Tipping in Asia: what to tip in 20 countries

Tipping in Asia has no single rule, and a number that works in one country is wrong in the next one. Tips are refused and can cause offence in Japan, are officially discouraged in Singapore and the Maldives, and are a normal part of the bill in Jordan, Sri Lanka and Israel.

Asia holds roughly 48 countries, so no page covers all of it honestly. This guide covers 20: Cambodia, China, Cyprus, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Laos, the Maldives, Oman, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. Three of those sit across a continental border, so a word on scope: Cyprus is geographically in Western Asia while being politically European and inside the EU, and Russia and Turkey straddle the line. They are included because travellers ask about them in the same breath as the rest.

Two things shape almost every entry below. The first is whether a service charge is already on the bill, because in much of Asia it is, and a second tip on top is optional rather than expected. The second is currency: cash figures recorded a few years ago are still roughly right in countries with a stable currency and badly wrong in countries without one. The Turkish lira, the Russian rouble and the Sri Lankan rupee have all moved a long way, so in those three entries treat the percentage as the reliable guide and the cash figure as a rough shape.

Tipping figures for hotel staff assume a mid-range or upmarket hotel. There is no bellboy to tip at a guesthouse.

Not the continent you were after? Tipping etiquette around the world routes to every region, including tipping in Africa and tipping in Europe.

Tipping in Asia at a glance

The table below sets the 20 countries side by side so you can see how far apart they are. Restaurant figures assume no service charge has already been added.

Cambodia

Tipping in Cambodia is optional and warmly received, and the US dollar circulates alongside the riel, so dollar notes are normal rather than odd. The $2 bill is the note people reach for.

Restaurants and bars: 5% covers satisfactory service and 10% marks out something better. A flat $1 per diner works just as well. At bars, 5% to 10% suits attentive service.

Tour guides: Around 10% of the tour cost, or $2 to $4 per person per day if you would rather not do the arithmetic. A driver gets $1 to $2, or lunch.

Taxi drivers: Round up the fare or add $1.

Hotel staff: $1 to $2 per bag for bellhops and porters, and the same per day for cleaning staff.

Good to know: There are no strict rules here and nobody will be offended by what you choose. Poor service does not have to be rewarded.

China

Tipping on mainland China is rare and some establishments refuse it outright. Macau and Hong Kong work differently, because both have long-standing tipping habits built around international visitors.

Restaurants and bars: No tip at roadside eateries, pubs or local restaurants. Some top-end places include a gratuity, and nothing is expected on top. Restaurants in Hong Kong and Macau usually add a 10% to 15% service charge.

Tour guides: Tipping guides on tours aimed at international visitors has become common. Around 80 to 150 yuan a day is the figure quoted, and it stays at your discretion.

Taxi drivers: No tip on the mainland. In Hong Kong and Macau, round the fare up or add a couple of dollars.

Hotel staff: At high-end hotels, porters take about 5 yuan per bag and room attendants about 10 yuan per night. Nothing is expected at inns and hostels. Hong Kong porters expect more, roughly ten Hong Kong dollars per bag.

Good to know: A small gift works instead of cash for a guide or driver, whether that is a bottle of wine, a shirt or chocolates.

Cyprus

Tipping in Cyprus is light, and rounding up is the default rather than a percentage. The euro is the currency in the Republic.

Restaurants and bars: Entirely up to you. Most people round the bill up, and around 10% marks out good service. Nothing is expected in pubs and bars.

Tour guides: Optional, with an extra 10% of the tour price appreciated.

Taxi drivers: No tip needed. Round up if you want to.

Hotel staff: €1 to €2 per suitcase for porters. Housekeeping expects nothing, and €2 to €4 is a generous gesture.

Good to know: Cypriots rarely tip taxi drivers but do tip delivery riders €1 to €2, out of sympathy for anyone on a scooter in the rain or the August heat.

India

Tipping in India is expected of visitors, modest in size, and easy to overdo. Large tips read as showing off rather than as generosity, so keep them small and frequent rather than occasional and large.

