Alaska Excursions and Tipping Questions

[sadiemom]

How do you guys handle tipping for the excursions in Alaska? We've done this plenty of times on previous cruises/trips/excursions, usually giving the tour guide cash at the end. Just wondering, since we are a family of 6 and since the Alaska excursions are quite pricey, the tip amount would be significant. Do you carry that much cash with you (ex. excursion $300 x 6 = $1800, so if you tip 20% that would be $360)? FYI, we have one excursion through Disney and two are private that we booked on our own.

Also, just out of curiosity and nosiness, how much do you think most people tip on excursions? I know, it's optional, depends on your experience and how good the guide is, etc, etc... I'm just being nosy, so no need to comment on this question if you don't feel comfortable or feel it's inappropriate!!

Thanks all!!

 

[Disneyfam854]

I would say depends on the service given and type of excursion package -possibly just me and will get backlash, but I would never pay that much of a tip ($360 as posted example). The excursions are already ridiculously priced so you are already paying for that experience. If it included a shuttle transport and then a guide, I would not tip 20% to a shuttle driver that is not even performing the bulk of the experience. We usually tip $5-10 per person to the person guiding the tour, and $1-2 to driver and again will adjust depending on how well the experience was overall.

 

[Doingitagain]

We tip 20% for a personal or small group guided excursion. When it is a large excursion and the guide is working with a large group of people, we tip based on quality and length of excursion, but generally $10-$50.

 

[Aby]

For group excursions, we usually tip 5-10$ per person.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Many guides take Venmo these days.

You need to factor tip into your booking choices.

 

[MomOTwins]

I feel like so much of this depends on the nature of the excursions, and the extent of the personal service provided.

By "private" do you mean, you booked it outside of Disney, or is it truly private (e.g., you hired a tour guide/driver to individually take you around the Yukon; or a private whale watch tour on a small boat for just your travel party). If truly private, I do think it is customary to tip around 15-20% even though that adds up to a lot; that's part of what makes the private experience so pricey--you don't have others with you in the group to split the cost.

For group excursions (disney or independent) there are usually dozens of people and the personal service is very limited. When you have a ratio of 50+ people to one tour guide/driver, it'd be absurd for everyone to tip 20%. For those, we usually give around $20.

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

I agree with MomOTwins and generally do a flat amount if it is one of those large excursions (which all of mine happen to be).

 

[CaptainAmerica]

How do you guys handle tipping for the excursions in Alaska? We've done this plenty of times on previous cruises/trips/excursions, usually giving the tour guide cash at the end. Just wondering, since we are a family of 6 and since the Alaska excursions are quite pricey, the tip amount would be significant. Do you carry that much cash with you (ex. excursion $300 x 6 = $1800, so if you tip 20% that would be $360)? FYI, we have one excursion through Disney and two are private that we booked on our own.

Also, just out of curiosity and nosiness, how much do you think most people tip on excursions? I know, it's optional, depends on your experience and how good the guide is, etc, etc... I'm just being nosy, so no need to comment on this question if you don't feel comfortable or feel it's inappropriate!!

Thanks all!!

20% is a restaurant tip, not a tour guide tip on a $300 tour.

Also keep in mind that some of these excursions are really multiple excursions bundled together. Your whale watching guide, your glacier guide, your bus driver, etc. might all be different people even though you booked it as a single excursion.