First Time in Nepal With 10 Days: Tour Only, or Tour and Trek? Which Plan to Book in 2027

Last updated 15 October 2026.

Short answer: With 10 days in Nepal for the first time, I would book our Kathmandu, Pokhara and Poon Hill Tour and Trek, 10 Days if you can walk four days on stone steps. It costs USD 1,525 (Budget), USD 2,065 (Standard) or USD 2,835 (Luxury) per person for 2 to 4 people, and the highest point is the Poon Hill sunrise at 3,210 m. Poon Hill fits in 10 days because the trek sits in the middle, with the cities either side. If you would rather not walk, take the 10-day family tour or the 9-day gentle tour. Both have no trekking. The best months are October, November and late March to April.

I am Shreejan. Every week someone writes, "I have ten days. What should I do?" This is my answer, plan by plan, from our live packages. I link to the full day-by-day guides where you want them.

Is 10 days enough for a first trip to Nepal?

Yes, if you choose one shape for the trip and do not try to do three. Ten days, counting arrival and departure, gives you about eight useful days. Kathmandu needs two and Pokhara needs two. That leaves four for one bigger thing: a short trek, a jungle stay or a rest. The usual mistake is adding all three and spending the trip in a car.

Which plan should you book for 10 days in Nepal?

These are the seven products people compare. Prices are per person for 2 to 4 people, Budget / Standard / Luxury, read from each live page on 15 October 2026, and they hold for 2027.

Two notes on the table. The Poon Hill and Mardi Himal trek starts and ends in Pokhara and has no Kathmandu days, so it does not fit a first 10-day trip. You would need at least two extra days to reach Pokhara and come back. The 8-day Chitwan tour leaves two days spare, which you can spend as extra nights in Kathmandu or Pokhara. Tell me and I will add them.

Can you fit Poon Hill into 10 days, and is it too rushed?

You can, and I do not think it is rushed, as long as you accept what is left out. Our 10-day tour and trek runs like this. Two days in Kathmandu, a 25-minute flight to Pokhara on day 3, four walking days, one sightseeing day in Pokhara, a flight back on day 9 and your departure on day 10. The walking days are 3 to 6 hours on stone steps. You sleep no higher than 2,860 m at Ghorepani and climb to 3,210 m in the dark for sunrise.

I put the trek in the middle on purpose. You see the city while your legs are fresh, tired legs get a lake day after the walk, and the flight home comes last, when a delay costs least. If cloud holds the Pokhara flight, your night in Kathmandu on day 9 is the buffer before your international flight on day 10. Do not book a tight connection on day 10.

What you give up: Bhaktapur and Patan, and any jungle. You see Swayambhunath, Durbar Square, Pashupatinath and Boudhanath in Kathmandu, and the Old Bazaar, Davis Falls, a cave, the mountain museum and a boat on Phewa Lake in Pokhara. If Bhaktapur matters more than the trek, take the family tour instead. For the walk itself, my Poon Hill itinerary guide goes through the stone steps and the villages, and Sarangkot or Poon Hill sunrise helps if you are unsure the early climb is worth it.

Should you book a tour only, or a tour and a trek?

Book the tour and trek if you can walk three or four hours on steps and a mountain morning is why you are coming. Book a tour only if you want culture and wildlife, or you travel with young children or older parents. A tour gives you more of the country. A trek gives you one thing done properly.

One honest limit: the trek depends on weather and flights, and I cannot promise a clear sunrise.

What if you want Chitwan, a family plan or a gentle plan instead?

For families, our 10-day Family Nepal Tour has three nights in Kathmandu, two in Chitwan and three in Pokhara, then a last night in Kathmandu. Two days include 5 to 6 hours on the road, with stops, and a child pays the same as an adult. My family itinerary guide covers how the days feel with children.

For a slower pace, the Gentle Nepal Tour for Seniors starts at 9:30 each morning, flies both ways and has a full rest day in Pokhara. No site is step-free, so tell us about your walking. I wrote what the gentle 9-day tour looks like if you want to read the days.

