It's no problem for US citizens to travel to Tibet. Though there is no direct flight from US to Tibet, it is easy to fly to a city in China first and then transfer to Tibet or fly to Kathmandu Nepal and then fly or travel overland to Tibet. There are many direct flights and connecting flights between major cities of America and Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou in China. Here you can find direct flight options from all 7 regions of America to Tibet.
Travel from New England Region of America to Tibet
In the New England Region of America, Boston is the only city which has daily direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai China where you can change flights to Lhasa Tibet. There are several flights from Beijing to Tibet everyday and it takes 4h30m. There is only one daily flight from Shanghai to Lhasa (two while in peak season) with a stop in Xi’an. The flight journey will take 8h40m.
| Cities | Flight No. | Airline | Airport & Time | Duration & Stopover | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston-Beijing | HU482 | Hainan Airline | BOS(17:10)-PEK(19:00+1) | 12h50m | Everyday |
| Boston-Shanghai | HU7692 | Hainan Airline | BOS(16:45)-PVG(19:05+1) | 14h40m | Tue., Thu., Sat., Sun. |
Travel from Middle Atlantic Region of America to Tibet
There are many choices to fly from Middle Atlantic Region of America to Tibet. You can either fly from New York(both John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Newark International Airport (EWR)) to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, or fly from Washington to Beijing and then connect flights to Lhasa Tibet.
| Cities | Flight No. | Airline | Airport & Time | Duration & Stopover | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Beijing | CA990 | Air China | JFK(2:30)-PEK(4:10+1) | 12h40m | Everyday |
| New York-Beijing | CA982 | Air China | JFK(16:50)-PEK(18:50+1) | 13h | Everyday |
| New York-Beijing | CA820 | Air China | EWR(12:40)-PEK(15:10+1) | 13h30m | Everyday |
| New York-Beijing | UA89 | United Airlines | EWR(11:40)-PEK(13:35+1) | 12h40m | Everyday |
| New York-Shanghai | MU298 | China Eastern Airlines | JFK(1:45)-PVG(4:40+1) | 13h55m | Everyday |
| New York-Shanghai | MU588 | China Eastern Airlines | JFK(16:25)-PVG(19:25+1) | 14h | Everyday |
| New York-Shanghai | UA86 | United Airlines | EWR(10:45)-PVG(13:40+1) | 13h55m | Everyday |
| New York-Guangzhou | CZ300 | China Southern Airlines | JFK(11:15)-CAN(14:40+1) | 14h25m | Everyday |
| New York-Guangzhou | CZ600 | China Southern Airlines | JFK(1:45)-CAN(5:45+1) | 15h | Wed., Fri, Sun. |
| New York-Chengdu | HU7916 | Hainan Airlines | JFK(2:50)-CTU(5:55+1) | 15h5m | Wed., Sun. |
| Washington-Beijing | CA818 | Air China | IAD(16:05)-PEK(18:05+1) | 13h | Everyday |
| Washington-Beijing | UA807 | United Airlines | IAD(12:55)-PEK(14:40+1) | 12h45m | Everyday |
Travel from Southern Region of America to Tibet
There are two cities in Southern Region of America which operate flights to China. You can fly from Atlanta to Shanghai or from Houston to Beijing directly and head to Tibet by taking China internal flights.
| Cities | Flight No. | Airline | Airport & Time | Duration & Stopover | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta-Shanghai | DL185 | Delta Air Lines | ATL(12:26)-PVG(16:15+1) | 14h49m | Everyday |
| Houston-Beijing | CA996 | Air China | IAH(1:05)-PEK(4:55+1) | 13h50m | Everyday but Tue. |
Travel from West Coastal Region of America to Tibet
There are many choices to travel from the West Coastal Region of America to Tibet. You can either take flight from Seattle to Beijing, Shanghai, from San Francesco to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, or from Los Angeles to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu for catching your connecting flights to Tibet. These areas have the most frequent flights from America to China. It takes the shortest time to fly from Seattle to Beijing.
| Cities | Flight No. | Airline | Airport & Time | Duration & Stopover | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle-Beijing | DL129 | Delta Air Lines | SEA(15:40)-PKX(18:15+1) | 10h35m | Everyday |
| Seattle-Beijing | HU496 | Hainan Airlines | SEA(14:15)-PEK(16:35+1) | 10h20m | Everyday |
| San Francesco-Beijing | CA986 | Air China | SFO(14:50)-PEK(17:55+1) | 11h5m | Everyday |
| San Francesco-Beijing | UA888 | United Airlines | SFO(10:45)-PEK(14:20+1) | 11h35m | Everyday |
| San Franceso-Shanghai | UA857 | United Airlines | SFO(13:15)-PVG(17:25+1) | 12h10m | Everyday |
| San Franceso-Shanghai | UA891 | United Airlines | SFO(16:20)-PVG(20:30+1) | 12h10m | Everyday |
| San Franceso-Shanghai | MU590 | China Eastern Airlines | SFO(12:00)-PVG(16:10+1) | 12h10m | Everyday |
| San Franceso-Guangzhou | CZ658 | China Southern Airlines | SFO(23:55)-CAN(05:15+2) | 13h20m | Everyday |
| San Franceso-Chengdu | UA9 | United Airlines | SFO(01:10)-CAN(05:55+1) | 12h45m | Tue., Thu., Sun. |
| Los Angeles-Beijing | CA984 | Air China | LAX(1:40)-PEK(5:20+1) | 11h40m | Everyday |
| Los Angeles-Beijing | CA888 | Air China | LAX(11:30)-PEK(15:10+1) | 11h40m | Everyday |
| Los Angeles-Beijing | CA988 | Air China | LAX(14:20)-PEK(18:10+1) | 11h50m | Everyday |
| Los Angeles-Shanghai | MU586 | China Eastern Airlines | LAX(12:30)-PVG(17:10+1) | 12h40m | Everyday |
| Los Angeles-Shanghai | MU578 | China Eastern Airlines | LAX(1:05)-PVG(5:55+1) | 12h50m | Everyday |
| Los Angeles-Shanghai | DL89 | Delta Air Lines | LAX(9:25)-PVG(14:30+1) | 13h5m | Everyday |
| Los Angeles-Shanghai | UA198 | United Airlines | LAX(13:05)-PVG(17:45+1) | 12h40m | Everyday |
| Los Angeles-Guangzhou | CZ328 | China Southern Airlines | LAX(23:50)-CAN(05:40+2) | 13h50m | Everyday |
| Los Angeles-Chengdu | MU2856 | China Eastern Airlines | LAX(13:30)-CTU(23:10+1) | 17h40m, Nanjing | Tue., Thu., Sat. |
Travel from Midwest of America to Tibet
In Midwestern America, Chicago is the only city which has direct flights to China. There are two flights to Shanghai and one to Beijing everyday. It is very easy to forward to Tibet by taking a flight to Lhasa.
| Cities | Flight No. | Airline | Airport & Time | Duration & Stopover | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Beijing | UA851 | United Airlines | ORD(13:05)-PEK(15:25+1) | 12h20m | Everyday |
| Chicago-Shanghai | MU718 | China Eastern Airlines | ORD(14:50)-PVG(18:25+1) | 13h35m | Everyday |
| Chicago-Shanghai | UA835 | United Airlines | ORD(10:10)-PVG(13:35+1) | 13h25m | Everyday |
Travel from Great Lakes Region of America to Tibet
Flying from Great Lakes Region of America to Tibet, you can take a direct flight from Detroit to Beijing or Shanghai first and then fly to Lhasa.
| Cities | Flight No. | Airline | Airport & Time | Duration & Stopover | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit-Beijing | DL189 | Delta Air Lines | DTW(12:41)-PKX(14:00+1) | 12h19m | Everyday |
| Detroit-Shanghai | DL583 | Delta Air Lines | DTW(16:18)-PVG(18:45+1) | 13h27m | Everyday |
Travel from Pacific Coastal Region of America to Tibet
From Pacific Coastal Region of America to Tibet, you can fly from Hololulu to Beijing or Shanghai and then forward to Tibet.
