when we was over there we gave £1 to coach drivers and man who takes cases to room. pool attendants,waiters,room cleaners and bar staff got £10 each at the end of our holiday and they was over the moon with this.
what ever you give will be appreciated

Beware if you go with First Choice as the chap who puts the cases in the coach is NOT employed by First Choice or its agents (bus company) It is not as we believed the driver. Any problems and they wash their hands immediately as he is not covered by their insurance (unforseen act by third party not connected with carrier or agents) as in their Terms and conditions.

What is the best currency to tip in?

Does anyone know if its possible to get $1 notes at the banks/travel agents? We`ve got some small notes leftover from last year, would like to get a few $1 just incase we don`t have time at airport to change any more. thanks

We ahve recently returned from First choice Nile cruise. I was convinceed our cases would not be put on boord shiop as we did not have money to tip the man putting the cases on the coach. He was not very happy at all that we did not give a tip. We had only just changed money at the airport and did not think until later that we could have given English money.
Having waited over an hour for our bags to arrive I did not even think of posts I had read about this.
I really think First Choice should put a stop to this or at least advise you , they have an opportunity when they had you your paper work at the airport.
Our bags were outside the room when we arrived much to our relief.
Spoke to a few people during the week who felt the same as us. Luckily no one went without their luggage though.!

You are being very generous! Little & often is the best way to tip. LE 1 or LE2 each time you buy a drink or whatever is fine. You will see the wealthier egyptians who holiday in the hotels themselves doing exactly that. Tipping too much makes them greedy & they expect more & more.

MS Cruises do a scheme where you pay one lump sum and it gets split between all the staff (including the ones you dont see). Other than that, the general rule is 'tip for service', but remember that taking your photo for you is a service, as are many other things.

The worst is being expected to tip for using dirty toilets. Clean ones got a bigger tip from me.

As for disrupting the economy, many of the people you encounter are dependent on tips, and their pay is based on the assumption that they will get tips.

The area around the Pyramids is the very worst. Every few metres someone asks for money.

One thing we had from our guide is that you should not give money to children, because it encourages them to skip school. If you want to give them something, then pens (even cheap bics) are much appreciated.

Hi,

Off to El Gouna in a few days, can I just ask `do any of your tip the Hotel Reception Members of Staff`? Especially is they are veyr helpful.

Thanks

Why not? If you think that there service you've been given is worthy of giving a tip then do so. My attitude to tipping is to do it if it feels right rather than feeling you have to even when the service has been lousy. Last year I even found myself tipping the policeman who had escorted me and my family on our day trip to the Coloured Canyon and Dahab. He did his utmost to ensure that we were safe and not hassled by keeping a discrete distance as we wandered around and was certainly worthy of tipping - although I did feel a little uneasy about slipping a copper a few bob , but the tour guide (who I also tipped along with the driver) said it was OK.

Frazz

It's your money so you can give it whoever you want.
Sometimes holidaymakers tip with (British) pound coins and I've had reception staff ask me if I would exchange these for Egyptian currency for them - so some people certainly tip the receptionists..

Thanks, I think i was just a bit worried that they might not be allowed tips as they seem to have slightly better jobs than the cleaners and waiters etc, didn`t want to get anyone into trouble.

We are off to Egypt (Coral Sea Resort) next month & wondered what is the average amount to tip in our Hotel (notes or coins)? Can you offend by over tipping?

Thanks

Stix

Off to Sharm for the first time next week and have gleaned a lot of knowledge from this site - thank you one and all!

Just one query if I may. I appreciate the need for tipping given the average wage etc but how much is the right amount? I normally add about 10% for meals, taxis but what about the towel guys, maids etc?

Don't want to appear mean or an easy touch!

take plenty of £1 coins and give them only when you think its deserved ,£1 over there is equal to 11 pounds eygptian so its a big thank you to them

Actually, £1 coins are not a good idea at all. They cannot change them in banks so have to rely on british tourists changing them for them. Egyptian currency is widely available in Britain and when you are in resort.
I can just imagine the response from british service staff if they were tipped in Egyptian pound coins!

I agree with carrot, we were in the mall in sharm and a poor guy was asking all British to change this pound coin, we declined at first thinking it was a ploy to get us in his shop to sell something. But he got so distressed that my hubby gave him the £11 Egyptian pounds, he was so thankful.

Some gratuities are added on the bill already, so check it first, everything on the menu eg, starters will have tax added to it, the dinner will have tax added to it and the same with the dessert or drinks. It all adds up the same, but they do it different to the UK.

Even if gratuities are added (service charge) i sometimes istill give more, but yes 10% is fine.

Enjoy your holidays.

£1 coins are a really bad idea, we changed two lots for our room cleaner. We tended to hand out the small notes that equate to pennies in stirling on a regular basis to the Pool guys and our room cleaner. Although in the restaurant we did tip £5 when we arrived and another at the beginning of the second week. When we ate out we did'nt tip at all in Hard Rock Cafe or the Tandoor as 10% service charge was included in the bill. I know compared to ourselves they are poorly paid, but then again they are much better off than a lot of others in Egypt.