Private tour tipping guidelines

2 of us going on a 6 hour private tour & am wondering what to tip the guide who will be with us all day & the driver who will be with us for about 2 hours.

15-20% of the tour price for the tour guide? Perhaps 15-20% of one-third of the tour price for the driver? I'm guessing....

15-20% of the tour price for the tour guide? Perhaps 15-20% of one-third of the tour price for the driver? I'm guessing....

You are indeed guessing. This subject is regularly covered in detail at TripAdvisor by exceptionally experienced travellers to Cuba.

Due to tipping, hospitality employees are now amongst the best rewarded workers in Cuba.

You are indeed guessing. This subject is regularly covered in detail at TripAdvisor by exceptionally experienced travellers to Cuba.

Due to tipping, hospitality employees are now amongst the best rewarded workers in Cuba.

I have been looking at the Havana board on TA for 6 months and do not recall any threads on tipping guides and/or car owners. And I can never find what I want using the search function.

So, if you have any ideas on this topic or can provide the address for a thread with this information, please provide it.

I have been looking at the Havana board on TA for 6 months and do not recall any threads on tipping guides and/or car owners. And I can never find what I want using the search function.

So, if you have any ideas on this topic or can provide the address for a thread with this information, please provide it.

You really should try the CUBA forums at TripAdvisor as Havana is just a very small part of the largest island in the Caribbean - and all up there are well over 160,000 threads that cover just about anything you could think of, with "tipping" being an especially emotive topic.

Easy read on basics is here: https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g147270-i91-k11610501-Tipping_in_restaurants_clubs_on_private_tours-Cuba.html

The emotive thread is here (but go to post #65 on page 7 for best advice of all): https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g147270-i91-k11761466-o60-How_much_to_tip_a_tour_guide-Cuba.html

Tip as much or as little as you want .it all goes a long ways.

You really should try the CUBA forums at TripAdvisor as Havana is just a very small part of the largest island in the Caribbean - and all up there are well over 160,000 threads that cover just about anything you could think of, with "tipping" being an especially emotive topic.

 

Easy read on basics is here: https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g147270-i91-k11610501-Tipping_in_restaurants_clubs_on_private_tours-Cuba.html

 

The emotive thread is here (but go to post #65 on page 7 for best advice of all): https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g147270-i91-k11761466-o60-How_much_to_tip_a_tour_guide-Cuba.html

Those were the 2 most un-helpful links I’ve ever seen as I could not find what is a recommended tip (just a lot of banter on politics).

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Okay, I made the effort to search tipping on TA and read through 10 pages of the results. There is no definitive answer to the question. Some people tip upwards of 20 CUC each for the guide and driver. Others suggest only 1 or 2 CUC each. We have a 6 hour tour with another couple, and our share of the cost is $65. After reading the posts, I plan to tip the guide 10 CUC and the driver 5 CUC. That may be low, or it may be high, but I'm comfortable with it.

Those were the 2 most un-helpful links I’ve ever seen as I could not find what is a recommended tip (just a lot of banter on politics).

You hit the nail on the head - there is no such thing as a recommended tip.

FrefZiffle has already made his mind up on how much to tip and is comfortable with that. In perspective his tip to the guide is more than most receive in a week, and his tip to the driver who actually bears substantially more costs and responsibility than the guide is half as much.

Not all cruise passengers are from North America where tipping is the norm, but most still appreciate that a reward for excellent service is warranted.

I have had a private guide and driver for 6 hour tour (driver for about 3 of those hours). I would tip the guide 20 CUCs and the driver 10CUCs. The tour itself was cheap by European standards and this helps improve the tourist economy - which is one of the growth areas for Cuba. Most US cruisers take ship tours, but no need to do so. Get a private guide, 50s car and driver and go where ever you want - of let them decide. There are a number of good ones I use havana journeys. Armando is the agent who arranges contacts in Cuba. Internet is poor in Cuba, so they often go through a middleman in Europe. Used Hector in Cienfuegos.

