Tourist guides and tour escorts come with the package that you pay for before you get your visa approved to visit Bhutan. All the tourist guides in Bhutan, escorting the foreigners on their tours, have to be certified by Tourism Authority of Bhutan. These tour escorts are quite knowledgeable and well trained. Tour operators approved by Bhutanese government arrange these tourist guides for you. You can request for guides speaking other languages too such as Japanese, Russian, French, German, Italian and Spanish prior to your visit though you may be charged extra for these ‘specially-trained’ tourist guides and tour escorts.
Since the travel package that you choose includes accommodation, meals, transportation and service of the tourist guides, you should not have to pay extra for the escort services, once you reach Bhutan. However, if you are really satisfied and happy with the services offered to you by a tourist guide escorting, you may offer him or her a tip, which depends on how much he or she contributed to make your trip enjoyable for you. You may also opt for guided tours of various durations that are organized by Bhutanese government from time to time, mostly during their peak seasons in summer and fall.
Do not hesitate to specifically ask your travel operator for an experienced and friendly tour escort because once you are in Bhutan, your tourist guide and escort will be the one helping you throughout the trip from telling you about places in an enjoyable manner to guiding you the best of all things, help you to grab the best deals and provide service to you 24 hours a day. Bhutanese tour escorts are generally well versed in people skills and are kind, warm and helpful. They have a good sense of humor too. When you are in doubt about local etiquettes and social customs, you can always ask your tour escort for the help.
