tipping
 

Just got a tipping guideline from the Tour company we are using and I think it is outrageous. Anyone have any recent experience with tipping for guides, drivers etc in S. Africa. This person is suggesting $4 per person to guide for 1/2 day tour and $8 per person for full day tour!!!!! Are we paying the guide ourselves through the tips?

Does anyone else think this is WAY out of line - like two to 4 times as high as it should be?

Also the tour company is suggesting tipping for "included meals" which I have never seen before on a tour.

This is NOT a cheap tour and it is not A & K either. Is S. Africa different than the rest of the world about tipping or are we being steered wrong?

Appreciate any help others have experienced in this area.

I <i>think</i> guidelines I have seen from other operators suggest $5 per person per day for a guide/ mokoro paddler, $3 per person per day for a tracker and an additional $5 per person per day for the general staff box at the camp which covers kitchen and dining staff, cleaners, maintenance people and all the other myriad roles that work behind the scenes.

We often increase on that when we feel it's been merited but we use that as our starting point.

Kavey's spot on!

Trvlingal,

I apologize for my lack of diplomacy but I think you ARE way out of line. How could you spend perhaps $250 per person per day but then complain about tipping? Do you realize how much work it must be to run a game reserve and the staffing that must be required?

Open up your walletbook (and your heart) and please tip at least as much as the suggested amount. Thanks.

Rocco
Considering the lengths you will go to I think it's a little rich to question anyone else's spending habits.

Travelling Gal isn't suggesting not tipping or even tipping less than the going rate but is only asking about advice she has been given and asking about what the going rate IS.

From that knowledge she can then make her own decisions on what to tip and understand whether she is over or under tipping or getting it just right.

That should read:

<i>the lengths you will go to to save a buck</i>

Kavey,

Thanks for the guidelines. Of course I have no intension of stiffing anyone but want to be realistic about what is reasonable and what is not. I always OVER tip because of the hard work that most people in these countries do for the tourists.

Thank you ladies for your response. I will consider the source of the other one.

Kavey,

Her words were:

&quot;Does anyone else think this is WAY out of line - like two to 4 times as high as it should be?&quot;

Those sound like the famous last words of someone that is about to tip less than the guidelines.

I have personally seen guidelines elsewhere slightly higher.

Kavey, regardless of trying to get the best rates from a tour operator of lodge operator, one thing I do not do is shortchange the guides and staff. I find your comment regarding &quot;the lengths I will go to&quot; a tad insulting, but I will get over it.

I fully intend to tip very generously on my upcoming trip, just because I believe in generous tips AND also to show my appreciation to Star Of Africa and Kaingo for giving me such great rates. Nothing better than happy employees.

Absolutely Rocco.
But there are many countries where it is NOT customary to tip so highly because the cost of living IS different and $5 US is considered a very very good tip indeed.
There are also companies that tend to include tips in their costs.
So Travelling Gal's comments may reflect her prior experiences elsewhere.
Throwing big tips around is not the only way to show consideration - it's also important to have the right attitude when interacting with the staff and treating them well.

I just think it might be nice to show a LITTLE more friendliness/ courtesy when responding to a post from someone who hasn't been posting here very long.

very interesting question. My husband and I are going in June for a 14 day safari. Out tour operator told us $20.00 per day, per person. They didnt mention hotel staff. I thought $40.00 a day was high but I have never been there and didn't know. We are on a private safari, just the 2 of us. Maybe that makes a difference. Also, where does the guide go after the drives. My husband is very out going and fun to be around and thinks the guide will eat and hang out with us at the pool or lodge bar in between drives. I told him I thought the guide would have better things to do. But, I don't know

katj,

It all depends on the lodge's policies and the personality of the guide.

I have had a very outgoing guide in the past, that would eat dinner with us, engage in witty conversation, and even have a drink with us after dinner (Singita).

I have also had a guide that was on the shy side, although very nice, and would eat and run, excusing himself at the earliest opportunity (Kafunta).

Then there were other guides that were spread too thin with the other guests (Vuyatela) and I don't even remember my dining experience with my guide at Matetsi (a CCAfrica property). I want to say that the guides at Matetsi did not even dine with the guests, but I cannot recall for sure.

My best experience with staff probably came at Kafunta Island Bush Camp with the managing couple (no longer there). Although we weren't all best friends by any means, even having a few disagreements, I did appreciate spending the two nights by the campfire probably for a good hour after dinner each night, with our after dinner drinks and just talking about life. It probably helped that the guy was also 32 years old (my age at the time last year), and that I am so passionate about Africa and well-versed enough to engage him in meaningful conversation. However, it went way beyond that, and I was fascinated to learn about his role in the South African military in the final days of apartheid and how he was able to make the transition from fighting against integration to now working solely with (black) Africans.

