this was done by Aman.

Have a safe trip to Bhutan !

France USA

Hello ZIGZAG
Sorry, cannot help you, we cancelled this trip 3 weeks before going - due to personal reasons, and Aman refunded without question. No problem with the flights as well as this was done by Aman.

Have a safe trip to Bhutan !

France USA
Wow thats interesting. They made us sign our life away and the papers state that you have to pay in advance and no refund is possible. Aman is booking the flights and said Druk Air flights are not refundable 60 days out.Could you tell my why you cancelled? This use it or lose it approach by Aman is very different then other experiences I have had with them. I asked them if my CO flight form ewr to del is delayed and we miss the Druk Air flight would we still have to pay for our rooms at Amankora and they said we would and the air would be non refundable.

thank you