💷 Everest Base Camp Trek – Spending Money Guide
- lakeldmtnguides
- Feb 16
- 2 min read
Your meals and accommodation are included in your trek package, but you will still need to carry some personal spending money for drinks, snacks, charging, Wi-Fi, and café stops along the trail to Everest Base Camp.
The café stops on the trail are particularly good, and at a guess there are at least 10 different opportunities to visit one (or more!) throughout the trip.
The below information has been put together as a guide, and the amount you spend is incredibly individual. If you aren't one for needing lots of extra snacks, WIFI or charging then the spending is greatly reduced.
💰 How much cash should I bring?
As a guide recommendation:
Minimum: £200 (Careful spending)
Recommended: £280–£320 per person
Comfortable amount: £350
This should cover typical personal purchases during our trek
☕ Drinks & café stops
Additional Hot drinks on top of what we already provide are one of the most common daily expenses.
Typical prices on the trail:
Tea or instant coffee: £1.50–£3
Espresso/latte in larger villages: £2.50–£4.50
Hot chocolate: £2.50–£4
Cake or pastry in bakeries: £2–£4
A drink and cake stop usually costs £5–£8.
Many trekkers spend £4–£8 per day on hot drinks alone.
We advise against drinking alcohol whilst ascending, but on your way back down you may wish to celebrate with a beer or two at Namche, or Lukla. Expect to pay £4-£6 per beer.
💧 Typical bottled water price (1 litre)
Across the trek you can expect roughly:
Lower villages (Lukla, Phakding, Namche): £0.60–£1.30
Mid-trail (Tengboche, Dingboche): £1.30–£2.00
High altitude (Lobuche, Gorak Shep / near Base Camp): £2.00–£3.30
We encourage the use of water purification to not only reduce your costs, but to save the use of single use plastic up on the trail. This is with the exception of the final 2 days from Lobuche to Gorak Shep and back. Here, we believe even with purification the risk is too high so we recommend you buying bottled water. Budget about £15-£20 for this.
🍫 Snacks
Chocolate, biscuits, and trail snacks become more expensive the higher you go.
Expect £2.50–£8 per day depending on appetite
Bringing a few snacks from Kathmandu or home can save money
📶 Wi-Fi
Most teahouses offer paid Wi-Fi.
Typically £2.50–£6.50 per day.
Speeds can be slow and best for messaging only over uploading videos
Most bakeries have free Wi-Fi for customers, so you may choose to use their Wi-Fi whilst there, rather than buying additional time at the teahouse.
🔋 Charging devices
Electricity is solar-powered or generator-based, so charging is not free.
Phone charge: £1.50–£4
Power bank: £3–£5
Budget £1.50–£5 per day.
A large power bank helps reduce this cost.
🧾 Typical daily personal spending
Careful spender: £7–£10 per day
Average trekker: £12–£18 per day
Coffee every day + extras: £18–£25 per day
💡 Important notes
There are no ATMs beyond Namche Bazaar, and they are unreliable
Please bring cash in Nepalese rupees, withdrawn in Kathmandu if possible
Keep small notes handy for teahouses
This guide does NOT include the listed figure needed for tipping our trekking team.
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