When visiting Greece, people often assume that tipping isn’t necessary because service and the price are already included in your bill. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Tipping in the Mediterranean, both at home and abroad, is an important part of their culture – and it should be yours too!
Here are some tips on how to tip in Greece, as well as how much to tip and why you should take tipping seriously!
What is the proper tipping etiquette?
As in many other places around the world, tipping is quite common in several Mediterranean countries. It is customary to tip your waiter or waitress at a restaurant. As a guideline, 10% of your bill should be enough; 15% will show you were happy with service. Some businesses have even added fixed service charges to bills that are not optional.
General guidelines to tipping in Greece
Most restaurants add a service charge to bills in tourist areas. You are not expected to tip further, but it is considered polite to round up the bill by a few euros. However, if you want to tip, leave cash on your table or hand cash directly to your waiter at the end of your meal. It’s not appropriate for staff to come and ask for tips – make sure you have enough small change for any tips you give.
Tipping is usually expected in Greece, even though it’s not always written on a bill. Just round up to a few euros and leave it on the table before you go. If someone has particularly impressed you with their service, make sure to reward them accordingly with a tip—but don’t be stingy! It isn’t typical to tip taxi drivers or bellhops, but if you want to do so, round up your fare or offer one euro for each bag carried
Tipping in Greece for a Taxi
Taxis are required to add an additional 10% to 15% on your fare as a service charge; just remember it’s not necessary for you to tip your driver, but you may choose to leave an extra few euro if you have a positive experience. For example, if there was little traffic or good conversation, or if you were pleased with our speedy arrival time.
Tipping in Greek Hotels
It is customary to tip around 10% of your total bill at restaurants in Greece. It’s not customary to tip hotel or motel porters or maids, but you can round up your room rate if it was a higher number than expected. Most porters are willing to bring luggage up to your room for a small fee and they usually carry two bags per person.
Tipping your Greek travel guide
You will find that tipping is customary in Greece. It’s called Trata and although they are supposed to be treated as professionals, you might feel better tipping your driver or tour guide if you have a nice time with them.
Discussion about this post