Dummy's Guide to Tipping in Middle East for an Aussie

[Pushka]

Our Passage to India cruise in May requires some currency preparation as most travel agencies require USD so I need to order some in. I've sorted out the tours (going private on many as I can see several selling out on Viking before we get to pick them) so the tours are covered but have no idea a reasonable tip for those really long trips (12 hours) from Safaga (Luxor), Aqaba (Petra) and Port Said (Cairo) all of which is a 7 hour drive. The operators seem to be avoid answering my tipping question 😂. We will have a guide on all tours. 
 

So reasonable tip for both driver and guide for two people please?

[claranda]

It’s a few years since I was in Egypt and Jordan, but I know things are pretty dire in Egypt and tips are much appreciated. To get an idea of the overall picture (and I think this might convince even the most anti-tipping Aussie - which I can see you are not!) read this:

https://marahouseluxor.com/tipping-in-egypt/

[Pushka]

55 minutes ago, claranda said:

It’s a few years since I was in Egypt and Jordan, but I know things are pretty dire in Egypt and tips are much appreciated. To get an idea of the overall picture (and I think this might convince even the most anti-tipping Aussie - which I can see you are not!) read this:

https://marahouseluxor.com/tipping-in-egypt/

Thankyou. That's helpful. It's a bit more complicated for Aussies as we have to buy in USD in Australia beforehand so just want to make sure I've ordered enough. 

[Jim Avery]

Just a suggestion but can you open a USD checking account somewhere online?  Then you would have a USD debit card to use for charges or ATMs.  As to tipping in the area yes to driver and guide.  We gave a bit more to the guide as he walked with us and handled entry to all areas.  Still I would keep it to no more than 10%.  We used Memphis Tours in Egypt and Jordan so had a private car and Egyptologist.  Still this was less than the Viking bus tour.  And yes, they were most appreciative of the tip.

[Jim Avery]

BTW, with the title of this thread I just had to read it...😜

[Pushka]

3 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Just a suggestion but can you open a USD checking account somewhere online?  Then you would have a USD debit card to use for charges or ATMs.  As to tipping in the area yes to driver and guide.  We gave a bit more to the guide as he walked with us and handled entry to all areas.  Still I would keep it to no more than 10%.  We used Memphis Tours in Egypt and Jordan so had a private car and Egyptologist.  Still this was less than the Viking bus tour.  And yes, they were most appreciative of the tip.

I could get a travel card with USD loaded but it isn't much different to physical cash. Still need to order it and am a bit wary of e failure of the card when processing. I think they also might add the 3% to the cost thinking it's a card card and it won't be the time to negotiate. 10% of the amount - maybe for the price of 1 but not 10% of both. 

The Viking one to Petra is super expensive. Valleys of the Queens sold out almost before lower suites got the chance, so on principle I'm not doing the other Viking offerings but a local provider. Same in Israel, Cairo and Aqaba. 

 

Myabe I should have called it Guide for Mummies 😂 (in Egypt, not the parent kind)

Edited February 18, 2023 by Pushka

[Heidi13]

19 hours ago, Pushka said:

Our Passage to India cruise in May requires some currency preparation as most travel agencies require USD so I need to order some in. I've sorted out the tours (going private on many as I can see several selling out on Viking before we get to pick them) so the tours are covered but have no idea a reasonable tip for those really long trips (12 hours) from Safaga (Luxor), Aqaba (Petra) and Port Said (Cairo) all of which is a 7 hour drive. The operators seem to be avoid answering my tipping question 😂. We will have a guide on all tours. 
 

So reasonable tip for both driver and guide for two people please?

 

I have no pre-conceived thoughts on providing any tips. As the end of the tour approaches we review the guide and driver's performance. If they were excellent and provided personal service and/or value to us, they receive a generous tip.

 

If they did the minimum, they get nothing.

[Peregrina651]

Add to your list tipping the bathroom attendants or else bring your own TP (although you should do that anyway because the attendants are miserly). Viking will cover these tips on tours; the PDs will show you where the toilets are and let you know if they are covering the tip. Anything else is on you.

[KBs mum]

We try to tip, or not, as a local would. Being British our default is not to tip, unless we know it is expected in that setting in the local culture. 

On board gratuities are automatically included in the price in the UK, as they are for Aussies. 

 

Beside that we only tip for service/assistance above and beyond the expected, and then we use the local cost of a pint/equivilent local beverage as a guide amount as a thank you. 

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, KBs mum said:

We try to tip, or not, as a local would. Being British our default is not to tip, unless we know it is expected in that setting in the local culture. 

As our tour director on are last trip noted, everything has been Americanized and everyone now expects a tip.

Edited February 22, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[KBs mum]

4 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

As our tour director on are last trip noted, everything has been Americanized and everyone now expects a tip.

