tipping guides and porters

We are going on a 17 day trek in Nepal from Jiri to Kala Pathar. Does anyone know what the protocal is on tipping our guides and porters? There are five in our party, we are going with a Nepal based trekking company.

Bev

tipping guides and porters

Guide/Porter hire cost included

~ Airport pickup by our private car

~ Trekking porter accommodation and 3 meals a day while on the

trek in Lodges

~ Wages, equipment, insurance and other facilities to Porter

~ Helicopter rescue service arrangement (If necessity)

Guide/Porter hire cost does not includes

路 Nepal entry visa fee per person US$ 30 only

. Kathmandu hotel room and all accommodation such as Breakfast, Lunch %26amp; Dinner (B,L,D) basis

. All ground transfer

. Flight from Kathmandu to Lukla to Kathmandu per person US$ 202 only

. Your personal Porter/Guide airfare from Kathmandu to Lukla to Kathmandu per person NRS 5260 (US$ 75) only

. Trekking permit and Sagarmatha National Park Entrance fees per person US$ 15 only

. Your personal accommodation in Lodges (Tea houses) trek

路 Travel Insurance (this is a mandatory condition of booking)

路 Medical evacuation in case of emergency

路 Personal spending money and all bar bill,

路 Items of personal nature ie. Soft/hard drinks, Tips for Guide/Porter

etc.

路 International Airport departure Tax per person US$ 24 (NRS 1695) only

WHAT YOU SHOULD BRING DURING THE TREK?

i/ Good and comfortable trekking boots.

ii/ Ruck-Sack

iii/ Some pairs of warm socks as well as light socks.

iv/ Warm clothes necessary for the morning and evening.

v/ Your toiletries and medical kit.

vi/ Couple of T-shirts and shorts for the day.

vii/ Hat.

viii/ Slippers/Down jackets

ix/ Sunglasses.

x/ Flash light

xi/ Sun cream

xii/ Camera with sufficient film permit

Thanking you !!!

Sincerely yours,

Pradip Raj Panday

Skyline Treks %26amp; Expedition (P.) Ltd.

Gpo box No: 14221

Thamel Kathmandu, Nepal

Tel No: 00977-1-4212737

Fax No: 00977-1-4212738

Email: info@skylinetreks.com

skyline@enet.com.np

Website: www.skylinetreks.com

www.nepaltravels.biz

tipping guides and porters

K2:

Can you come to this lady%26#39;s rescue? With all your experience, you should be able to help. This forum seems to be overwhelmed with touts on some days.

Hi Bev, we were over in KTH in Oct 05 and went on a 10 day trek up to Tenge Boche.

We were originally told that the recommended end of trek tip was USD 10 per day from each paying member of the trek.

This was then further complicated by the fact that there was only 4 of us on the trek out of a total of 16 positions that could have been filled. This kind of led to a potentially embarassing situation for us where it was suggested that due to the fact that there were so few people on the tour, that we should be giving more.

We were at a loss as to what a suitable figure was; seeing as the tour company emphasizes in the brochures that all their staff are well paid, taken care of and discourages trekkers giving out money when asked by staff who are claiming poverty.

Seeing as we come from a non-tipping culture, it took a bit of rangling as to why we should tip - dam tight Kiwis !

In the end we actually decided that USD 5 per day from each trekker was more than suitable seeing as the trip had been so fantastic.

Another idea could be to hand out gifts from home such as tee-shirts or pocket knifes etc.

There is some lattitude here. I have always hired my guide directly and done the teahouse treks. I%26#39;ve never done the commercial trip. That said, what I have heard is that you can tip about $5 usd per day to lead guides. However, on the sly, tip the porters, kitchen help and lowest of the staff mdirectly and descretely, based on the service and relationship you build with them. Often tips are give to the lead personnel to distribute, and they often pcoket theose funds themselvs. Lead staff are well compensated, it is the hardest workers that provide so much that get the least. Take time to get to know your crew, the relationships you build are often the highlights of the trip!!