A customer recently asked me about the rules regarding gratuities for tour guides. She was traveling to Europe and had pre-booked some tours through an online service. Stating that she felt she had paid “top dollar” for the tour and believed that a tip for the tour guide should be included in the total price but, she was not certain if that was correct.
When To Tip the tour guide
Most tour guides do not expect tips, but they do appreciate them. If a guide is working through a booking service they are probably making minimum wage and tips are welcome.
Guides who are self-employed receive the entire payment therefore, much like having the owner of a beauty salon do your hair, you aren’t expected to tip them. A private tour guide with an agency is likely making better than minimum wage but would still very much appreciate the tip.
How Much To Tip
How much is appropriate? Well, it’s not that simple.
Let’s say you paid $50 for a three-hour walking tour with a small group of eight or fewer. If you loved the tour a 20% tip would be appropriate. If you thought it was just ok, maybe 15, 10, or even 5 percent tip seems reasonable. To clarify, that means per person in your group. If you thought it was awful let your conscience be your guide.
Tipping on river cruises
I’ve been on a few Viking River cruises and there are daily tours with excellent guides. Many times there is a bus driver as well. Should you tip the guide, the driver, or both? I generally tip both people. Since groups on cruise tours are generally larger, up to 20 people, I don’t feel I need to leave as large a tip as if it was a private tour or a small group tour.
Viking usually recommends a euro or two for the driver and two or more for the guide, at your discretion of course. I always tip the driver. Many times I’ve been amazed at the skill the driver exhibits in squeezing the bus into a small space or through a sequence of hairpin turns. Not to mention the safety factor. A good driver is everything. So, I’m going to go out on a limb and say, Always tip the driver.
Always tip in cash
One thing that is across the board in Europe, tipping should be done in cash. Most people there are not going to whip out their smart phone for you to tip them via Apple Pay. I tried that and felt like an idiot.
The point I want to make here is, don’t assume because you paid what you believe to be a high price for a tour that you should not tip. One option is to ask the tour company if tips are included in the fee. If they say no, ask what is an appropriate tip. But first and foremost, do what you believe to be right. Again, when in doubt, just ask.
Follow Your Instincts And Be Nice
As a professional in a service business, I sometimes receive tips. I never expect anything, but I do appreciate them. My goal is to provide the level of service I would expect. When someone tips me, I feel it means they recognize and appreciate me and my experience. I believe service people make the world go ’round. At the very least be kind and never assume anything.
What I’ve learned in my recent travels
What I’ve learned recently in my European travels is that many guides are making minimum wage. Unfortunately, the minimum wage doesn’t support a minimum lifestyle in most places post-pandemic. In Portugal for example, the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment is 1000 euros. That sounds great to most Americans. However, the average monthly income in Portugal is 700-900 euros. Hardly enough to pay rent, buy food, etc.
In the UK wages are considerably lower than in the US for the same job. In most cases, I found the tip was already built into the price. If I was uncertain, I simply asked. Now that you know, let your conscience be your guide.
Meanwhile, if you’re booking any upcoming tours please check out Take Walks. I am an affiliate, and I love their tours. If you book through my link I’ll receive a small commission which will buy me a cup of coffee.
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9 comments
for countries such as mine, ( NZ) tipping is not normal and so it seems unfair to have to give a lot more as tips after you have paid thousands for a tour. i can understand that this is built into the system because people are paid so miserably.
what really needs to happen is people get a living wage from their employer and costs are built into front charge for the tour, then no one feels cheated and it is all clear.
It certainly would make it easier!
Thanks Penny, the weird typos etc were coz I’m on the iPad!
I made it clear that the cellars we went to were really doing me a favour & they tasted top grand crus! In addition they left me with their wine exports to sort out. As you say, it’s really rude to leave nothing for the guide. The problem with tacking the equivalent if the tip onto the fee they pay for the day is that it’s taxed
I got the impression that this happens often, was that a wrong impression? Or was it only this one time? Either way, it blows to have to pay taxes on the money, but it beats not getting it at all. And then if you do get a tip on top of that – bonus!
I am a tour guide in a famous french wine region. In comparison with other guides here my prices are very reasinable and I put my heart & soul into my tours and I am extremely knowledgeable. I have quite a lot of wealthy people on my tours who buy cases of wine to be sent back to he US and I get them into amazing wine estates, but more often than not they leave no tip whatsoever after having flashed their cash all day long buying wine etc. Today I came home very dispirited as I had worked extremely hard putting a tour together for an american family of four, & worked 90 minutes over my time so i was working 91/2 hours with them – not a penny! Surely they see how hard I worked & how much effort goes into the tour! It’s the height of stinginess… to get a wadge of cash out to pay for the tour & just take the exact amount. I have now decided to put my prices up to cover a 20% tip ( which I rarely get). My are american wel off people so mean?
That sounds rude! I can’t speak for wealthy Americans, but I think it’s a good idea to include your tip in the service fee, especially if you’re price is already a bit lower than your competitors. If I can make a recommendation or two, when you do an extra service for someone that you’d like to be compensated for, be sure to let them know that you’re doing them a favor, otherwise most people will not be appreciative. Or tell them up front I can do this for you and my fee is an additional – whatever you think it’s worth. That may not be the way you would do it with French customers, but believe me, Americans will understand this. I think many people are confused about tours and how to handle tipping which is why I wrote this. I hope this is helpful and would be interested to hear how you get on.
Not all Americans are wealthy. I know for me, years of saving provided the trip. The last trip I took was to New Zealand and Australia; they lost my luggage on the first leg of a 31 day trip. We had purchased travel insurance…guess what, it didn’t cover any losses. That was back in 2007. I haven’t been on an overseas trip since. The tour group said all tips were covered. They weren’t.
That’s funny. I’m an American tour guide and I find that it’s the Europeans that are the ones that are either poor or non-tippers. I’m the single mother of a disabled child and I absolutely depend on tips and I’ve had a lot of Europeans tell me that they don’t do it that way over there. It’s common and customary to tip tour guides in the United States. Interesting that your situation is reversed. It is so disheartening I agree, but keep your head up and focus on those that are kind and generous. Best of luck to you!
I’m not a tour guide. I’m a writer and I’m offering the advice and guidance on tipping.