Currency and Gratuity for Guide and Driver
We are on this tour August 2. These countries use four different currencies - I know of people who have used ATM's and their card was compromised - when they arrived home they discovered that they had additional charges. I am considering taking a small amount of currency for each country for incidental purchases such as a bottle of water or a glass of wine etc. However - I am curious to know what currency you have used to tip the Guide and the Bus Driver?
I would appreciate your input.
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Comments
I've never had an issue with an ATM. I only use ATMs attached to a bank or in an airport. I avoid free-standing ATMs or those in bodega-like stores (except Japan, 7-11 is OK).
I did this trip about 10 years ago. The only currency I had, besides USD, was Euros (which I always have a supply of at home from previous trip). I used credit cards in the non-Euro countries, including a taxi in Warsaw.
I tip in a local currency, if I have left over (except Euros, which I keep), and the balance in USD.
We are going on that tour this May. We have a small amount of each currency, but always tip in USD. If we have any extra of the foreign currency, we will include that in the tip money as well.
This is often discussed here and you will get all the answers - as we all have different opinions on this topic.
Just as when in the USA, we tip in dollars (as do foreign tourists here) - when we are in another country, we tip in their local currency to keep it easy for them so they don't have to exchange it (which does cost them money). We find out what country they live in and tip in that currency. Although, if they are directing a tour or driving a bus in a country they don't live in, they can certainly use the currency of the country they work in.
We go to Europe 1-2 times per yr and always take money out of official ATMs (NOT exchange kiosks & EuroNets where you will accrue extra charges) - we have NEVER had an issue when using official ATMs. That said, they will happily take any cash you give them, but they certainly appreciate the currency they use so they don't have to exchange it. Just be sure and do the conversion if you tip in American dollars.
Eutopia - you do the best you can when tipping guides. We're leaving next week for France - I'm assuming the TD and bus driver are French, so I expect to tip in Euros. But it's never quite that simple. In Morocco, our guide was American, but lived in Spain. In Switzerland, our guide was Welsh but lived in Sweden! I think if you are anywhere on the European continent, Euros are acceptable for tips. Those TDs move around!
My husband is Canadian, and we travel there at least 2x/year to visit family. We always have a wallet with leftover cash to use on our visits. I suspect Europeans may keep some local currencies in the same way. Those Hungarian forints won't be good anywhere but Hungary!
Until Tauck figures out a simpler way to manage tipping, this is all we can do. I'm sure that things will change in the future - I know my own children rarely carry cash and don't spend money without getting some kind of "reward" back on their cards. Tauck will undoubtedly change with the times as we become an even more cashless society.
If all tips were included then the problem would be solved immediately. I still hear people talking tips on tours and it’s obvious some don’t want to tip recommended amounts.
The TD’s I have talked to prefer cash. I have only sixteen trips with Tauck, versus British’s forty plus, but I always tip in dollars. The TD’s know where to exchange money at the best rate if they need to do so. In many countries the local currency is “local”. You cannot spend Tanzania schillings in Kenya or vice versa. Dollars are easy to exchange almost anywhere. Traveling cashless is a very bad idea. We had lunch in Granada one time (four of us) and my credit card got cancelled and no one had cash nor another credit card. I was finally able to convince CitiCards to do what they said they could not do which was reactivate the card. If that didn’t happen we were either washing dishes or going to jail.
I always tip in United States Dollars. If I’m not mistaken, all of the final documents I have read implies to tip in U.S. dollars. The documents you receive have never ever suggested to tip in another currency. What am I not understanding? When tipping in another currency, it could mean that one may not be tipping the suggested U.S. currency equivalent. On the two upcoming trips I am taking in May, it plainly reads: 15.00 per day per person for the tour director and 10.00 per person per day for the bus driver in U.S. currency.
You are correct Ourtravels, dollars are always stated for tours. It’s obvious many people do not read all the Tauck documents. Crazy when these tours cost so much money and information is not thoroughly read.
The final docs from Tauck state the amount in dollars or the equivalent in local currency. Our Italy guide was fine with dollars as she lives in Venice but is American and travels to the US often. She said tipping the driver in dollars is problematic. She stated the ant-laundering activities make exchanging them for dollars a real chore. According to her the bank scans each bill front and back and it’s a very long process.