I plan to use a couple of local guides in Hungary and the Czech Republic. I contacted them directly so there is no third party booking service involved.
My questions have to do with tipping and also meals and admissions into museums and other tourist attractions. The arrangement is that the price does not include meals and admissions. Should we expect to have to pay for the guide's meals and admissions as well as our own?
Also, is it customary to tip them for their services?
Thank You.
Matt B
The discussion about tips generates a wide range of response from kicking the guide in the shins to fifty dollars bills. I am only posting what I generally do. Don't pay for guides meals or admission since most registered guides have season passes. I might buy them a beer or a coffee during a break. At the end and especially if the guide did a great job (IMO) I will probably tip in the range of 8 -10% of the tour cost. That is what I do because I like doing it. Others will have a different opinion.
If a guide gets free admission to a museum, then you don't need to pay, but not all guides have passes to all museums. They will let you know whether or not they are free. If they don't get free entrance, then yes, you need to pay for this.
Buying a meal for your guide is nice, but you don't have to do it. Tipping is nice too, but again, you don't have to. Much depends on how much you are enjoying the tour, is the guide going above and beyond what is expected, have they done extra research for you before the tour like geneology, or visiting archives, etc. ?
Our tour guide guide in Split was admitted to all museums free of charge. Since it was just a 2.5 tour we did not stop for coffee or lunch. We tipped him because he was extremely professional and nice. We had a driver from Dubrovnik to Zagreb, 6 hours. The place we stopped at in Bosnia for a bathroom/coffee break did not charge our driver as he had a tour guide badge and stops at the same place. We also tipped him because he drove within the speed limit, no crazy turns, etc and again was extremely professional and gave us a "tour" while driving. When we hire a driver for a day trip to Venice from Croatia, since we are picked up at 6:00 am and dropped off at 9:00 pm, my husband always gives him money for lunch. He doesn't sightsee with us, just waits for our call to leave and meets us in the parking lot.
Thank you for the responses. Matt B
I'm with Matt in that there isn't a correct answer, only what i am comfortable with.
I hunt hard and long not for a guide, but for someone who is both a guide and someone we will enjoy traveling with. If I choose well, then then we have someone to talk to about culture, norms, history, family, etc. ... and the sights. For that I buy an occasional lunch and at times even more. We took our Odessa guide sailing with us, the one in Montenegro we took fishing with us. As a result we pealed back another layer of the country and it added enjoyment to the trip. But Im pretty social when i travel and i just plain enjoy it. In return our guide in Bulgaria took us home to mom for home cooking, the one in Kiev brought a gift basket each morning. We stay in touch with most of them and have used a few multiple times. ON the other hand, the last guide we had in Lviv was "efficient" but a bit politically warped and so she got nothing.
Generally for slightly better than normal we tip maybe 10%. For a quick one hour guide through a church or the like, maybe 5 euro.
