Arrival at Kathmandu Airport: Step by Step to Your Hotel

The moment the plane door opens at Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) is, for most travellers from Greece, the first real contact with Nepal — after one or two connecting stops and many hours in the air. Fatigue, heat or chill depending on the season, an arrivals hall that moves slower than you're used to, and a whole set of small decisions to make before you've even left the building: visa, baggage, cash, connectivity, transport.

None of these decisions is hard on its own. The trouble comes when you face them all at once, tired, without knowing the order. This guide puts exactly that in order: what comes first, what can wait, and where it's worth spending a few extra minutes for real comfort.

I've seen the same pattern repeat itself: people who arrive with a clear plan for the first 90 minutes are already in their room before they've quite registered it. People who improvise get stuck in queues, haggling over taxi fares and hunting for an ATM at the exact moment they're most exhausted. We'll clearly separate what's stable — the logical order of the steps — from what changes often — prices, hours, exact procedures — and needs confirming close to your travel date.

Tribhuvan airport: what to expect the moment you land

Tribhuvan International Airport (code KTM) is Kathmandu's only international airport and Nepal's main international gateway, sitting just a few kilometres from the city centre — practically inside Kathmandu, not off in some remote spot like many major hubs. That means the ride to your hotel isn't a big adventure in itself, but it isn't instant either, because Kathmandu traffic runs on its own logic.

The arrivals building is fairly compact compared with the big European or Middle Eastern connecting hubs you may be used to. That cuts both ways: you won't be walking kilometres between gates, but when two or three flights land close together — common at peak hours from Doha, Abu Dhabi or Istanbul — the visa and immigration queues can lengthen noticeably.

The logical order inside the building is fixed: first the visa process (if you haven't done it online), then passport control/immigration, then baggage claim, and finally customs before you step out into the main hall where drivers, taxis and information counters wait. Knowing this order ahead of time saves you the 'where do I go now' stress at the exact moment you're most tired.

Step one: the visa (visa on arrival)

As a Greek citizen you're entitled to visa on arrival — you get your visa on the spot at the airport, with no embassy visit in Athens beforehand. The process runs in three stages inside the arrivals hall, before you even reach the immigration desk: first a kiosk machine where you enter your details and it prints a receipt with a barcode, then a payment counter where you pay the visa fee, and finally passport control where you get the stamp.

The three tourist-visa durations — 15, 30 and 90 days — carry different costs in US dollars, best paid in clean cash notes. If you pre-filled the application online before leaving Greece, all you need to do is scan your own barcode at the kiosk and go straight to payment — skipping the slowest stage, the data-entry one.

The whole process, at a quiet hour, takes about 20-30 minutes. At peak time it can stretch to 45-60 minutes. The exact cost per duration, the required documents and every procedural detail change from time to time and are worth reading in full — we've laid them all out in the Nepal visa guide, along with the documents to have ready in your bag.

Baggage claim and customs

After the visa and passport control, you follow the signs toward baggage claim. There aren't many belts, so spotting the right flight is usually easy — just don't expect the speed of a big European hub. At hours when several flights land together, waiting for bags can be the slowest part of the whole process, slower even than the visa.

After baggage you pass through customs. For the typical tourist there's nothing special to declare, but if you're carrying valuable gear (a drone, professional camera equipment) it's worth knowing a check is possible. The exact rules on bringing in equipment and any restrictions change and are worth confirming before you travel, especially if you're flying with a drone.

One practical detail people forget: note the colour and shape of your suitcase before leaving Greece, because in a hall this size similar-looking bags are easy to mix up among dozens of passengers waiting at the same belt.

Your first cash: currency exchange and ATMs at the airport

Before you step into the main hall, you'll pass currency exchange points and ATMs. The general logic with money in Nepal is simple: the Nepalese rupee (NPR) isn't sold in Greece and can't be exported from the country, so you only get rupees on the spot — either by exchanging dollars/euros or by withdrawing directly from an ATM with your Greek card.

At the airport the exchange rate is usually less favourable than at the exchange offices in the city, in Thamel. The practical rule is to change or withdraw only a small amount there — enough for the taxi and the day's first expenses — and do your main transaction later in town, where you have time to compare rates.

If you'd rather use an ATM than exchange cash, know that most dispense around NPR 10,000-15,000 per transaction, with a flat fee of roughly NPR 400-500 per withdrawal; the fee stings less the larger the amount you take out each time. Money in Nepal has a few traps worth knowing about in detail — see the guide to money and currency in Nepal, which also has a table of everyday prices.

SIM card in the arrivals hall, or in the city?

In the arrivals hall, past passport control, you'll see counters for the country's two main providers, Ncell and NTC (Namaste). If you want to walk out of the airport already connected — handy for opening a map, confirming the route to your hotel, or texting home that you've landed — this is the most convenient point to buy a local SIM.

You'll need your passport and one passport photo (many counters can take it on the spot with a camera). Activation isn't always instant; it can take a few minutes or, less often, an hour or two, so if you're in a hurry don't count on having signal before you've even left the building.

