When visiting a country like the Philippines for the first time you start to wonder about what is customary in that particular country. One of those questions is tipping expected in the Philippines. You should remember that the wages in the Philippines are quite low, especially for those who work in shops, hotels, drivers, and tours. So, is tipping in the Philippines expected?
No, the Philippines is not a tipping country. So you are not expected to tip and it is not mandatory. Some restaurants do add a service charge to the bill. With the workers in the Philippines earning a low wage, it is appreciated when you leave a small tip when you experience good service. And they will not be offended.
In this post, we will go through whether tipping in the Philippines is expected. Let’s get started!
Learn More About The Philippines
- Reasons Not To Visit The Philippines
- Can A Foreigner Drive A Scooter In The Philippines?
- What Kind Of Adapter Do I Need For The Philippines?
- Can You Use US Dollars In The Philippines?
- Do The Philippines Speak Spanish?
- Can You Flush Toilet Paper In The Philippines?
Is Tipping Expected In The Philippines?
No, the Philippines is not a tipping country. It is not expected nor mandatory to tip in the Philippines. Some restaurants may add a service charge to the total bill. These restaurants are typically upmarket.
While with taxi drivers, you are not expected to tip but it is common for them to round up the fare or even ask for a tip. There are places where you might wonder if you need to leave a tip. These are as follows.
- Restaurants.
- Street Food.
- Bars.
- Tour Guides.
- Hotel.
- Taxis.
Restaurants
At small restaurants, family-owned restaurants, and cafe shops, tipping is generally not expected. The more fancy or upscale the restaurant will more likely add a service charge of roughly 5% to 10% tip to the total bill automatically.
Whether the waiter or waitress gets any of that service charge is debatable. Either way, if you had a positive experience and you want to leave a tip, give the tip directly to the person you want to tip. You shouldn’t just leave it on the table.
Street Food
You do not need to tip the street food vendors when buying street food. If you really want to leave a tip you will have to tell them or just give them the tip after the transaction.
Bars
The staff working in bars in the Philippines generally depend on tips to top up their wages. Simply if receive a good service, leaving a tip is appreciated.
Tour Guides
Being a tour guide is a thankless job. They have to entertain everyone in the group and try to keep everyone happy. And do it will a simile.
Depending on your experience of the tour and properly the length of the tour. Hand the tip to the tour guide discreetly at the end of your tour. Roughly the tip to your tour guide can roughly be around 5 to 15%.
Hotels
Generally tipping in hotels is not expected but for more fancy upmarket hotels it is expected. Whether you want to leave a tip to the porters, maids, cleaners, etc.. this is entirely up to you if the service has been great.
If you want to tip the maids and cleaners. You can do so by leaving a tip and envelope in your room somewhere with a note.
Taxis
There’s no expectation to tip a taxi driver in the Philippines. Taxis are known for their scams, particularly by not using the meter and charging high fees for their services plus they tend to try and upsell something to tourists.
Just round up the fare, so the driver gets a small tip.
What Is A Reasonable Tip In The Philippines?
A fair tip to leave if you get a good service would be around 5% to 10% of the total bill is considered a fair amount. You will have to judge whether to give higher than 5% or to go lower. Anything from between 20 to 50 pesos is the norm in the Philippines.
What Is Considered A Good Tip In The Philippines?
Tipping around 10% of the total bill is a really good tip in the Philippines. But anything from between 20 to 50 pesos is the norm in the Philippines. Remember that if eating at a more upmarket restaurant that will have a service charge and the bill is higher, you can ignore the 10% rule.
USEFUL TRAVEL RESOURCES
Book Accommodation
Booking.com has a large range of properties from hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and resorts where you will find the best deals. Airbnb and Hostelworld also have a good range of places to stay at good prices.
Booking Flight
Skyscanner is a flight search comparison website that searches millions of flights all at once. Ultimately it is the best flight comparison website online at the moment.
Booking Transportation & Things To Do
Rome2rio and 12Go are useful to plan how to get anywhere by searching train, bus, car, and ferry routes. Especially useful in countries like Vietnam or Thailand. While Klook is great for exploring things to do in each place.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is cheap and more than likely you will never need to use it but you will have peace of mind if something does happen, you are covered in case of an emergency. World Nomads have great customer service and competitive prices.
Check out our resource page for the best companies to use when you travel.
Wrapping Up
Finally, the Philippines is not a tipping country. So you are not expected to tip and it is not mandatory. Some restaurants do add a service charge to the bill. With the workers in the Philippines earning a low wage, it is appreciated when you leave a small tip when you experience good service. And they will not be offended.
5% to 10% of the total bill is generally a fair tip if you feel they provided a good service.
And that’s it for now! I’d love to know if this guide on whether tipping in the Philippines is expected has helped you. Let me know if you have any questions and let me know if there is more to add.
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