How much to tip Egypt guide and driver?

Hello everyone!

We are booking a 2-day tour through Ramses Tours while in Egypt next January. It will just be the two of us (myself and my husband), our driver, and guide (I assume driver and guide, or perhaps the guide is also the driver?)

I am really at a loss as to what would be an appropriate tip for their services. We wouldn't want to give too little and possibly insult anyone - but like all travelers we are on a budget as well. However I do like to tip well when the service and tour has been worth it. I was thinking maybe $20 US for the guide, and $15 US for the driver? If that's way off base please do let me know! Just trying to budget and figure out how much cash we're going to need.

I know tipping is a highly personal decision, and policies vary from country to country - but if anyone would be willing to share their thoughts, I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks!

Laura

When we book a private tour when on a cruise, we usually tip 15-20%, assuming the guide does a great job. If we have a driver plus a guide, I'd guess we give the guide 15%, and the driver $10 a day. We justs finished a Holy Land cruise, and they all looked happy with their tips. I must admit this is a real gray area....

I don't know how much they charge you for the tour. To me, their tour is not cheap, I would not give them a tip. Doing a good job is their responsibilty, they should do a good job base on the fee these tour guide charge.

In many part of world such as Europe and Australia, tipping is not expected. Don't bring this North America practice to Egypt, Europe, you only spoil local people and doesn't do any good for other travellers.

I would donate money to people really need money instead of tipping.

VCG - When we take private tours, we follow a rule-of-thumb similar to that described by Suncitygaltx. That is, 15-20% of the tour price to the guide, with another 5% or so to the driver, if there is one. This has been our practice in places as varied as Peru, China, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, and most countries in Europe. These amounts were graciously accepted and were, based on our research and inquiries with local tourism experts, entirely appropriate, if on the slightly generous side of the tipping scale.

Truel1111 - With all due respect, I would question your experience in this matter. I have been many times to Europe on business or holiday and can assure you that tipping is indeed expected, particularly for specialty travel services such as guided tours. Further, although Australia is much less oriented toward tipping than North America, tour guides there both expect tips and rely upon them as part of their income.

Donating money to people in need is a worthy practice but does not fairly replace giving proper tips to tour guides. The two issues are entirely separate.

I am refraining myself from posting a blast here ...

Tipping worldwide in the tourist business is expected and is usually the guide's major source of income. Failure to tip is cheap and boorish. Anyplace you go, 10% to 20% is reasonable.

Of course, the big thing is, in order to make the tipping system work for all of us, you MUST base your tip on the quality of service received. Tipping 10% to a guide who does little or nothing for you and gives nothing more than the minimum service would be way too much. Tipping 10% to a wonderful guide who really gives great service and makes your tour a wonderful experience would be way to little. If we all do this, the poor guides will find other employment and the great guides will continue to be much in demand.

In Egypt we found our guides and drivers to be absolutely outstanding. They did a wonderful job for us, and created an experience we will always remember. They got more than 20% to reflect that fact. They deserved it.

I fully intend to tip my guide and driver, but I have to admit that 15-20% seems like a lot.

Our two-day overnight tour will be around $320 USD per person (just the two of us), which includes trips to Sakkara, Memphis, Giza, bazaar, overnight in 5* hotel, trip to the Egyptian museum, admittance to Mummy Rooms, Citadel of Saladin, Mohammed Ali mosque, and a drive through Alexandria. This is all fine and good, but based on a $600 USD excursion that means we'd be tipping a minimum of about $100 USD (15%)! Am I crazy, or does that just seem like an exhorbitant addition to the excursion cost?

I fully intend to tip my guide and driver, but I have to admit that 15-20% seems like a lot.

 

Our two-day overnight tour will be around $320 USD per person (just the two of us), which includes trips to Sakkara, Memphis, Giza, bazaar, overnight in 5* hotel, trip to the Egyptian museum, admittance to Mummy Rooms, Citadel of Saladin, Mohammed Ali mosque, and a drive through Alexandria. This is all fine and good, but based on a $600 USD excursion that means we'd be tipping a minimum of about $100 USD (15%)! Am I crazy, or does that just seem like an exhorbitant addition to the excursion cost?

