When, where and how to add gratuity, without wasting your money.
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Advice by Catherine Bennett
Whether you’re heading to France for the Olympics, island-hopping in Greece or hiking across Ireland, a trip to Europe means you’ll be navigating how to tip for the service you receive. But while tipping in the United States is the norm, in Europe it can be more complicated.
Minimum-wage laws across Europe mean that waiters don’t need tips to make up their salary. Nowhere will you need to tip like an American, even if businesses in tourist hot spots may hope you do.
Customs around tipping in restaurants, bars, taxis and hotels vary depending on the country, but a general guideline is that tipping 5 to 10 percent in recognition of fine service is appreciated. Another guideline is that the fancier and more expensive your surroundings, the more you are expected to tip.
Asking a porter to take your bags in a five-star hotel? Give them five euros for the trouble. Getting the tasting menu at a chic restaurant? Leave at least 10 percent. And “free” walking tours aren’t really free — tip guides at least five euros per hour, wherever you are in Europe.
Learn the norms around the continent and avoid faux pas with these tips for tipping.
France
French people have a relaxed approach to tipping. I’ve lived in France for 11 years and have gotten used to tipping not being compulsory. You are not expected to tip in taxis or Ubers — unless you particularly enjoyed the driver’s conversation or they were especially helpful with your bags — and the same goes for the person who greets you at your rental apartment, bar staff and even hotel staff.
In a good restaurant with attentive service, you can tack on five to 10 euros, or if you got a croissant and a coffee at a sidewalk cafe that cost you €4.80, you can leave five euros rather than hanging around for your change.
Apart from that, just relax. No one is going to chase you out of a bistro demanding their tip.
Germany
It’s standard at table-service establishments in Germany to leave a 5 to 10 percent tip in cash at the end of a meal. In some big cities, you may be able to do so with card, but there are still parts of the country, particularly rural ones, where you’ll need to have cash on you. Tell the server when paying your bill how much you’d like to add on for their gratuity, rather than leaving cash on the table.
Many Germans “feel morally obliged to leave something, but within reason,” said Linda Kaiser, a manners expert and a consultant for the German Etiquette Society. “We only give 15 to 20 percent if the service was better than excellent.”
Greece
Greeks want you to have a good time when you visit. Leaving a tip shouldn’t be something you do robotically.
“In Greece, generosity and hospitality go hand in hand,” explained Melina Thalassinou, a content and social media manager for Greeking.me, a bespoke travel consultancy. “It is seen as a gesture of appreciation rather than an obligation — more about building good relations than adhering to strict percentages.” She advises tipping a tour guide 10 to 15 percent of the tour’s cost, tipping hotel porters one to two euros per bag and leaving a small tip for housekeeping (one to two euros per day).
Keep in mind that salaries in Greece for waiters and tour guides can be low and that work hours can be long. That, plus the fact that prices can be lower than back home, may make you want to leave generous tips at restaurants or cafes, though there’s still no need to give more than 10 percent. If you’re eating at a simple taverna, leave some cash on the table when you leave; one to three euros should suffice. After a fancier, more expensive meal, leave five to 10 euros. Tip with cash so that the money is more likely to get to the waiters.
Thalassinou said leaving a tip after getting a drink at a bar is less common, but rounding up the bill will always be appreciated, whatever the situation.
Ireland
Tipping in Ireland usually falls under one of two explanations: because you had good service or because you had spare coins on you.
“People don’t expect to be tipped,” said John McKiernan, a sales supervisor with Vagabond Tours. “People may even refuse tips if they think it’s not necessary. If you don’t know if it’s appropriate or not, it’s always good to ask. They’ll be honest with you.”
If you’re in a restaurant and in a large group, it’s polite to tip 10 percent if service is not already included. Some restaurants automatically will add a 20 percent service charge if you’re in a group of 10 or more. In a pub, it’s advisable to have cash on you if you want to leave a tip. Leave a euro per round of drinks brought to your table.
If you’re one of those travelers who likes to get haircuts when you go abroad — and yes, some people do — in Ireland you have to tip both the hairdresser and the person who washes your hair. You should also tip taxis, at least rounding up to the nearest 10.
Italy
“I think a lot of Americans come here and fall into the trap of thinking that you don’t need to tip in Italy. You do!” said Elizabeth Minchilli, a Rome-based food tour operator and author. She suggests tipping 5 percent at restaurants, adding that “10 percent is seen as generous.”
Coffee bars, Minchilli said, can be confusing for visitors. Drinking your coffee while standing at the counter will cost less than drinking it at a table, and while you don’t need to leave a tip for the former, you do for the latter.
If you’re getting anything to take away, like a panino or a gelato, then tipping is optional. But whenever there’s table service, Minchilli advises leaving something, even if it’s just a euro for a cappuccino or a cornetto.
Be aware of a few Italian terms before you go. A coperto, or cover, charge on a restaurant tab represents the cost of the cutlery, tablecloth and complimentary breadsticks. Don’t confuse it with a service charge, which you’ll see marked as “servizio incluso”(if it’s already included) or “servizio non incluso” (if it isn’t). Leave your tip on the table, unless you’re in a busy public place where it might be swiped or forgotten, in which case you can hand it to the server directly.
If you rent a car in Italy and need to fill up, some gas stations offer the option of a servito (serviced) lane where an attendant will do it for you. The service costs more than filling up at the pump yourself, so you don’t need to tip, though the attendant probably won’t say no. If you ask him for any other services, like washing your windshield or checking your tires, you can tip a few euros.
Spain
If a server in Spain is friendly and efficient, you can thank them and leave a tip with the bill. For a tapas meal, think three to five euros. If you’ve just dropped into a bar to have a caña of beer or a café con leche in the daytime, you can leave change next to your empty glass.
Amy Bingham, co-founder of the food tour company Walk and Eat Spain, has some cardinal rules when it comes to tipping there. “If you’re drinking on a terrace, always tip,” she said, because servers “have to work so hard to run those drinks across a crowded sidewalk.” And if the bill comes to more than 40 euros per person, make sure you’re paying with paper, not just coins.
United Kingdom
Tipping is not necessary in the U.K. if you’re eating a casual meal at a pub or anywhere else where you order at a counter, but it will be appreciated. Whether you’re grabbing a pint in a pub, a cup of tea in a cafe or a cocktail at a bar, you can round up your order or drop a quid in the tip jar.
If you go to a restaurant with table service, then at least 10 percent is standard. Check the check. “It’s common to see an optional service charge, which is genuinely optional!” Denisa Podhrazska, owner of the guided tours company Let Me Show You London, wrote in an email. The official Visit London website recommends you ask your waiter whether they personally will receive your tip if you add it on to your card payment. If the service charge is included but you’ve had a bad experience, you are within your rights to ask for it to be taken off the bill.
Remember that in London, like in most of the U.K., cards do reign supreme. You even can pay with card now in the capital’s traditional black cabs, where tipping has always been optional.
As in the rest of Europe, though, it’s no disaster if you tip a bit too much or a bit too little. Have a look around you, look at what the locals do and don’t sweat it — you’re on vacation, after all.
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