Travel preparations
Visa:
You need a visa to enter Nepal. Be aware that, as a tourist, you can only stay in the country for a certain amount of time. In total, you can be granted a visa for 150 days per calendar year (a little less than 5 months). That means that, theoretically, if you arrive exactly on August 4th, you can stay in Nepal for up to 10 months. An example: If you arrive in the beginning of April, you can stay until the end of September. But if you arrive on August 4th, you can easily apply for another 150 days from January 1st without having to leave the country.
You can easily obtain your visa directly at the airport, but note that you can only get 15, 30 or 90 day visa. These can be extended just as easily in Kathmandu. If you have any questions about the visa process or visa-related costs, you can check out this website:
Vaccinations, international health insurance and health issues:
In Nepal, your typical health issues and hygiene standards may not be what you are used to from home. That’s why you should consult your doctor as soon as possible in order to get all the relevant information and necessary vaccines in time (some of them can take a long time). Find a small overview of area-specific illnesses, your portable first-aid-kit as well as recommended vaccinations here:
You should also make sure that you get an international health insurance, depending on the length of you stay and your regular health insurance at home. Try to talk directly to your health insurance and get updated on what’s the best solution in your case.
Budget:
Depending on whether you come to us as a volunteer or an intern, you should calculate with a little bit of expenditure for housing etc. Here is a small overview of which costs to expect:
| Dauer (Wochen) | CIS+Nepali Klasse | Unterkunft | VHS Hosting Gebühr | Total | ||
| Gast Familie | Guest House | Gast Familie | Guest House | |||
| 4 | 150 | 180 | 120 | 100 | 430 | 370 |
| 8 | 150 | 360 | 240 | 200 | 710 | 590 |
| 12 | 150 | 540 | 360 | 300 | 990 | 810 |
| 16 | 150 | 720 | 480 | 400 | 1270 | 1030 |
| 20 | 150 | 900 | 600 | 500 | 1550 | 1250 |
CIS= Cultural Introduction Seminar
* Volunteers are provided food in host family but in volunteers house Volunteers have to cook themselves
** Volunteers working in VHS earns equivalent 10 days of travel leave working 3 months
Food and lodging:
VHS Bhaktapur offers two housing options. One option is to stay with our friendly host family. You will have your own room and don’t have to worry about cooking. This is the perfect opportunity to get an authentic insight into a typical family and learn about the country and its people without even trying, as you will frequently be asked to try tasty new food and join cultural celebrations.
The second option is our Guest House. There, you will also have your own room and might share your kitchen with other VHS-volunteers. Since you will have to cook your own food, this arrangements often results in spontaneous dinner parties. The small shops and market stalls in the area are perfect for grocery shopping.
If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us on info@vhsbhaktapur.org, or download our detailed Info Pack to get a closer look at your adventure ahead…