How much to tip a Nepal trekking guide?

How Much to Tip Your Trekking Guide in Nepal

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There's a formula that use that has stood by me for two decades in Nepal. It is my own personal formula. You can adjust it to your own preferences quite easily.

Tipping formula for trekking guides: 10% of the treks value or your trekking guides daily salary x the number of days they are on a trek with you as a baseline at the start of a trek. Then add or subtract percentage points based on your guides performance.

For example: You hire a trekking guide for USD $30 per day for 5 days which is $150 in total. A 10% tip would mean giving them USD $15 extra at the end of the trek. However, I add to this number if I find the guide has performed well, or above expectations during the trek.

The guide may have been exceptional in teaching me about wildlife, mountains, fauna during the entire trek. I could add 5% for that.

Or, the guide could have offered to help me practice or learn Nepali everyday on the trek. I could add 20% to that.

So 10% + 5%+ 20% equals $15 + $7.5 + $30 = 52.50 tip. Or rounding if off $50-55.

Similarly, if the trekking guide did not live up to expectations, I may deduct from the 10%. For example if they hardly spoke during the trek, or didn't tell me much, or even complained about how hard their life is throughout the trek (hinting at wanting a tip), I may decide to deduct my tip from 10% to zero. Meaning, they get their base salary and no more.

That's my formula, and it works for me. There's plenty of leeway in it. Due to the nature of writing guidebooks to Nepal, I keep daily logs. So personally, I always write a note in my journal how the guide performed each day. That way I don't forget. I literally write Day one: Explanation 10% Day two: Explanation 25% etc. This might be a bit much for most trekkers, but if you are journaling it can really help at the end of a trek, especially a long one. 

Keep in mind, choosing the right trekking guide will go a long way in making your decisions easier.

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What about tipping porters or porter-guides?

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Same formula as above applies. If you have a porter-guide, then the chances are you won't have a guide so it's just the same.

If you have porter carrying your bags then you can adjust the formula a little. The porters sole job is to carry your bags from point A to point B. However, occasionally you may get a porter who goes above and beyond. They may have good English and provide a lot information on the area. Or tell great stories. Or, they may simply disappear for the day with your bag and you may only see them briefly in the morning when they pick it up. The choice is yours based on the formula and on their base daily salary.

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Should you tip your trekking agency?

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Generally speaking, this is not done. Trekking agencies usually make a base salary for themselves by a % of the trek. There are exceptions though. For example, they may have gone above and beyond in securing your permits during a festival period in Nepal. Or, they may have helped by staying in touch with you during your trek, arranging last minute transport etc.

Should you give the trekking agency the guides tips instead of directly to the guide?  I would avoid this for many reasons. Jealousy, salaries, and so forth can often come into play here. If I am tipping a guide, I would do it away from the trekking agency and I wouldn't tell them either!

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When to Tip Your Trekking Guide in Nepal?

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Always at the end of your trek, or when you say goodbye to your guide or porter (for example if they stay in the region and you leave for Pokhara or Kathmandu).

This means, it's probably best, if you do plan on tipping, to have some cash for the tip in reserve.

How do I go about tipping the guide? Privately. It's not a good Idea to make a big fuss about the tip. And it's probably even more important not to hand a tip over in front of other local people. Assumptions are often made that way, and it can get awkward for the trekking guide.

 If you had a good trek, and are happy to tip then on the last day or when you arrive back in Pokhara or Kathmandu simply ask the guide to join you in a reasonably private area. Have the tip money folded up or in a discrete envelope (folded paper). Make a point to say how you appreciated them, mentioning what they did that you thought was great. Hand them the cash casually into their hand with a smile as an "extra thank you".

If the guide comes back to Kathmandu or Pokhara with you, many trekkers offer to take their guide out for dinner or lunch and give a tip then. However, do note that during busy seasons guides may literally have to leave on the same day with new clients. So, ask ahead re meeting up with them after the trek. 

