We have been given a gift of a Private Arte Vaticana tour with Context Rome. As far as I know, it will be just my husband and me on this tour.

What would be an appropriate tip for our guide (assuming he's as good as we think he'll be!)?

Thanks for any guidance.

Lucky you! That will be wonderful.I've given anywhere from 5euro ( for a two hour orientation walk ) to thirty euro (for an essentially private walk of Ostia Antica. ) The average is about 15 euro. On a private walk,I'd likely give 20 euro per person,but I'm sure others may give less.

Much like I do for a massage treatment or two-hour haircut, the guide for my private tour would receive 20% of the fee. If I participated in a group tour of six or less, I'd probably calculate 15%.

I always travel with little "thank you" cards. This gives me the opportunity to "soften" the tacky exchange of cash and adds an element of surprise.

Thanks for your responses! And NYCFoodSnob, I hope you don't mind if I steal your thank you card idea. Love it.

On a similar note, what would you tip a private tour guide who has his/her own company...do you still need to tip as the whole fee goes to this person?