| Cities | Flight No. | Airline | Airport & Time | Duration & Stopover | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hololulu-Beijing | CA838 | Air China | HNL(23:30)-PEK(4:55+2) | 11h25m | Everyday |
| Hololulu-Shanghai | MU572 | China Eastern Airlines | HNL(10:10)-PVG(16:20+1) | 12h10m | Everyday |
Travel from United States of America to Tibet By Train
As mentioned above, it is possible to fly from many cities of America to Tibet via Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu. All these cities in China have train to Tibet too. The train journey takes from 36 up to 55 hours. It is long but you will find it worthy when you see the breathtaking scenery along Qinghai Tibet Railway. Except to experience the engineering marvel of Qinghai Tibet Railway, you will also have a great view of the landscape including the limpid lakes, lofty Kunlun Mountain Ranges and Nyenchen Tanglha Mountain Ranges, isolated Hoh Xil Nature Reserve where you might find wild animals like Tibetan Antelopes, wild Yaks etc.
It is applicable if you take flights from America to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Chengdu, fly to Xining and then get on the train there. Xining is the start of Qinghai Tibet Railway. You can see all the gorgeous scenery buy only need to stay in the train for 21 hours.
China Tibet Train Map
Flying from United States of America to Tibet via Nepal is not the priority choice since the flight journey from America to Nepal takes at least 25 hours and there is no direct flight. But if you have some tour arrangement in Nepal before traveling to Tibet, flying to Nepal first can be an option as Nepal is adjacent to Tibet. From Nepal, you can choose to fly or travel overland to Tibet. Air China and Sichuan Airlines have daily flights from Kathmandu Nepal to Lhasa Tibet. It takes only 1h20m. On the flight you can have a great view of the Himalaya Mountains.
For land travel lovers, it is a good idea to take a tourist coach from Kathmandu, drive to the border and then enter Tibet. You can arrange on your own for the tour in Nepal part but a Tibet guide is needed once you reach the Gyirong border.
Tibet is an autonomous region of China, so US citizens must have a valid Chinese visa in order to visit Tibet. In addition, like other international tourists traveling to Tibet, US citizens need to obtain a Tibet Travel Permit (also known as Tibet Entry Permit), which is issued by the Tibet Tourism Bureau in Lhasa. Meanwhile, it's important to be aware that the Chinese visa policy is very much different if you enter Tibet from a city in Mainland China or enter Tibet from Nepal. Please check it out below:
Chinese visa policy for traveling from US to Tibet via cities in China
To enter China, a passport valid for at least 6 months after the expiry date of your visa and a visa are required. But the Tibet Travel Permit can only be applied from Tibet Tourism Bureau by a qualified travel agency. To apply for the permit, a valid passport, Chinese visa scan copies are required if you hold a “L” visa for travel in China. For those who hold a “M” “F” visas for business in China, an invitation letter will be necessary. Once the permit is issued, it can be delivered to your hotel in China where you will stay before get on your connecting flight or train to Lhasa. You will need to show the permit when you check into the flight or train. After arrival in Lhasa, our guide will have your permit back for application of PSB permit which can only be done once you are there if you need to travel to some remote area besides of Lhasa.
Chinese visa policy for traveling from US to Tibet via Nepal
No matter you take a flight or travel overland from Kathmandu to Tibet, there is no need to apply for your Chinese Visa in America. Owing to a special treaty between China and Nepal. All foreign tourists coming to Tibet directly from Nepal need to apply for a Chinese Group Visa in Kathmandu even if you already have one valid Chinese Visa. The group visa application should be processed by a local travel agency. GoToTibet has trustful partner agencies who can help you with the application. You only need to leave your passport to them and pay the service and visa fee. They will get your visa and send it back to your hotel in time. With the visa applied in Kathmandu, you can get onboard the flight to Lhasa Tibet. Our local Tibetan guide will hold your Tibet Permit and meet you in Lhasa Gonggar Airport.
Please note the visa application in Kathmandu takes at least 3 work days. You need to leave your passport in the Chinese Embassy before our partner get it back together with your visa. During this period, you can travel around or even take domestic flights in Nepal with a passport copy.
