Flights to Bhutan from the USA: How to fly to Paro from New York, Los Angelis, San Francisco, and Other American Cities

Sitting in the high Himalayas, Bhutan is one of the most exclusive destinations in the world for tourists and sees more than 250,000 visitors a year to this small isolated country. A hidden kingdom on the southern edge of the eastern Himalayas, Bhutan sees more than seven thousand tourists from the United States every year, a number that is increasing year on year. Yet, getting to Bhutan is not as easy as hopping on an airplane in the US and getting off in Bhutan.

No Direct Flights from the USA to Bhutan

A landlocked and isolated country, Bhutan has no direct flights from the United States, or anywhere else outside Asia. Only two airlines are permitted to land at Paro International Airport in Butan, and both are Bhutanese airlines.

Tourists traveling from the United States to Bhutan are required to transfer their flights to be able to board one of the approved flights from nine airports in five Asian countries, which have direct flights to Bhutan.

The nine transfer cities for your Bhutan tour from the USA include Kathmandu (Nepal), Bangkok (Thailand), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Singapore, and five cities in India, namely Delhi, Bagdogra, Kolkata, Guwahati, and Gaya.

How to fly from major cities in the USA to Bhutan

To get to Bhutan from the United States, travelers are required to obtain indirect flights through third-party airports, often changing flights more than once to get to an airport that has flights direct to Bhutan.

New York to Paro

Traveling from New York, on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, travelers heading for Bhutan will normally have to change flights a couple of times to get to Bhutan.

Several airlines run flights into countries that can connect to Bhutan, including Turkish Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines. Most flights from New York will travel via Istanbul in Turkey to reach Kathmandu, one of the main gateway cities to Paro and Bhutan.

San Francisco to Paro

There are fewer flights into Asia from San Francisco that can connect to Bhutan, and getting a flight may be harder from this Western Seaboard city. However, flights can be taken from San Francisco to Kathmandu (via Istanbul), Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai, and Dhaka, to name a few.

Los Angeles to Paro

Flights from Los Angeles in California are available for many cities across Asia, including Mumbai and Kolkata in India, Kathmandu in Nepal (with two stops), Singapore, and Thailand (with one-stop), and the average flight time to get into Asia for a flight to Paro can take more than a day to complete.

Seattle to Paro

Seattle, in Washington State in the northwest of the United States, has several direct flights to many Asian countries, including India, Singapore, Thailand, and Bangladesh, as well as Beijing and Shanghai. Flights to Paro from Seattle are not open as direct flights, and most connecting flights will require at least one change of flight to get to Bhutan.

Washington DC to Paro

The US Capital has a number of flights direct to Asian countries such as India, Singapore, and Thailand, which can be used as staging points for the direct flights to Paro. However, most flights will require you to take at least two connections to get to one of the nine airports that have direct flights to Paro.

Hawaii to Paro

Surprisingly, some flights can connect you to Paro International Airport from the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu in Hawaii. However, these are not direct flights and have multiple stops in places like Narita in Japan, Saigon in Vietnam, and Kolkata in India to get to Bhutan.

Recommended Transfer Cities for flying from the USA to Bhutan

For those flying from the United States to Bhutan, there is a choice of nine airports across five countries in Asia that have direct flights to Bhutan, though only certain airports can accommodate flights from the US for the connection. Others are relatively inconvenient for transfers and will increase the travel time overall fairly drastically.

Fly to Bhutan from the USA via Kathmandu

While over 14 airports in the United States offer indirect flights to Kathmandu in Nepal, there are no direct flights from anywhere in the US, and all connecting flights have from 1-3 stops.

Flights from Kathmandu to Paro run seven days a week and takes around 1 hour 20 minutes to reach the Bhutanese international airport in Paro. Kathmandu is one of the more popular departure airports for Bhutan, as the flight is one of the shortest and cheapest.

Fly to Bhutan from the USA via Bangkok

With around 40 flights to Bangkok in Thailand from the United States, including flights from New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, getting to Paro should be relatively easy. However, none of the flights from the United States to either of Bangkok’s major airports run direct, and all travelers heading via Bangkok are required to have at least 1-2 stops on the route to Thailand.

Flights to Paro from Bangkok run daily, with multiple flights on Tuesday and Thursday as both airlines operate flights on these days. However, of the nine scheduled flights to Paro from Bangkok, only seven run direct, taking just three hours, with the other two flying through Bagdogra to reach Paro with a 40-minute stopover.

Fly to Bhutan from the USA via Singapore

More than 75 flights leave the United States bound for Singapore, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and a gateway city for flights to Bhutan. However, only flights from San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York offer direct flights to Singapore.

Flights from Singapore to Bhutan are not direct, and fly to the Paro International Airport twice a week, currently on Sunday and Thursday. The flights travel via Guwahati in India, and stopover for 40 minutes to refuel.

Fly to Bhutan from the USA via Delhi

The Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi in India is one of the major airports for flights from the United States to Bhutan and receives daily flights from New York, Washington DC, Boston, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, San Francisco, and many other US airports across the country.

However, direct flights to New Delhi are only available from New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, and all other flights are indirect with at least one stop on the way.

Delhi has five weekly flights to Bhutan from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, which depart on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. The flights to Paro from Delhi take around 2 hours 50 minutes.

How to book a flight to Bhutan from the USA

The main thing to remember when booking your flight to Bhutan from the US is that you will not be able to book the entire journey as one ticket. Since Bhutan flights are more restrictive, the flight to the Himalayan kingdom has to be booked separately from your flight from the United States to your chosen gateway city in Asia.

Bhutan Visa is Required for Booking the Flight Ticket

To book a flight to Bhutan you first need to have the Bhutan Visa. This is only available to tourists that have already booked and paid for a Bhutan tour with a registered travel agency for Bhutan travel. Once you book your tour with us, we will make the application for the visa on your behalf, since personal visa applications are not permitted.

Book the Flight to Bhutan with Us at a Better Local Price

Instead of worrying about trying to book your flight to Bhutan yourself, we can do this for you once the approval letter has been received, and we are often able to get cheaper flights to Bhutan by booking directly from the travel agency, as we are registered with the TCB in Bhutan. You then only need to worry about your international flight to Asia, which you can book with your usual domestic travel agency in the United States.

Leave Enough Time for Flight Transfer

For all tourists that are traveling through a third airport to get to Bhutan, you need to ensure that you book your flight from the United States to allow enough time to comfortably board your flight to Bhutan without cutting it too close.

Check-in for Bhutan flights is still at least two to three hours before departure, so you need to ensure that your inbound flight to your chosen departure city in Asia lands at least a couple of hours before your check-in time for your flight to Bhutan.

Conclusion of Flights to Bhutan from the USA

While it can seem a little daunting to travel via multiple flights from the United States to Butan, it is possible to make the whole trip in just two flights. Some flights run direct from the United States to some of the gateway cities for Bhutan flights. However, most of the flights do not run direct, so you may need to make a couple of connections along the way. But the trip to Bhutan is well worth the complicated travel options you will need to overcome, and we can guarantee that you will enjoy your time in Bhutan as the trip of a lifetime.