Shore Excursion Tipping May 20 Grandeur to Athens

[ddwells49]

We are doing the 10 day Venice to Athens on Grandeur.  Since we will be in Italy, Greece, and Turkey we are looking for current customary tipping advice for the tour guides and bus drivers.  I know Turkey has there own currency.  Is tipping in Euros acceptable in Turkey? I'm getting ready to buy foreign currency so looking for advice on amounts per excursion in these countries and proper currency.  We have a little time in Athens also, what is tipping guidelines for hotel staff and dining service?

[Lonedaddy]

8 minutes ago, ddwells49 said:

We are doing the 10 day Venice to Athens on Grandeur.  Since we will be in Italy, Greece, and Turkey we are looking for current customary tipping advice for the tour guides and bus drivers.  I know Turkey has there own currency.  Is tipping in Euros acceptable in Turkey? I'm getting ready to buy foreign currency so looking for advice on amounts per excursion in these countries and proper currency.  We have a little time in Athens also, what is tipping guidelines for hotel staff and dining service?

We tipped in euros in turkey as we were only there a day before the cruise.   Athens is like the rest of Europe service is included in the bill.  If it was excellent you could round up or leave a small amount.  Here is a nice guide Do You Tip In Greece? A Guide To Tipping In Greece (chasingthedonkey.com)

[welshfamily]

We tip depending on our experience. We use Euros. In Turkey they prefer  Euros or Dollars. 

Was the tour guide informative, entertaining or just going through the motions. 
Did they accompany us on a walking tour and use our time wisely or did they leave us at a viewing area for 30 minutes when 5 would do.

Did they just talk on the bus and walk off so quickly no one could keep up 

Did they stick to the description, add any interesting sights or cut things out due to disinterest in their customers. 

Please remember that tipping in Europe is not the same as the States. In Europe people tip less. However a good guide can make or break an excursion and a poor one would be unlikely to get much from their European customers.
 

 

[papaflamingo]

18 hours ago, ddwells49 said:

We are doing the 10 day Venice to Athens on Grandeur.  Since we will be in Italy, Greece, and Turkey we are looking for current customary tipping advice for the tour guides and bus drivers.  I know Turkey has there own currency.  Is tipping in Euros acceptable in Turkey? I'm getting ready to buy foreign currency so looking for advice on amounts per excursion in these countries and proper currency.  We have a little time in Athens also, what is tipping guidelines for hotel staff and dining service?

If possible don't "buy" foreign currency but wait to get it from an ATM when you arrive.  Much better exchange rate.  However in Europe you can pretty much tip in U.S. dollars or in Euros, your discretion.  For other purchases almost everywhere accepts credit cards. We just did an Asian cruise and you can get great info by simply googling "tipping in (whatever country)."  If you are spending a few days in the departure or arrival port you might want local currency.  But if you're only in port for a day or so and only going to go on Regent tours, just tip in either dollars or Euros if you have them.  Normally there's no need to get a local currency.  Here is a pretty good link to tipping etiquette in Turkey.  Note is says that tips in U.S. dollars or Euros, is certainly accepted. 

https://turkeytravelplanner.com/details/money/tipping.html

[rcandkc]

I try to tip in local currency.  I wouldn’t want to be given foreign currency that I can’t readily spend.  If I go to MacDonalds in Texas and try to pay with Euros it would not work.  Granted some destinations readily accept dollars so no need to exchange so I try to research beforehand. 

[Lonedaddy]

2 hours ago, rcandkc said:

I try to tip in local currency.  I wouldn’t want to be given foreign currency that I can’t readily spend.  If I go to MacDonalds in Texas and try to pay with Euros it would not work.  Granted some destinations readily accept dollars so no need to exchange so I try to research beforehand. 

true but most places in Europe post covid take credit cards and many tour guides a used to getting USD in tips and accumulate them and exchange at one time for a better rate.  

[2012_Alaska_bound]

22 hours ago, Lonedaddy said:

many tour guides a used to getting USD in tips and accumulate them and exchange at one time for a better rate

 

Or as one of of guides in Denmark told us he does, save the dollars for his next trip to visit family in the U.S.

[ddwells49]

FYI on "Buying" foreign currency I go to my local branch bank and have them order some for me.  I like to have it with me when we arrive in the country and I find the bank usually has the best exchange rate.  I don't like to have to search around for an ATM, although I have done that.  If you have extra left over, I save it for the next trip (e.g. we go to Mexico every year) or sell it back to the bank.

 

But just one more item, what do you all customarily tip the guide and bus driver?  We did a river cruise last spring and this was their recommendation for Europe which seemed a bit light.

 

It is customary to tip the motorcoach driver and tour guide up to 2 Euros on AmaWaterways excursions.

[RELS]

3 minutes ago, ddwells49 said:

But just one more item, what do you all customarily tip the guide and bus driver?  We did a river cruise last spring and this was their recommendation for Europe which seemed a bit light.

 

I generally tip the guide 10 $/E and the driver 5 $/E for a day trip. If it's something like a 3-day pre or post-trip I'll tip the guide $50.00 or so and the driver maybe $20 if it's been the same driver all along.

 

There have been times when I haven't tipped, because the guide was that bad. I will always try to give the driver something. Drivers seem especially pleased to get a tip because I guess folks forget about them.