Trekking in Nepal will be as expensive as you allow it to be. You can trek through Nepal for as little as we did or you can opt to go with a tour agency and then be prepared to give away more than $ 1 500. Whether you decide to trek in Nepal with or without a guide, here are our best tips on how to save money while trekking in Nepal.
Would you like to learn how to plan your trips more efficiently? Check our Reverse Travel Planning Strategy and let us know wat you think.
1) Don´t buy water on the trek
If you want to save a load of money bring some kind of product that you can clean your water with. Your options are quite wide. You can use SteriPen, water purification tablets or Lifestraw. We brought water purification tablets with us and it was completely fine. We never felt sick or have any other health issue. Considering you should drink at least 2 litres of water while trekking, with a cost of water around 2-5 dollars per a bottle, you can save a lot of money while trekking in Nepal simply by cleaning your water.
2) Stay in smaller lodges
If you want to save money while trekking in Nepal, prefer lodges without tours. Tours usually stay in the biggest and best lodges in the villages. That is the reason why those hotels charge more for accommodation, than the smaller ones. So if you want to save money on trekking in Nepal, it is better to choose the lodges where tours don´t go. Not only you save a little bit of money, but you help smaller owners by supporting their local business.
3) Don´t drink alcohol
Alcohol is super expensive everywhere on Everest Base Camp trek. A bottle of a local beer can cost between 350 – 700 rupees. A glass of wine on the trail usually cost around 500 rupees. So abstinence is the answer to saving money while trekking in Nepal. Alcohol is not good for your acclimatisation anyway, because it slows down the whole process of acclimatization. So help your health and purse by being sober.
4) Don´t shower
Hot water gets more expensive higher you get. It is not surprising fact given by the altitude and the fact, that lodges usually runs electricity thanks to solar panels. So not only that hot water is expensive but you are not guaranteed to get hot water. Use baby wipes instead. It works like magic 🙂 Think about it as a part of the experience. A hot shower will be the best reward after you complete the trek.
5) Trek independently
There is no real reason for trekking Everest Base Camp with a guide unless you are an inexperienced hiker, you go alone or you want to trek the passes. The trail to Everest base camp is well pawed, easy to find, and hundreds people are trekking every day, so you always have someone to ask if you get lost. But seriously, there is no way to get lost if you stay on the trail. If you are brave enough you can save another significant money on porter if you don’t mind carrying your backpack.
6) Don´t recharge your devices
Charging your phone, laptop or camera gets more expensive as you get higher. In Lukla, charging was free, compared to 800 NPR for an hour of charging in Gorak shep. So if you want to save money on trekking in Nepal, buy a power bank instead or stay away from electronic devices for two weeks.
7) Disconnect from the outside world
I mean no wifi, no Instagram, no Facebook and so on, you get the point. Trekking is about you on the trail, trust me, social media will wait. Disconnect from society and save a lot of money by not purchasing expensive wifi. Buy a local sim card in case you need to call your family and have a way how to contact people in case you are in some troubles.
8) Bring your toilet paper
It looks like the small unimportant thing to bring with you. But as we learn on the trek, everything needs to be brought to the altitude on the backs of sherpas and porters. So even the smallest seemingly unimportant thing can get much more expensive higher you go.
9) Bring your snacks
Not only we saved money by not buying lunches on the trail, but we also have our food in case we got hungry. Pack small snacks like packs of nuts, dried fruits or chocolate bars.
10) Eat local food
If you buy pizza or pasta on the trail, be ready to pay a little bit more. If you stick with traditional Nepali food like momos, noodles or fried rice, you save quite a lot of money. The only Nepali dish that was quite expensive was surprisingly Dal Bhat. After half of the trek, the Dal Bhat cost usually around 800 NPR, compared to momos for 400 NPR or fried noodles that cost around 500 NPR.
11) Bring your tea bags
Unsurprisingly, it gets cold during the trek. So, you get cold a lot and when you get the only lifesaver is a hot tea. We drank probably ten teas a day. When you think that one small tea cost around 1 dollar you save quite a lot of money by bringing your tea bags. That way you can purchase just hot water, which is significantly cheaper.
12) Start your trek early
Starting your trek early have so many advantages. The weather is so much better early in the morning, the views are exceptional. There are fewer people on the trail, so it does not feel that crowded and perfect for pictures. Also, you are ahead of all tours and travellers so you get a better chance to choose the accommodation of your liking. That way you get a better chance to find cheaper accommodation.
Did you do the Everest base camp trek? Do you agree with our tips? Let us know in the comment section down below and if you like it, we would love if you could share this post with your friends.