The service charge rule changed, and most guides have not caught up. India’s Central Consumer Protection Authority banned restaurants from adding a service charge automatically in guidelines issued on 4 July 2022, and the Delhi High Court upheld those guidelines on 28 March 2025, holding that mandatory collection of a service charge is contrary to law. A service charge in India is now a voluntary contribution you can ask to have removed. Older articles that tell you restaurants in Mumbai and Delhi levy one as a matter of course are describing a practice the courts have ruled against.

Restaurants and bars: 7% to 10% of the bill for table service. If a service charge appears anyway, you are entitled to ask for it to be taken off, and then tip what you think the service was worth.

Tour guides: Around ₹400 to ₹500 for a full day is the range most operators quote, more for a specialist private guide.

Taxi drivers: Round up short metered trips. On longer runs about 10% is normal, and ₹200 to ₹300 is the usual figure for a driver hired for a full day.

Hotel staff: ₹50 to ₹100 per bag for porters. Housekeeping takes a similar amount per night at a mid-range hotel and more at a luxury one.

Good to know: Tip in rupees. Foreign notes and coins are awkward to change and a foreign coin is worthless, so change money before you start handing out tips.

Indonesia

Tipping is not an Indonesian habit, though visitors have been importing it steadily. Tip when you think it is deserved and not as a reflex.

Restaurants and bars: Many restaurants build a 10% service fee into the bill. Where none appears, round up to a convenient figure or leave the small change.

Tour guides: The equivalent of about $10 per person per day in rupiah for a full day, and around $2 to $3 for a short tour.

Taxi drivers: Taxis are metered and the meter is the price. Rounding up is what most people do, so a Rp 28,500 fare becomes Rp 30,000.

Hotel staff: Hotels add a 10% service charge, and anything beyond it is your choice. Bellboys and housekeepers appreciate the equivalent of $1 to $2.

Israel

Tips are welcome at any size in Israel and the expected percentages sit close to Western ones. Service quality is what people tip on.

Restaurants and bars: 10% to 15% of the bill for a waiter, scaling with how smart the restaurant is. Tipping bartenders is uncommon, and a 10 shekel coin is a nice touch.

Tour guides: Around 30 to 50 shekels per person per day on a coach tour, and 50 to 80 shekels for a private guide.

Taxi drivers: Drivers are not used to tips. Round the fare up if the ride was helpful.

Hotel staff: About 20 shekels for a porter carrying bags to your room, and 10 to 15 shekels for a chambermaid who leaves the room spotless.

Good to know: At a wedding or a bar mitzvah it is normal courtesy to tip the serving staff, usually by slipping a 20 shekel note into the server’s palm or leaving it by your plate.

Japan

Tipping does not exist in Japan and attempting it causes awkwardness rather than pleasure. Tips are refused, and in many situations they read as an insult, because service staff take pride in the job rather than working towards a gratuity.

Restaurants and bars: Never tip. Cash left on a table usually results in a server chasing you down the street to return it. Bartenders and cocktail servers decline tips too.

Tour guides: This is the one real exception, because guides working with foreign visitors are used to the custom. It is not obligatory and it is not insulting. A few dollars’ worth is plenty.

Taxi drivers: No tip.

Hotel staff: Staff normally refuse. Do not take it personally. On the rare occasion you want to, put the cash in a sealed envelope and leave it in the room rather than handing it over.

Good to know: Use an envelope and seal it. Pulling notes out of a wallet in public view is what makes people uncomfortable, not the money itself. A souvenir from your own country works better than cash, and offering to buy lunch or coffee works better still if you have spent the day together.

Jordan

Tipping is built into Jordan‘s service and tourism industry, and the staff receiving it are underpaid. Tip according to the service, and never feel obliged to reward bad service.

Restaurants and bars: Mid-range and smart restaurants add a 10% service charge, and servers generally expect 5% to 10% on top of it. Bartenders take 1 dinar per drink or a small percentage of the bill.

Tour guides: 4 dinar per person per day for a group guide, and 2 dinar per person per day for the driver.

