Everest Base Camp Trek Cost From the UAE: The Real All-In Numbers in Dirhams for 2027

Last updated 7 October 2026. Fares are for Dubai (DXB) return, checked on 7 October 2026. Dirham figures use the fixed peg of the Central Bank of the UAE, US$1 = AED 3.6725. We are paid in US dollars or euros.

Dubai has plenty of routes to Kathmandu, and the search found tickets from AED 2,013. Your passport, not your residence permit, decides what you do at Kathmandu airport, and in the UAE that varies a lot. For that reason this page has a section by passport.

Prices per person for two to four trekkers on the 12-day Everest Base Camp route are US$1,399 on Budget (about AED 5,140), US$2,785 on Standard (about AED 9,180) and US$4,999 on Luxury (about AED 18,360), and they are unchanged for 2027. With a Dubai return, a visa where needed, insurance and tips, a single traveller should plan on about AED 9,280 to AED 11,110 on Budget, AED 12,700 to AED 14,100 on Standard alone and AED 22,320 to AED 23,950 on Luxury. The visa line in that sum is the 30-day fee, so it falls away for Indian passports.

What Dubai to Kathmandu costs

Settings were economy, a single adult, a checked bag, Sunday 25 October 2026 out and Wednesday 11 November back, one ticket, and no more than one connection in each direction. There were 15 itineraries from AED 2,013 to AED 2,485.

The cheapest, AED 2,013, was Air India both ways through Delhi. Out, the 20:40 departure from Dubai lands in Kathmandu at 09:05 the next morning, about 10 hours 40 minutes. Home, the 06:30 flight from Kathmandu is in Dubai at 12:10, about 7 hours 25 minutes. Air India out and an Air Arabia nonstop home (about 4 hours 25 minutes to 5 hours) was AED 2,134 to AED 2,218. Note that those Air Arabia flights land at Sharjah airport, not Dubai.

The only nonstop flights in the results were Air Arabia's from Sharjah: 08:10 to 13:50, 16:00 to 21:40 or 02:05 to 08:05, about 3 hours 55 minutes to 4 hours 15 minutes in the air. A nonstop out with Air India home through Delhi was AED 2,350, and Air Arabia both ways was AED 2,485. Sharjah is a different emirate from Dubai, so work out the ride to the airport before you choose it. I did not see Emirates or flydubai in the results, so look at their own sites for Dubai nonstops.

The total per person, in dirhams

Every row is one person. The ticket column goes from the lowest to the highest fare, and the extras column covers a 30-day visa, insurance, tips and either meals (Budget) or spending money (Standard, Luxury). No tier includes Kathmandu hotels. Our family homestay costs US$15 per person per night, about AED 60.

Your food costs on Budget are US$25 to US$40 per day, adding up to US$300 to US$480. The other two tiers include food. Carry cash for showers, charging and snacks, somewhere between US$130 and US$195 (20,000 to 30,000 rupees). Get it in Kathmandu. Plan tips of US$15 to US$20 a day for the guide and US$10 to US$15 a day for a porter.

Entering Nepal, passport by passport

Indian passport holders do not need a visa. Over the age of 10, arriving by air from the UAE, you carry one of three documents: a valid Indian passport, a voter ID card issued by the Government of India, or an emergency certificate from the Embassy of India in Kathmandu. That is the wording on the visa page of Nepal's embassy in India.

Other South Asian passports: nationals of SAARC countries other than India get a free visa for up to 30 days, once a year, according to the same Nepal embassy page. That covers Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan is excluded.

Everyone else, including Emirati passports and most other nationalities living in the UAE, gets the visa at Kathmandu airport. You pay US$30 for 15 days, US$50 for 30 days (about AED 180), or US$125 for 90 days. The currency is the US dollar, and the visa is multiple-entry. Bring a photo and a passport valid for six months. The exceptions are the twelve countries whose citizens must apply in advance (Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Cameroon, Somalia, Liberia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan and Syria). The Nepal embassy in India's list also names Iran, so Iranian passport holders should ask a Nepali embassy before booking. See the visa on arrival guide and the e-visa guide.

