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What to Tip in 77 Countries

Traveling abroad? Here’s a handy chart outlining 77 different countries and their common tipping amounts for restaurants, porters, and taxis.

If tipping is not your thing, you’ll want to head to Costa Rica, Brunei, Denmark, Fiji, Malaysia, Japan (it’s insulting), New Zealand, Oman, Samoa, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, U.A.E., or Vietnam. Likewise, you’ll want to stay out of the United States, as 15%-20% is now the current standard — the highest on the list. Morocco has got to be my favorite though; the chart tells you to “leave some loose change” when dining in a restaurant.

Country Restaurants Porters Taxis
Argentina 10% $1 Round up fare or small tip.
Armenia 10% 50 cents – $1 per bag None
Australia 10% in fine restaurants only $2 per bag Round up
Austria 5% above service charge $1 – $2 per bag Round up
Azerbaijan 10% 50 cents – $1 per bag None
Bahamas 10% $1 per bag 10%
Bahrain 10% $1 – $2 per bag 10%
Belgium 10% if no service charge $1 per bag Round up
Bolivia 10% 75 cents per bag 10%
Brazil 10% – 15% $1 per bag 10%
Brunei None None None
Bulgaria 10% $1 per bag Round up
Canada 15% $1 – $2 per bag 10%
Cayman Islands 15% if no service charge $1 per bag 10%
Chile 10% in addition to service charge $1 per bag None
China 3% in major cities $1 – $2 total None
Colombia 10% 75 cents per bag None
Costa Rica None $1 per bag 10%
Cuba $1 for special service $1 for special service $1 for special service
Czech Rep 5% – 10% $1 per bag Round up
Denmark None $1 per bag Round up
Ecuador 10% if no service charge 75 cents per bag None
Egypt 5% – 10% plus service charge $1 per bag Round up
England 10% if no service charge $1 per bag 15%
Fiji None None Round up
Finland 10% if no service charge $1 per bag Round up
France 5% -10% $1 per bag Round up
Germany 5% -10% $1 per bag Round up
Greece 5% -10% in addition to service charge $1 per bag Round up
Guatemala 10% in addition to service charge $1 per bag 10%
Holland 5% -10% $1 per bag Round up
Hong Kong 10% in addition to service charge $1 per bag Round up
Hungary 10% if no service charge None Round up
Iceland 10% if no service charge $1 per bag Round up
India 10% if no service charge $1 per bag Round up
Indonesia 10% 50 cents total Round up
Ireland 10% – 15% $1 per bag Round up
Israel 12% – 15% if no service charge $1 per bag 12% – 15%
Italy 10% in addition to service charge $1 per bag Round up
Japan Tipping is perceived as insulting None None
Kenya 5% if no service charge 50 cents per bag None
Luxembourg 5% -10% $1 per bag Round up
Macao 10% in addition to service charge $1 per bag Round up
Madagascar 10% 50 cents per bag Round up
Malaysia None None None
Mexico 10% -15% $1 50 cents
Morocco Leave loose change 50 cents per bag Round up
New Zealand None None None
Nicaragua 10% for special service $1 per bag 10%
Norway 10% if no service charge $1 per bag Round up
Oman None None None
Paraguay 10% 75 cents per bag 10%
Peru Up to 10% for special service 75 cents per bag None
Philippines 10% 50 cents – $1 per bag Round up
Poland 10% $1 per bag Round up
Portugal 10% – 15% if no service charge $1 per bag Round up
Romania Round Up $1 per bag Round up
Russia 10% – 15% $1 per bag Round up
Samoa None None None
Saudi Arabia 10% -15% $1 – $2 per bag 10%
Scotland 10% -15% if no service charge $1 per bag Round up
Singapore None None None
South Africa 10% if no service charge 50 cents total 10%
South Korea None None None
Spain 7% – 10% in addition to service charge $1 per bag 10%
Sweden 10% if no service charge $1 per bag Round up
Switzerland Round up $1 per bag Round up
Taiwan 10% if no service charge $1 per bag None
Tanzania 10% None None
Thailand None None None
Turkey Round up $1 per bag Round up
Ukraine 10% $1 per bag Round up
United Arab Emirates None None None
United States 15% -20% $1 – $2 per bag 10% – 15%
Venezuela 10% 75 cents per bag 10%
Vietnam None None None
Wales 10% if no service charge $1 per bag 10%
Source: Magellan’s via USA Today

GADLING TAKE 5: September 8-14

Supposedly this is the world’s funniest joke: Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy takes out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps: “My friend is dead! What can I do?” The operator says: “Calm down, I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence, then a gunshot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: “OK, now what?”

It’s funny, sure, but the funniest in the world? Is that something you can even define? It’s like saying, “Green is the world’s best color.” Anyway, another week here at Gadling (one of our biggest ever!) has come and gone. Here are five stories you’ll want to make sure you don’t miss:

  • Our man in Japan, Matthew Firestone, sings his ode to the potent “rice wine” sake. I never cared much for the stuff, but maybe I was doing it wrong.
  • Catherine (who lives in Alaska) has heard plenty of idiotic questions from tourists in her time up North. She shares a few of her favorites including, “What time do they turn the Northern Lights on?
  • Iva is currently exploring Crete, the largest of the Greek islands. In the short time there she’s discovered three rules every driver must follow, and they’re not pretty.
  • Leif is still plodding through Romania. Arriving in Sibiu, he was finally able to address some personal issues. Quite a funny read.
  • Last but not least, Neil discovers that just a few days ago was Conception Day in Russia, where families are urged to make babies in hopes of popping one out on June 12th — Russia’s national holiday. Valuable prizes will be awarded, of course.

P.S. We’re accepting applications!

