Tipping customs in 12 countries, from Japan to Mexico
The amount is the easy part. What trips travellers up is the mechanics: when to say it, whether it goes on the card, and what the line at the bottom of the bill already covers.
Most tipping advice gives you a percentage and stops there, which is why travellers still freeze when the card machine arrives or the waiter stands waiting with a leather wallet of change. Whether you tip matters less than how: in some countries the tip is spoken aloud as you pay, in some it is already printed on the bill, and in one it can cause a small scene. This guide covers the amount, the handover and the words, country by country, and explains why each habit exists where the reason is clear.
The table: twelve countries at a glance
Figures are typical ranges at the time of writing for an ordinary sit-down meal, not rules. In every country here, a tip is a reward for good service rather than a charge you owe, and nobody will pursue you for leaving nothing in a place where tipping is merely customary.
| Country | Restaurant | Taxi | Hotel | How it is handed over | The phrase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | None | None | None; optional envelope at a ryokan | Not at all, except in an envelope | Gochisōsama deshita (thanks for the meal) |
| Italy | A few euros or rounding up; nothing if servizio is charged | Round up | €1–2 per bag to a porter | Cash left on the table or not taken in change | Tenga il resto (keep the change) |
| France | Small change to 5–10% for good service | Round up | €1–2 per bag | Coins left in the dish or on the table | Gardez la monnaie |
| Spain | Coins at a bar; 5–10% at a good restaurant | Round up | €1–2 per bag | Change left on the saucer | Quédese con el cambio |
| Mexico | 10–15%, sometimes more | Not expected for metered or app rides | Small note per night for housekeeping; per bag for porters | Told to the server, added on the card terminal or left in cash | Con el quince por ciento, por favor |
| Germany | Round up to about 5–10% | Round up | €1–2 per bag | Said aloud as you pay | Stimmt so or Machen Sie dreißig |
| Netherlands | Round up; 5–10% for good service | Not expected | Optional | Rounded on the card or left in coins | Laat maar zitten |
| Turkey | 5–10%, in cash | Round up | Small notes to porters and housekeeping | Cash on the table or in the bill folder | Üstü kalsın |
| Morocco | Coins at a café; around 10% at a restaurant | Round up | Small notes to porters | Small cash, handed directly | Shukran (thank you) |
| Thailand | Loose change locally; check for a service charge elsewhere | Round up | Small note to porters | Change left on the tray | Mâi tông thon (no need for change) |
| Vietnam | Not traditional; small amount in tourist places | Round up, or in the app | Small note for housekeeping | Handed directly, discreetly | Không cần trả lại |
| Brazil | 10% usually already on the bill | Round up | Small note to porters | Through the 10% line; extra in cash | Pode ficar com o troco |
Countries where you say it out loud: Germany and the Netherlands
In Germany the tip, Trinkgeld, is not left on the table after the server has gone. It is announced at the moment of paying, because German servers traditionally settle the bill at your table from a thick wallet of cash and make change on the spot. If the bill is €27.40, you hand over €30 and say stimmt so (shtimmt zoh), literally "that's right as it is", meaning keep the rest. If you are handing over a €50 note, you name the total you want to pay instead: dreißig, bitte (DRY-sikh BIT-teh) or machen Sie dreißig, "make it thirty", and the server gives change from that. The same works with a card: say the figure before the terminal is handed to you, and the server keys in the higher amount. Saying danke as you hand over money can, in some places, be taken to mean "keep the change", so wait until you have your change before thanking.
The Dutch habit is similar but lighter. Service is included in menu prices, and tipping is modest, often just rounding up. Many places are card-first or card-only, and some terminals now offer a tip screen; choosing nothing is not rude. In cash, laat maar zitten (laht mahr ZIT-tuh), "just leave it", is the Dutch "keep the change".
Countries where it is already on the bill: Italy, France and Brazil
Italian bills can carry two lines that look like tips and are not quite. The coperto is a cover charge per person, usually a couple of euros and listed on the menu; it pays for bread, the tablecloth and the place setting, and it goes to the restaurant, not the server. The servizio is a service charge, more common in tourist areas and with larger groups, and if it appears, the tip is done. Where neither appears, rounding up or leaving a few euros for a good meal is generous and normal. The Italy field kit covers how to get the bill in the first place.