Hi - We did the GCT Ancient Egypt trip last April. In Cairo we decided to get our own tour guide and see all the sights listed in your post in two days. We were completely confused about tipping and although we were not really impressed with the guide on day 1 - she seemed to redeem herself on day 2. If I remember correctly the cost of the tours was about 1200 egyptian pounds (aobut $240). This did not includeentrance fees or lunch. The money exchange was about 5 - 1, meaning that for every USD we got about 5 egyptian pounds. Still we weren't sure what to tip. We were thinging of tipping around $30pp. During the first day I asked our guide about the economy, and what the average person earns in a moth. She told us that the average pay was about $60 USD a month. That brought back a statement that a tour guide told us years ago - think in terms of their dollar - not yours. There were 5 in our group - had we tipped a total $150 it would have been the equivalant of nearly three months salary. We ultimately decided on $20USD pp - still a bunch of money for a guide I would not reccommend. We, in the US are used to tipping and I fully enjoy tipping someone who does a job well done. There is nothing wrong with rewarding someone who has gone far and abve the call of duty - but our guide from years ago was correct...we find it very difficult to switch gears and think in terms of the currency in the country we are in.

Ronnie

My family and I are going on a private 2-day tour in several weeks with one of the tour operators mentioned on these boards. The total cost of the tour for the three of us is just over $900.00. I was not sure of the amount that would normally be tipped and sent an email to our contact at the tour agency asking what would be a reasonable amount. He indicated that $ 50.00 for the guide and $ 30.00 for the driver would be a good guideline.

I fully intend to tip my guide and driver, but I have to admit that 15-20% seems like a lot.

 

Our two-day overnight tour will be around $320 USD per person (just the two of us), which includes trips to Sakkara, Memphis, Giza, bazaar, overnight in 5* hotel, trip to the Egyptian museum, admittance to Mummy Rooms, Citadel of Saladin, Mohammed Ali mosque, and a drive through Alexandria. This is all fine and good, but based on a $600 USD excursion that means we'd be tipping a minimum of about $100 USD (15%)! Am I crazy, or does that just seem like an exhorbitant addition to the excursion cost?

Exhorbitant? See my post above.

For guide who just points to the places, mumbles, talks poor English and is ill informed, or a driver who drives erratically and makes no effort to get you close to where you are going, that would indeed be an exhorbitant tip.

When we toured with Egyptian Express, we had a graduate Egyptologist guide meet us at the ship. During the three hour drive he constantly pointed out things of interest, from the Suez Canal to pigeon coops, and gave us lots of information about Egypt in general. The driver drove fast but safely, and took great pains to make a restroom stop for one of us, at a local police station. When we got to Cairo the driver negotiated both the bumpy back roads to Dashur and the crowded highways of Cairo with care and ease, and frequently went long ways out of his way to drop us on the right side of the street.

The guide was a font of information, listened carefully to what we wanted, made sugesstions to complement our choices, accompanied us everywhere, was constantly in touch with his office regarding meal arrangements, and was full of knowledge about ancient and modern Egypt. His English was perfect and his manners were too. Finally on the way back he gave us a wonderful explanation of Islam and the religious practices of the Muslims.

Splitting $100 between these two great guys exhorbitant? Not at all! They richly deserved that much and more too,which we willingly gave them.

Again and again, I say, TIP FOR THE SERVICE YOU RECEIVE. Our general experience with guides recommended on this board, in Egypt and around the world, has almost universally been excellent and we have tipped them well for that service!

My family and I are going on a private 2-day tour in several weeks with one of the tour operators mentioned on these boards. The total cost of the tour for the three of us is just over $900.00. I was not sure of the amount that would normally be tipped and sent an email to our contact at the tour agency asking what would be a reasonable amount. He indicated that $ 50.00 for the guide and $ 30.00 for the driver would be a good guideline.

One does have to wonder if the contact at the tour agency wouldn't be a bit biased though, for obvious reasons.... Although I do think that suggestion sounds fairly reasonable overall.

Another thing to take into account is that our tour price includes entrance fees and the hotel stay - so those are not part of the actual service the guide provides. Therefore it would be skewed to calculate the tip based on a percentage of the total tour cost, would it not?

