8 Days in Northern Pakistan under 1 lac

[YeBeWarned]

So as some of you guys help me in picking best places for my trip to Pakistan' under a very limited Budget , now I am back from it so i thought for other members here I should share details so if anyone have limited budget like me should know how to manage it .

First and foremost , my whole trip was 8 days and they were divided like this :

Day 1 from Karachi to Lahore in Daewoo sleeper bus ( runs only between Khi and Lhr once a week ) fare per person = 6600
Special Note : its better than Daewoo normal seated buses .
Took a Bus from Lahore to Islamabad ( Daewoo ) fare = 1350 per person ( time it took to reach Isb 4.5 hours )

Day 2 Stayed in Islamabad f7 guest house , room was good with AC , rent = 3500 per day
Took a Car to whole Islamabad in 4500 , AC car with fuel .

Day 3 Hire a GLi Car with Driver + Fuel = 30,000 for whole 5 days . I leave from Islamabad to Balakot .
Special Announcement : So upon reaching Muzaffrabad I was stopped because my Wife was America and her Visa Category was ( Meet relative ) instead of ( Tourist ) I tried to explain him that she is my Wife, and she doesn't have to have Tourist visa, and now she has a 5 year visa , let me pass through Muzaffrabad to get to Balakot but he didn't , I was very disappointed by their action . So we have to Go all the way back to Murree than take a detour from Nathia Gali to Balakot . Stayed the night in Balakot ( Pine Track Hotel ) rent per night = 3000/3500/4000/4500/5000/5500/6000 depends on your requirements and people .

Day 4 We leave for Shogran , stayed on various points including Kiwai .. Gli took us to Shogran and we get a hotel there , cost = 2500 . Room was nice , 1 double bed , Clean Bathroom , Hot water etc . From Shogran we hire a Jeep which took us to Siri & Paye cost = 2500 for return drive and 2 hour stay in Siri & paye .
Stayed the night in Shogran ( totally Worth it ) ..
Special Note : Food is expensive there , be careful cause your money goes fast on food and snacks .

Day 5 We left for Naran , between we stopped at various points , Got a Hotel in Naran fare = 3000 per night , it wasn't the best hotel but relatively good with clean bed and bathroom . Took a jeep from Naran to Lake Saif ul Mulk in 2500 , return back to Hotel in Naran . Again Food is expensive so always keep up with it .

Day 6 we start our journey to our last point which was Babur Sur Pass , that place is just breath taking . we pass by Lulusur lake which in my opinion is more prettier than Saif ul mulk . Upon returning we stayed in Kaghan , Hotel costed 2500 there as well .

Finally than all the way back to Islamabad via Abottabad-Mansehra , from there took the bus for Lahore , than took another bus to Karachi .

Total Cost for major stuff :

Car = 5 day hire 30,000
Hotels on Average = 3000 even in peak season
Breakfast = 200 per day
Food & snack = 800 per day ( it can vary for people , for us it was low cause my wife cant eat Pakistani food and i don't eat a lot ) .
Bus travel = 6600 ( sleeper bus )
Bus travel = 5500 ( Daewoo from Lahore/Karachi )
Bus Travel = 1350 ( Lahore to Islamabad )
Shopping = 3000-5000
Horse Riding = 1000 for 2 Horses ( Siri & Paye )
River Rafting = 1000 for 2 persons ( Naran Lake )

Feel free to ask any questions, I have some hotel cards and contact number for rent a car in reasonable price , with a good and decent Driver, I would be glad to help anyone .

Complains :
1) I didn't like the Azaad Kashmir police attitude .
2) food and Snacks are expensive
3) People throw a lot of trash, mostly plastic .. Please if anyone plans to go there avoid throwing trash like empty bottles , Chips bags , food , kids diapers , etc
4) Daewoo bus service sucks from Sindh , their Terminals in Sindh are horrible, Disgusting dirty bathrooms and food was pathetic .
5) Daewoo Staff in Lahore was the worse i came across , very rude and lazy people .


@krash @ghazi52

@waz @Dubious if you want , you can merge this with my other thread . I will keep updating this thread as i remember things .

 

[war&peace]

@Starlord quite happy for you bro that you had a nice trip and you managed it in your budget and that too in decent style which is essential when you're with your partner.
I will try to plan some trip like that though whenever I plan I end up making it quite expensive despite my utmost desire to save money. I don't know I'm not that lucky in finding good deals.

