One of the biggest riddles of global travel isn’t which airline to fly, where to stay or even which restaurants to dine in — plenty of travel guides and websites are eager to offer up advice and pricing options on that. But how do you figure out, once at your destination, where and how much to tip? Just as customs and cultures vary in each country, so do tipping habits and expectations. In this infographic, we give you the basics on tipping etiquette, country by country, as well as a detailed guide on how much you’re expected to tip for various services here in the United States.
For more world infographic fun see: Medical Tourism Map: Where Patients Go to Save
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32 Comments so far
leave a commentWait, are you supposed to tip twice on wine? I don’t think I understand that part.
If a sommelier recommends a bottle of wine, and you buy it, it shows up on your restaurant bill. You add 20% on the total restaurant bill. You’re done right?
Are you supposed to walk over and hand the sommelier extra money?
Who wrote this inaccurate info-graphic?
Tipping in AU 10%-20% what ever. I live in Australia. People generally do not tip.
The most people would usually tip is “keep the change”. Eg buy something for $9.95, hand over a $10 note, the person gets 5 cents.
On the whole Australia is not a tipping country.
I have never paid a tip and I never will. If someone says this will cost me $X then I am paying $X. Why should I pay more than the advertised price?
Its actually law here now that all advertised prices must have all fees and surcharges included. Businesses are not allowed to say for example $X + TAX, or even 4 payments of $X. They must display the full cost the person can expect to pay.
Ditto, John, but for Italy.
The service fee is already in the bill (usually 2-5 € a person), and is clearly noted on the menu. No one ever tips, except maybe to “round up” if paying cash. But the more common method is for the restaurant to “round down” when asking you to pay the bill!
Exception, tourists! Less scrupulous Italian wait staff have been known to hint to tourists that it’s okay and customary to leave a generous tip. Or, worse, to add an “SVV tax” to the bill. (SVV stands for “se va, va”, “if it goes, it goes”, meaning, “this might just work to get me a little extra”)
Then there’s the other side of the story: With expectations stated in the article, how do various categories of patrons respond?
Being from Spain, I travel to Germany and France (where I also lived) often and the info provided is pure rubbish.
Germany: “Dollars are accepted”. What sort of stupidity is that? No one, ever, will accept anything other than Euros in Germany, or anywhere else in the Euro area.
About France: “Locals usually tip 10%. Visitors are not expected to tip.” Are you serious? Are you saying that in Paris, restaurants expect fewer tips from Visitors than from Locals? This is as much as saying that in New York, if you are a visitor, you are not expected to tip 20%, because of the culture difference, you know…
Remove this misleading post.
Um, someone fill the Canadians in on this. As a rule, they tip around 10% when visiting here in the states.
Re. Argentina ‘Dollars are not recommended’ -> Do you mean tourists are not recommended to carry dollars around ?
OR
Dollars wouldn’t be accepted as tip ?
While carrying dollars around might be a little bit risky, it is because the green notes are somewhat of a commodity.
No Argentine in their right minds would turn down a crispy buck.
I am sorry but your information is wrong about France. People don’t tip, ever, because there is a 15% gratuity included in bars and restaurants. You may leave a bit to cab drivers, if they are exceptionnally good, or in bar if the service is way above what was expected. But as a general rule, no tip.
Th eproblem with publishing such data is that it sets expectations in the service indutry and among patrons.
I don’t see why someone is ‘expected’ to leave a 10% tip at a restaurant for poor service. Service has been rendered with an expectation of a tip for doing a good job. If you can’t, then that tip should be forfeit.