Taxi drivers: Pay the rounded-up figure on the meter. A driver hired for the day works on a fixed fare agreed beforehand, which normally has the gratuity built in.

Hotel staff: 1 dinar per bag for porters, and the same or a little more per night for chambermaids. If you are going to ask the concierge for something difficult, tip in advance rather than after.

Good to know: In Petra, Bedouin guides and helpers sometimes ask for a tip even when they have already been paid. Declining is perfectly acceptable.

Laos

You hardly need to tip anywhere in Laos. Tipping is not a Lao custom and turns up mainly in places built for tourists.

Restaurants and bars: 10% at top-end restaurants in Vientiane if it has not already been added. Nothing at mid-range places.

Tour guides: Guides are about the only people you need to tip in Laos. The equivalent of $3 to $5 in kip on a package tour, and up to $10 for a full day.

Taxi drivers: No tip, because fares are agreed before you set off.

Hotel staff: Staff expect less here than almost anywhere else on this list. Tip only when someone goes out of their way. The equivalent of about $2 per bag covers a bellboy.

Maldives

Tipping is discouraged in the Maldives and banned at the airport. Resorts have made it more acceptable, with 10% treated as the ceiling rather than the norm.

Restaurants and bars: A 10% service charge is usually in the price already. A 5% to 10% cash tip is still a good idea, because there is no guarantee the whole service charge reaches the serving staff.

Tour guides: Optional, and package tours here are not cheap to begin with. $10 for a full-day tour if you want to.

Taxi drivers: No tip. A boat taxi is the exception, where $5 at the end of the trip is normal.

Hotel staff: $1 per item of luggage for porters. Many resorts keep a staff tip box at reception, and $10 to $20 for a week’s stay is a reasonable contribution to it. Tipping individual housekeepers, bar staff and waiters is your choice on top.

Good to know: The official currency is the Maldivian rufiyaa, but resorts price and take payment in US dollars as a matter of routine, so dollars are the practical tipping currency. Some older guides describe the dollar as an official currency here, which it is not.

Oman

Tipping has not been an Omani habit and is becoming one slowly, mostly in five-star settings.

Restaurants and bars: Locals eat out less than in neighbouring countries, so tipping is a smaller part of the culture. Smart restaurants add a service charge. Where none appears, 10% is standard, and rounding up to the next rial is fine. In mid-range places the small change is enough and most locals leave nothing.

Tour guides: Not required, and nobody will refuse it.

Taxi drivers: Do not tip taxi drivers. Some will overcharge, or claim to have no change for a large note in the hope you leave it. Agree the fare before you get in, and treat that figure as inclusive.

Hotel staff: Bills normally carry a government tax and a service charge, and anything on top is optional. 1 rial is the usual figure for porterage and for housekeeping.

Philippines

Tipping in the Philippines is voluntary and read as goodwill rather than obligation. Filipinos tip less often than visiting tourists do, though it is customary among the middle and upper class.

Restaurants and bars: Many sit-down restaurants add a service charge, usually 10%, and by law 85% of that charge goes to the employees with the rest to management. An extra ₱20 or ₱50 note marks out good service. At bars, round up or leave the loose change.

Tour guides: Around 10% of the tour cost, or ₱200 per day on a private tour.

Taxi drivers: Round the metered fare up. ₱20 to ₱50 is a good gesture for a driver who has genuinely helped. Tricycle fares at beaches and trailheads are agreed in advance, so watch for overcharging rather than worrying about a tip.

Hotel staff: ₱20 for a porter, up to ₱50 with a lot of luggage. Housekeepers take ₱20 to ₱50 per day, left on the bedside table in an envelope or with a note.

Good to know: A security guard who helps you park at a mall, restaurant or resort is normally given ₱20 or ₱50. In smaller car parks, unofficial attendants will park and then watch your car, and spare change or a ₱20 note covers it.

Qatar

Service workers in Qatar earn very little despite the country’s wealth, and tipping anyone who serves you well is a safe default. Local practice varies from household to household.

