Travelling in Nepal is generally cheap and efficient by Western standards however, the inexperienced traveller should note that being a tourist anywhere, invites less scrupulous locals to try to take advantage. So for instance, when passing out of Kathmandu's international terminal at Tribhuvan Airport in particular, be prepared for unofficial porters to make straight for your cases / trolley and try to get you into a taxi whose driver has a deal going with them and probably with a hotel as well. If you are not firm in declining their assistance or do not agree a fair price for portering and the taxi ride beforehand, expect to be ripped-off. Much better for the weary traveller (and more cost-effective) is to arrange in advance to be collected at the airport and transferred smoothly to your hotel.

Whether you're back-packing on a shoe string budget or holidaying in style, it is easier and less expensive to book transfers and rooms in advance. Booking online for example, frequently means you can get a more favourable discount on the price. After a long journey and particularly if arriving at night, the last thing most travellers want to do is to ferry around looking for suitable accommodation as the taxi driver does his utmost to convince you to stay at a hotel he knows - which will probably be less suited and more expensive than you need - regardless of the sales patter.

Generally, you can often spot a rip-off coming when some kindly individual begins asking whether this is your first visit, whether you've booked a hotel / tour or visited his village etc etc. Simply checking whether you've a sun tan and if so, how much, will indicate how recently you've arrived. Of course, the overwhelming majority of Nepalis are decent and highly honourable - a sense of ethics and honour are hallmarks of Nepali culture - but where tourists congregate, so too do the minority hoping to profit from their unfamiliarity with exchange rates / thecosts of transport, accommodation and so forth. This is most noticeable outside Tribhuvan Airport.

In some parts of the main tourist areas, street hawkers will try to sell you 'carved statues' which turn out to be moulded resin weighted with stones inside or toys at inflated prices. Stall holders might describe souvenirs as '500 years old' and 'solid silver' - until you point out that it is rightly illegal to take antiques out of Nepal (and that the object is made of cheap metal which has been tin-plated or chrome-plated to look like silver). Nepali craftsmen are easily able to make an object look older than it actually is. Generally, if you respond with a smile and just say 'come off it!', as often as not you'll get a smile back, an 'Okay.' and you'll be left alone. This is true the world over.

When shopping, either get local advice on how to haggle prices or take a trusted Nepali with you to negotiate - particularly on larger purchases such as silk rugs, thankas (scroll paintings) or some of the gorgeous Tibetan and Nepalese jewellery. Prices are rarely 'fixed prices' - which means what it says - and whilst prices for tourists are usually quoted at appreciably higher rates than for locals, it is important to strike a fair price to both you and the seller bearing in mind that prices are still bargains at full tourist prices compared with western prices and the haggling process offers plenty of opportunity to make a small personal contribution to lessening the economic gap between Nepal and the outside world. In the majority of cases, Nepali traders believe that the first customer of the day is a sign of good luck and almost always they will insist on giving you a small gift in addition to what you have already bought. As elsewhere in Asia, many transactions take place over a cup of tea or a cold drink.