Here's a tip quesion I haven't seen. What percentage do you tip excursion operators?

[frayedend]

I have a few excursions that are pretty expensive. One is $355 for me and my 2 boys. I tip 20% in restaurants. But on something like this it's $70. Is that a normal tip? My biggest concern is short changing anyone so I want to err on the side of over-tipping. But I have no idea how much they expect on island excursions.

[Havingfun2010]

Lot's of variables. No, it is not a percent. Tips are not like in a restaurant. The tour people get a real pay, and don't usually rely on tips but do expect them. Tipping culture is different all over the world. You can usually find out on line what the normal is for a country.

 

Also is it private, or a group? How much effort does the tour guild put into it, or is it them dropping you off, and picking you up, with a talk while driving?

 

A simple drive where you do most of the viewing yourself, it might be in the neighborhood of $5-10 per person. If they are staying with you, touring museums, and never leave your side, than certainly much more than that.

[frayedend]

Sort of a few different things. I have a Catamaran sail that only has 12 people, and IIRC a crew of 3. When we did it before they were very good, serving drinks, helping snorkel, etc. In my mind I'll be giving them the bigger tip. It's an all day thing too. So I'm thinking $60-70 for the 3 of us.

 

But another one is just a 1 hour jet boat ride. 20% would be $35. Seems a bit high for a 1 hour ride but there are 3 of us.

 

Another is a longer island type tour with a few different things. Total is $255 for 3 of us.

 

The more I think about it it seems $15-20% works out for most of these things.

[originalgeek]

Sort of a few different things. I have a Catamaran sail that only has 12 people, and IIRC a crew of 3. When we did it before they were very good, serving drinks, helping snorkel, etc. In my mind I'll be giving them the bigger tip. It's an all day thing too. So I'm thinking $60-70 for the 3 of us.

 

that sounds perfectly fair to both you and the crew

But another one is just a 1 hour jet boat ride. 20% would be $35. Seems a bit high for a 1 hour ride but there are 3 of us.

 

I reckon if I was by myself I would tip ten bucks for that so for three of you that 35 seems like a lot but it is probably fair. If it was three separate people instead of you three together the crew would conceivably get ten from each of the three people so I suppose that actually does work. Just because you're all together doesn't mean you get 3 for the price of one lol. I mean, it wouldn't mean that for me but everyone gets to decide how they do tips. Having been in service work in my younger days I appreciate that you want to err on the plus side though.

 

Another is a longer island type tour with a few different things. Total is $255 for 3 of us.

 

The more I think about it it seems $15-20% works out for most of these things.

 

 

We just came home from a week in Key West and one of my favorite things we did was a sunset dinner cruise on a small boat for our anniversary. It was my wife and I and one other couple out into a very calm part of the gulf and the captain had a big grill mounted on the back of the boat and we had appetizers and salads and steak and dessert for a little under 200 bucks total. I tipped them (2 person crew) 40 bucks and now I think I should have done a little more. I'll get him next time though as that was the one thing we did that I would love to do again. He drove the boat and cooked everything while we anchored in a scenic spot and watched the sun go down on the gulf. The food was great and the Captain and first mate were entertaining and we had a blast.

 

I don't know what the other couple tipped but the captain and first mate were very appreciative and thanked me much for my tip. We were celebrating our 31st anniversary and the other couple were celebrating having gotten married the day before so we were laughing about being married longer than they had been alive. It really was a fun time though and I would totally recommend it to anyone staying in Key West.

[bUU]

Also is it private, or a group? How much effort does the tour guild put into it, or is it them dropping you off, and picking you up, with a talk while driving? A simple drive where you do most of the viewing yourself, it might be in the neighborhood of $5-10 per person. If they are staying with you, touring museums, and never leave your side, than certainly much more than that.

Excellent points. I place very heavy emphasis on the amount of personal attention. If I'm one of eight in a tour with a single tour guide then I'll be tipping proportionately more than if I'm one of thirty.

[cb at sea]

We don't do "percentage" of excursion cost.....no basis for that! If the only tour person is a driver, and that's ALL they do, then we generally don't tip for that...we already PAID to be driven! If there is a guide and they make the excursion fun and interesting, we will tip about $10-20 for the 2 of us. If the guide does nothing...no tip is needed.

 

And, if you are on a bus with a bunch of others, tips tend to be a bit lower than a "private guide" would get.

 

There really are no guidelines....tip according to what you feel it's worth.

[LHT28]

10-15% is a good tip IMO if they do extra things for you maybe more

but for 1-2 hr trip maybe $5- 10 pp

[Wayfairers]

We don't do "percentage" of excursion cost.....no basis for that! If the only tour person is a driver, and that's ALL they do, then we generally don't tip for that...we already PAID to be driven! If there is a guide and they make the excursion fun and interesting, we will tip about $10-20 for the 2 of us. If the guide does nothing...no tip is needed.

 

And, if you are on a bus with a bunch of others, tips tend to be a bit lower than a "private guide" would get.

 

There really are no guidelines....tip according to what you feel it's worth.

 

 

 

We do the same thing. When on a smaller tour the tip really depends upon the level of service and the quality of the tour guide.

 

 

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[zqvol]

I have a few excursions that are pretty expensive. One is $355 for me and my 2 boys. I tip 20% in restaurants. But on something like this it's $70. Is that a normal tip? My biggest concern is short changing anyone so I want to err on the side of over-tipping. But I have no idea how much they expect on island excursions.

 

To a large degree it depends on where you are traveling. Keep in mind that 99% of all the tour workers that you encounter are paid at least full minimum wage in the country where they are working. Give what you want but $20 pp/pd is more than enough not matter where you are, and in Europe it is too much.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We usually tip $5 to $10 pp depending on the length and complexity of the tour; more if it was a really outstanding tour.

[ldubs]

I think I'm about to repeat some of the responses already given. If on a ship's excursion shared with other passengers we typically give $5/person to the guide and maybe $2 to the driver. If a private guide, we will use 10% to 20% depending on the tour and how much we liked the guide.

 

Like others have said, use of gratuities is subject to local custom. However, I've been to some places where tipping is not the local custom, but they sure lobby for it when they know they have a group of Americans - LOL. Truth be told, it is probably our fault that tipping is now kind of expected at any place that caters to tourists.

[mabones]

$5-$10 is sufficient. They already get a percentage of the excursion price.

 

 

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[OCruisers]

Agree that $5 to $10 is normally appropriate.

[lenquixote66]

$5 to $10 usually

[easyboy]

$5-$10 by us too.

[NMLady]

I have a few excursions that are pretty expensive. One is $355 for me and my 2 boys. I tip 20% in restaurants. But on something like this it's $70. Is that a normal tip? My biggest concern is short changing anyone so I want to err on the side of over-tipping. But I have no idea how much they expect on island excursions.

 

For excursions we do not tip by percentage of cost.

We base the tip on how many hours the excursion was and how good/helpful the guide was.

[NLH Arizona]

I don't do percentages. I leave $10 to $20 per person, based on how good the tour guide was and $5 per person for the driver.