We booked a tour with Blexie when we were in Cuba last month. He charged CUC$130. We tipped our guide CUC$40 and our driver CUC$20. Our guide's English was flawless (she apparently had majored in English in college) and she spoke nonstop on the history of Cuba, Havana, and the various buildings we encountered. Our driver did not speak English, but he was still a good driver and had a great sense of humor -- according to my wife who speaks fluent Spanish. I caught a few of the jokes, but not all.

2 of us going on a 6 hour private tour & am wondering what to tip the guide who will be with us all day & the driver who will be with us for about 2 hours.

We just did a six hour tour with guide and driver last week, the tour was 130 so figuring 20 percent we gave the driver 25 and went above that for the guide since he was with us the whole time and went over and beyond our expectations , so we gave him 40

We just did a six hour tour with guide and driver last week, the tour was 130 so figuring 20 percent we gave the driver 25 and went above that for the guide since he was with us the whole time and went over and beyond our expectations , so we gave him 40

Your 50% tip would have been greatly appreciated, but does not sit well in a thread on "guidelines" for tipping. Many world travellers are sensitive to cultural differences and would not regard tips equivalent to more than a month's wages as appropriate. It would have been equivalent to me tipping our Grand Canyon tour guide about $6000 some months back.

@rederob

Over many threads, you continually tell posters they are wrong with what they want to tip. You referred us to a huge thread that really did not address the issue. So, why don't you just come out and give an example of an appropriate tip?

@rederob

Over many threads, you continually tell posters they are wrong with what they want to tip. You referred us to a huge thread that really did not address the issue. So, why don't you just come out and give an example of an appropriate tip?

I have definitely never said what you claim.

If you are comfortable with what you, personally, tip for service, then that's a matter for you. Tipping for good to exceptional service seems appropriate.

I suggest that when people do tip, they are also sensitive to how it sits in that culture. For example, when I travel to the US I tip service staff significantly more than I do at home. That's because my server at lunch last Sunday is paid an award wage of $34.07/hour and I know that's a lot more than she would be paid in the US.

In Cuba a day's wage is around 2CUC, so receiving that amount as a tip is relatively generous. To you or me it's probably just loose change.

Nowadays many highly qualified Cubans are working in the hospitality industry because they can earn in tips in a day or two more than they would otherwise earn in a month.

Your 50% tip would have been greatly appreciated, but does not sit well in a thread on "guidelines" for tipping. Many world travellers are sensitive to cultural differences and would not regard tips equivalent to more than a month's wages as appropriate. It would have been equivalent to me tipping our Grand Canyon tour guide about $6000 some months back.

These people put in long hours and work hard for their money as do I. I am not accustomed to tipping 50 %, I am an average 20% tipper however these guys were worth their weight in gold. Both my husband and I work 2 jobs, our second job is dependent on tips, so I clearly know the value of appreciation which is what we were showing to our guides.

Your 50% tip would have been greatly appreciated, but does not sit well in a thread on "guidelines" for tipping. Many world travellers are sensitive to cultural differences and would not regard tips equivalent to more than a month's wages as appropriate. It would have been equivalent to me tipping our Grand Canyon tour guide about $6000 some months back.

I am also not basing my tip on their wages, my total tip for 6 hrs was 65.00 to be split for 2 people 40/25. If my husband and I each worked 6 hrs in our second job that would be an average tip for us to share and if I didn't have a mortgage, kids in college and lots of other general debt I would have liked to have given them more !

you know all these posts and the basic question has not been asked...is this a private guide that you have booked directly or are you talking about a guide with one of the companies that many have used here?? If you are booking with the owner/operator of his own company then I don't usually tip unless he has gone longer or paid for some things enroute...coffee etc. He gets the fee and does not have to take it to his boss. Otherwise I would say 10-15 cuc/day again depending on if you feel it was a good tour. They don't make that much when they work for someone else.