What to Agree With Trekking Partners Before You Book

Most trekking partnerships that go wrong do not fail on the trail; they fail in the conversation that never happened before the booking. Before anyone pays an agency, agree in writing the route and dates, the pace and rest days, who decides to turn back, how costs are split and paid, what insurance each person holds and what happens if someone leaves. A single page covers it, takes an hour to write and turns most of the arguments you would otherwise have at 4,400 m into a sentence you can point to.

This guide is a template for that page. It draws on our route data and dated costs, as of October 2026, so each item comes with a number or a rule you can check. It assumes you have already met and vetted your partner using our vetting checklist and safety guide, and it is for people who have decided to go ahead.

1. The route, the dates and the plan

Name the exact route and the version of it. "Everest Base Camp" and "Everest Base Camp with Gokyo" are different treks with the same permits, and "Annapurna Circuit" can end at Jomsom, Tatopani or Pokhara. Agree:

• Route and day count. Our plan for Everest Base Camp is 12 days, the Annapurna Circuit 14 and Annapurna Base Camp 7.
• Start and end dates, with the Kathmandu or Pokhara nights before and after.
• Spare days. How many, where they sit and who can use them. See buffer days and itinerary flexibility.
• Flights and transport. Who books them, and what happens if a flight is cancelled.

Permits depend on this page. Permits are issued for a named route and dates, and for restricted areas such as Manaslu and Upper Mustang the agency must list every trekker, so a late change costs time.

2. Pace and rest days

Mismatched pace is the commonest cause of friction, and altitude makes it a safety matter. Agree that the pace is that of the slowest person on the day, and that nobody is expected to prove fitness by walking ahead. Agree the rest days in advance and that they are not negotiable. Above 3,000 m, the CDC cites guidance of no more than 500 m of sleeping-altitude gain a night and an extra night for every 1,000 m gained, and the NHS adds a rest day every 3 to 4 days at 3,000 m or more. A partner who says "I feel fine, let's skip Dingboche" is the partner to talk to before the trek, not on it. See the acclimatisation schedule.

3. Who decides to turn back

This is the item people avoid, and the one that matters most. Write a rule. A workable version: any member can call a stop; a stop for symptoms means resting at the same altitude; and worsening symptoms, or none improved after a day, means descending, as the NHS advises, about 300 to 1,000 m. Confusion, loss of balance, breathlessness at rest and a wet cough mean going down at once; see HAPE and HACE warning signs. Agree who accompanies a person who descends, and what happens to the rest of the group. Our guide to what happens if your partner cannot continue goes through the options.

Also agree the weather rule: who decides about a pass day, and what the turnaround time is. The guide has the final say on conditions, and the group agrees to follow it.

4. Money: what is shared and how it is paid

Write down the split of each shared line: the guide, the porters, any vehicle. The convention is to divide the guide equally among those who use it, the porter among those whose bags it carries and the vehicle among the riders. Our guide to splitting guide and porter costs shows what that means in numbers. For Everest Base Camp, the guide and porter lines together fall from about USD 451 to 665 per person for one trekker to USD 156 to 236 for four, as of October 2026.

Agree the mechanics too:

• Who pays the agency, and when. Pay the agency directly, ideally at a registered office, and never send money in advance to someone you have not met.
• Who reimburses whom, by what date and in which currency. Costs in our data are stored in NPR and often quoted in USD at about NPR 134.
• Permits. Each person pays their own, and nationality changes the amount; for example, the Sagarmatha park permit is NPR 3,000 for foreigners and NPR 1,500 for SAARC nationals.
• Tips. The total and how it is divided.
• Cancellation. What happens to deposits if someone withdraws before the trek.

5. The agency, the guide and the paperwork

Decide who will choose the agency and by what criteria, and make sure everybody sees the same written quote before anyone pays. The quote should show what is included and what is not. Check the licence of the guide and the registration of the agency. Restricted areas need an agency and a guide as part of the permit; for national parks and conservation areas the Nepal Tourism Board April 2023 rule requires one and 2026 operator reports say checkpoints enforce it, except in Khumbu (checked 19 October 2026); see the guide rule explainer. Agree who holds the group paperwork and keep a photographed copy of everyone's permit on every phone.

6. Insurance and emergencies

Everyone needs cover that includes trekking to the highest altitude of the route and helicopter evacuation; our Everest route page lists insurance covering helicopter evacuation to about 6,000 m among the things to arrange. Exchange policy numbers and the insurer's emergency number, and agree where they are kept. Agree an emergency contact for each person at home, and what you will tell them. Read the HRA clinics guide so everyone knows where help is.

7. Communication and privacy

Agree how you will keep in touch before the trek and on it: a messaging group, who posts the daily check-in and how you will cope with no signal. Decide what you will share with family. Agree boundaries around photographs and social media: some people do not want their face or location posted. If you met through our platform, remember that the platform does not collect or hold any money and that you decide what to share.

8. Comfort, food and daily habits

Small habits become big irritations at altitude. Agree whether you share a room (it halves the room cost only where rooms are priced per room and two of you actually take one twin room; food is never shared), your approach to early starts, snoring and light, what time dinner is and whether you eat the same dishes to help the kitchen. Our dal bhat guide explains why many groups do.

9. The exit plan

Write down what happens if someone leaves: how the costs are divided, who tells the agency, who takes the permit paperwork, and what the remaining group does. Agree what happens if the whole group has to abandon the trek, and what you will do if you disagree. A sensible default is a trial: if after three days anyone is unhappy, you can talk, and if it cannot be resolved the partnership ends fairly. Our partner red flags guide lists the warning signs that justify leaving.

A one-page template

Route and dates: ... Spare days: ... Rest days: ... Pace rule: the slowest person sets it. Turn-back rule: any member can call a stop; worsening symptoms mean descent. Costs: guide split ..., porter split ..., vehicle split ..., permits individual. Payment: agency paid by ... on ..., reimbursed by ... in ... by ... Insurance: each holds trekking and helicopter cover, numbers shared. Communication: ... If someone leaves: ...

Write it, send it to each other and keep it on your phones. Our partner guide covers the first steps before the agreement, and the Everest cost breakdown shows the budget it sits on.