We explored Pakistan for a couple of weeks in 2022 and quickly fell in love with the kind people, the delicious food and the stunning sights. While we already have a second trip planned to Pakistan we wanted to share everything we have seen, done and learned during our couple weeks in this amazing country! We will be soon as we are planning on exploring Karachi and of course the mountains of Pakistan in the North!
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Pakistan Travel Vlogs
Accommodation in Pakistan
No matter what budget your traveling on, you will find something for everyone in Pakistan. Below you can find all places we stayed at during our time in Pakistan! If you are looking for a more in depth review of the places we stayed at in Pakistan (or other countries) check out our where we stayed page here!
Lahore | Luxus Grand Hotel
Rated with a 9.3 on Booking.com (May 2022)
5 Star hotel located near Lahore Zoo. We stayed here for over a week and loved our stay here. They offer both standard twin and double rooms as well as full on suites. The staff was incredibly friendly and welcoming, and the rooms were clean and spacious We would definitely stay here again on our next visit to Lahore!
Islamabad | The 108 Hotel
Rated with an 9.2 on Booking.com (May 2022)
The 108 Hotel is undeniably our favourite hotel in Islamabad! Not only is this hotel in a great location, it also has clean and spacious rooms. The room had a large and comfortable bed, a spacious washroom, a dedicated workspace and even had a tv with Netflix. We honestly did not want to leave this place. We loved everything about our stay and will definitely stay here again on our next visit to Islamabad!
Islamabad | Shelton’s Ambassador
Rated with an 8.8 on Booking.com (May 2022)
The Shelton's Ambassador is located in a central area of Islamabad close to cafes, restaurants, shopping malls and central between some of Islamabad must see sights. We mainly loved the great location and the kind staff. The rooms are clean and the bed is comfortable. We would stay here again but if our budget allows us we would prefer the above mentioned 108 Hotel.
Places to Visit in Pakistan
Lahore
Explore Lahore, Pakistan’s cultural capital! Filled with stunning sights, vibrant markets and some of the most delicious food you will find in Pakistan. A visit to Pakistan would not be complete without a visit to Lahore. Roam through the walled city, filled with historic sights from the Mughal era, or perhaps explore modern Lahore instead. Read our complete guide to things to do in Lahore here!
Islamabad
Islamabad is Pakistan’s capital, and undeniably Pakistan’s most modern city. Islamabad was built in between the 1960s and 1970s to replace Karachi as the capital city, making it different from any other city you will find in Pakistan! Streets are wide, lined with trees, and compared to the city of Lahore the traffic is extremely calm. We personally preferred Lahore, there is just something about that hustle and bustle, but believe it is still worth checking out for a couple of days! You can find our complete guide to Islamabad here!
Map of Places to Visit in Pakistan
Click on a marker to read our complete destination guides filled with things to do and travel tips!
Perhaps looking for a full travel map with all the places we visited, where we ate and the sights we have seen? Click the link down below instead!
Pakistan Travel Guides
travel tips
cities
Transportation in Pakistan
Between cities
There is a large variety of ways to get around the country, and there is an option for every single traveler, no matter if you are a budget backpacker or a luxury traveler:
FLIGHTS | Major cities and destinations in the North are connected by daily flights run by Pakistan International Airlines. Popular destinations such as Karachi to Lahore or Islamabad are all connected by flights, and Islamabad also connects to popular destinations in the North of Pakistan including Gilgit, Skardu and Chitral. Please note though that there have been safety concerns in the past (following a crash of a PIA flight in Karachi in 2020) where information surfaced that a large amount of the pilots flying for PIA did not hold the needed qualifications. We personally have never flown with PIA as we prefer overland transport when traveling.
TRAINS | In addition to flights major cities (not the mountains) are also connected by trains. You can find a full map of the train connections in Pakistan here. If you would like to take a train in Pakistan we would highly recommend checking out Lost With Purpose’s guide to train travel in Pakistan! This guide is filled with tips, the type of classes you have in trains and how to actually buy a ticket for the train.