VCG - I agree with you that tipping based on the cost of the hotel (or entrance fees or internal air fare) is not reasonable. My suggestions were based on the cost portion of the tour which is performed by the guide and driver. When other things than the guide and driver services are included in the total price of a tour, one must make some calculations. However, I would agree with MercedMike that being penurious or being too wary about giving an extra few bucks to the guide and driver is neither a pleasant way to travel nor a source of good karma. Cheers, Fred

 

Splitting $100 between these two great guys exhorbitant? Not at all! They richly deserved that much and more too,which we willingly gave them.

 

Fair enough - but there is a line between what I can afford and what they deserve. I'm sure my guide and driver will deserve plenty, and if money was no object I'd happily rain dollar bills upon them. But I don't make $100,000 a year (maybe you do?!) and I had to save for a long time to afford this holiday. So while I have no intention of being a cheap tipper, I can't afford to go overboard and spend hundreds just on tips. But I do want to give what is reasonable for good service.

VCG - I agree with you that tipping based on the cost of the hotel (or entrance fees or internal air fare) is not reasonable. My suggestions were based on the cost portion of the tour which is performed by the guide and driver. When other things than the guide and driver services are included in the total price of a tour, one must make some calculations. However, I would agree with MercedMike that being penurious or being too wary about giving an extra few bucks to the guide and driver is neither a pleasant way to travel nor a source of good karma. Cheers, Fred

Yes, I did not think of this when I originally posted (taking into account hotel and entrance fees from the tour price). I'll try to find out the exact cost of the tour without these items, then base my tip on that. My guess is that after taking off the hotel and entrance fees, the tour price would be around $200 USD.

I would agree with MercedMike that being penurious or being too wary about giving an extra few bucks to the guide and driver is neither a pleasant way to travel nor a source of good karma. Cheers, Fred

Wow, Fred, I love your attitude and your vocabulary both!! ;)

Yes, I did not think of this when I originally posted (taking into account hotel and entrance fees from the tour price). I'll try to find out the exact cost of the tour without these items, then base my tip on that. My guess is that after taking off the hotel and entrance fees, the tour price would be around $200 USD.

So your theory would be that when tipping in a restaurant, you subtract the cost of the food and the plates and the silverware and only tip on what the cost of the server actually is?

;)

(From a guy who wishes that he and his wife together came any place close to $100,000 a year, but still likes to "play rich" on cruises.)

I usually tip 10%

,

Hello everyone!

 

We are booking a 2-day tour through Ramses Tours while in Egypt next January. It will just be the two of us (myself and my husband), our driver, and guide (I assume driver and guide, or perhaps the guide is also the driver?)

 

I am really at a loss as to what would be an appropriate tip for their services. We wouldn't want to give too little and possibly insult anyone - but like all travelers we are on a budget as well. However I do like to tip well when the service and tour has been worth it. I was thinking maybe $20 US for the guide, and $15 US for the driver? If that's way off base please do let me know! Just trying to budget and figure out how much cash we're going to need.

 

I know tipping is a highly personal decision, and policies vary from country to country - but if anyone would be willing to share their thoughts, I'd really appreciate it!

 

Thanks!

 

Laura

We had a small tour of 3 couples from the Grand Princess sailing on 10/13/09 (Mohamed was a fantastic tour guide by the way) booked through comecegyptdotcom and just asked him outright what was the usual tipping policy. He said that $25 for a two day tour to the guide and $15 to the driver was usual but he was so spectacular, got us a hotel room at Le Meredian with a view of the pyyrmids, included a Falucca ride on the Nile, etc. that we ended up giving him $45 and the driver $25. After you see the traffic in Cairo and you end up with two days fighting the traffic jams, your driver knowing of shortcuts down side streets, etc. you will probably feel that $15 is just not enough!!! Trish :cool:

My Arabic instructor (a Moroccan native) has told me that tipping is indeed a way of life in North Africa, and in some cases is the main source of income. And when one travels in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, etc tipping is at your discretion, but it's definitely appreciated and not an instance of foisting American culture onto the indigenous society. I asked him specifically about that, because we were told while traveling in China NOT to tip most of the people who provided services for us.