France made the decision for you decades ago: since 1987 restaurant and café prices have had to include service, which is why menus say service compris. Waiting staff are paid wages rather than relying on tips, so the pourboire is a small extra, a few coins after a coffee or a few euros after dinner. Card terminals in larger cities increasingly suggest a tip; you can decline.
Brazil formalises it differently. Most restaurant bills add 10% as a taxa de serviço or serviço, often marked opcional. A 2017 law regulates how that money is shared among staff. It is legally optional, and you may ask for it to be removed if service was poor, but paying it is the overwhelming norm, and the waiter may simply ask pode incluir os dez por cento? ("may I include the ten percent?"). Above that, extra is not expected. One vocabulary note, covered in more depth in the Brazil field kit: the tip in Brazil is a gorjeta.
Countries where the tip is part of the wage: Mexico
Mexico is the country on this list closest to North American tipping. In sit-down restaurants, a propina of 10 to 15% is standard, and service staff wages are low enough that tips make up a large share of their income. By Mexican consumer law, a tip is voluntary and may not be added to the bill without your agreement; if you see one already included, you are entitled to question it.
The mechanics are the confusing part. The card terminal comes to the table, and before running your card the server will often ask ¿cuánto le pongo de propina? ("how much tip shall I put?") or ¿con propina? You answer with a percentage or an amount: el quince por ciento, or póngale doscientos ("put two hundred"). Some terminals show percentage buttons instead. Leaving the tip in cash after paying the bill by card is equally normal, and many staff prefer it.
Beyond restaurants, small tips run through daily life: a few pesos to the attendant at a full-service petrol station, especially if they clean the windscreen; coins for the people packing your shopping, which the Mexico field kit mentions; a tip for a tour guide. Metered taxis and app rides do not expect one.
Small-cash countries: Turkey, Morocco, Thailand and Vietnam
In these four, the tip is less a percentage than a habit of leaving or handing over small amounts of local cash, and having small notes is half the skill.
In Turkey, the tip, bahşiş (bah-SHISH), is usually left in cash even when you pay by card, because card machines often have no tip function and cash goes straight to the person who served you. Check the bill for a servis ücreti (service charge) line first. Tip in lira, not foreign coins, which cannot easily be exchanged. In a taxi, rounding the fare up is enough: üstü kalsın (ew-STEW kal-SUN), "let the rest stay".
In Morocco, small tips are woven into almost every service: a few dirhams for a café waiter, something for the attendant who watches your car in a car park (the men in high-visibility vests), a note for a porter, a guide or a hammam attendant. Agreeing the price for a guide or a driver beforehand avoids an awkward conversation at the end. The French word pourboire is widely understood.
In Thailand, tipping was not part of traditional local dining and street stalls do not expect it, but leaving the loose change from the tray is common and appreciated. In hotels and many restaurants catering to visitors, menu prices marked with ++ mean that a 10% service charge and 7% VAT will be added, so a further tip is optional. A tip of roughly 50 to 100 baht after a massage is widely given. In Thai, mâi tông thon (ไม่ต้องทอน) means "no need to give change".
Vietnam has the least established tipping culture of the four, though it has grown in tourist areas, spas and with tour guides. Hand it over quietly and directly. Ride-hailing apps let you add a tip after the trip. Before handing over a tip in a dark taxi, read the banknote warning in the Vietnam field kit.
Japan: no tip, and the one envelope
Japan is the clearest case: no tips anywhere, for reasons the Japan field kit sets out. Cash on top of good service is often felt to suggest the service had to be bought. Upmarket hotels and restaurants sometimes add a 10 to 15% service charge to the bill instead.
The exception is the kokorozuke (心付け), a gift of money sometimes given at a traditional inn, the ryokan, to the room attendant who looks after you. It is never required, it is less common than it once was, and it is always given in an envelope, never as bare notes, because handing over naked cash is considered crude. A small decorated envelope called a pochibukuro (ぽち袋) from a stationery shop or convenience store works; a few thousand yen is typical. Give it early in the stay, with both hands, perhaps with a quiet yoroshiku onegaishimasu. The rest of the time, your thanks are verbal; the Japanese politeness guide has the words.
Before you pay: a short checklist
- Read the bottom of the bill first: coperto, servizio, servis ücreti, serviço, ++ and service charge lines change what is expected.
- Carry small local notes in Turkey, Morocco, Thailand, Vietnam and Mexico.
- In Germany, name the total before the card terminal appears.
- In Mexico, expect to be asked the percentage at the table.
- In Japan, put nothing down except an envelope, and only at a ryokan.