conialex

Hello,

Does anyone have any first hand information about what is a typical amount to tip tour guides? I'm referring to the guides who go along on a one or two week organized tour with a commercial company. We are traveling in the UK, but the tour guide and all the people on the tour are from the U.S. The guide will be with us on the entire trip and is the only person who's tip is not included in the price of the tour. I'm trying to decide ahead how much U.S. cash to bring with the, and her tip will be a portion of that. Thanks so much for any help you can give.

janisj

You will want to re-post on the Europe forum.

But be ready for a - shall we say 'lively' discussion. Happens every on just about every thread re tipping. Over there tipping is either a much lower % or non-existant depending on the situation.

I am curious though. It is relatively unusual to bring a guide along on an international tour. Typically they engage locals. Otherwise they are paying for flights for tour guide. The main exceptions IME are when the 'guide' is actually the owner or a principal with the tour company, or when it is a person who organized the group and is getting a cut on their tour.

Or -- sometimes for a specialized/small group tour and the guide is an expert in the field.

conialex

Thanks, I will try the Europe forum. However, the guide is an American, so I didn't think the destination would matter in figuring a typical tip amount, as much as what do American's pay? The tour companies I've dealt with always have a main guide that stays with you on the trip (say like Globus or Trafalgar). Then they use local guides at each of the city/town/destinations. Those local guides' tips are covered for us. I haven't been on a trip with a tour company in over 10 years, so I can't recall what I did about tipping. Also, this is a small tour company that leads trips for women and does about a dozen a year. Again - thank you

sophia159

The issue of where tips go and how much is kept by the restaurant has long ... for it to pass on any of the service charge, in full or part, to the waiting staff. ... server is getting every penny of that hard-earned cash, there are steps you can take.

kja

Did you check your other post on this topic?
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...our-guides.cfm

Fodor's does not provide notification when someone adds to your thread -- you must check by clicking on your screen name or profile (upper right corner).