Tagged: tipping

When Should You Tip? 11 Tipping Rules for 11 Types of Travel Services

Tips on safaris Tips can quickly add up when it comes to safaris, but there’s a silver lining: It’s highly likely that, compared to the large amount you spent securing your spot at…

Are We Supposed to Be Tipping Flight Attendants Now?

Given that we now live in a world where you might be asked by a payment screen how much you'd like to tip at a self-checkout kiosk, it should probably come as no surprise that the…

Tipping in the Dominican Republic: Guidelines for Hotels, Restaurants, Taxis, and Tours

As in the United States, tipping service workers is standard in the Dominican Republic. There are, however, variations among the two countries' tipping customs, as you'll notice below…

Tipping in Mexico: A Gratuities Guide for Restaurants, Hotels, and All-Inclusive Resorts

How to tip in Mexico? The rules are similar to those in the United States, with a few variations. In both countries, service workers—especially restaurant employees—rely on tips to…

Tired of Tipping? Vacation in These Countries Where Tips Aren't Required or Expected

Americans, do you ever feel like the expectation to tip every worker you encounter has spun out of control? When baristas expect 20% to shove a muffin across the counter at you, or…

Charges for Gratuities on Royal Caribbean Going Up—as the Company Reports Huge Profits

Royal Caribbean quietly increased its automatic gratuity charge this week. Starting November 11, the cruise line's service charge added to each passenger's bill will be $18 per day…

Tipping in Italy: A Gratuities Guide for Hotels, Restaurants, Drinks, and Tours

Italy is one of the most popular vacation destinations—and deservedly so. Considering how much great art, food, and music Italy has given the world, it's only courteous to return the…

Tips on Ships: Everything You Need to Know About Cruise Gratuities

Figuring out which service employees you should tip—and how much you should give—is a perennial head scratcher in travel. To help remove some of the guesswork, many cruise lines now…

Tipping in Costa Rica: A Gratuities Guide for Hotels, Restaurants, and Tours

In Costa Rica, tips aren’t as large—or as expected—as they are in the United States and Mexico. In fact, Costa Ricans (otherwise known as Ticos) aren’t in the habit of automatically…

Tipping in Portugal: A Gratuities Guide for Hotels, Restaurants, and Taxis

Portugal consistently ranks among the most affordable countries in the Eurozone. Given the savings that travelers will find on hotel stays and restaurant meals, it won't be too painful…

Tipping in China: When You Can—and When You Shouldn't

How much should you tip in China? In most cases, the answer to that question is whatever the Mandarin word is for jack squat. “In my experience, offering a gratuity has usually been…

Tipping in the U.K.: A Gratuities Guide for Taxis, Hotels, and Restaurants

For North American tourists in the United Kingdom, the primary tipping danger, as in the rest of Europe, is of overdoing it. Tipping a waiter 20% on top of your restaurant bill may be…

Tipping in Japan? Not So Much a Thing

Japanese codes of etiquette often strike outsiders as elaborate to a bewildering degree, but, fortunately for visitors, the dos and don’ts of tipping in Japan are pretty simple. In…

Tipping in Germany: A Gratuities Guide for Restaurants, Hotels, and Taxis

The German word for a tip is Trinkgeld. That translates literally to “drink money,” suggesting that in Germany a gratuity is considered a little something extra rather than a…

What to Tip Waiters, Hotel Staff, and Taxi Drivers in France

The first thing you have to know about tipping in France is that customers do a lot less of it than in the United States. That’s not because Americans are more generous—it’s because…

Mistakes to Avoid When Checking Out of a Hotel

For most guests, checking out of a hotel may only involve a quick glance at the room folio—whether at the front desk or on the hotel room TV—before hopping into a cab headed for the…

Marriott Urges Guests to Tip Housekeepers to Overcome the Shortfall of Inadequate Wages—Say What?

Marriott is placing pre-printed envelopes in 160,000 rooms to encourage guests to express "gratitude" to its workers in the form of cash. The initiative, called The Envelope Please,…

5 Family Journeys in the US Park System

500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up highlights 29 hiking, biking and riding trips throughout the world. The five picks below are all located within the United States park…