If you’re traveling in the land of paella and pintxo, you might find yourself asking at the end of a meal or taxi ride: do you tip in Spain? Sometimes—unlike in the United States, tipping in Spain is not required, though there are some situations where it’s very much appreciated. