Solo Everest Base Camp Trek: Single Supplement, the Guide from Lukla and What It Costs

Last updated 4 October 2026. Trek prices are read from our own booking system for the 12-day Everest Base Camp trek. Every total below shows its arithmetic, so you can check it or swap in your own numbers.

Most people who write to me about going alone ask the same thing in their first line: will I pay extra because there is only one of me? On the 12-day Everest Base Camp trek, no. You pay the same price per person as a couple, and there is no single supplement on the trek itself. A solo trip still costs differently in a few lines, so this page shows where, with one worked budget for each tier.

How much does Everest Base Camp cost for one person?

For one to four people the price per person is US$1,399 on Budget, US$2,499 on Standard and US$4,999 on Luxury. A solo trekker pays that first row. Here is the full table from the package page:

Group size	Budget	Standard	Luxury
1 to 4 people (a solo trekker pays this)	US$1,399	US$2,499	US$4,999
5 to 8 people	US$1,299	US$2,449	US$4,949
9 to 12 people	US$1,199	US$2,399	US$4,899
13 to 20 people	US$999	US$2,349	US$4,849

Two people on Standard pay 2 x 2,499 = US$4,998 between them, and one person pays US$2,499, so the per-person figure does not change. A bigger group saves little on Standard and Luxury: at 5 to 8 people it is 2,499 minus 2,449 = US$50 each. On Budget it is 1,399 minus 1,299 = US$100 each at 5 to 8, and 1,399 minus 999 = US$400 each at 13 to 20. Kathmandu hotels, international flights, the visa, meals on Budget, insurance and tips are outside the price.

Is there a single supplement for a solo trekker?

Not on this trek. A single supplement covers costs a pair would normally split, usually the guide and the room. On the 12-day Everest Base Camp trek the guide joins you from Lukla, so there is no single supplement. That is the rule I apply to this trek and I will not stretch it further.

Two limits. I mean the package on the 12-day Everest Base Camp page, and some of our other treks show a different price for one person, so read the page of the trek you want. And a single room in a Kathmandu hotel does cost more than half a double. We quote hotels separately on every tier. Other pages I read list a single-room upgrade as its own line; I cannot speak for their route, only for ours.

What does each tier do for a solo trekker?

The porter rule is written per tier, so it matters most to someone travelling alone. This is the rule for one person:

	Budget	Standard	Luxury
Porter for a solo trekker	None. Budget never has a porter.	None. Standard porters are shared, one per two trekkers, so a solo trekker has no porter. The guide carries up to 10 kg instead.	Your own dedicated porter, who carries up to 20 kg.
Meals on the trail	Not included	All meals	All meals and drinks (not alcohol)
Room	Shared teahouse room, as the tier is written	Private twin room with bathroom	Private deluxe room with a bed heater
Lukla transport	Round-trip flight	Round-trip flight	Round-trip helicopter

Standard is the row people miss. In a pair, one porter carries 20 kg for two trekkers, 10 kg each. A solo trekker has nobody to share with, so the guide takes up to 10 kg of your gear. On Budget I cannot promise from here that a solo trekker sleeps in a room alone, because the tier is written as a shared room. Ask us when you book.

The Lukla flight is inside the price on every tier. If you bought it yourself, Kathmandu to Lukla is about US$253 each way on our tickets, so the return is 2 x 253 = about US$506. Our guide to Nepal domestic flights has the fares and the baggage limit of about 10 kg checked plus 5 kg hand carry. If the airline delays you, the extra nights are yours to pay, so keep a spare day or two in Kathmandu.

Where do you still pay more when you go alone?

Three places, none of them a supplement on the trek.

The Kathmandu hotel. It is not in any tier. Our package page says guesthouses in Thamel start from about US$10 and the range runs up to five-star. Our family homestay is US$15 per person per night, which supports our learning centre; three nights is 3 x 15 = US$45. Tell us what you prefer and we quote it. I will not give a number for a hotel I have not quoted.

A porter of your own. On Standard an extra porter is US$25 a day, with 13 per cent VAT and a 3.5 per cent bank charge on top, never net. One day is 25 x 1.13 x 1.035 = US$29.24. Twelve days, as an illustration, is 12 x 25 = US$300 before tax and 300 x 1.13 x 1.035 = about US$351. We confirm the days in your written quote. One page I read quotes a flat US$220 and does not say whether tax is added, so ask whether any figure is net.

Tips, which are not split. Alone, the whole tip is yours. My cost guide suggests US$15 to US$20 a day for the guide, so 12 days is 12 x 15 = US$180 to 12 x 20 = US$240. A porter's suggested tip is US$10 to US$15 a day, so 12 x 10 = US$120 to 12 x 15 = US$180.

What does a one-person budget look like, tier by tier?

This is the table I wish every cost page had. It is one trekker, US dollars, and it leaves out your international flight and Kathmandu hotel, which I cannot price for you. Budget meals are counted for the 11 days on the trail, days 1 to 11 of the itinerary.

Line	Budget	Standard	Luxury
Trek price (1 to 4 rate)	1,399	2,499	4,999
Nepal visa, 30 days	50	50	50
Trail meals (Budget only): 11 days x 25 to 40	275 to 440	included	included
Guide tip: 12 days x 15 to 20	180 to 240	180 to 240	180 to 240
Porter tip: 12 days x 10 to 15	none	none	120 to 180
Travel insurance with altitude cover	50 to 180	50 to 180	50 to 180
Total, low	1,954	2,779	5,399
Total, high	2,309	2,969	5,649

The arithmetic. Budget low is 1,399 + 50 + 275 + 180 + 50 = 1,954, and high is 1,399 + 50 + 440 + 240 + 180 = 2,309. Standard low is 2,499 + 50 + 180 + 50 = 2,779, and high is 2,499 + 50 + 240 + 180 = 2,969. Luxury low is 4,999 + 50 + 180 + 120 + 50 = 5,399, and high is 4,999 + 50 + 240 + 180 + 180 = 5,649.

The visa is US$50 for 30 days (US$30 for 15), paid in dollars at the airport at the rates the Department of Immigration publishes. The Budget meal range is my own planning figure, set above the roughly US$15 to US$25 a day our package page gives for food alone, because drinks, showers, charging and wifi add up as you climb.

Now add your flight. Read the guide for your country: UK, USA, Australia, Germany, Canada, Finland or Sweden. Each has a flight snapshot and local costs.

Do you need a guide if you trek solo?

Every trek we run includes a licensed guide, so on ours the question does not change your price. Beyond that I want to be careful.

What I can source: on 22 March 2026 the Department of Immigration let solo trekkers take restricted-area permits, but only through a registered agency, with a licensed guide who accompanies you, the agency responsible for rescue, and at most 7 trekkers per guide. TIMS cards are issued through agencies, in a system run jointly by the Nepal Tourism Board and the trekking agencies' association since 1 January 2008, and we buy yours in Kathmandu. Everest Base Camp has three permits, the Sagarmatha National Park fee of NPR 3,000, the Khumbu municipality fee of NPR 3,000 and TIMS at NPR 2,000. That is NPR 8,000 in total, all inside our price.

What I will not do is quote a year for a general guide rule on the Everest trail. Some articles do, including some older ones of ours, and I have not found the regulation text myself. If you are thinking of going without a guide, confirm the current rule with the Nepal Tourism Board first. Our articles on trekking without a guide and whether solo trekking is banned set out the arguments.

What does the guide actually do for one person?

For a solo trekker the guide is your only walking partner, so they set the pace, watch you and decide when to stop.

• Pace. On day 1 the pace feels almost too slow, because 2,600 metres and 5,000 metres need the same habit.
• Carrying. On Standard the guide takes up to 10 kg of your gear. On Luxury you have your own porter, and on Budget you carry it all.
• Health checks. The guide carries a first aid kit with an oximeter to check your blood oxygen, and asks each evening how you feel, whether you have a headache and how much you drank.
• Rest days. The itinerary has two, at Namche Bazaar on day 3 and Dingboche on day 6. Kala Patthar is 5,545 m and base camp 5,364 m.
• Rescue. If you are ill, we arrange the evacuation and your insurance pays for it.

A sleeping bag rated to minus fifteen and a down jacket come free on every tier. For how acclimatisation works, read our guide to altitude sickness.

Is it safe to trek to Everest Base Camp alone?

It carries real risk, and I would rather say so. The main danger is altitude, and it does not care how fit you are. Alone, one person can notice that you are slowing down, your guide, and there is nobody else in your party to raise a concern.

That is why insurance is part of the trek. Cover must include helicopter evacuation up to 6,000 m and treatment at altitude. A helicopter from Base Camp to Kathmandu costs US$3,000 to US$5,000, which is yours to pay without it. We check your policy before departure. Read our guide to cover for Everest Base Camp and ask your insurer, in writing, whether it pays the helicopter directly or reimburses you.

How do solo trekkers meet other people?

More easily than you expect. In another article I put it at roughly 60 per cent of our trekkers arriving alone, and the teahouses do the work: a shared table, the same faces at breakfast, one question about where you started. The longer version is making friends on the trail.

If you want company, say so when you book. Our package page says that if you are travelling alone we can connect you with other solo trekkers and organise an open group trek, posted on our website so others can join. Separate private bookings are never merged, and a group is something you choose. Whether a departure exists for your dates, ask us. I will not list dates I cannot stand behind, or guess a group rate for you.

Is Everest Base Camp alone a good idea for a woman?

