Is Tipping In Vietnam Expected?

The question of tipping in Vietnam is a common question. Tipping is not part of the Vietnamese culture where the Vietnamese are more price-conscious and don’t see why to pay someone who is performing a service they are already paid to do. Is tipping in Vietnam expected?

No, Vietnam is not a tipping country and is not expected or mandatory. Some restaurants do add a service charge to the bill. Simply no one is going to run after you demanding why you didn’t leave a tip or reduce the quality of their service if you return.

In this post, we will go through is tipping expected in Vietnam. Let’s get started!

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Is Tipping Expected In Vietnam?

No, Vietnam is not a tipping country therefore it is not expected or mandatory to tip in Vietnam. Some restaurants will add a service charge to the total bill.

While taxi drivers do not expect a tip but it’s common to round up the fare. Also when visiting temples you should consider leaving a small donation.

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 restaurants will more than likely add a service charge of roughly around 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 getting 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 Vietnam generally depend on tips. 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 Vietnam. 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.

With taxi-hailing apps like Grab have made life easier. Just round up the fare to the nearest 10–20,000 VND, so the driver gets a small tip.

Do You Tip Grab Drivers In Vietnam?

This is entirely up to you but it is not expected. You can tip the Grab driver after the trip and you have up to 72 hours after the trip to give a tip. You can also tip the driver in cash your driver by tipping in cash.

What Is A Reasonable Tip In Vietnam?

A fair tip to leave if you get a good service would be around 5% of the total bill is considered a fair amount. You will have to judge whether to give higher than 5% or to go lower.

What Is Considered A Good Tip In Vietnam?

Tipping around 10% of the total bill is a really good tip in Vietnam. 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, tipping in Vietnam is not expected or mandatory. There are no hard and fast rules around tipping but it is appreciated by the service staff when get receive a tip. And you should try and hand them the tip directly.

5% 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 is tipping in Vietnam expected has helped you. Let me know if you have any questions and let me know if there is more to add.