Tipping worries people more than it should, mostly because nobody tells them a number. Here is one, from the people who employ the drivers.
On a multi-day private trip, Rs 300 to Rs 500 per day is a normal, generous tip for a driver in India. In Nepal, NPR 500 to NPR 800 per day is the equivalent.
You give it once, at the end, not daily. For a two-week trip that is roughly Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000, about USD 60 to 85.
For a single day trip, such as Delhi to Agra and back, Rs 500 to Rs 800 for the day is right.
Our drivers are paid a proper wage and their food and accommodation are covered inside your trip price. Nobody is depending on your tip to eat. If the driving was fine but unremarkable, no tip is not an insult.
What a tip says in India is “you did more than the job”. Most drivers do — carrying bags nobody asked them to carry, finding a pharmacy at ten at night, waiting four hours at a fort without complaint.
Cash, in rupees. Not dollars or euros; changing them costs the driver time and a bad rate.
At the end, in his hand, with something said. A handshake and “thank you for looking after us” carries more weight than the money.
In an envelope if you prefer, which some people find less awkward. Either is fine.
Do not tip at every stop. It creates an odd dynamic for a two-week trip. Once, at the end, is the convention.
Do not over-tip enormously. A very large tip is not the kindness it feels like; it makes the next travellers’ ordinary tip look like a complaint, and it puts the driver in an awkward position with his colleagues.
A review with the driver’s name in it. Our drivers are named in almost all of our Tripadvisor reviews, and that is what brings the next family. If you had a good trip, two minutes of writing is worth more to him than the cash.
If you are still planning, our India rates and Nepal rates are published in full, so you can see exactly what the driver’s costs already include.
Our drivers are paid properly before a tip is ever mentioned, and nothing on your bill depends on one. Tell us your dates and we will send a route and a single price.