You are not walking alone on the trail, because the guide is with you each day. I wrote more in solo female trekking in Nepal. Practically: tell us in your first message what would make you comfortable, share your itinerary with someone at home, and message me on WhatsApp whenever you like, because I answer it myself. If you would rather talk to a woman in a European time zone first, our Europe representative, Shradha Simkhada, is in Espoo, Finland, on +358 45 353 8606 (in English).

When is trekking solo not a good idea?

• You want company all day. A guide is one person for 12 days. If you need more, ask about a group departure.
• You cannot spare a day or two. Lukla flights are weather dependent and the extra nights are yours alone to pay.
• You would skip the rest days. They are not optional. Skipping them is how most altitude problems start.
• You have a medical condition and have not asked a doctor who knows high altitude.
• Your budget only just covers the trek price. On Budget the lines around it add 1,954 minus 1,399 = US$555 to 2,309 minus 1,399 = US$910. If that breaks your budget, wait a season.
• You have never done a multi-day walk. The trek is graded strenuous, with 5 to 8 hours of walking a day. It can be a first trek, but train for it.

From our guides: what a price list will not tell you

• The solo porter rule, per tier. Most pages say a porter is included or not. For one person it depends on the tier, and Standard is the surprise.
• A worked solo budget. US$1,954 to US$2,309 on Budget, US$2,779 to US$2,969 on Standard and US$5,399 to US$5,649 on Luxury, before flights and Kathmandu.
• The extra porter is priced on top. US$25 a day becomes US$29.24 once 13 per cent VAT and the 3.5 per cent bank charge are added.
• Card or cash. On Standard the deposit is 10 per cent, US$249.90, and the balance is 2,499 minus 249.90 = US$2,249.10. By card, the 3.5 per cent charge is 2,249.10 x 0.035 = US$78.72, so US$2,327.82. In cash in Kathmandu it is US$2,249.10.
• Permits by name. Sagarmatha National Park, the Khumbu municipality fee and TIMS. Ask any company which permits are in its price by name.
• Bags. Mountain flights allow about 10 kg checked plus 5 kg hand carry, and the excess goes on a later flight if the aircraft is full. Leave the rest at our Kathmandu store, free for the length of your trek.

How do you pay, and what if your plans change?

A 10 per cent deposit confirms your booking and the balance is due in Kathmandu: on Budget the deposit is 10 per cent of 1,399 = US$139.90, and on Luxury 10 per cent of 4,999 = US$499.90. We bill in US dollars only, by card or cash. Card payments carry a 3.5 per cent bank charge and cash carries none. We cannot take Nepali rupees from foreign clients.

Please be clear on the terms before you pay. The deposit is non-refundable, and if you cancel there is no refund. What we do offer is free rescheduling, with at least 72 hours' notice, to any date within one year. If we cannot run the trip, we refund what you have paid, less taxes, bank and card charges and any money already spent on permits and flights.

Check us before you pay

You are sending money to a company in another country, so verify us rather than trusting a well-written page. We are The Everest Holiday Pvt. Ltd., registered in Nepal on 8 April 2016, TAAN member number 1586. You can check any Nepali operator through the Office of the Company Registrar, TAAN, the Department of Tourism licence register and the Nepal Rastra Bank forex certification. You can also read our over 300 reviews on TripAdvisor, Google and Trustpilot. Even fully licensed companies have been involved in scams, so a licence is a floor, not a guarantee.

Where do these figures come from?

Trek prices, inclusions and porter rules are from our own 12-day package page and booking system, read on 4 October 2026. The visa is from the Department of Immigration. Permits are from our checks against the Department of Immigration notice of 22 March 2026 and the Nepal Tourism Board TIMS page. Flights are from our domestic flights guide. Tips, insurance and trail costs are from our Everest Base Camp cost guide.

The questions solo trekkers ask me

Is the price different if I go alone? No. A solo trekker pays the 1 to 4 rate.

Do I get a porter on Standard if I am alone? No. Standard porters are shared, one per two trekkers, so the guide carries up to 10 kg instead. You can add your own at US$25 a day plus VAT and the bank charge.

Do I get a porter on Luxury if I am alone? Yes, your own dedicated porter. On Budget there is never a porter.

Is the Kathmandu hotel included? No, on no tier. It is quoted separately.

Can I pay in rupees? No, foreign clients pay in US dollars, by card or cash.

If you want the numbers run for your dates, message me on WhatsApp at +977 9810351300 or email [email protected]. I will give you the real figure, including the parts that are not in our favour.

About The Everest Holiday

We are a family company in Kathmandu, three generations of family guides, registered in 2016 and a member of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal, number 1586. When you book with us you deal with the family, not a call centre, and the guide who meets you at the airport works for the same people who answered your first message.

Every booking helps fund our Nagarjun Learning Center. We fully run the centre at Saldum, where 70 children learn with a teacher I pay for personally, and we have helped build and still support other community learning centres. It is where a real part of what you pay ends up.

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday and third-generation family guide. TAAN Member #1586.