Recommended Amount to Tip Taxi Drivers in Barcelona

[seabrookcruiser]

For those of you that have been to Barcelona before...what is the customary amount for tourists to tip taxi drivers there. We will be using a taxi from airport to hotel which I understand the fare will include a luggage supplement. We will also use a taxi to get from our hotel to the port.

Edited April 15, 2011 by seabrookcruiser

[riffatsea]

In general it is not required to tip anyone in Spain(or Italy) . The tipping culture is totally different than in the USA!! IF you want to give something then leave 10% or less. Tourists from the USA are famous for overtipping so you will get lots of other ideas I am sure!

[seabrookcruiser]

In general it is not required to tip anyone in Spain(or Italy) . The tipping culture is totally different than in the USA!! IF you want to give something then leave 10% or less. Tourists from the USA are famous for overtipping so you will get lots of other ideas I am sure!

 

riffatsea...

 

Thanks for the information.

[edunava]

Hello from Barcelona.

 

Two or three euros for a tip is sufficient.

 

Greetings.

Edu.

[Turtles06]

Last year, upon our arrival in Barcelona, we tried to tip the taxi driver who took us from the BCN airport to our hotel, and he insisted we take the money back. Obviously, a very new experience for us as Americans! :)

[Maverick!]

In general it is not required to tip anyone in Spain(or Italy) . The tipping culture is totally different than in the USA!! IF you want to give something then leave 10% or less. Tourists from the USA are famous for overtipping so you will get lots of other ideas I am sure!

 

I would have to disagree with you with respect to Italy....We have family there and vacation there every year (and have been to almost all regions) and unless the tip is included in your bill (be sure to verify) the waiters do expect something more than a nominal round up of the bill.

 

By the way, there is usually a table fee charged in Italy which is not technically the tip for service.

 

We will be travelling to Spain for the first time this summer and wonder if it is the same custom (i.e. the table fee) ?

[MeHeartCruising]

Last year, upon our arrival in Barcelona, we tried to tip the taxi driver who took us from the BCN airport to our hotel, and he insisted we take the money back. Obviously, a very new experience for us as Americans! :)

 

Ha. I experienced the same thing in Barcelona. I was very surprised. However, I also have successfully tipped other taxi drivers in BCN without any objection from them.

Edited April 16, 2011 by MeHeartCruising

[riffatsea]

I don't know where you visit in Italy or who has taught the waiters there to ask for tips BUT in Venice, Bologna,Florence, Rome, etc. the folks there do not ask for tips nor expect them! The charge for pan e coperto is not a tip that goes to waiters and neither is a % service charge that is shown on some menus. Someone has been bamboozling you!!

There is no table fee in Barcelona. I don't know about the rest of Spain.

[seabrookcruiser]

Thanks to all of you for your replies. Very helpful.

[riffatsea]

Here is some info about tipping written on the Trip Advisor Barcelona forum.The writer is aDestination Expert who is a native of the city and lives there full time:

IF tipping *at all*. A 5% here will be generally seen as *very* generous. For business and personal special occasions I have been to some special places like Cinc Sentits, Moo... and there still tips were of about a 5%... even we don't calculate this as a percentage. It's more about leaving i.e. 5€ per person in a posh place (after spending 80-100€ per person) versus leaving a few € max (as a *total* tip) in a basic place.

 

Here is more info about tipping other people who are not restaurant employees:

OK, for clarification, what's usual here, other than resturants:

- Cafes, bars, ice-cream parlors, etc.: no tip, or just a few cents to round the euro.

- Taxis: usually no tip, or again to round the €. Maybe a couple of € in case of a long ride (i.e. from the airport), *only* in case it was a nice driver.

- the person who checks your coat: usually no tip. Even in 'posh' restaurants.... for instance a few weeks ago in Koy-Shunka, when we left the place there was a small queue customers retrieving our coats and no one gave a tip (now I realize I did not even though on it)

- anyone in a hotel who touches your luggage etc... the few times someone helped me with luggage when on business trips around Spain (I usually carry my luggage, so in most cases there is no chance), the person dissapeared so fast I could not tip them the 1€ I planned to give them. I guess they assumed as I was 'local' I would not tip. Maybe the are 'slower' with tourists... ;-)

I hope this clears up things.

[English_in_Spain]

I live in Spain and I am sorry but I do not agree with what has been said. This is the way it was in Spain some twenty or thirty years ago.

 

Now things are different. This is the case wherever in Spain you are.

 

In general, people do tip if they have received good service. The amount depends on what the waiter, taxi driver etc has done for you. If you estimate approx +/- 10% rounding to the nearest Euro you will be about right.

 

If you do not believe me then watch the locals when leaving a bar or restaurant. You will see that the majority will leave a tip on the table.

[riffatsea]

English in Spain, The person who wrote the info above said that perhaps the customs are different outside of Barcelona.Her info was based on what she and her colleagues do. She is a native business person and I would expect her info to be correct for Barcelona.

I would expect that YOU are correct for other cities in Spain.

[ATLConsultant]

I would have to disagree with you with respect to Italy....We have family there and vacation there every year (and have been to almost all regions) and unless the tip is included in your bill (be sure to verify) the waiters do expect something more than a nominal round up of the bill.

 

By the way, there is usually a table fee charged in Italy which is not technically the tip for service.

 

We will be travelling to Spain for the first time this summer and wonder if it is the same custom (i.e. the table fee) ?

 

The charge you mean is "cubierto". It is usually a few euros and is attached to your bill. It is NOT a gratuity; rather a fee for eating in the restaurant and taking up a table (for Americans that is weird...i know) and it often includes the bread basket. If you eat inside the restaurant you must pay this fee. Then some restaurants charge a 10% service charge. If you see that: that is your tip. If you do NOT see it (other than France/Belgium/Germany) where the servers get paid a salary already), then you may leave an addl 5-10% tip.

 

In Italy (especially in the cities) they very very much expect at least a 10% tip and in Rome they will expect a 15% tip, from my experience with waiters there.

 

To answer your question: Argentina, Spain, and Italy all charge the cubierto fee (fee for a table in the restaurant).

[Kineticoh20]

I really don't care if a certain country or culture does not expect a tip. I tip because it's my way of showing appreciation for service and I do it for my own satisfaction as well.

[UKBayern]

Edunava, Maverick and English in Spain are right. It is the same everywhere in Europe. You round up to the next euro, leave a coin on the table or give something small. Watch the locals in Italy and Spain drinking coffee at the bar. Everybody leaves a coin next to the cup when they leave. Not giving anything is not only stingy, it is a subtle way to say you thought the service was terrible.

[LondonTowner]

The 'cubierto' or cover charge is not for sitting at the table, it is for the table cloth, cutlery and bread. Years ago there was an extra charge to sit at a table, but that has died out now. It was much cheaper to stand at the bar to eat your meal than sit at a table. You may find a few die hard places in Madrid still operating this system, but it is not common these days.

 

In European countries it is not customary to leave a huge tip. All you need to do is round up to the nearest Euro. In these times of austerity, the local people will probably be leaving nothing.

[debagk]

As a former waitress I can't believe they expect a tip more than 5%, I've received a couple of quarters for a $10 check and cringe the next day when they'd come back and ask for me again. :eek: