Planning a Pakistan Trip from the UK
What travellers based in the United Kingdom should check before joining one of our trips in Pakistan, from FCDO advice to the time difference.
Official travel advice to read first
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) publishes foreign travel advice for Pakistan at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/pakistan, including area-by-area advice. You can sign up for email alerts when it changes.
UK travel insurers often refer to FCDO advice: travelling to an area the FCDO advises against can affect your cover, so check your policy against the advice for every place on your route.
Time difference
Pakistan Standard Time is UTC+5 with no daylight saving. Pakistan is 5 hours ahead of the UK in winter (GMT) and 4 hours ahead during British Summer Time.
Visas and Pakistan's mission
Pakistan's visas are applied for online through the Pakistan Online Visa System run by NADRA (visa.nadra.gov.pk). Which visa category applies to British passport holders, and the current fee and processing time, can change, so check the portal and the High Commission for Pakistan in London before you book flights.
Planning from the UK
With a time change of only four or five hours, the jet lag is modest compared with flights from North America or Australia. UK summer holidays fall in the main trekking season of our programmes; the spring blossom tour runs in March, and the autumn colour tour in October.
Where our trips start
Almost every programme starts and ends at Islamabad International Airport, so that is the airport to plan your flights around from the UK. Two exceptions: the Indus civilisation tour starts in Karachi, and the camel safari starts in Bahawalpur.