Tipping private van tour guides/drivers in China, Taiwan, and S Korea

[dbsb3233]

I've been reading lots of web articles about tipping in China, Taiwan, and S Korea. We're doing private van tours (5 people in our little group) in Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Busan, and Jeju during our April cruise. All 5 tours are similarly priced - about US$90 per person per day (all pre-booked and prepaid with major tour companies).

 

As best as I can tell, while all 3 counties seem to have little or no tipping for restaurants, it's different for private tour guides and drivers. Seems like roughly 10% per person per day for the tour guide is standard, plus another 5% per person per day for the driver (maybe a bit less in China). And discretely giving them the tip via envelope at the end of the tour is traditional (at least in China).

 

Does that sound about right? I know if the service is lousy or exceptional we'd adjust that up or down accordingly, but I'm just looking for the "average" tip guideline for all 3 countries for private van guides and drivers. (Helps us determine how much local currency we'll need to allocate.)

 

Thanks!

[explore4ever]

I was in Taiwan last summer. There is no tipping required. Wonderful services in restaurants especially Ding Tai Fung. fabulous food, fabulous service. Highly recommend the restaurants (chain). Absolutely no tipping expected.

My DH & I were in China, Yun Nan area and Shangri la in 2008. Because we are Canadians, my DH is Caucasian, we were encouraged to a have private vehicle and a private guide. The guides provided were supposed to be able to speak some English, but none of them did. I ended up translating, since I speak Mandarin. I learned from chatting with these guides that they were independents who do not get paid by the tour agency that organized our trip. THe guides get paid by commission from the shopping places they were to bring us, and by getting tips from us. They learned that North Americans are big tippers, and the tips usually are much more than their normal salary.

China has seen Vast changes since. Not sure if this practice still continues today.

[Earl Rosebery]

10% for the guide and a separate 5% for the driver is generous. Our driver in Saigon was fantastic. Extremely patient with hundreds of scooters buzzing about. Remember, they have your lives in their hands.

[TravelMore&More]

There is no tipping required anywhere in China. As it is no longer illegal, they will gladly take your money though.

[DipBrat]

There is no tipping required anywhere in China. As it is no longer illegal, they will gladly take your money though.

 

This is true in general, but tours have developed their own set of ruies and culture. I would never tip in a restaurantin China (or most of Europe for that matter) but tour staff are paid assuming a certain level of tipping from their mostly Anglo-American clients. In China I wouldn't be surprised if tips were their only (if relatively lucrative) earnings.

[TravelMore&More]

This is true in general, but tours have developed their own set of ruies and culture. I would never tip in a restaurantin China (or most of Europe for that matter) but tour staff are paid assuming a certain level of tipping from their mostly Anglo-American clients. In China I wouldn't be surprised if tips were their only (if relatively lucrative) earnings.

 

Yes, some tour companies have developed this new trick. They asked for tips (usually even paid in advance) from travelers from countries where people usually tip generously (mostly Americans). Guides only get paid from tips and commissions (about 40%) on purchased made on those mandatory shopping stops.

This is really an additional fee rather than a tip.

[shorefolks]

We just finished a Japan-Korea-China cruise which included a three-day private tour in China. While the non-tipping culture is still quite strong in general, we were advised when booking the tour that "gratuities for guide and driver" were not included. From that (and postings on CC), I gathered that this is a customary practice. We ended up fairly much following the "10 & 5" suggestion, via envelopes at the end of the tour. What I found interesting was that the guide did not know what our tour cost, and I evaded her question when she asked.

 

The only other exception to the no-tipping custom in these countries that we encountered was with hotel porters. While not being as obviously expectant as in America, they were clearly not reticent to accept a tip after lugging our over-stuffed bags. That was about it, though. A girl who brought ice to our room in an up-scale hotel in China was appalled when I offered a tip. "It is my pleasure!" she said. Similarly, restaurant workers and taxi drivers expect nothing, and both of those situations are real bargains in China. (The latter case then immediately raises the question of why a guide driver should be tipped. "Soak the tourists" is the answer. The tour operator knows that clients would not want to short the low-paid worker- and seizes upon that as a chance to pay even them even less.)

[dbsb3233]

We just finished a Japan-Korea-China cruise which included a three-day private tour in China. While the non-tipping culture is still quite strong in general, we were advised when booking the tour that "gratuities for guide and driver" were not included. From that (and postings on CC), I gathered that this is a customary practice. We ended up fairly much following the "10 & 5" suggestion, via envelopes at the end of the tour. What I found interesting was that the guide did not know what our tour cost, and I evaded her question when she asked.

 

The only other exception to the no-tipping custom in these countries that we encountered was with hotel porters. While not being as obviously expectant as in America, they were clearly not reticent to accept a tip after lugging our over-stuffed bags. That was about it, though. A girl who brought ice to our room in an up-scale hotel in China was appalled when I offered a tip. "It is my pleasure!" she said. Similarly, restaurant workers and taxi drivers expect nothing, and both of those situations are real bargains in China. (The latter case then immediately raises the question of why a guide driver should be tipped. "Soak the tourists" is the answer. The tour operator knows that clients would not want to short the low-paid worker- and seizes upon that as a chance to pay even them even less.)

Our cruise was in April. We did the 10-5 thing for all our private van tours. 3 of the 4 were happy to accept the tips just like anywhere else. But one in Korea (we had 2 ports there) graciously turned it down.

 

We only used a taxi once, in Shanghai to get from our Bund area hotel to the Maglev station to catch the bullet train to the airport. The driver looked petty crusty when I only gave him the exact amount (an even 50 yuan IIRC). Although maybe he's always that way... hard to tell.

[ent704]

Does anyone know about tipping guides in Indonesia or malasysia?

[shorefolks]

We only used a taxi once, in Shanghai to get from our Bund area hotel to the Maglev station to catch the bullet train to the airport. The driver looked petty crusty when I only gave him the exact amount (an even 50 yuan IIRC). Although maybe he's always that way... hard to tell.

 

I would bet on the latter. We used cabs a lot to explore Shanghai, and all of the drivers were pretty sour.

 

One tip (which probably should be followed everywhere to be safe): once inside the cab discreetly (or not) snap a picture of the driver ID sign with his number and picture. It might come in handy later should there be a problem.