A private Tibet itinerary inside the permit rules
The rules force everyone into an agency, so the only question is which agency and whether you share a vehicle. A private itinerary means your own guide and car, your own pace at 3,650 m and above, and the itinerary written around what you want rather than a fixed Lhasa-Shigatse coach loop.
The Potala Palace above Lhasa, Tibet · setting photograph, not a depiction of a private tour or package.
Picture your day
A Lhasa-registered agency applies for your Tibet Travel Permit, which is separate from your Chinese visa, builds the itinerary you want and assigns one licensed Tibetan guide and a car and driver to your party alone. The permit is checked when you board the flight or the train to Lhasa and again at checkpoints on the road. Restricted areas such as Everest Base Camp, Mount Kailash, Ngari and the border counties need an Alien's Travel Permit and in places a military permit on top, all arranged by the same agency.
The access, explained
The important distinction, and operators blur it: foreigners must be on an organised tour, but not on a group tour. A private trip is permitted and normal. What no money changes is the requirement for a licensed Tibetan guide throughout, the permit checks, or the closure of specific areas. Sources also disagree on whether the guide must be with you at every moment or only for travel and sites, so ask your agency what their local authority currently enforces.
Planning the details
How to arrange it. Only an authorised Tibetan agency can lodge the permit application, using your passport page, your Chinese visa and a detailed day-by-day itinerary inside Tibet. Processing is reported at eight to ten working days by some agencies and two to three weeks by others, so allow a month, and longer for July and August. Entry from Nepal needs a separate Chinese group visa from Kathmandu rather than your ordinary visa.
When to go. April to June and September to October. The permit system is also periodically suspended around politically sensitive dates, typically in March, and nothing can be done about that.
Ask for written confirmation of the date, duration, guide language, transport, admission and cancellation terms. Any restricted access must be confirmed by the venue.
The setting, in pictures & film
Videos open on their publisher’s site. YouTube is unavailable in mainland China; watch before travelling.
Good to know
Two cautions. First, verify every restriction the week you book: one agency reported that Norwegian passport holders could not obtain permits, another that Kailash is closed to foreign visitors in June and July, and neither is confirmed by an official source. Second, almost all the guidance online is written by the agencies that sell the trip. Get the permit conditions and the guide's licence number into your booking file.