Annapurna Foothills, Seti Rafting & Chitwan Safari — Self-Launched

Land at Tribhuvan International Airport and take a pre-paid taxi (~NPR 800–1,000 / £5) or the airport bus to Thamel, the backpacker heart of Kathmandu. Check into a mid-range guesthouse or budget hotel — think the same standard of comfort as the tour's Baber Mahal-adjacent hotel but without the price tag. Spend the afternoon gently: wander the lanes of Thamel, sort out a Nepali SIM/data plan (NCell or NTC, ~£5 for a 30-day data pack with passport photo), and draw cash from an ATM (Nepal is still cash-heavy outside Pokhara and Kathmandu). Eat dal bhat at a local 'bhatti' for under £3.

🚌Airport taxi ~£5; walking in Thamel

🛏Thamel guesthouse / budget boutique hotel, private room (~£22/night)

• →Thamel orientation walk
• →Buy Nepali SIM card and data pack
• →Evening dal bhat dinner

Ease into Nepal and get your sightseeing done before the trek. Take a local bus or a cheap Pathao/InDrive ride (~£2) south to Patan (Lalitpur) and spend the morning in Patan Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage site with exquisite Newari architecture, carved wooden temples and the Malla kings' palaces. Entry is ~NPR 1,000 (£6) for foreigners. Break for momos and Newari snacks in Patan's backstreets, then head to Boudhanath Stupa in the late afternoon (~NPR 400 entry) for the kora circuit at golden hour. Book your trek permits today if you can (see Day 3) or arrange them in Pokhara.

🚌Local bus or ride-hailing app ~£2–4 return

🛏Thamel guesthouse / budget boutique hotel, private room (~£22/night)

• →Patan Durbar Square entry (~£6)
• →Boudhanath Stupa entry (~£2.50)
• →Newari lunch in Patan

Take the tourist bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara — book a day ahead at any Thamel agency, ~NPR 2,500–3,000 (£15–18) for a comfortable A/C coach, roughly 7 hours. (Flights are ~£70–90 if you're short on time, but the bus is the classic backpacker move.) In Pokhara, pick up your Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP, ~NPR 3,000 / £18) and Trekkers' Information Management System card (~NPR 2,000 / £12) at the Nepal Tourism Board office — bring passport photos. Sort out a TIMS-registered guide if you want one (~£20–25/day, and increasingly recommended), rent trekking poles if needed, and eat lakeside in Lakeside. Rest early — the trail starts tomorrow.

🚌Tourist bus Kathmandu–Pokhara ~£16

🛏Pokhara Lakeside guesthouse, private room (~£16/night)

• →Collect ACAP permit (~£18)
• →Collect TIMS card (~£12)
• →Lakeside evening stroll

Take a local bus or shared jeep from Pokhara's Baglung Bus Park to Phedi (~NPR 100–150 / £1, 45 mins), the trailhead for the classic Dhampus route. Climb stone steps through rhododendron and oak forest for roughly 2–3 hours to Dhampus village, a Gurung settlement perched on a ridge with huge views of Machhapuchhre and the Annapurnas on a clear day. Check into a teahouse or community mountain lodge (private room ~NPR 1,500–2,500 / £9–15, dal bhat dinner and breakfast included or ~£4 each). Settle in on the terrace for sunset over the peaks.

🚌Local bus to Phedi ~£1; trekking on foot ~3 hrs

🛏Dhampus teahouse / mountain lodge, private room (~£12/night with meals extra)

• →Trek Phedi–Dhampus (~3 hrs, moderate uphill)
• →Sunset Annapurna panorama

Wake for sunrise over the Annapurnas, then follow the ridge trail east through terraced fields and traditional Gurung and Magar villages toward Tomijong, the village known for its traditional honey-hunting and bee-keeping heritage. The walk is 4–5 hours of rolling ridge terrain — descents on stone steps, climbs through farmland, and constant mountain views. If you want a slightly longer variant, the Astam hill loop adds another hour and a viewpoint. Stay in a local mountain lodge or community homestay (~£12–15). Ask around about the honey harvest and the cliff-side hives — local families run informal visits.

🚌Trekking on foot ~4–5 hrs

🛏Tomijong/Astam mountain lodge or community homestay (~£13/night)

• →Trek Dhampus–Tomijong
• →Village bee-keeping heritage walk (informal, tip-based)

Continue the village-to-village route along the ridge, descending through more terraced farmland toward Naudanda and eventually Hemja, where the hills open out toward the Pokhara valley floor. Plan 5–6 hours of walking with a long lunch stop in a village tea shop. This is the day you'll spot the everyday rhythm of hill life — rice planting, millet drying, kids walking to school. Overnight in a teahouse in Naudanda or push on to the valley floor near Hemja so the following day's transfer to the rafting put-in is easy (~£12).