It really all depends on the luck of the draw and whether or not a set of guests hits it off with the guide. A good guide or ranger will try to be as engaging as possible, while still remaining professional, for the most part.

Tip as much as you can.The guides and staff are the backbone of any camp and a good tip is a good incentive for them to work harder and better. Besides, when the staff benefits, their whole community benefits which in turn is very good for wildlife conservation. The minimum tip should be $10 per guide and $15 for the staff per day but I usually go beyond that. Anything less than 5$ (Kavey ONLY &pound;2.5 for you per day) is too little.

King
My post says very clearly that it's $5 per PERSON per day. That's $5 from me and $5 from my husband.
And as I said, that's our starting point, when we have good service (as we did from pretty much all our WS staff) we increase that accordingly.
I agree that tipping more is preferable when you get good service as it really supports a number of people.
However, it's good for Travelling Gal to know what the realistic starting point is, since her operator is giving her somewhat higher minimums.

Katj that $20 per day may have been when you added it up.
We found that we would usually leave about $10 each per day for a good guide or mokoro paddler (we felt they deserved the same though guidelines suggest less for the paddlers), a little less for the trackers, then we left about $10-15 each in the general tip box. Sometimes if one or other individual camp staff did something for us (such as cook doing something special for us on request) we'd also have a tip in an envelope for that person which was separate from the general tip box. In practice we usually left about $25 each total per day when we added up what we were giving to different people.
BUT the key point is we did that when we felt the service was deserving.
Don't feel pressured into leaving high tips for average or mediocre service.

Oh, senile, just woke up.
There was an occasion where we did leave only what was recommended in the WS guidelines as we felt staff were OK but didn't make the same efforts as elsewhere. In that case we left exactly what had been recommended by the operator, namely the $5 per person for a guide etc.

First let me say that I'm surprised this subject could bring out a conflict between two of our favorite posters. That said Tipping is still at the discretion of the traveler for service provided. What your tour operator listed is only a guideline. And be thankful you're not on an A&amp;K tour as you'd be paying minimum $1500 or more over other operators, and I can't recall ever laying out $1500 in tips. And A&amp;K doesn't include the guide/driver tip - this one is still your responsibility.

We've used the same guidelines regardless where we've traveled and the numbers are in line with what Kavey suggests:

Guide - USD$5/day per person
Guide/Driver - one who does both - $5-$7/day per person
Driver (who handles your transfer from airport/hotel which price is appox $20/person) - $2/person

Ranger - (Called this in Southern Africa - tip as for Guide) $5/day per person
Ranger/Driver (as Driver/Guide above)$6-$7/day per person
Tracker - (usually in Southern Africa) - $3/day per person
Mokoro Paddler - if for a full day (as a guide) - $5/day per person

Camp Staff - waiters, porters, housekeeping, kitchen staff (this is shared and usually placed in a Tips Box at Reception) $5/day per person

Urban Centers - hotels - bellmen $1/bag, maid $2-$3/nite/room
Restaurants - if service charge is included in bill, then you can leave loose change for btter than usual service. If no service charge, than 10% of the bill.
Taxi drivers - round up to the closest dollar (or local currency)

If you've had a guide/driver who has gone out of his/her way to negotiate prices for you at a souvenir shop or helped with other services, add to their daily amount.

While at Singita, we tipped over and above our usual as the Ranger and Tracker and entire staff were outstanding.
Rangers - $10-$12/day/person
Trackers - $7-$9/day/person
Staff - $10/day

While many of these people do live on site with room, board and 3-meals, and do get a small salary, about $50/mo. they do depend on tips. Also realize that many of these people work 24/7 for months at a time, often great distances from where their families live; have brief vacations for a few days maybe twice a year. Having any of these positions is valued greatly in these countries and I've found that these individuals go out of their way to provide visitors a satisfactory experience in their countries.

So &quot;tips&quot; have to be included in the price of your trip. And those amounts above over a 2-week vacation don't amount to but a fraction of the cost of your package. They are not out of line, and certainly not as high as what A&amp;K (and the likes) builds into their tour prices.

We have always paid the guides/drivers, rangers, trackers, bellmen, ourselves; while staff tips are placed in the Tip Box. Hope this helps.