Restaurants and bars: 10% to 15% of what you pay is standard at restaurants. Round up the bill for drinks at a bar.

Tour guides: 18 to 20 riyals per day, more for a tour you genuinely enjoyed.

Taxi drivers: Rounding up is customary. Add 5 riyals if the driver carried bags or gave you useful local information.

Hotel staff: 5 to 10 riyals for porters, and a little more per day for chambermaids.

Good to know: Policies differ by establishment. Some forbid staff from pocketing cash, others run a central tipping box. Avoid tipping by card, because that money goes to management. Hand tips over discreetly.

Russia

Tipping became normal in Russia only fairly recently and is firmly established in Moscow and St Petersburg. Lead with the percentage here, because the rouble has moved a great deal and cash figures from older guides no longer mean what they did.

Restaurants and bars: Gratuities are rarely on the bill. Tip 10% to 15% in cash and hand it to the server directly rather than leaving it. Round up on a small order. Carry cash, because some places still do not take cards. Tipping bartenders is optional.

Tour guides: Roughly 10% of the day rate for a full-day tour, plus something for the driver. Buying a private guide lunch or a snack is a normal courtesy.

Taxi drivers: No tip expected. Round the fare up to the nearest convenient figure.

Hotel staff: Roughly the equivalent of $1 to $3 per trip for a porter, and the same per day for cleaning staff. A concierge who lands you a hard reservation takes more, in the region of $5 to $10.

Good to know: A personal touch counts here. A thank-you note with the cash goes down well, and a small present such as a local delicacy or a souvenir works instead of money for a guide or driver you liked.

Singapore

Singapore has no tipping culture and the government actively discourages it, so the honest answer is to skip it. Restaurants and hotels add a service charge in any case.

Restaurants and bars: Sit-down places add 10% automatically. The “++” on a menu price means service charge and taxes are yet to be added. Pay the exact figure and nothing more. Where no service charge appears, tipping is your choice and 10% is the ceiling.

Tour guides: No tip needed.

Taxi drivers: No tip needed, though rounding to the nearest Singapore dollar is accepted.

Hotel staff: Room rates at mid-range and upmarket hotels include a 10% service charge that covers porterage, cleaning and concierge work in theory. Budget hotels and inns do not add it. Many guests still give porters a dollar a bag and housekeepers a couple of dollars a day.

Good to know: Tipping is prohibited at the airport, for store attendants, waiters and porters alike.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a tipping country and staff are comfortable about it, sometimes visibly waiting to see what you do. Percentages here are more reliable than cash figures, because the rupee has lost a great deal of value.

Restaurants and bars: About 10% in cash at a mid or high-end restaurant. Bar staff expect nothing, and 100 rupees covers attentive service for a whole evening.

Tour guides: Package tours usually build the gratuity in. On top of that, roughly 10% of the day rate is a fair figure for a guide who earned it, and about the same for a driver.

Taxi drivers: Tipping drivers is a normal courtesy here, and taxis are cheap enough that hiring one for a day is common. Something in the region of 10% of the fare works for both a short trip and a full day.

Hotel staff: 100 rupees per bag for porters, and 100 to 500 rupees per day for housekeeping. Upmarket hotels call their concierge staff butlers, and 500 rupees a day is the figure quoted for good service.

Good to know: At a spa or an ayurveda treatment, 10% of the total bill is the usual tip for the therapist.

Thailand

Tipping in Thailand is a personal choice and never a legal requirement, however much Western visitors have shifted expectations. Do not tip if the service was poor.

Restaurants and bars: The smarter the place, the more likely a tip is expected. Locals never tip at street stalls. 10% is standard at upmarket restaurants. Bars and clubs run a tab rather than charging per order, so 20 baht covers a drink or two and 50 to 100 baht suits a whole evening. Some places pool tips in a pot and split them across the bar staff.

Tour guides: The equivalent of about $10 a day. You are under no obligation, and skipping it is fine.

Taxi drivers: No tip expected. Add a small one for a long journey or a driver who went out of their way. Tuk-tuk fares are agreed beforehand and nothing further is expected.

