Tipping In Nepal - A Complete Guide
Quick Guide
🍽️ Restaurant - 5-10% If Good + No Service Fee
🍹 Bar - Not Expected - Sometimes Service Fee
☕️ Café - Not Expected - Sometimes Service Fee
🍛 Market - No Tip (Haggle)
🚕 Taxi - No Tip (Haggle) + Can Round Up
🛎️ Hotel Porter - रु100 Total
🛏️ Housekeeping - 10% (Tip Box) If No Serv. Fee
🏞️ Trek Guide - रु900-1200 Per Group/Day
🎒 Trek Porter - रु600-900 Per Group/Day
🏔️ Trek Sirdar - रु700-1200 Per Group/Day
👣 Trek Sherpa - रु600-1000 Per Group/Day
👨🍳 Trek Camp Cook - रु700-1000 Per Group/Day
⛺️ Other Camp Staff - रु600-900 Per Group/Day
📸 Day Tour Guide - रु200-400
In Nepal you tip to show your appreciation for good service, not because it’s mandatory. Whether tipping or not, a simple thank you (“Dhan'yavāda” in Nepalese) goes a long way.
Calculate a culturally appropriate tip for Nepal using the calculator below and read on for more detail on tipping in Restaurants, Cafés, Taxis, Hotels and on Treks.
Nepal Tip Calculator
Good Tip For Nepal
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Tipping in Restaurants
Most restaurants in Nepal charge a 10% service charge (not to be confused with tax) that’s distributed amongst all staff from the servers to the cooks. That means additional tips aren’t usually required.
Really impressed with your server? Feel free to hand them a 5-10% tip on top of the service fee but that’s completely optional.
If no service charge has been added on to your bill, tip 5-10% for good service.
Bear in mind wages here are extremely low and it’s common for families to rely on one income so a small tip can make a big difference.
Tipping in Nightclubs, Bars & Cafés
It’s not customary to tip in Nepalese nightclubs, bars or cafés. Sometimes a service charge of around 10% is added to your bill but if not, a tip won’t be expected.
Tipping in Markets & Bazaars
Nobody will expect a tip here given it’s customary to haggle.
That being said, when haggling, aim to reach a fair price rather than trying to pay as little as possible. Remember that a small amount to you might make a big difference to them.
Tipping Taxi & Rickshaw Drivers
Again, haggling is common here so tips aren’t expected. Always try to be fair, not cheap.
If your driver was respectful, drove safely and/or provided you with local insights, feel free to round up your fare or tip some change (रु50-100 is perfectly fine).
Tipping Hotel Staff
First, if your hotel adds a service charge on to your bill, additional tips aren’t necessary.
If service charges aren’t included, it’s usually better to tip all the staff around 10% via the tip box in reception if there is one. That way your tips get distributed amongst the entire team, front and back of house.
The only person I’d tip directly is the porter. You can give them around रु100.
Tipping Nepal Trek Staff
The trek staff you’ll require will depend on whether you’re doing a teahouse, lodge, camping or mountain trek.
Use these suggested amounts for tips from your whole group. Tip 25% less when travelling solo and 25% more for challenging treks with more time spent at high altitude:
🏞️ Guide - रु900-1200/Day
🎒 Porter - रु600-900/Day
🏔️ Sirdar (Head Sherpa) - रु700-1200/Day
👣 Sherpa - रु600-1000/Day
👨🍳 Camp Cook - रु700-1000/Day
⛺️ Other Camp Staff - रु600-900/Day
In any case, tips are based on service so feel free to adjust your tip or avoid tipping some staff if you’re not satisfied.
Professional guides should take care of all the practicalities like accommodation, food, insights and entertainment. Plus, guides and porters in particular should provide you with physical and emotional support if needed.
Tip all staff just after dinner on your last night as some of them might leave early the next morning. Take individuals to the side, thank them (“Dhan'yavāda”) and hand them your tip, preferably in an envelope (or at least wrapped in a piece of paper).
In addition to a monetary tip, feel free to offer your trek staff some of your gear, especially if you aren’t likely to use it again. Just don’t offer them anything that’s old or damaged as that can risk insult.
Day Tour Guide
If you’re on a day tour or walking tour of Kathmandu, Pokhara or elsewhere, you can tip your guide around रु200-400.
Which Currency To Use
It’s best to stick to Nepalese Rupees (NPR) when paying and tipping and given Nepal is largely cash-based, make sure you have a range of bills on hand.
You can obtain Rupees from city/airport ATMs (fees/minimum withdrawals common) and currency exchanges but make sure you have cash before you head into rural Nepal as cards will become much harder to use.
Always tip rural and trek staff in Rupees (NPR) as international currencies are only really convertible in towns and big cities.
Bear in mind US Dollars, Euros and British Pounds may be accepted (or even preferred) in some upmarket hotels, restaurants and shops.
"सुरक्षित यात्रा गरौं!" (Surakshit yatra garaun!) - Have a safe trip!🇳🇵