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of September 2

The first week of September, dead and gone. But what a week it was! (I say that every week, don’t I?) Regardless, it WAS a good week. There are no new Gadling writers to introduce you to, but there’s plenty of stories you need to check out in case you missed them the first time around. Here are a few highlights:

  • Neil warns travelers who are flying out of Bangkok today. “Residents living near Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi airport have threatened to release a wave of balloons into the air to disrupt flights today.”
  • Leif finally made it to Romania — sanity barely intact. “Shame on you Delta Airlines. Shame on you for treating your paying customers like prisoners and freeloaders. Shame on you for reorganizing reality so that as long as you’re not guilty of manslaughter, you take no responsibility for the welfare of your passengers.”
  • Matthew’s four-part ode to everyone’s favorite noodle dish, ramen, came to a close this week. “Unfortunately, if you don’t live in Japan, it’s near impossible to hunt down authentic ramen, though that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment in your own kitchen.”
  • Brett’s got a load of Czech beers you’ve never heard of. Happy Friday!
  • The results are in: most Gadling readers believe that women-only floors in hotels are dumb, dumb, dumb! What do you think?

Sehen Sie Sie folgende Woche!

Savvy Traveler: Eurozone vs. European Union

People who come to Eastern Europe (or East Central Europe–as those who like to remove themselves from any association with Russia–call Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic now) often wonder why even if they are in the EU, they can’t use euros here. Nothing is ever easy with the EU, is it.

There are 27 member states in the EU, yet only 13 of them have entered stage 3 of their EU membership: adoption of the Euro currency.

Here are the EU countries NOT using the Euro:

  • United Kingdom
  • Denmark
  • Sweden
  • Czech Republic
  • Bulgaria
  • Romania
  • Hungary
  • Poland
  • Cyprus
  • Estonia
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Malta
  • Slovakia

However, only Denmark and the UK negotiated a Euro exclusion from the original Maastricht Treaty.

The rest of the countries must legally join the Eurozone sooner or later, whether it is an economic advantage to them or not. The Czech Republic, for example is trying to postpone the Euro adoption as long as possible (fears of inflation) while Slovakia wants to be on the Euro as quickly as possible (hopes for new business opportunities). What everyone agrees on is that adopting the Euro makes everything more expensive for the consumer…and for the tourist.

Travel Lessons We Can Learn From Summer 2007

Christopher Elliott took a couple of polls and determined that travel this summer wasn’t as bad as it seemed. 54 percent of those polled even said their summer travels had been “average.” You wouldn’t think so just by reading Gadling, let alone any other travel news.

But, Elliott concedes, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been a few rough patches. Flight delays, horrible customer service, an overburdened passport office and high fuel prices have all but made even the most enthusiastic travelers yell “uncle.”

So, what can we learn from all these? Elliott draws some lessons:


1. Apply for your passport early.

The massive backlog at the passport office continues to worsen. Since the U.S. government began requiring air travelers to Canada or Mexico to have a passport, thousands of vacations were delayed or canceled due to delayed delivery. And in 2008 all overland travelers will need a passport, which will no doubt create an even larger stack of paperwork. “Express” service has been lengthened, and what used to take 6 weeks now can take upwards of 3 months. Mine expires in June 2008 and I’ve got to get on it. However, that passport crunch might be over….

2. Air travel is actually worse than reported.

Sure, airfares are (sorta) low and there’s a decent safety record, but who cares about that when your flight’s been canceled? Not only is this possibly the worst summer ever for air travel, but it’s shaping up to be the worst year. We’ve certainly had a lot to say about it. Like here. And here. And there’s this story. And blogger Leif is on a one-man rampage against Northwest.

3. Europe sucks.

Well, Elliott is a lot classier than I, and didn’t actually use the term “suck.” That’s all me. But if you traveled in Europe this summer, you might have had a sucky time. The dollar was at an all-time high low against the Euro (for 120 days, mind you!), luggage was lost like socks in a dryer, and Heathrow was more politely described by another blogger here at Gadling as “shabby and slow” (read: sucky). However, I have a hard time imagining that Europe wouldn’t be worth all the hassle. Even with the Eurotrash.

4. Mind the gap.

It’s as if Hurricane Katrina didn’t teach us one thing about aging infrastructure. After Minneapolis’s I35W bridge collapsed, we all paid more attention to the state of bridges and highways in the U.S. But will that save lives? The Transportation Department recorded an all-time low in traffic fatalities in 2006, and 2007 is following suit. Let’s hope the bridges continue to hold out.

5. TSA really sucks.

Again, we’ve had nothing but awful news to report here on the state of airport security. From laughable errors to scary incompetence, airport security has gotten a lot of flack this summer. And it’ll probably get more; according to Elliott, the new “Secure Flight” initiative threatens to take even more of our civil liberties away, even though it claims to protect travelers’ privacy. At least there are products out there to help us have fun with TSA.


Planning a trip? Check out our Travel Guides.

6. High fuel prices won’t stop us from taking our hard-earned vacations.

8 in 10 travelers complained about gas prices, but in general more people were taking road trips (perhaps because their flights were canceled? Just a thought). I know high fuel prices didn’t keep me from driving the 2500 miles from Seattle to Seward — but the prices also gave me something to complain about all the way through Canada. But mercifully, gas prices dropped a bit in June.

7. If your airline blames the weather, they’re probably lying.

How many times can you use the same excuse? Can’t the weather be filed away under “ancient clichés” with dog-eaten homework and it’s-not-you-it’s-me excuses?

It’s nearly impossible to disprove a weather excuse, and by blaming an “act of God,” the airlines get out of taking responsibility for a delayed or canceled flight. I predict more bad weather on the horizon for air travel.

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