🚌Trekking on foot ~5–6 hrs

🛏Naudanda/Hemja teahouse, private room (~£12/night)

• →Ridge trekking through Gurung villages
• →Village tea-shop lunch stop

A final half-day of walking brings you off the ridge to the road near Hemja/Pokhara, where you can take a local bus or shared jeep back into Pokhara (~£2) to collect any gear you'd rather not carry. Then transfer by local bus/shared jeep toward Damauli/the Seti put-in (~2–3 hrs, ~£6). Local rafting outfitters in Pokhara (or book via GetYourGuide in advance) offer the classic 2-day Seti River package with all meals, raft, guide, safety kayak and riverside camp for roughly NPR 9,000–13,000 (£55–75). Camp on a sandy beach tonight — your version of the tour's Seti River Camp, minus the private vehicle.

🚌Local bus/shared jeep to rafting put-in ~£6

🛏Riverside beach camp (included in rafting package)

• →Final trek descent to road
• →Transfer to Seti River put-in
• →Riverside camp overnight

Full day on the Seti River — a mix of Class II–III rapids, jungle-lined canyons, sandbanks and warm water, ideal for first-time rafters and perfectly family-friendly in difficulty. Long lunch on a beach, then more paddling, campfire, and a night under genuinely spectacular stars. This is the same stretch the G Adventures group rafts, just you and your own small group of mates with an independently booked outfitter. Meals included; bring cash for drinks.

🚌Raft on Seti River; no road transfer

🛏Riverside beach camp (included in rafting package)

• →Two-day Seti River raft, day 2
• →Campfire and stargazing

Finish the raft at Damauli (or Mugling depending on water levels) after lunch, then take a local bus from Damauli to Narayanghat and onward to Tadi Bazaar/Sauraha, the gateway to Chitwan (~4–5 hrs total, ~£5). Alternatively, a shared jeep from Narayanghat to Sauraha is ~£8. Check into a Sauraha guesthouse or lodge (~£14/night) and arrange a jeep safari and canoe trip for tomorrow directly with your lodge or a local operator office — a full-day jeep safari is roughly £25–30 per person and a 2-hour dugout canoe plus jungle walk £10–15.

🚌Raft out + local bus Damauli–Sauraha ~£5–8

🛏Sauraha guesthouse near the park edge (~£14/night)

• →Transfer to Chitwan
• →Book jeep safari and canoe trip

An early start — canoe down the Rapti River in a traditional dugout as mist burns off the water, looking for gharial and mugger crocodiles, kingfishers and river birds. Then a guided jungle walk with a licensed naturalist (park entry ~NPR 2,000 / £12). After lunch, board a jeep for a 4–5 hour safari deep into Chitwan's sal forest and grassland — this is your shot at greater one-horned rhino, wild elephant, sloth bear, spotted deer and, if you're very lucky, tiger. Evening visit to a Tharu cultural dance show (~£3) or the elephant breeding centre. Same wildlife, same park, self-booked price.

🚌Walking + jeep safari in park

🛏Sauraha guesthouse near the park edge (~£14/night)

• →Dugout canoe on Rapti River
• →Guided jungle walk
• →Full-day jeep safari (~£28)
• →Chitwan park entry (~£12)
• →Tharu cultural show (~£3)

A slow morning — birdwatching from the riverbank, or a village walk in a Tharu community, or a visit to the elephant breeding centre. Take the tourist bus back to Kathmandu (Sauraha–Kathmandu, ~6–7 hrs, ~£14 booked at your guesthouse) arriving in the evening. Or fly Bharatpur–Kathmandu (~£80) if you're tight on time. Back in Kathmandu, check into your Thamel guesthouse and head out for a proper celebratory dinner — a rooftop restaurant with mountain views if the sky's clear.

🚌Tourist bus Sauraha–Kathmandu ~£14

🛏Thamel guesthouse / budget boutique hotel, private room (~£22/night)

• →Morning riverbank birdwatching
• →Bus back to Kathmandu
• →Rooftop celebration dinner

Squeeze in a final experience before your flight — climb the 365 steps to Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple) for the best valley panorama in Kathmandu (~£2.50 entry), or if you have a late flight, the Everest scenic flight booked independently through Buddha Air or Yeti Airlines (~£150–180, versus the tour's $290 add-on). Pick up last-minute souvenirs and pashminas in Thamel, then take a taxi to the airport (~£5) for your flight home.

🚌Taxi to airport ~£5

🛏None (departure day)

• →Swayambhunath Monkey Temple (~£2.50)
• →Optional Everest scenic flight (~£160, book direct)
• →Last-minute souvenir shopping