I am not American, unless tipping is customary in that country/situation (eg as it is in the US) or service was better than 'good' no tip from me. 

Funnily enough we find that the US people are hassled for tips and we get left alone. Tip farming is a common practice among less reputable operators

[duquephart]

Americans are idiots when it comes to tipping. The word is out.

[Pushka]

3 hours ago, KBs mum said:

We try to tip, or not, as a local would. Being British our default is not to tip, unless we know it is expected in that setting in the local culture. 

On board gratuities are automatically included in the price in the UK, as they are for Aussies. 

 

Beside that we only tip for service/assistance above and beyond the expected, and then we use the local cost of a pint/equivilent local beverage as a guide amount as a thank you. 

Probably not going to be able to locate the price of a local beer in Saudi Arabia and ME in general. 😂  even the ships alcohol will be removed from sight when in Saudi waters. 
 

We don't tip either but notice on all our private excusrions the fare doesn't include a tip kitty. So it's expected. We'd like to tip the driver for 7 hours work but only once he gets us back safely. 😳

Edited February 22, 2023 by Pushka

[duquephart]

5 minutes ago, Pushka said:

Probably not going to be able to locate the price of a local beer in Saudi Arabia and ME in general. 😂  even the ships alcohol will be removed from sight when in Saudi waters. 
 

We don't tip either but notice on all our private excusrions the fare doesn't include a tip kitty. So it's expected. We'd like to tip the driver for 7 hours work but only once he gets us back safely. 😳

 

1. He gets paid for the work he does.

2. Getting you back safely is part of that work.

[KBs mum]

1 hour ago, Pushka said:

Probably not going to be able to locate the price of a local beer in Saudi Arabia and ME in general. 😂  even the ships alcohol will be removed from sight when in Saudi waters. 
 

We don't tip either but notice on all our private excusrions the fare doesn't include a tip kitty. So it's expected. We'd like to tip the driver for 7 hours work but only once he gets us back safely. 😳

Hence me saying or equivilent local beverage, local beverage isn't necessarily alcoholic. 

If the fare doesn't include a tip the conclusion is usually that a tip is not required. If it is required the operator should mention it beforehand. The driver driving is his job, nothing above and beyond deserving of a tip

[LibertyBella]

Oh, c'mon all of you superior travelers.  Americans LEARNED about tipping from traveling to Europe back in the 1850's and 1860s--we did not invent tipping!  Tipping was supposedly invented during medieval times in England from master to serf. In fact, at one point many states in our country outlawed tipping because it was not seen as a democratic practice.

 

We visited Egypt for the first time back in 1981--and everyone wanted "baksheesh," an ANCIENT custom.  They can trace that practice back many, many centuries and in many countries, long before the little old U.S. was even a thought. Baksheesh is often expected in Egypt. and the Middle East.

 

Yes, we always tip our tour guides, and we try to be especially generous in poor countries. We tip at least $10.00 for a half day tour, and more for a full day, depending upon complexity and service.  Some places want separate tips for guides and drivers--other places combine the amount. We bring an envelope full of cash small bills (dollars or Euros, etc.), and calculate in advance how much we will potentially bring--usually several hundred dollars depending on length of the trip. 

 

If I am wealthy enough to travel for leisure, I am wealthy enough to appropriately tip the hard-working tour staff.

[Pushka]

2 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

Oh, c'mon all of you superior travelers.  Americans LEARNED about tipping from traveling to Europe back in the 1850's and 1860s--we did not invent tipping!  Tipping was supposedly invented during medieval times in England from master to serf. In fact, at one point many states in our country outlawed tipping because it was not seen as a democratic practice.

 

We visited Egypt for the first time back in 1981--and everyone wanted "baksheesh," an ANCIENT custom.  They can trace that practice back many, many centuries and in many countries, long before the little old U.S. was even a thought. Baksheesh is often expected in Egypt. and the Middle East.

 

Yes, we always tip our tour guides, and we try to be especially generous in poor countries. We tip at least $10.00 for a half day tour, and more for a full day, depending upon complexity and service.  Some places want separate tips for guides and drivers--other places combine the amount. We bring an envelope full of cash small bills (dollars or Euros, etc.), and calculate in advance how much we will potentially bring--usually several hundred dollars depending on length of the trip. 

 

If I am wealthy enough to travel for leisure, I am wealthy enough to appropriately tip the hard-working tour staff.

 

Thankyou, this is very helpful. 

[Goosebear Mum]

American OTT Tipping can be seen as ugly/offensive, but in most places it will just be taken advantage of, whilst ‘they’ throw their money abound… ‘more money than sense’ is a term often used….  
 

Being seen to throw rich money around in some countries is ugly/charity. Research the countries and sensible rates (as this OP is doing) and be sensible

[Pushka]

Also I do have some Koala souvenir clips to ‘cling’ on to any money I might give.