For couples, the 8-day honeymoon has two short flights and one night on the Nagarkot ridge. Read the honeymoon guide for the days. For jungle without a family or a honeymoon label, the 8-day Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan tour is the lowest-priced of the tours. The 7-day Lumbini and Chitwan tour trades Pokhara for the Buddha's birthplace.

How much does each plan cost, and what is not in the price?

Our lead plan is priced by group size. Every price is per person. A private trip and a group of the same size cost the same, and we never merge separate private bookings.

The tour and trek includes 3 nights in Kathmandu and 3 in Pokhara, the Pokhara flights both ways, a licensed English-speaking guide, a private vehicle, the Annapurna Conservation Area permit, the TIMS card and all sightseeing fees. Budget has breakfast only, shared lodge rooms on the trek and no porter, so you carry your own pack. Standard has all meals, private rooms and one porter for every two trekkers. A solo Standard trekker has no porter, and the guide carries up to 10 kg. Luxury has all meals, a dedicated porter for every trekker and 5-star and deluxe hotels. For more on the three tiers, read Budget, Standard or Luxury.

Not included: international flights, the visa (USD 30 for 15 days or USD 50 for 30 days, paid in cash on arrival), travel insurance, tips and personal spending. An extra porter is USD 25 per day plus 13% VAT and the 3.5% bank charge. Hotel cover differs between plans. The 7-day Lumbini tour leaves the last Kathmandu night out, and the Poon Hill and Mardi Himal trek has no Kathmandu hotels. Ask me before you compare totals.

What travel insurance do you need for each plan?

Buy it at home, never in Nepal. I advise cover up to the highest point of your trip, rounded up to the next 500 m, and for the two treks you also need helicopter evacuation.

On the tours with no walking, a normal travel and medical policy is enough.

When is the best time to visit Nepal for 10 days?

Festival dates are the expected ones, and the government confirms them each year. My Poon Hill month-by-month guide has the rain and temperature figures if you want them.

What should you book first for a 10-day trip to Nepal?

Pick your month first, because it decides the plan. Then message me, and I will tell you which plan and tier I would choose and send the exact quote. Book your international flights into and out of Kathmandu once the dates are agreed, and buy insurance at home the same day. You pay the visa in cash at the airport. If you are unsure how many days a trek needs, which trek for the days you have compares them all, and the older 10-day Nepal itinerary lays out one trek-and-temples week.

Questions people ask

What should I do with 10 days in Nepal for the first time? Spend two days in Kathmandu, two in Pokhara and four on one thing: the Poon Hill walk, or the Chitwan jungle, or a rest. Our 10-day tour and trek does the first of those.

Can I do Poon Hill in 10 days? Yes. Our 10-day plan has four walking days and the Poon Hill sunrise at 3,210 m. You sleep no higher than 2,860 m.

Is 10 days too short for Nepal? It is enough for a first visit if you choose one main thing. It is too short for Everest Base Camp.

How much does a 10-day trip to Nepal cost? The tour and trek costs USD 1,525, USD 2,065 or USD 2,835 per person for 2 to 4 people. The 10-day family tour costs USD 1,615, USD 2,150 or USD 3,445.

What is the best month for a 10-day Nepal trip? October from mid month and November are the clearest. Late March to April is the second window for the trek.

Can I do this trip alone? Yes. Solo is welcome, and solo prices cover the cost of the guide and vehicle. Your guide is with you throughout.

What are the terms for this trip?

We take groups of 1 to 20, so solo is fine. You book with a 10 per cent deposit, which is non-refundable, and there is no refund if you cancel. What you can do is move your trip free of charge to any date within one year, if you tell us at least 72 hours ahead (7 days for restricted areas). You pay the balance when you arrive in Kathmandu, in USD or EUR, cash or card. Paying by card adds 3.5 per cent, and cash in Kathmandu adds nothing. Foreign clients cannot pay in Nepali rupees.

How do you plan this with us?

Message me on WhatsApp on +977 9810351300 with your dates, how many of you there are and whether you want to trek or not. I will tell you which tier and which route I would choose, and send you the exact quote.

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday, from a family of three generations of family guides. TAAN Member #1586. WhatsApp +977 9810351300.