Sandi
It's not so much personal tipping practices as rudeness and lack of courtesy to others that gets my back up.
Everyone is entitled to ask for advice and make their own decisions without being told they are &quot;out of line&quot; by some internet stranger who thinks he's got everything right and that everyone should do everything his way.

I think it any talk about guidelines that attempts to deal with different countries, types of camp, types of &quot;guides&quot; and level of service is bound to get too complicated, too quickly. For example, I imagine that &quot;appropriate&quot; would be very different for SA, Zambia and Botswana...not to mention Kenya, Tanzania or things in between!!

Also, I DO think it could differ by type of camp (which may have a big influence on how many people are in a guides party, for example.) At camps which offer a choice of activities, you may choose something that makes a guide spend time with you instead of with a group. In that case, for great service, I will &quot;overtip&quot; because I am getting such personalized attention, while another guide gets tips from a much larger group...

But I see tipping as in my self-interest too...I don't know anything else that costs me so little, and can bring so much joy to a person. Personally, I like to &quot;overtip&quot; the women who take care of my chalet (especially in Zambia, Roccco!) They are often forgotten (as opposed to the guides), but really go out of there way to make my stay safe and comfortable. Gosh, once when they found my tip, they thought it was a mistake and tried to return the forgotten cash and misc. stuff I left with them...and then acted like it was Christmas when I re-iterated that it was for them. But they had been so wonderful the whole time they deserved it. (PS-- lots of development research shows that when women get money, they invest it in their children (school, medical care, etc. When men get money, it is disproportionately consumed on &quot;selfish&quot; things which don't support the family...Sorry guys, that's the research...)
However-- in support of the men-- I occasionally learned (after the fact, from someone else) that these lucky people who do have jobs in the tourism industry are taking care of many children (AIDS orphans) of relatives who have died or are ill. I think in subsaharan Africa these folks end up supporting a whole village...

Finally, Kavey is also correct that genuine appreciation, expressed at the time of service in a respectful way is as important as what you leave. Good tourism should build bridges between our cultures...

After rereading my post, I can see how confusion and misunderstanding occurred. We are not taking a SAFARI in S. Africa. We are doing Cape Town for 4 nights, 3-4 nights in Kruger, Johannesburg and then 3 nights in Vic Falls area.

We were given guidelines for the camps of $10/day for the game ranger, $6/day for the tracker and $10/day for lodge staff. I have no problem with those numbers although they may be a tad high.

I am questioning the rates for the Cape Town, Joburg and Vic Falls tour guides of $4/day for half day tour and $8/day for full day tours per person.

Having traveled all over the world on many tours with many different groups, the tipping guideline has NEVER been this high for CITY GUIDES.

My question was, has anyone else out there had similar guidelines for CITY tour guides in S. Africa? If this is the standard tip, then I will abide by it. But since the average worker in this country doesn't make that much, it seems high to me especially when there are 16 of us in the group! If I were having my own PERSONAL guide, that would be one thing. But 16 people paying $8 each is more than some people in that country make each week or perhaps each month!

Hope this clarifies the question.

For me it would depend whether or not the guide doing the tour was self-employed (ie receiving the majority of the money for the tour itself) or an employee and how good he was.

For city tours I do find what we tip varies more widely dependent on the kind of experience we had.

I'd probably stick with around $5 from each of us for a full day tour if I thought it was well done, less if it was not particularly good and more if it was exceptional.

Hi, just wanted to add a question on tipping that is maybe over-specific, but I'm not at all familiar with this tipping thing....

We are staying two nights at a camp- do we tip after each activity (morning drive, evening drive) or at the end of the day, or at the end of the stay? -Housekeeping I've always tipped at the end of the stay, but you don't bump into housekeeping all the time. Guides and trackers are different- I'd like to make sure we do the &quot;done&quot; thing, and I don't want to annoy or embarass anyone....

thanks!
off to south africa tomorrow....

Most of the safari travelers we met tipped at the end of the stay. Grab an envelope from the room and write the guide/tracker's name on it and hand it to them at the airstrip when you say your goodbyes. The general staff tip goes into a jar on the counter before you leave camp. In a hotel we always tip daily because the room assignments sometimes change. Have a great trip and write up a report when you get back!

Tashak,

Usually at a place like South Luangwa or Matetsi (Zimbabwe), my wife will tip the housekeeping staff very generously, and usually will pick one out to be especially generous with her tip. We do try to get rid of the majority of our foreign currency by giving it to the housekeeping staff and then at the airport, whatever little that we have left, we will find someone, whether it is an airline worker, a janitor or someone else to give away the rest of our money. Even if it is only $10 USD worth of money, that is a fortune to these people and they are most grateful.