How do I go about tipping a porter? This one is different! Porters may not have good English or communication skills. I've found having the guide nearby and letting them know you would like to "give something" for the porter helps. Any communication is generally handled by the guide.

One point of note here: if a guide suggests giving them the porters tip, I would be hesitant. 

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Can I tip with something else other than cash?

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There's a cold lesson here. No.

Nepal's culture means there's a lot of pride. While offering to give a guide your $200 USD trekking boots may seem like a nice gesture, it's actually embarrassing to them. It's seem as pity offering. Many experienced guides will have come across this and handle it well. But others will be disappointed.

Cash is king in Nepal. Cash means the trekking guide can choose what they want to do with he extra money. Pay for their child's schooling that year, pay the rent, buy a new phone, the list goes on. It's simply the best choice. Nepali rupees, USD or EUR are best.

A porter can be slightly different depending on their background. The guide may know the porter well, and might know what they'd appreciate the best. Some porters may have personal issues like drinking or gambling, in which case the trekking jacket, an old mobile phone, or similar maybe more appropriate. I'll use one example I had with a porter. He was a nice chap, but used to have issues keeping money. I asked my guide what would he like to say thanks. I learned he recently lost his best chicken. So, the guide helped by find him a local chicken. The porter was so happy to have a new chicken, which meant eggs, and a source of income to sell eggs. At the time there was a chicken shortage in that area. I paid extra for the chicken, but the smile on the porters face as he cuddled the chicken on his way back home was one of those memories of a lifetime! 

 

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When to be cautious about tipping?

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If a trekking guides hints at tipping throughout the trek. Or, gives you a daily sob story about how hard their lives are.  If might sound heartless, but some trekking guides know how to tug on the heartstrings of trekkers to coax them into tipping more. However, some go over the top. Sometimes to the point when you have to ask them, politely, to stop mentioning about how hard things are and give them positives instead. Even mentioning that in your culture tipping is not allowed.

s mentioned previous, if a trekking agency itself says that "tipping is mandatory" or "this is your trek price plus tipping" then I personally, decline their offer to take me trekking.

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In my culture we don't believe in tipping, will this be a problem with my Nepal trekking guide?

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Personally, I'm not a tipping person by culture or otherwise unless someone goes "above and beyond". However, I know the industry well and there can be issues. Albeit, they should not dissuade you.

Generally speaking, no you will not have a problem with not leaving a tip. Nepali people are well versed that there are certain countries that don't tip.

You should never feel pressurized or guilted into tipping. Similarly you shouldn't lead a guide on with the expectation of being given a tip. If the subject comes up before the trek, just be up front and honest about it.

Here's an insider cravat. Trekking guides and trekking agents during the busy peak season do play favorites. If there's a choice between a trekker from a country that usually tips well vs. a trekker from a country that doesn't tip then the guide is much more likely to choose the trekker from the tipping country than the non-tipping country. How does that affect the trekker? Well, the likely hood is the more experienced guides will always go where the money is better. It doesn't mean the non-tipping country will get a bad guide, but during busy periods you may find your self finding it harder to get the guide you want, at the price you can afford. If it's not a busy season, then this is not an issue.

If you are having problems finding a good guide then you can use my find a Nepal trekking guide service.  

 

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Conclusions on tipping a Nepal trekking guide

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Hopefully, this page answers all your tipping a trekking guide in Nepal questions.

Some key points to remember:

• Tipping is not mandatory in Nepal

• Trekking guides only get to work about 4-5 months a year

• If you tip, do it discreetly

• Cash is favored over items

• The tipping formula above is a good way to work out how much to tip a guide

 

Finally, you are on the right track to learn about how much should you tip a Nepal trekking guide! It's all about the research and preparation. The best research material to learn more about this and so much more, is in my Trekking in Nepal guidebook.. Available for immediate download, or in paperback.