Which provider to pick depends on where you're headed: Ncell is faster in the cities, NTC has better coverage if you're planning to trek. If you're not yet sure of your plans, or would simply rather not stand in a queue with your bags in hand, you can activate an eSIM before leaving Greece and buy a local SIM later, at your own pace, in Thamel. All the detail — pack prices, which provider covers where, when an eSIM makes sense — is in the guide to SIM and internet in Nepal.

Getting out: taxi, prepaid counter or hotel transfer

Once you clear customs and step into the main hall, you'll be met by a crowd of drivers, name signs and taxi offers. If you've booked a hotel that provides a transfer (many mid-range and upper places do, often for little or no extra charge), that's the easiest option — look for the sign with your name or your hotel's name right as you walk out.

If you don't have an arranged transfer, the next calmest option — if a prepaid taxi counter is operating when you land — is one inside or near the arrivals hall, where you pay a fixed price before getting in the car, with no haggling needed. If there's no such counter, or you'd rather flag a taxi directly outside, it's customary to agree the fare before you get in — ask plainly 'how much to Thamel' (or wherever you're staying) before loading your bags.

As a rough figure, a ride from the airport to the Thamel district runs around NPR 500-800 — under 6 euros — though the exact amount shifts with the time of day, traffic and current fuel prices, so treat it as an order of magnitude rather than a fixed rate. The distance from the airport to the centre is short, but the travel time isn't always short because of traffic — allow 20-45 minutes depending on the hour.

Quick reference: the order of steps inside the airport

For a fast overview, here's the logical order of what happens inside the building, with an indicative time at a quiet hour. Remember that at peak time, when several flights land together, these times can roughly double.

Add the times up and you get the total picture: from the moment you step off the plane to walking out into the main hall, you're looking at somewhere between half an hour and a bit over an hour — roughly 30-70 minutes, depending on how busy your arrival hour is. If you did the visa online, drop the first 5-10 minutes at the kiosk from your mental math — you go straight to the payment counter, so your own timeline will run a bit shorter than the table's total.

Your first 90 minutes in the city

Once you're in the taxi or hotel car, your first contact with Kathmandu is usually intense: traffic, horns, motorbikes weaving through everywhere, dust, colour. If you've landed after a long flight, don't push yourself to 'make plans' right away — let the first impressions come in through the car window.

Most travellers head for Thamel, the tourist heart of the city with the largest concentration of hotels, restaurants and trekking agencies. If your hotel is there, the first 90 minutes after arrival usually look like: check-in, a quick shower or change of clothes, and a short walk through the surrounding alleys to get your bearings — maybe a plate of momo or dal bhat at whichever restaurant catches your appetite first.

If you're planning to stay in the city one or two days before heading off to trekking or Pokhara, there's no need to rush anything the first evening. Kathmandu, with its seven UNESCO sites, temples and squares, will still be there in the morning with a fresh mind — we've mapped out what's worth seeing and how to plan your first days in the guide to Kathmandu, the capital.

What to have ready before you even land

A few minutes of preparation before the plane touches down save real time inside the airport. Most queue delays aren't caused by the process itself, but by people digging through their carry-on at the last second for a passport, dollars or a photo, while the line behind them waits.

Worth having within reach, not buried at the bottom of your checked bag:

• A passport valid for at least 6 months from your date of entry, with at least one blank page
• Clean US dollar notes enough to cover the visa fee, ideally the exact amount
• One passport photo (useful for both the visa and the SIM card)
• The address of your first accommodation, written down or saved offline
• The phone number or contact name for your hotel, if you're expecting a transfer
• A small amount of euros or dollars in small notes, for your first exchange or a tip

What changes often and needs confirming

A guide like this describes a process whose broad shape stays stable for years — but several details within it change more often than you'd think. It's worth separating those clearly from the stable logic of the route.

What changes often: the exact visa cost per duration, the rupee's exchange rate against the euro and dollar, SIM data-pack prices, the operating hours of specific counters (exchange desks, SIM counters) inside the airport, whether a prepaid taxi counter is currently operating in the arrivals hall, indicative taxi fares, and any temporary entry rules (health, customs) that occasionally apply. Confirm all of these close to your travel date, ideally through official sources or your travel agent.

What has stayed stable for years: the general order of steps inside the airport (visa → immigration → baggage → customs), the fact that rupees can't be bought outside Nepal, the need for cash dollars for the visa, and the airport's location close to the city centre. You can plan around these with confidence.

Common arrival mistakes — and how to avoid them

The most common mistake is arriving with no cash dollars at all, assuming 'I'll find an ATM somewhere'. It usually works out, but if the machine is down or the visa queue is moving fast while you're off hunting for an ATM, you lose valuable time. A few clean dollars in your pocket before you even land solves the problem entirely.

The second common mistake is getting into a taxi without agreeing a price before departure, hoping for a 'reasonable' amount at the end. It's better to ask plainly before you get in, or to use the prepaid counter if one's available, so there's no discussion about money after an already tiring journey.

The third, milder mistake: trying to do too much in the first hour — visa, SIM, ATM, currency exchange, taxi, all at top speed. You don't need to. Keep it simple: visa and baggage first, a little cash and maybe a SIM if you're up for it, and leave the rest — a bigger exchange, a data pack, exploring — for the next day in the city, at an easy pace.