Kavey - you're so right, people should be able to ask a question and not be called on it.

Trvlingal - as a group of 16 people, unless your guide goes out of his/her way, specifically for you, or is absolutely outstanding for the entire group, $5/day per person is a very nice tip.

You only have to abide with what is comfortable for you, not with what someone else might or might not tip. You were provided a guideline only and personally, I too believe they are a bit high. But using the guideline I noted above, we have been known to give more and sometimes we've given less - again, at our (or your) discretion and depending on the service provided.

Enjoy your holiday and don't forget to post a trip report on your return.

On another note regarding tips for group tours:

If the group consists of friends and/ or family members only this is not applicable but otherwise we always ensure that we tip directly to the guide/ driver ourselves and sometimes in an envelope with a thank you note. We have been pressured before to simply drop our tip into a group collection but having seen how little some people put into that collection prefer to let the guide/ driver know how much we valued and appreciated his/ her assistance and service even if others felt differently.

It's not like we'll ever see them again so it isn't that we're trying to curry favour or seem superior but we do think that tips are a very personal thing and dislike the group collection method.

On our most recent trip I tried something different. I took gifts to the female member of the managers. I had looked them all up on the internet before we left and I took eye shadow, nail polish, lipstick, blush, etc in a little gift packets for the ladies for when they needed something to pick them up. They were all so nice and surprised by it. I would definately do it again. It started us out on the right foot. I figure those things are hard to find in the bush and everyone needs to feel &quot;frilly&quot; once in a while.

We tipped our old method of tip the guide after each game drive. We mostly double tipped because the guides caught on quickly that the more they did for us, the more they got. If was worth the extra money to us. We even tipped the guide we had when I fell. He got the minimum tip, because he did nothing to prevent my fall. We also left room tips for the cleaning ladies and we gave good camp tips too. This was a cheap trip for us, in some ways, and so we had decided to tip better for good service. Its customary at resaurants to tip after one's meal, but I feel the guides need to know how you are basing your tips too. Liz

Lis - how thoughtful to bring beauty kits for the women. Which reminds me of an experience on trip returning from Tanzania at Namanga. After clearing immigration, one of the Masai women attached herself to me attempting to sell me a bracelet. At this point I wasn't interested in any more souvenirs, however, all of a sudden she grabbed my hand and kept pointing at my painted fingernails.

Yes, they are manicured and survived almost two weeks in Africa, but what she was interested in was the nail color.

Drat! If I had known, I would have kept the little bottle in my backpack and gladly given it to here.

So nowadays, I suggest visitors hit the 99-cent store and buy as many bottles of nail color (be sure they are screwed tightly, pack in double-plastic bags in your carryon) - they are great giveaways and the women love them.

Kavey- Hadn't read your post thoroughly and I have to agree with you 100%. It's been so long since I went on a group tour, but tipping the guide that stays with you the whole time is done at the end and I agree that you should do it individually in an envelope with a note of appreciation. One time in Tanzania, a few people in the group wanted to do a joint tip and a Dr. volunteered to handle it. I tipped the recommended amount but we didn't know what the others did. His daughter lost the envelope containing the tip that night and he told us he made it up, but you never know and I always wondered how it came out. Better to be safe than sorry.

Kavey's an &quot;old&quot; pro at this, so I'd go with her. Juts as context, Mombo's prices per person are listed at over $1000 a day. Now, for the ranger: for four days, tips to our ranger would be $64, much less than what we paid on several trips before. My advice ... drop the subject and pay up ... and if the ranger is terrific, add 50%.

Oops, didn't realize the question related to just Mombo. Sorry for adding my $.02

Tipping didn't have to do with Mombo at all. In fact we aren't staying at the expensive places most of you are listing. But I do appreciate the guidelines and suggestions that all of you are giving. This is NOT a cheap trip for us even though we aren't at the BEST camps. We are splurging to go period, but do want to tip the correct amount to show our appreciation.

At times, I've seen one set of tipping guidelines from the travel agency in Africa ... and a lower guideline at the actual camp or lodge. So, suggest you go prepared, but wait until the very end of each lodge or camp to decide the amounts. It will be psychologically easier then, as well.

Wow. Interesting topic here. I wish it was available before we had left for Botswana a week ago but we were pretty much on target with what we are seeing posted here. It is true that there probably is some difference whether you are in Botswana or Zimbabwe (as was the case for us.)
After some rather candid discussions with some of the drivers and guides it became pretty apparent that some foreigners tip more than others and some not at all. And while I do not feel that they expect a tip, there is no question that the tips they receive make a difference to them.
Keeping all of that in mind, like Roccco, I am sure we might have been OVER tipping. While I don't fault those who do not tip because it is not their custom I definitely feel no guilt in rewarding good service. Especially when I compare our standard of living to theirs.

