My husband and I just returned from five nights in Nepal and 21 in India. Nepal was fabulous and we can't wait to return. Here's a brief summary of our trip.

Hotels: Kathmandu - Yak and Yeti - Large comfortable rooms, lovely lobby, delicious restaurants, gracious staff, in a great location. A delightful experience.

Nagarkot - Club Himalayan - Very well run hotel, delicious restaurant, large well appointed rooms, large balconies with mountain views, gracious staff. Another delightful experience.

Dulikhel - Dulikhel Mountain Resort - Gorgeous setting and landscaped grounds, delicious restaurant, gracious staff, small rooms without TV and older showers. A bit remote so only stay one night.

We stayed around Kathmandu and fell in love with the people and area. Kathmandu was very clean (except for the air - that's polluted)with many charming areas. The people we met were amazingly friendly and we can't wait to return and get up into the moutains.

Hi. We are in the "thinking" stage of a trip to Nepal. We would appreciate more information about your trip. Did you use a travel agent for hotels? Tours?
Useful web sites?
Thanks much.

M_J Actually we booked everything for out India/Nepal trip through an Indian travel agency in Delhi. For a variety of reasons I'm not sure I'd use them again. However, they booked the Nepal segment through Four Season Travel and Tours, Oasis Comples, Patan Dhoka, Lalipur, Kathmandu. The agent, Jyoti Subba can be contacted at [email protected] or [email protected]. Mr.Subba was very professional, our driver (Mr. Beem) was extremely cautious, and our accommodations excellent. I'm not trying to advertise and I understand that my experience may vary with those of other travellers, however I will contact him directly when I want to return to Nepal. If you do so, one word of advice - don't use the "English speaking guides" they want to provide for each city. For me the guide we had in Kathmandu was more of a nuisance than a help. You can do better with a good guide book.

The hotels in Nepal are screaming for business. The Maoist problem and 9/11 have combined to hit the Nepali tourist industry very hard. There are lots of bargains so don't be afraid to negotiate.

Hope this will help and enjoy a delightful country.

I traveled to Nepal a number of years ago, and found it very easy to book everything myself. I stayed at the Yak and Yeti, and found a driver through them. I spent two weeks in just the Kathmandu valley.

Jahlie. Thanks for the good response and information. What guide books did you find useful for your trip?
Any particular web sites that you found helpful?
Thanks again.

M_J I used Rough Guides to Nepal which was pretty accurate and gleaned information on www.lonelyplanet.com under the Thorn Tree postings. Websites are all over the place, but so many are geared towards mountaineering that they didn't interest me. I did use www.visitnepal.com a bit. but if you search I'm sure you'll find the best websites to suit your interests.

Good luck and have fun.