GRATUITIES & CURRENCY

Trip Leader Gratuities

It is customary to express a personal ‘thank you’ to your trip leaders at the end of your trip, especially if they have provided you with excellent service or individual assistance. We recommend 10 to 15 Euros per guest, for each day of your trip, for each Trip Leader. For a 7-day trip, this may be around 70 - 105 Euros for each trip leader from each guest and for a 10-day trip, this may be around 100 - 150 Euros for each trip leader from each guest.

The best way to share a gratuity with your trip leaders is cash in Euros, which you can withdraw from an ATM during your travels. This is simply your trip leaders' preference, as they can also accept gratuity in USD, though they’ll have to convert it later to their home currency.

Other Gratuities

All gratuities for transportation, breakfasts and dinners are included in the cost of your trip. For meals on your own, tipping in Europe usually ranges from one Euro for service at a simple restaurant up to 10% for excellent service at a nice restaurant. Even if you pay with credit card, we recommend leaving your tip in cash, as you cannot write in an additional tip on the receipt. At hotels, a tip for good service is not expected, but 5 to 10 Euros per guest would certainly be appreciated.

Cash and Credit Cards

Banks with ATMs are available in all of the places you’ll be traveling. We recommend taking out cash from ATMs using a debit card as fees are typically lower than with a credit card. Local tip: by choosing “Note Mix” on the ATM, you can usually choose the denomination of bills you receive.

Trailside huts serving lunch rarely accept credit cards so we recommend carrying cash and coins with you on the trail. In town, most restaurants and stores will accept credit and debit cards, as well as cash.