Roughly 300 to 500 Egyptian pounds a day for a private guide, 30 to 50 a night for hotel housekeeping, 8 to 12 dollars per person per day for a cruise crew, and round up every taxi fare. The rest of this explains why, and what to do when you have run out of small notes, which you will.
Tipping in Egypt confuses visitors more than anything except the traffic. It is not a bonus for good service in the way it is in Britain or Germany. For a large number of people working in tourism it is most of their income, and the wage is built on the assumption that it will arrive.
Which means two things. It is expected, more often and in more situations than you are used to. And it is not a judgement on the service, so a small amount handed over pleasantly is better than an agonised calculation.
The numbers
| Who | How much | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Private Egyptologist guide | 300 to 500 EGP per day | For the group, not per person |
| Driver | 150 to 250 EGP per day | More for a long desert day |
| Nile cruise crew | 8 to 12 USD per person per day | Pooled, given at the end into the box |
| Dahabeya crew | Similar, and they are fewer | They will have cooked for you personally |
| Hotel housekeeping | 30 to 50 EGP per night | Leave it in the room, daily rather than at the end |
| Porter | 20 to 50 EGP | Per bag, for actually carrying it |
| Restaurant | 5 to 10 per cent | Check whether service is already added |
| Taxi | Round up | Agree the fare before you get in |
| Toilet attendant | 5 to 10 EGP | Have coins. There is usually no paper otherwise |
At roughly 52 pounds to the dollar in August 2026, 500 pounds is under ten dollars. The amounts are small in your currency and meaningful in the local one, which is exactly the situation that makes people uncomfortable and should not.
The practical problem: small notes
Egypt runs on cash in small denominations and ATMs dispense large ones. You will be handed two hundred pound notes and need tens and twenties.
What works: break notes deliberately at supermarkets and hotel bars early in the trip, keep tip money in a separate pocket from your wallet so you are not counting out a wad in front of people, and ask your guide on the first day to help you get change. Every guide in Egypt has had this conversation and none of them mind it.
Baksheesh is not quite the same as a tip
The word covers three different things, and separating them helps. There is a tip for service, which works the way you expect. There is a small payment for a small favour: someone finds you a chair, holds a door, points out the right queue. And there is charity, which in Islamic practice is an obligation rather than a kindness, and which is why an older person may ask you directly without embarrassment.
A visitor who reads all three as begging has a miserable trip. A visitor who reads all three as a tip pays for things that were freely given. Somewhere in the middle, handing over ten pounds without much thought and moving on, is where most Egyptians actually live.
A worked example: one week, two people
A seven-day trip with a private guide for four of those days, three nights in hotels and four on a boat. Rough figures, in Egyptian pounds unless stated:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Guide, four days at 400 | 1,600 EGP |
| Driver, four days at 200 | 800 EGP |
| Boat crew, four nights, two people at 10 USD | around 4,200 EGP |
| Hotel housekeeping, three nights at 40 | 120 EGP |
| Porters, restaurants, taxis, attendants | around 1,000 EGP |
| Total for two people | around 7,700 EGP, or 150 US dollars |
So: budget something like seventy-five dollars per person for a week, and rather less if you are not on a boat. It is a real line in the budget and it is not a large one. What makes people anxious is not the amount, it is not knowing the amount.
Where you do not need to tip
- Anything already stated as included in your trip price. If you have paid for entrance fees, nobody at the gate is owed anything.
- Someone who attaches themselves to you at a site, points at a wall, and then asks for money. That is not a service. A firm no is fine and is not rude.
- Anyone who takes your camera to photograph you without being asked and then wants paying. Politely decline both halves of that transaction.
- The person who unlocks a roped-off area for a private look. It is flattering and it is also usually not allowed.
Should you tip in dollars or pounds?
Egyptian pounds, for anything small. A five dollar note is awkward for someone who then has to change it. Dollars or euros are normal for the larger pooled sums on a cruise, where the crew is used to them and the amount justifies a trip to the bank.
Do not tip in coins of a foreign currency. Nobody can change them.
What we do about it
Nothing in our prices depends on you tipping, and no guide or driver we work with will treat you differently if you do not. We would still rather write the numbers down than leave you guessing for a fortnight, because guessing is what makes people either overpay everywhere or freeze up and pay nobody.
If you would like it handled invisibly, some guests ask us to build a tipping pool into the trip and distribute it. We are happy to do that. Just ask when you book.