Thanks for the more exact guidelines, however. We'll be making several trips to the region in the upcoming year, and I appreciate seeing actual numbers and advice.

freddie: I have been travelling in West Europe, East Europe, China, Japan, south East Asia. I can tell you tour operators like American Torist because they are bigge tipper, they love your USD, they work extra hard for you and they expect a big tip from you.

For rest of us who do not make US $$$$$$, we cannot afford to tip like American tourists.

The way you blow your USD in poor country, you make tourists from poorer country look cheap.

BTW, I want to be your tour guide for free when you vist my city, I only ask for tips, 2X my monthly salay.

We had a small tour of 3 couples from the Grand Princess sailing on 10/13/09 (Mohamed was a fantastic tour guide by the way) booked through comecegyptdotcom and just asked him outright what was the usual tipping policy. He said that $25 for a two day tour to the guide and $15 to the driver was usual but he was so spectacular, got us a hotel room at Le Meredian with a view of the pyyrmids, included a Falucca ride on the Nile, etc. that we ended up giving him $45 and the driver $25. After you see the traffic in Cairo and you end up with two days fighting the traffic jams, your driver knowing of shortcuts down side streets, etc. you will probably feel that $15 is just not enough!!! Trish :cool:

Trish, thank you so much for sharing this information! There's so much speculation about tipping, it's great to know what someone actually gave as a tip! I, too, was thinking about $45 USD for the guide and $25 for the driver - seems about right as your tour is almost exactly the same as ours.

Just to clarify - that was $45 and $25 total, correct? Not per person in your group?

A friend who was just in Egypt sent me a link to this excellent article about tipping (scroll down to the bottom for the tipping section):

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g294201 c83628/Cairo:Egypt:Visa.Money.Tipping.html

Seems that in Egypt, tipping is more of a "per person" calculation rather than a percentage, as we are accustomed to here in North America - very interesting!

Trish, thank you so much for sharing this information! There's so much speculation about tipping, it's great to know what someone actually gave as a tip! I, too, was thinking about $45 USD for the guide and $25 for the driver - seems about right as your tour is almost exactly the same as ours.

 

Just to clarify - that was $45 and $25 total, correct? Not per person in your group?

Sorry I didn't make that clear. it was $45 per couple for Mohamed and $25 per couple for the driver.

Sorry I didn't make that clear. it was $45 per couple for Mohamed and $25 per couple for the driver.

Thanks Trish!

Let's do some math.

A one day excursion to Cairo arranged by the cruise line is about $160 pp. Multiply it by 50 persons makes the total value of the tour to become $8000. If we tip 10% to the guide, he is making $800 a day plus his regular pay and commission. Even the bus is only half full, he is still making $400 a day. I don't make that kind of money myself and most people don't either. Also, how much does a doctor or lawyer make in Egypt? Tour guide may be the highest paid profession in Africa.

I would not tip 10% on tours. I tip based on the average salary of the local economy. Tipping is a way to appreciate one's work well done, it is not mean to make someone rich.

Let's do some math.

 

A one day excursion to Cairo arranged by the cruise line is about $160 pp. Multiply it by 50 persons makes the total value of the tour to become $8000. If we tip 10% to the guide, he is making $800 a day plus his regular pay and commission. Even the bus is only half full, he is still making $400 a day. I don't make that kind of money myself and most people don't either. Also, how much does a doctor or lawyer make in Egypt? Tour guide may be the highest paid profession in Africa.

 

I would not tip 10% on tours. I tip based on the average salary of the local economy. Tipping is a way to appreciate one's work well done, it is not mean to make someone rich.

I think it all depends on whether you are taking a tour on a large bus with many people, or a small tour with 3 couples, as we did. Also, our tour was an overnight with all the arrangements for lunches, lodging, etc. done by the guide. The ship's cost for an overnight in Cairo was $800 pp!!! Obviously, you would not tip 10% on a tour such as that one, but I still believe that once you experience the skill of a driver in Cairo, the education and knowledge the guide displays, the arrangements for security, etc., that 10% is not too much. As I posted recently, when asked, (and only when asked,) our guide actually said that typically the tip for a two day tour for him would be $25 and the driver $15 (per couple that is), or $12.50 pp. We tipped much more than that due to the fabulous time we had, as we were most appreciative of these two individuals who made this tour the highlight of our Agean cruise. Trish