Anohter wrinkle is lodges or camps where you have the services of both a guide and a tracker, is the issue of giving all the money to the guide, and he pays the tracker, or to offer separate (but unequal tips to each). Different policies at different places, and with different guides.

Blacktie - since tipping is at your discretion depending on service provided, one should tip whomever provided the service directly. To me it has nothing to do with the &quot;policy&quot; of a particular camp.

If we have a Ranger and Tracker, each gets their tip handed to them directly. As to Camp Staff, unless someone has specifically gone out of their way to be of help or assistance, that tip goes into the joint tip box; but not unlike others, often someone from housekeeping is especially attentive, and here this person also gets their tip directly.

We[ve found that it's in South Africa where we've had both a Ranger and Tracker, whereas, the other countries only have a one person (called a guide or ranger).

I quite agree, Sandi, we've had the same experience as you. BUT, sometimes the tracker actually works for the ranger, as an employee, and it's important to determine that before tipping. In those instances, the total is provided to the ranger/guide, who then is supposed to pay the tracker.

The tip box handles all others .... except for one or two in the back office who may do something very special for you ... and then they received a separate tip ... if you wish. I've done that on two occasions, when they handled a major problem expertly, and allowed me to focus on the animals.

Not to stir the pot, but Kavey, with all due respect, are you referring to King as an internet stranger? I'm afraid you might have misread his message.

Just a friendly suggestion, please read it again, considering the parentheses. I think the only reason he mentioned you was to put the figure in pounds.

No MariaCallas, I am referring to Rocco's post where he tells the original poster she is OUT OF LINE.

I think thats rude and unneccessary when she's simply asking for opinions and trying to learn about best practice. Read it and you'll see that his post also shows an assumption that he's getting everything right and if she doesn't agree she's obviously got a closed heart.

As I said above, I think posters should be able to ask for advice without getting insulted by other posters.

Regarding tipping we stuck to normal procedure on this tip - that is we tipped at the end of each stay. I liked to write a message of thanks along with our tip so even communal tips were put into an envelope with warm thanks and that was put inside the communal tip box. For some guides we stuck to the $5 per day from each of us, for some we upped it and for two guides we doubled it as we thought they were superb and really went above and beyond what we had expected. There were no guides that we felt were substandard in any of the private camps.

We did have one guide for a night drive in Kruger who was truly awful. He actually behaved as though his sole job was to be the driver, gave the guests the spotlights, didn't make any pretence of looking for animals and when we did see something we had to shout at him to even stop and let us look. Needless to say he received zero tip.

I have yet to go on a safari, but I'm not going to let THAT stop from putting my $.02 in! :))

When we've been on a cruise we know we're always going to be taken care of like, &quot;we're at grandma's, it's our birthday, and all everyone wants is that we have a wonderful day.&quot;
Sooo, we always tip on the first or second day. Now they know we have confidence in them and they don't have to wonder about being stiffed. We can all relax.
I AM greatful for being taken care of, I'm not a church-goer, but I believe most caretakers are doing sacred work....Sisters and Brothers say, &quot;Amen!&quot;

Life isn't fair. And let's be honest, we fodorites, one and all, are riding the crest of the wave.

As long as it this thread is still alive, I will contribute more about tipping.

On this last trip, std and I tipped as much as we possibly could. While our tips still (far?) surpassed the recommended tips, had we been able, we would have still tipped double or triple. Unfortunately, by the end of a 25 day trip, we just didn't have much cash left.

To me, a guide that is devoting his life to the bush is so much more deserving than a struggling actor/waiter working at a trendy restaurant. Does a waiter that serves up a $100 meal really deserve the same amount to a guide that spends at least six hours out of the day with you, protects your life and tries his best to produce game spottings?

Also, I know that in a country like Zambia, the staff does not earn more than about $1.50 per day. Is it really going to kill me to tip the housekeeping staff and every single member of camp that I can afford to tip?

Had I been able, I would have tipped $100 per day, and I still would have felt unsatisfied. As it was I probably tipped, combined, about $50 per day, per camp, along with giving away about the equivalent of $100 USD to about five local women on the way to the airport. Never did they ask for the money, and I do hope that this was enough to help them out in some way that otherwise would have been a great struggle.