How would one go about tipping porters, guides, and cooks on the Inca Trail? I've tried to research it online, but the best I could find is that porters should receive about 25-30 soles combined from the group. Couldn't really find out how much to leave for guides and cooks.

If you've been on the Inca Trail, any advice on how to go about tipping would be greatly appreciated! Should we tip our own porters ourselves? Does the groups usually combine tips (knowing that people from certain countries tip differently than others)?

Thanks in advance!

like cruises all of your servers

should recieve 10-15% total of your cost.

with extra for special service.

unless it is included in your price some are

think you are way low on what you have been told

30 soles is $10 total too low for 4 days...

there is a tipping ceremony

with the top tour providers

where this is done at the end of your trek.

does not have to be done individually.

I agree with qwovadis. Thirty soles is way too low.

A lot depends on the type of outfitter you go with, but it probably does work out to 10-15% of your trip price. The higher end companies that give you more comfort, kind of recommend that each hiker contribute $60 to the tip pool. For lower end outiftters, it'll be more like $30-40. It gets distributed among cooks and porters. Don't do that.

Whatever you tip, be sure to tip in soles, not dollars. Most of the people who work on your trek live out in the middle of nowhere, and they have no way to get to a bank to change dollars into local currency. Peru is not one of those "Everybody takes dollars" places, so you're causing them a big inconvenience by giving them dollars.

"Don't do that" was a last-minute addition before I hit SUBMIT. I meant to say that at the end of the second paragraph, not the first.

Maybe I was reading an outdated website regarding the 30 soles. Will they let us know when to give into the pot? I just want to make sure we tip correctly. Do you consider PeruTreks to be a higher end company?

Is it also okay to give our own porter something additional? Or that is not necessary?

And just so I get this correctly, if I were to give $60, just make sure I really give 180 soles? Sorry, I just want to make sure we do this correctly and also trying to calculate how much cash I need to have on hand...

Peru Treks is probably a medium-range company. I looked at their website. They charge $450 for the four-day Inca Trail trek, so 10% would be $45; 15% would be more. I've never used them, but they get great reviews, so I think you've chosen a good company.

The treks are priced in U.S. dollars, so you can calculate 10-15% of that price when figuring a tip. I'm saying, just be sure to convert whatever amount you dedice to give into local currency and give the tip in soles. Sure. $60 = about S/180.

Thanks Jeff!

After you've signed up with PeruTrek they will then give you a link to their Inca Trail Trek Briefing.

According to the briefing, it recommends that each person in the group contributes between 45 and 65 soles ($17-24) to a pot collected on the 3rd day of the trek that is then distributed among the group porters and the cook. Each porter will then get approximately $15.

If you've hired a personal porter then it recommends that you give him 20-30 soles in person when you pick up your stuffs from him in Aguas Calientes.

For the guide and assistant guide, the main guide should get 15-20 soles and the assistant guide between 10-15 soles.

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Those recommendations are from a briefing that was last updated on 9/2008. That is what I have for my upcoming Inca trail trek with PeruTrek in about two weeks. I'm not sure if those tip amounts seem outdated and low.

another note on what I posted above ...

It's actually kind of confusing the way the briefing worded the tips for the cook and group porters. It recommends that "the cook should receive about 50% more than the porters. The money should be paid directly to each individual and not given to the guide or to a representative of the porters."

But if you're putting your tip into a "pot" along with the other travellers then how could you directly pay each individual? That portion of the briefing confuses me.

There's Peru Treks and Peru Trek. Those are two different companies.

Ok. Mine is Peru Treks.

www.perutreks.com

I went with Llama Path (fantastic company) and saw Peru Treks on my hike in April 2008. They got good reviews from the hikers I met on the trail so you're going with a good company. On our last night we all got together (8 of us on my trip from all over) and pooled our money and gave the tips to to the porters, then to the cook and then to the guide. I believe we each put in 15% of our trip total and then one girl from NZ figured out how to divide it to the guides, cook and guide. The cook and guide got more than the porters, but no one was ripped off.

Just went Llamapth and gave the following:
Coof $50
Proeters $20 each
Guised $60 each

Thank you so much to everyone for their input. Now I have a better idea.

Axel...I forgot about that briefing. Too many emails back and forth, I knew I had vaguely read something from Peru Treks but couldn't find it on their website.