Insurance: your UAE medical card is for the UAE

A medical card issued through a UAE employer is built for treatment in the UAE, so check with the insurer before relying on it in Nepal. A separate travel policy, bought before you fly, is the safer plan. The wording to look for: trekking up to 6,000 m, because Kala Patthar is 5,545 m and many plans stop far lower; helicopter evacuation, which is US$3,000 to US$5,000 (about AED 11,000 to AED 18,400) if you pay; and sickness as well as accidents. Our helicopter cover to 6,000 m sets out what to check. Send me a policy and I will read it.

Who to call from the UAE side

The UAE Embassy in Kathmandu is at Panipokhari, Lazimpat, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a travel registration service for Emiratis called Twajudi. Indian nationals can use the Embassy of India in Kathmandu, which issues emergency certificates. Keep the numbers with your documents.

What the three tiers include

Budget: you carry your own bag and share rooms, you buy meals, and the flight to Lukla is on a fixed-wing plane. Standard: meals paid, a private room, a porter for two trekkers. Luxury: your own porter, deluxe private rooms with their own bathrooms, fruit, nuts and soft drinks as you like, and a helicopter to Lukla and back. The licensed guide, the three permits (NPR 3,000, 3,000 and 2,000), the airport transfers and the loan of a down jacket and minus 15 sleeping bag are in every tier. Alone on Standard you have no porter, so the guide carries up to 10 kg. There is no single supplement on Standard or Luxury. On Budget, a solo Everest Base Camp trekker pays US$2,275 instead of US$1,399. Hotels in Kathmandu are priced separately. The route is on the trek page, and Nepal trekking from the UAE covers the wider picture.

Training in a flat country

Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah, at 1,934 m, is the highest point in the UAE, and it is lower than Lukla (2,860 m), where the walk starts. Gorak Shep, the highest night, is at 5,164 m. Plan on five to seven hours of walking a day with two rest days among the 12. Stairs, a loaded pack and long back-to-back days in the cooler months are the practical preparation. Read how fit you need to be.

Group prices in dirhams

Private or group, the price per person is the same, and the party size sets the band.

Leave, clocks and Nepali dates

Nepal is 1 hour 45 minutes ahead of the UAE all year, because neither changes its clocks. The UAE labour law gives 30 days of annual leave per year of service, so the 14 days you need for the trek and travel are within it. For autumn, note that the Nepali holidays Dashain (17 to 23 October 2026) and Tihar (8 to 12 November) close the permit offices, and a permit needs 48 hours of government working days. Fixed-wing flights to Lukla use Manthali in the autumn crush; expect a four to five hour drive from Kathmandu and a pick-up between midnight and 2 am. On Luxury you fly from Kathmandu by helicopter instead.

Paying us

We ask for 10 per cent at booking and the balance in Kathmandu. Use US dollars or euros; paying in cash adds nothing, paying by card adds 3.5 per cent, and dirhams and rupees are not accepted. Should you only want other dates, we reschedule free of charge for any date within 12 months, provided we have 72 hours' warning (seven days for Tibet, Kailash and restricted areas). Should you cancel instead, the deposit is forfeited and no refund is made. Should we be unable to operate, the refund is what you paid, with taxes, bank and card charges and spent permit and flight costs taken out.

Check before you book

The company was set up in Kathmandu in 2016 and draws on three generations of family guiding. It is TAAN member 1586, with more than 300 reviews on TripAdvisor, Google and Trustpilot. Anyone can check the registrar, TAAN, the tourism licence and the forex certificate. A licence does not settle the question, because licensed operators have also been caught up in scams. Ask for a video call before you pay, and know that a share of the booking funds the Nagarjun Learning Center.

For numbers on your dates and group, message me on WhatsApp +977 9810351300 / [email protected].

Read next: cost guide, permits.

Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday. TAAN 1586.