You have pronounced it near enough right to be understood.
La means No. and Shukran means thank you
If you want to say yes its Naam and Please is Min Fadluck if your talking to a man and Min Fadlick if your talking to a woman

Learning a few words makes life a lot easier, and the Egyptian people are delighted if you try...

What about in AI hotels - what sort of tip should be give when served at the bar?

that depends on if you want the best table sabing for you for the suration of your stay!!

Caroline & Kirsten

Hi LD,

There is no point in tipping at the bar in an AI hotel until the end of your holiday. Then give your favourite guy a few quid. In most hotels, the staff pool the tips anyway.

"Some establishments (and countries) actively discourage the practice because it upsets the local economy, especially if every tipper unknowingly goes over the top.
A few years ago in India we were admonished for leaving too big a tip, simply because the tip we left was significantly more than the guy would have actually earned in a month ! It was about £5 for a week's cleaning. In a country where the average wage is about £45 a year, it wasn't 'responsible tipping' but still difficult to understand for an English person who classes it as loose change. Once word gets out about folks splashing the cash, the cleaner ends up earning more than a doctor or policeman, which doesn't go down too well.

Was it a Saudi Prince who once tipped a waiter at the Dorchester £45,000 because he worked very hard, then couldn't understand why people made a fuss? Difficult concept to fathom for a foreigner."

Excellent post.

Yes, you can go over the top...and its ill-advised.

Hi I am going to Sharm El Sheikh end of this week. Can anybody give me a guide on who and how much I should tip.

Went from Cairo to Aswan a couple of years ago and never really got the hange of it.

Does anyone have any advice on getting a taxi at Shar airport we will be going to Three corners Kiroseiz.

Hi JustJohn

We have just got back from Hurghada on our first night there in the hotels restaurant (it was self service) we had just sat down when a waiter asked us if we'd like a drink we said yes - we could have got our own so we thought he is obviously after a tip. As it was our first day we were not really sure what to give him. When he came back with the drinks we gave him 20.00 LE which is equivilant to £2.00 he thanked us and went. But the next day when we entered the restaurant he waved us over he had saved us a table and already got the drinks in so he must have been happy with what we gave him. After that we gave him 10.00LE - £1.00 every other day and got great service.

In the bar if we got our own drinks we tipped 10.00 LE at the end of the night if the waiter came to us we tipped 10.00 LE every 3 rounds they seemed happy with this as they always had a smile and a chat when we came in.

The cleaner we gave 10.00 LE on the first day and when we returned to our room there was a bowl with sweets. Then we tipped 30.00 LE on our last day.

Hope this helps

10.00 le for one drink service..... no wonder they were friendly!

2.00 LE per drink service is fine.... honest... you are giving your money away.
Doormen and porters no more than 5 LE.

wages are low, but so is the cost of living.

For room service ( cleaners are men) we tipped £10 in sterling for 2 weeks.
If you want to give more or less its up to you, but really these rates are fine (just ask my other half!)

Tipping that much I am very surprised there wasn't a fight to see who could serve you.

The average waiter in a hotel earns 120 LE per month, roughly £12.00. I know it isn't much but don't forget they get accommodation and meals. All tips are SUPPOSED to be put in the pot for sharing!

Tipping unfortunately is very much expected in some hotels, but only tip if you get good service!

LE 120 per month ????

I don t think so... and I think I should have an idea about how much they earn.

Well you may pay better but there is one particular hotel here in Hurghada and I know for a fact that is all the waiters get.

We tipped the waiters on our first day about 10LE a day and found we never had to wait for a drink ,we even had to ask them not to bring so much in the dining room!.Be sure to tip the bloke who puts the suitcases on the coach,because if you dont it may be the last time yoy see your case!.

I'm always anxious about tipping the people who put the suitcases on the coach as I never have any change in the local currency when I arrive at places and whilst I dont mind tipping as I know local people rely on the money, I also dont want to feel i've been ripped off by giving a large note. How do other people manage this? Whats the right amount to give and should it be per case?

We just gave him a £ coin as we had no egyptian money.

I'd already been warned about the tipping (or not) of the guys who put your luggage on the coach.
When they tried to take our cases none of us let go, we put them on ourselves and didn't get on the coach until it was about to depart.
There are stories of cases being off-loaded if you refuse to tip so be careful.

I also knew not to allow the porters to give us trollies unless I wanted to pay, which I didn't!

We all had toilet paper in our hand luggage (apart form my Husband who forgot) so didn't have to pay for that either.

You could potentially spend alot of money at the airport in tips, it's your choice, we chose not to tip.

Pippy

So when you say the average waiter in a hotel, you really mean that. The average waiter in a certain single hotel. Cos all the other hotels are paying more than that.

A couple in our hotel didnt tip the person putting their case on the coach,but made sure it was on and waited until coach was ready to depart before getting on .When they got to the hotel the case wasnt there.It never did turn up and the lady spent a week in an egyptian beach dress and a pair of flip flops!

Think I will have to take a few pound coins, if they are acceptable.
(How do they spend them?) Don't think it would be fair to expect my fellow holidaymakers to have to put up with me in a beach dress and flipflops all week.

They ask the holidaymakers to change them for them.We actually changed some for the porters in the Conrad when we had some LE.If you take some LE with you ask for 10s(£1) then you can use these.The rate in the hotel was better than here but we changed our money at Thomas Cook exchange in Naama bay.Its in the main street beneath the Dina Hotel.We got 9.96 last month.