In india its different….
when u go to small establlishment the less famous ones… we tip out of genorosity…
People wokring in a restaurant, also stay there, they work and sleep in same restaurant…… where law are stricter they sleep just outside….
these people work hard to provide for their famalies back in their home town…
and already they get paid less….
this goes for the hardworking people….
but for other services like say, movers, sweepers etc…
we tip but not in money…..
we provide leftover foods, old clothes..
its more commonly known as “Chai pani” as in tea and water…
many of these people mostly work for sake of being alive…
if we give them money, they just spend it on alcohol or cigrattes,….
rather than saving in bank, which is all to way a diffebernt thing for poor, uneducated people as most of them dont keep a bank account….
so we tip/donate them with say..
clothes: so what he actually earns can be saved for better purpose to provide for family
food: so that his money doesnt go to food or he can surprise his kids with better food …..
Tipping means money you tight-arse.
Being swiss and living in Switzerland, I can tell you that 15% tip is completely wrong! In Switzerland people working in restaurant are making enough money to live and the tip is called “pourboire” meaning “for drinking” (the idea is that the person could buy a drink after work with this money). So leaving the change to round up the bill is enough. If you want to be nice and the service was good, leave 5%.
BTW, if you see the prices in Switzerland, you would probably not tip 15% anyway
Colombia
Delivery guys, and people in restaurants:
check your bill, if it doesn’t include the tip, add 10%, never less than US$1
Hotels:
Anything between US$3 and US$10 y ok! (Give US$20 and you’ll be a celebrity)
Hong Kong
Be aware that service charges are not what they seem. All restaurants and pubs charge a 10% service charge but this goes directly to the owner’s pocket and is never ever given to the staff. Most customers give about 10% directly to the wait staff which is usually put in the pot for all the staff to share ( excluding the owner).
Tips are important because Minimum wage is a joke- if a minimum is given then time off for toilet breaks and meals is deducted from wages- also there are no overtime rates and often no overtime pay at all.
Taxis are very cheap and it’s not worth the hassle of getting less than $2 HK change -much better to round off to the nearest $5 for good service. (in 8 years here I have only had 2 ripoff drivers – the rest were hardworking and keen to get the next fare).
You left out the largest country in the world… Where is Russia?
Australian here.
We do not tip because our minimum wage here is 2-3 times that of the USA, our heath care system work and our kids don’t have to worry about college fees.
Any visitors to Australia please note – your tipping customs are NOT WELCOME here. (We pay enough as it is!).
I agree with John. I have lived in Australia all my life and I can tell you that tipping is really rare and there is zero expectation.
I’ve only ever seen it down with a group and even then its typically because its too hard to split the change between each member.
Not exactly where the data came from…
Canadian here
Just like Australia, our minimum wage is high enough that service industry workers don’t live on tip. 10-15% at the highest, in french-canadian areas, less everywhere else. You are not expected to tip in fast foods and café’s. In fact you are only expected to tip in slow-food restaurants when the waitress is actually doing something for you.
I never heard of anyone tipping 20%, that’s just silly.
Oh and while most restaurants and big store chains will accept US$ for large payment, don’t tip with US$, it’s mostly worthless and a hassle to change …
Louis,
That is in French-Canadian areas, more specifically Quebec. I’ve lived in most of the provinces and can tell you, our servers DO live off tips. 10 per cent is BEAR minimum, as most servers get charged 4-5 per cent by their employers based on the bill. 15 per cent is if they give good or excellent service, and 20 is not uncommon.
The only thing that is true Canada-wide, is that you don’t tip at fast-food restaurants. Cafe’s usually a 5 per cent tip rate.
I disagree. I don’t know anyone who can live on $8.9 an hour (minimum servers wage in ontario). That’s definitely not a high enough wage to live on! As a server myself, I usually expect a 15% tip, although 20% is really appreciated. Don’t forget we also have to tip out our kitchen, bartender, host and busperson, so really, when you tip a server 10%, they MIGHT see 6%, if they’re lucky. I think that it’s pretty fair to tip a little higher, as Canadians do have to pay for schooling, etc. It’s also a good idea to look into the country’s tipping etiquette BEFORE visiting. So many times I am frustrated by people who “don’t know the custom” and don’t tip on a $100 bill. That means I’m paying about $5 for them to eat, so I’m actually paying out of my own pocket. Be travel courteous : )
United States.