 

[YeBeWarned]

@Starlord quite happy for you bro that you had a nice trip and you managed it in your budget and that too in decent style which is essential when you're with your partner.
I will try to plan some trip like that though whenever I plan I end up making it quite expensive despite my utmost desire to save money. I don't know I'm not that lucky in finding good deals.

Thanks bro, I can give you some cards , numbers of people you can contact for hotel , car and jeep for your trip .. just let me know bro i made this thread only for the people who have limited budget like me but they deserve to see their country .. my wife is so happy she never want to leave Pakistan haha

 

[American Pakistani]

Nice to hear you and your wife enjoyed.

I know you were mad at police/authorities for not letting you pass through Azad Kashmir, but please remember they were just following their orders. Just like you can't go against the law in US, same thing we should follow in Pakistan. Your wife is I believe White American, so you need different visa afaik to travel through Azad Kashmir. Authorities are responsible if God forbid something happens.

 

[war&peace]

Thanks bro, I can give you some cards , numbers of people you can contact for hotel , car and jeep for your trip .. just let me know bro i made this thread only for the people who have limited budget like me but they deserve to see their country .. my wife is so happy she never want to leave Pakistan haha

Yeah that will be great because I'm also planning a trip to Pakistan with my wife but we plan to go to many countries so every little help will be great.

 

[YeBeWarned]

Nice to hear you and your wife enjoyed.

I know you were mad at police/authorities for not letting you pass through Azad Kashmir, but please remember they were just following their orders. Just like you can't go against the law in US, same thing we should follow in Pakistan. Your wife is I believe White American, so you need different visa afaik to travel through Azad Kashmir. Authorities are responsible if God forbid something happens.

I know bro, i respect the law its just that almost every other Police were pretty felxible to let us pass, as i explain that she is my wife and now they wont even issue her Tourist visa , cause in the clause of Why you want to go to Pakistan - she would say to meet her husband not tourism , other guys were convinced but it comes to one person's ego . Again it was not against the law .

Yeah that will be great because I'm also planning a trip to Pakistan with my wife but we plan to go to many countries so every little help will be great.

Just let me know when .. and you can contact me on my number or email whichever makes you comfortable ..

 

[R Wing]

I know bro, i respect the law its just that almost every other Police were pretty felxible to let us pass, as i explain that she is my wife and now they wont even issue her Tourist visa , cause in the clause of Why you want to go to Pakistan - she would say to meet her husband not tourism , other guys were convinced but it comes to one person's ego . Again it was not against the law .



Just let me know when .. and you can contact me on my number or email whichever makes you comfortable ..

Now we await pictures of these beautiful locations --- hopefully not all of them had become a trash dump due to the huge number of domestic tourists, many of whom are unfortunately jahil.

 

[Pakistansdefender]

If you go on your own car you can spend about same amount on petrol. And you have don't gsvr to pay bus fares then.

 

[YeBeWarned]

If you go on your own car you can spend about same amount on petrol. And you have don't gsvr to pay bus fares then.

I don't have a car , nor can I drive .

 

[Meengla]

Very good info. Thx. I also have an American wife whom I would love to take to Northern Pakistan one day..
I think it was too stringent to disallow your wife to travel through AJK.. Why would family visa be restrictive?!

 

[War Thunder]

@Starlord quite happy for you bro that you had a nice trip and you managed it in your budget and that too in decent style which is essential when you're with your partner.
I will try to plan some trip like that though whenever I plan I end up making it quite expensive despite my utmost desire to save money. I don't know I'm not that lucky in finding good deals.

lol same, mostly because I'll pick comfort over saving (Doesn;t mean I'll take the most expensive deal), and being an extreme introvert, I am very picky about things.

So as some of you guys help me in picking best places for my trip to Pakistan' under a very limited Budget , now I am back from it so i thought for other members here I should share details so if anyone have limited budget like me should know how to manage it .

First and foremost , my whole trip was 8 days and they were divided like this :

Day 1 from Karachi to Lahore in Daewoo sleeper bus ( runs only between Khi and Lhr once a week ) fare per person = 6600
Special Note : its better than Daewoo normal seated buses .
Took a Bus from Lahore to Islamabad ( Daewoo ) fare = 1350 per person ( time it took to reach Isb 4.5 hours )

Day 2 Stayed in Islamabad f7 guest house , room was good with AC , rent = 3500 per day
Took a Car to whole Islamabad in 4500 , AC car with fuel .

