Guided Everest Base Camp packages generally run between USD 1,300 and USD 2,200. That is a wide range, and the difference is almost never the mountain — it is group size, hotel standard, whether Lukla flights are included, and how many days the operator gives you to acclimatise. Here is where the money actually goes.

Permits

Two are required in the Khumbu: the Sagarmatha National Park entry permit and the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality permit. There is no TIMS card requirement inside the Khumbu municipality. Both are included in our package price and processed before you fly.

Flights to Lukla

This is the single largest variable. During peak season Lukla flights depart from Ramechhap (Manthali) rather than Kathmandu, which means a four-hour road transfer starting around 1am. Flights are weather-dependent and cancellations are common, particularly in the afternoon. Always budget for at least one buffer day in Kathmandu before your international flight, and be aware that a helicopter transfer — the usual fallback when fixed-wing flights are grounded — is a paid extra.

Guide and porter

A licensed guide and a porter shared between two trekkers is the standard we run. Their wages, insurance, food, lodging and equipment are all inside your package price, not deducted from their pay. If a quote looks unusually cheap, this is normally where the saving has been found, and it is not a saving you want to be part of.

Teahouses and food on the trail

Accommodation and three meals a day on trek are included in our price. What is not: hot showers, Wi-Fi, battery charging and bottled drinks, all of which get steadily more expensive with altitude. Budget USD 10–20 a day for these if you want them. Carrying a filter bottle instead of buying bottled water saves money and keeps plastic off the trail.

What a cheap itinerary actually costs you

Twelve-day EBC itineraries are widely sold and they compress acclimatisation to a degree we consider unsafe. Our fifteen-day schedule includes two full acclimatisation days, at Namche (3,440m) and Dingboche (4,410m). The three extra days are the cheapest insurance you will buy on this trip.

Our 15-day Everest Base Camp Trek starts at USD 1,499 including permits, guide, porter, all trek meals and accommodation. If you want the same region with fewer people on the trail, compare it against the Gokyo Ri Trek.