BUSES | And last is taking the bus of course! Pakistan has an extensive bus network with Faisal Movers and Daewoo Express being known as the two more premium companies preferred by many travellers. We personally have only taken one bus in Pakistan, from Lahore to Islamabad, with Q connect and were surprised by this crazy first class bus. This bus connection unfortunately only seems to run between Lahore and Islamabad, however, it is well worth the money in our opinion as it one of the best, if not the best, bus we have ever been on!
Within Cities
When it comes to travelling within cities it does not matter if you are traveling on a budget or are a luxury traveler, all options are quite affordable. Here are some of the easiest ways to get around within the larger cities:
RICKSHAW | The main reason that rickshaws are the easiest way to get around a city is because they are simply everywhere. When we were in Lahore we would literally have to stand for 10 seconds before we were approached by a rickshaw. A 10 min ride with a rickshaw would cost us anywhere from 100 - 200 Rs. ($0.52 - $1.04), making it a quick, affordable, and honestly just a lot of fun way to get around town.
CAREEM | The only downside to taking a rickshaw in our opinion is that many of the drivers go more by landmark, not by map, which can make it difficult to explain where exactly you want to go if you are not familiar with the city (or speak limited Urdu as not all drivers speak English). If you prefer not to wait or search for a rickshaw, or have to explain where you need to go, then the Careem app can be incredibly helpful. Simply pick the form of transport you would like to take (we have only used car) and type in your pick up point and destination. From there, similar to Uber, you will be able to see how much it will be and how long till your driver will be there! A 30 min ride with Careem was like 650 Rs. ($3.37) so all in all still an affordable way to get around town, although you will need a sim card for this option.
Pakistan Travel Budget
One of the most common question we get when it comes to travelling is exactly how much our travels cost. What do we spend, what do we budget, and what do you spend your money on. So to make it a little bit easier we though we would include an exact breakdown of how much our travels cost. We travelled Pakistan for a total of 17 days and spent our time divided between the cities of Lahore and Islamabad. In total we spent $1626.39, or $47.85 per day per person. You can find a full breakdown of our costs in our Pakistan Travel Budget guide.
It might be good to know that you can travel Pakistan on a much lower budget. We are personally traveling on a budget of around $100 a day for the both of us so we did not have to travel on a budget here and kinda splurged a bit during our travels when it comes to accommodation and food. However, if you would like to travel to Pakistan and would like to spent less money you can easily stay at a more budget hotel (± $20) and eat more street food (± $1-2 per meal) instead of eating at restaurants (± $3-7 per meal).
Pakistan Travel Tips
Language
The national language of Pakistan is Urdu, which is one of the two official languages in Pakistan with English being the other official language. While English is widely spoken, it does not hurt to know a bit of Urdu. Read our article with essential phrases, words and numbers for traveling in Pakistan here!
Internet & Sim Cards
Most hotels and hostels in Pakistan do have wifi, however, it is not always the most stable or the fastest connection. We highly recommend getting a sim card if you want to stay connected, and to be sure you will have access to internet anywhere at anytime. Zong is one of the most popular options for getting a sim card as it has one of the best coverage (for cities, not mountains). Be sure not to get a sim card at the airport as there are many travellers that report that they purchased sim cards at the airport and they ended up not working.
We got a Zong sim card at the service centre on Mall Road in Lahore. The staff was kind and helpful as they explained all our options. We purchased a sim card and were informed that the sim card would be active in 1-2 days, however it was activated later that night (about 14 hours later). Your visa and passport will need to be verified so be sure to bring these when getting a sim card. We paid 1000 Rs ($ 5.41) that gave us 4GB of data, 2GB of data for Whatsapp, 300 min for making calls and 1000 text messages.
VPN
No matter where you travel to, may it be Pakistan or Bali, we would highly recommend using a VPN to protect your data while logging into multiple wifi networks during your trip. Another benefit is that it will give you access to multiple countries so you can watch Netflix no matter where you are in the world, and possibly access websites that might be blocked in the country you are visiting. We are currently using Surfshark VPN and would recommend checking them out as they are not only one of the more affordable VPNs they also allow you to add unlimited devices!
ATMs
ATMs are widely available in Pakistan, however, not all of them accept foreign cards and it is common that a fee is charged for withdrawing cash (on top of what your bank charges you). We have tried and tested many ATMs in Pakistan, read more about it in our Pakistan Travel Budget guide here!