Day 3 Hire a GLi Car with Driver + Fuel = 30,000 for whole 5 days . I leave from Islamabad to Balakot .
Special Announcement : So upon reaching Muzaffrabad I was stopped because my Wife was America and her Visa Category was ( Meet relative ) instead of ( Tourist ) I tried to explain him that she is my Wife, and she doesn't have to have Tourist visa, and now she has a 5 year visa , let me pass through Muzaffrabad to get to Balakot but he didn't , I was very disappointed by their action . So we have to Go all the way back to Murree than take a detour from Nathia Gali to Balakot . Stayed the night in Balakot ( Pine Track Hotel ) rent per night = 3000/3500/4000/4500/5000/5500/6000 depends on your requirements and people .

Day 4 We leave for Shogran , stayed on various points including Kiwai .. Gli took us to Shogran and we get a hotel there , cost = 2500 . Room was nice , 1 double bed , Clean Bathroom , Hot water etc . From Shogran we hire a Jeep which took us to Siri & Paye cost = 2500 for return drive and 2 hour stay in Siri & paye .
Stayed the night in Shogran ( totally Worth it ) ..
Special Note : Food is expensive there , be careful cause your money goes fast on food and snacks .

Day 5 We left for Naran , between we stopped at various points , Got a Hotel in Naran fare = 3000 per night , it wasn't the best hotel but relatively good with clean bed and bathroom . Took a jeep from Naran to Lake Saif ul Mulk in 2500 , return back to Hotel in Naran . Again Food is expensive so always keep up with it .

Day 6 we start our journey to our last point which was Babur Sur Pass , that place is just breath taking . we pass by Lulusur lake which in my opinion is more prettier than Saif ul mulk . Upon returning we stayed in Kaghan , Hotel costed 2500 there as well .

Finally than all the way back to Islamabad via Abottabad-Mansehra , from there took the bus for Lahore , than took another bus to Karachi .

Total Cost for major stuff :

Car = 5 day hire 30,000
Hotels on Average = 3000 even in peak season
Breakfast = 200 per day
Food & snack = 800 per day ( it can vary for people , for us it was low cause my wife cant eat Pakistani food and i don't eat a lot ) .
Bus travel = 6600 ( sleeper bus )
Bus travel = 5500 ( Daewoo from Lahore/Karachi )
Bus Travel = 1350 ( Lahore to Islamabad )
Shopping = 3000-5000
Horse Riding = 1000 for 2 Horses ( Siri & Paye )
River Rafting = 1000 for 2 persons ( Naran Lake )

Feel free to ask any questions, I have some hotel cards and contact number for rent a car in reasonable price , with a good and decent Driver, I would be glad to help anyone .

Complains :
1) I didn't like the Azaad Kashmir police attitude .
2) food and Snacks are expensive
3) People throw a lot of trash, mostly plastic .. Please if anyone plans to go there avoid throwing trash like empty bottles , Chips bags , food , kids diapers , etc
4) Daewoo bus service sucks from Sindh , their Terminals in Sindh are horrible, Disgusting dirty bathrooms and food was pathetic .
5) Daewoo Staff in Lahore was the worse i came across , very rude and lazy people .


@krash @ghazi52

@waz @Dubious if you want , you can merge this with my other thread . I will keep updating this thread as i remember things .

You live permanently in Karachi?
Your wife is an American or a Pakistani-American?

 

[YeBeWarned]

Very good info. Thx. I also have an American wife whom I would love to take to Northern Pakistan one day..
I think it was too stringent to disallow your wife to travel through AJK.. Why would family visa be restrictive?!

He said that foreigners can only enter AJK with a tourist category visa . My wife got a 5 year ( meet relative ) visa .

 

[YeBeWarned]

lol same, mostly because I'll pick comfort over saving (Doesn;t mean I'll take the most expensive deal), and being an extreme introvert, I am very picky about things.




You live permanently in Karachi?
Your wife is an American or a Pakistani-American?

Yes I live in Karachi , and yes my wife is Caucasian American ( white American ) .

 

[Baby Leone]

nice....but too much travel by road which i dont love specially if you are from Karachi.

 

[Meengla]

He said that foreigners can only enter AJK with a tourist category visa . My wife got a 5 year ( meet relative ) visa .

Makes no sense to me! A 'family' visa category is implicitly more secure than a 'tourist' one. And given the recent removal of the NOC to visit almost all of Pakistan for even foreign tourists, what you experienced sounded like either ignorance by the officer or still some confusion in the laws.

Yes I live in Karachi , and yes my wife is Caucasian American ( white American ) .

Do you live in Karachi year-around? I am trying to convince my wife (a 'Southern Belle') to move to Pakistan permanently but she can't--at least not yet. Your wife's experience there may help convince her. Thanks.