Travelers Tips on Tipping in Europe

[samavarcruiser]

The first key to understanding tipping is realizing the situation at hand. Starting with restaurants, the general rule is between 10-20% of the bill before taxes. Some people choose to tip extra if they feel the service is outstanding, while many will leave a small tip or not tip at all if they feel the service is terrible. However, not leaving a tip because the service did not meet expectations can often lead to a confrontation. It is often better to leave some kind of a tip; but be sure address the situation with the manager. It is also vital to know the local customs when it comes to tipping. In America, tipping is expected, and we are known to be some of the most generous tippers around. Many people in the service industry depend on tips to supplement their wages, which are often set artificially low in expectation of the tips they will receive. The key thing to remember is that tipping is a personal decision, but it affects others. So the idea of treating others as you would want to be treated clearly resonates. Be wary of restaurants that add a tip to the bill automatically: no one should pay two tips for the same meal.

 

In Europe, workers in the service industries are generally paid higher wages than in America, and therefore tipping is not always customary. When people do tip they generally tip less than in the states. However, it varies from country to country. Central European countries like Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Holland tip between 5-10% as a common practice, although it is not always required to tip. Countries like Spain and Italy are not advocates of tipping. In France and the Scandinavian countries, a service charge is included in the bill, while Ireland and the U.K. generally adhere to an optional tipping policy. When traveling in Europe, unless you are in Spain or Italy, it is generally a good idea to leave a tip close to 10% unless the charge is included, or the service was not satisfactory.

[UUNetBill]

As usual, it seems that things have changed a little. Glad to read these tidbits before I depart - when I lived in Germany (years ago), tipping was optional, and the tips were usually very small, often just rounding up to the nearest 1 or 5 DM. For instance, if your bill came to DM 18.50, you'd usually just leave either DM 19 (for average service) or DM 20 (for slightly better than average service). The servers used to call it 'trinkgeld' - drink money - because that's about all you could get with it.

 

Now of course, after I typed this up, I went back and did some mental math. It seems that even back in my time, my example 1.50 tip on a check for 18.50 comes out to about 8%, so I guess that's not too far off of today's norm. Of course, when the tab starts to get up into the hundreds, well, that's a different matter.

 

<Getting up onto soapbox>

I personally find tipping to be a pain in the butt and wish the custom would die - instead, it seems to be getting more pervasive every year. For Pete's sake, just pay a decent wage and let us dine/travel/shop in peace.

<Stepping down from soapbox>

 

;)

[auducky2]

Thanks for the info! We usually tip around 20%, so knowing this will save us dough, lol. :)

[6rugrats]

<Getting up onto soapbox>

I personally find tipping to be a pain in the butt and wish the custom would die - instead, it seems to be getting more pervasive every year. For Pete's sake, just pay a decent wage and let us dine/travel/shop in peace.

<Stepping down from soapbox>

 

;)

 

I agree. It was a pleasure on a recent trip to Japan not to have to think about tipping.

[Bethany Beach]

This is an interesting thread to me as tipping is always something that I spend way too much thinking about. I tend to overtip, probably, because I never know what I'm doing. For example, I used to give the pizza delivery person a tip but not the hotel housecleaner until I thought about it and realized that the pizza delivery person is really doing very little for me timewise and the housekeeper is in there working away. So, I started leaving a $5 bill under the pillow each night when staying at a hotel/motel.

 

We will soon be on our first trip to Europe and, of course, tipping will be one of my issues. We have several private tours arranged just for the two of us, and I am figuring on tipping 10%. We will be spending most of our time in Italy and Spain, particularly in Barcelona where we will be staying a few days precruise. Are you saying that in Barcelona, for example, that people don't tip taxi drivers? add a tip to the restaurant bill?

 

I am also one who would be willing to pay more and just forget the tipping. I spend more time worrying about whether or not I'm being fair to someone than I should. Now, it appears that each country also has different customs.

[cruisemom42]

I agree. It was a pleasure on a recent trip to Japan not to have to think about tipping.

 

Yes, we just got back from Japan a week ago. We found the service there to be incredibly efficient, you will never wait in line for anything -- whether at a bank, shop, train station, post office, hotel -- more than a minute without assistance. And they are perplexed when anyone tries to tip them. We saw our walking tour guide in Kyoto gently declining tips from some folks.

 

Sort of contradicts the ideas of some who feel that you can't get good service without the "incentive" of tipping....

[gxchan]

samavarcruiser,

Thank you for posting this info! It seems geared toward restaurant service, does it also apply to tour guides? As an example, I'm taking the ship's "do it your way" excursions in Rome and Florence which means they arrange a bus to/from the city center with a "tour guide" on the bus to advise you when/where to meet the bus to return to the ship. I assume tipping this person 10% for both ways would suffice. On tours where the guide is more involved, 15-20%, right? Also, is it better to tip in Euros or US Dollars?

<Getting up onto soapbox>

I personally find tipping to be a pain in the butt and wish the custom would die - instead, it seems to be getting more pervasive every year. For Pete's sake, just pay a decent wage and let us dine/travel/shop in peace.

<Stepping down from soapbox>;)

 

I'm in complete agreement. One of the things that drives me crazy about cruising is the feeling that one must tip not based on the quality of the service but because the crew is paid so little. If the crew were paid a decent wage I would still tip generously but I resent being made to feel like it is my responsibility to cover the cruise lines' (or other companies') operating expenses. Off my soapbox now:D