Hotel staff: 20 to 50 baht for porters and bellboys, and around 20 baht per night for room cleaning.

Good to know: Never leave a one-baht coin. The denomination is worth so little that it reads as an insult rather than a tip.

Turkey

Turks tip modestly, and expectations have risen where foreign visitors are common. Work in percentages here rather than fixed lira amounts, because inflation has made the cash figures in older guides meaningless.

Restaurants and bars: Nothing required at cheap eateries, though it is appreciated. 10% to 15% is standard at upmarket bars and restaurants. Musicians who play at your table work for tips, and a small note is polite if you enjoyed it and nothing is required if you did not.

Tour guides: A percentage of the tour price for the group rather than a set lira figure, with the driver taking somewhat less.

Taxi drivers: No tip expected. Round the fare up. On a private transfer nothing is usually expected, and 5% is a generous gesture.

Hotel staff: A note rather than coins, for both porters and chambermaids. Any published lira figure older than a year or two will be too low to hand over without embarrassment.

Good to know: Lira is the preferred tipping currency and foreign notes are accepted. Never tip in foreign coins, which cannot be exchanged.

United Arab Emirates

The UAE has no strict tipping protocol and most of it comes down to preference. Service charges are common, which changes the arithmetic.

Restaurants and bars: A 10% to 16% service charge is typically already on the bill, and nothing further is needed. Where none appears, 10% is the figure, up to 15% for service you were particularly happy with. Round up the bill for bartenders.

Tour guides: 5% to 10% of the tour cost, for guides and drivers alike.

Taxi drivers: Round up to the nearest note. AED 1 to AED 3 extra for an efficient, polite driver.

Hotel staff: AED 5 to AED 10 for porters, more with heavy luggage. AED 2 to AED 5 per day for room cleaning, left on the pillow.

Good to know: Car window washers, delivery drivers, grocery baggers and petrol station attendants are all commonly tipped AED 2 or the small change.

Vietnam

Tipping is not a traditional Vietnamese practice, and Western influence has made it normal without making it obligatory. It is most established in Hanoi, in restaurants, bars and hotels.

Restaurants and bars: Most bars and restaurants add a 5% service fee and 10% tax. Little of that service money reaches the servers, so 5% to 10% in cash on top is worth leaving for good service.

Tour guides: The equivalent of about $15 a day for a guide, and half that for the driver. A small present works as well as cash here.

Taxi drivers: No tip needed. Do as locals do and round up.

Hotel staff: About a dollar a bag for porters. Chambermaids take a couple of dollars, left on the bedside table on your last day.

Good to know: At a smart spa, $5 to $10 is customary where no gratuity is included. Spas selling multi-day treatments often publish their tipping policy, which saves the guesswork.

WonderfulWanderings Pro Tips

Four things worth knowing before you start handing out cash in Asia are listed below.

1. Check the bill for a service charge before you tip anything. It is already there in Singapore, the UAE, the Maldives, Indonesia, Vietnam and most smart restaurants in Jordan and Oman, and tipping on top of it is optional in every one of those places rather than expected.
2. In India, a service charge is now voluntary by law. The Central Consumer Protection Authority banned automatic service charges in July 2022 and the Delhi High Court upheld that ban in March 2025, so you can ask for the line to be removed and tip what you thought the service was worth instead.
3. Carry small local notes, never foreign coins. Foreign coins cannot be exchanged anywhere on this list, which makes them a worse gift than nothing. Turkey and India both make the point explicitly.
4. In Japan, use an envelope or use nothing. Handing cash over directly is the part that causes the awkwardness, not the money, and a souvenir or a bought lunch sidesteps the problem entirely.

If something here does not match what you found on the ground, let us know and we will check it for the next update.

About the author. This guide is written and maintained by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team. Wonderful Wanderings was founded in 2012 by Sofie Couwenbergh, and the site has covered independent travel in Asia since then. The team tracks the practical side of travelling the continent, including what to tip guides, drivers and hotel staff in each country, and updates this page when service-charge rules and currencies change.