Your Guide To Tipping Around The World

Tipping varies from country to country, and knowing how much to budget before a vacation can be tricky. Consider this handy guide for how much you should tip, from your taxi drivers to your waiters, when traveling outside of your home country:

Italy: Restaurant (no tip or just a few euros); hotel maid per night (€0.75-1.50); hotel porter per bag (up to €5), taxi (round up)

Greece: Restaurant (5-10 percent), hotel maid per night (€1), hotel porter per bag (€1), taxi (5-10 percent).

France: Restaurant (10 percent), hotel maid per night (€1-1.50), hotel porter per bag (€0.50-1.00) per bag, taxi 10 percent.

Spain: Restaurant (10 percent), hotel maid per night (€2-5), hotel porter per bag (€1-2), taxi 10 percent.

Portugal: Restaurant (no tip), hotel maid per night (€1-2), hotel porter per bag €1-2), taxi  (no tip).

Germany: Restaurant (10 percent), hotel maid per night (€3-5), hotel porter per bag (€1-3), taxi (round up).

Netherlands, Poland, and Belgium: It’s not customary to tip at all. Similarly, with hotel maids, the average is around €2 per night

United Kingdom: Restaurant (10 percent), hotel maid per night (£1-2), hotel porter per bag (£1-2), taxi (round up).

Austria: Restaurant (10 percent), hotel maid per night (€1-2), hotel porter per bag (€1-2), taxi (10 percent).

Turkey: Restaurant (5-10 percent), hotel maid per night (5-10 lira), hotel porter per bag (4-5 lira), taxi (round up).

Egypt, Kenya, and Tunisia: Restaurant (10 percent), taxi (no tip)

South Africa and Morocco: Restaurant (15 percent), and the only country it’s common to tip taxi drivers is in South Africa, at around 10%. You only need to round up the fare in Morocco.

Thailand: Restaurant (10 percent), hotel maid per night (20-50 baht), hotel porter per bag (20-50 baht), taxi (no tip).

Japan: No tip for restaurant, hotel maid, hotel porter, or taxi.

China: No tip for restaurant, hotel maid, hotel porter, or taxi.

Malaysia: Restaurant (no tip), hotel maid per night (2-10 RM) hotel porter per bag (2-10 RM), taxi (no tip).

United States: Restaurant (10-25 percent), hotel maid per night ($2-$3), hotel porter per bag ($1-$2), tax (10-15 percent).

Mexico: Restaurant (10 percent), hotel maid per night (20-50 pesos), hotel porter per bag (10-20 pesos). USD is also widely accepted for tipping in Mexico. At all-inclusive resorts you may want to tip $2-3 at breakfast, $5 at lunch and $10-20 at dinner. Drink service is $1-2 per drink, hotel porter $5. Your transfer driver might also appreicate $10-20 depending on the distance from the airport.

In Europe, tipping varies from country to country; on average, the standard is 10% for restaurants and €1-€2 for hotels. Meanwhile, for taxis, it is less customary to tip, although rounding up the fare is not uncommon.

Tipping isn't as customary in Asia as in other parts of the world, and in some countries, it can be taken as an insult. It's not customary to tip hotel porters in China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, or the Philippines, but you can expect to pay around $1 per bag for most places. There's even less obligation to tip taxi drivers.

It's common knowledge that most Americans are big on tipping, as workers often rely on them to pay their bills. So, if you're traveling to this part of the world, expect to spend more on tipping.

Across Peru, Argentina, and Brazil, a 10 percent tip for restaurants is standard, and if you're in a taxi, at most, you'll only need to round the fare up. For hotel porters and maids, pay around 3 soles in Peru per bag, 1-3 pesos in Argentina, and R$5-R$6 in Brazil.

Unlike the other continents on the list, there's no obligation to tip in Australia or New Zealand—whether for waiters, taxi drivers, hotel porters, or hotel maids. Of course, if you feel you've had excellent service, you can put down a few dollars, but there's no expectation.

So, now you know roughly how much you should tip across the world, here are some top tips so that you can be the savviest tipper overseas:

Always carry cash: While it’s super easy to pay by card everywhere you go in Europe, in some countries, cash is king—and even if it’s not, you can’t tip hotel porters and maids without it. So it’s always worth changing some currency before you travel to ensure you tip fairly while abroad.

Do your research beforehand: In some countries, it’s not just in restaurants, hotels, and taxis that you’ll be expected to tip. For example, in the U.S., if you want to get served again in a bar, always leave a dollar or two once you’ve been served your first drink. You might also want to tip in a coffee shop, although despite there usually being a tip jar at the counter in the U.S., there’s no obligation to tip.

Remember that tipping can be seen as an insult: While you usually tip to show your appreciation for the good service you’ve received, remember that it’s not always perceived that way across the world. In certain countries in Asia tipping can be seen as insulting, so don’t automatically reach for the cash once you’ve eaten your meal, or been dropped off at your destination, unless you know it’s going to be appreciated.