I’m a Barista, which is to say that I work at a “Coffee/Food Retailer with a tip jar,” and if you see a tip jar, tips are not optional. Tip the same as you would a bartender. We really are just a bartender providing stimulants rather than depressants.
Reid, you are not “just a bartender” – you’re someone who works comparatively normal hours for a comparatively higher wage than a bartender and under completely different circumstances. Why should I tip a barista and not everyone involved in customer interaction in every other sector of the economy, such as a fast food employee, grocery store cashier or bank teller?
I stumbled this on Stumble Upon, and was really excited about it until I noticed that you left off New Zealand.
BTW – we don’t tip. When we book a cruise, they make us pay the tip in advance.
I don’t see why the customer should pay staff wages – just because the restaurant/hotel pays minimum wage that does not make it the responsibility of anyone who comes in to top it up. Maybe the customer is also on a low wage and has managed to save up to treat themselves – why should they then give their hard earned money away to save the establishment from paying more?
I don’t tip anyone more than 10% anywhere in the world, and someone has to do something exceptional for that, I am not going to tip someone for doing their job. People should stop expecting handouts – if they don’t like their wages, get a job somewhere else.
No one listen to Reid. It annoys me when someone who is paid a normal working wage and doing a service expects to be tipped. These tip jars are completely ridiculous and usually they put their own money in them, so people feel guilty for not tipping.
Do not tip any employee who makes a regular working wage. Their wage is already included in the price of the product you are purchasing.
Do not tip if service is bad. Tipping is optional, and if you get completely crappy service why on Earth should you tip. I have tipped $0 on the few rare occasions where the service was straight awful. Make service employees earn their tip, they are called “service” employees for a reason.
United States
Tips in most restaurants in America actually make up a server’s hourly wage. They’re not just a little extra to go on top. At least, that was my experience working at a number of restaurants in North Carolina. My bosses paid me about $2.70 an hour with the expectation that customers would tip me enough to allow me to make at least the legal minimum wage. I think that’s an important consideration to take into account when writing up a guide on tipping. How does it work in Europe and elsewhere? Do servers make a decent hourly rate, with tips as a nice bonus?
Australians do not tip; wages here are considerable for staff. At most, a round off say $100 if the bill is $93 for instance.
My tipping policy is very simply : I don’t tip anywhere in the world except the USA where I might get into a lot of trouble for not doing so. Eslewhere in the world, I only give when there is a very good reason. I never read the tipping section in the Lonely Planet. A tips is essentially a bribe. If servers will only perform their duties for which they get paid, if they know there is a tip in it for them, they are stooping just as low as Chinese policemen who won’t solve crimes unless they get paid a bribe first. A tip = post-service bribe.
The whole concept of a mandatory tipping system in the U.S. should be abolished. Include the tip in the bill and let people add a little extra for excellent service where need be. Seriously, the education system is so bad in this country it astounds me that people are expected to do math publicly.
This is totally inaccurate. In Germany, hardly anyone tips. It’s included in your bill. No reason to tip more than what’s already been included.
I’m from South Africa, which isn’t on here, and in a country with over 30% unemployment (closer to 40 or even 50%, if you ignore the official figures), employers take full advantage of this. Most waitrons or bartenders etc, don’t get a basic wage, but work on very low commission. Service charges are rarely included on the bill.
For example, while studying I worked at a pub/restaurant and got a commission of about 3-4% (depending on your performance). On an average day (serving 10 tables) without tips you could make about R80-100 (about $10 US) on a shift. If you take an average of 21 shifts (You are actually lucky if you get to work this many shifts) this is $210 a month.
If you also consider that some of the lower class families have up to 10 people living off that one persons wages, if you don’t tip for good service in this country you are a complete douchebag. That said, if you are given bad service, then don’t tip
There are exceptions to this in some of the upper-class restaurants and hotels, but generally, tipping 10-15% is expected.