Tipping Around the World: A Country-by-Country Guide (2026)

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Last updated: September 2026. Covers 199 countries and territories.

I once left a handful of coins on a café table in Osaka, walked out feeling generous, and got chased half a block by a waiter who wanted to give them back. Two weeks earlier, in New York, a bartender had loudly wondered whether I “forgot something” when I tipped 10%. Same traveler, same good intentions, two very different mistakes. After years of hiking and eating my way across six continents, I have learned that tipping is one of the few things you cannot guess your way through: every country has its own unwritten rules, and getting them wrong is either awkward or expensive.

This guide is the cheat sheet I wish I had at the start. Type your destination in the search box below to see whether tipping is expected, how much to leave in restaurants, what to do with taxis and hotel staff, and the one thing you should know before you pull out your wallet. Below the table you will find the tipping rules of thumb that work almost everywhere, a region-by-region breakdown, and answers to the questions I get asked most.

Tipping by country: searchable table

Percentages are for restaurant bills before tax. Amounts are indicative and based on my own travels and local advice; habits change, especially in fast-growing tourist destinations, so treat this as a starting point rather than a law.

Six tipping rules that work almost everywhere

1. Read the bill first. If you see “service”, “servicio”, “serviço”, “coperto” or “service charge”, part or all of the tip is already there. Adding another 15% on top is the most common way travelers overpay.
2. Carry small cash. Card terminals in most of the world do not let you add a tip, and when they do, the money does not always reach the person who served you. A pocket of local coins and small notes solves 90% of tipping situations.
3. Match the local wage system. Where servers earn a tipped minimum wage (United States, Canada), tips are salary and skipping them hurts. Where wages are decent and service is included (Western Europe, Australia, Japan), tips are a compliment, not a debt.
4. Do not tip where it embarrasses people. In Japan, South Korea and mainland China, money left on the table is a puzzle at best and an insult at worst. Say thank you, bow if that is the custom, and keep your coins.
5. Tip guides and drivers separately. Tour guides, safari guides, trekking porters and private drivers usually receive a tip at the end of the trip, even in countries where restaurant tipping is not a thing. Your operator will often suggest an amount.
6. Round up instead of calculating. Outside the Americas, nobody computes 18.5%. Rounding the bill up to a comfortable figure, or leaving the change from a note, is what locals do from Lisbon to Bangkok.

Tipping in Europe

Europe splits into two halves. In the German-speaking countries, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania, a 10% tip is customary, and the etiquette is to tell the server the total you want to pay when the bill arrives, not to leave coins on the table. In France, Italy, Spain, the Nordics, Switzerland and Belgium, service is included by law or by habit, and rounding up is all anyone expects. The United Kingdom sits in the middle: restaurants often add a discretionary 12.5% service charge, and you never tip at a pub bar. My personal rule in Europe is simple: a cash tip of 5–10% where I was served at a table with real attention, nothing at a counter, and always a coin for the person who carried my backpack up four flights of stairs in Prague.

Tipping in the United States and Canada

This is the one region where tipping is not optional. Restaurant servers in the United States are paid a special tipped minimum wage that can be as low as a few dollars an hour, and tips make up the rest. Budget 18–20% at restaurants, US$1–2 per drink at bars, 15–20% for taxis and rideshares, US$2–5 per night for hotel housekeeping and US$1–2 per bag for porters. Canada follows the same script with slightly lower expectations, though card terminals in Toronto and Vancouver now suggest 18, 20 and 25% by default. Mexico is generous too, with 10–15% in restaurants, but taxi drivers do not expect anything beyond rounding up.

Tipping in Central and South America

Most of Latin America has solved the problem for you: a 10% service charge, called propina, serviço or servicio, appears on the bill in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and much of the Caribbean. In Chile and Colombia the waiter will actually ask whether you want to add it, and the polite answer is yes. Argentina is the exception, where 10% in cash is customary and cannot be added to a card payment. Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador are relaxed about restaurants, but tip your trekking guides and porters on the Inca Trail and your naturalist guides in the Galápagos: those tips are a large part of their income.

Tipping in Asia and the Middle East

Asia is where travelers make the most mistakes, in both directions. Japan, South Korea, mainland China and Taiwan do not tip, full stop. Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines add a 10% service charge, so anything extra is a gesture. Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia) does not expect tips, but wages are low and rounding up or leaving a small note is warmly appreciated. The Middle East leans toward the tipping side: Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel expect 10% in restaurants, and in the Gulf states a 10% service charge is usually on the bill with a small extra welcome. Nepal is its own world: restaurants are relaxed, but trekking guides and porters receive a daily tip, and skipping it is a serious faux pas.

Tipping in Africa

Across Africa, tipping is less about percentages and more about small notes handed to the right people. Egypt and Morocco run on baksheesh: a few coins for the guard who unlocks a tomb, the attendant who watches your shoes at the mosque, the man who “helps” with your bag. It is not a scam, it is the local economy, so carry small change. In Southern and East Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania), restaurant tipping of around 10% is customary, and safari lodges usually explain their guide and staff tip expectations, typically US$10–20 per guest per day for the guide plus a shared staff box. On Kilimanjaro, porter tips are structured and published by the trekking associations; ask your operator before you climb.

Tipping in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific

Australia and New Zealand pay hospitality staff a living wage, and tipping is a compliment rather than an obligation; 10% in a fine-dining restaurant is generous, and nobody blinks if you leave nothing at a café. Fiji and many Pacific island resorts prefer a communal “staff fund” box over individual tips, which spreads the money across everyone from the kitchen to the gardeners. In Vanuatu, Samoa and Tonga, tipping can feel awkward, so a warm thank-you is the right currency.

Frequently asked questions about tipping abroad

Final thoughts: tip like a local, not like a tourist

Tipping etiquette around the world comes down to one habit: pause before you pay. Check the bill for a service charge, remember whether the country counts tips as wages or as thanks, and keep a little cash for the people who make your trip easier. In the United States and Canada, tip 18–20% without hesitation. In most of Europe and Latin America, 5–10% or a rounded-up bill is right. In Japan, South Korea and China, put your wallet away and say thank you. Everywhere else, a small note or a couple of coins, given with a smile, is exactly what a good traveler does.

Bookmark this page for your next trip, and if you have a tipping story of your own, whether it is a waiter chasing you down the street or a taxi driver refusing your change, share it in the comments. I update this table after every journey, and your experiences help keep it accurate for the next traveler.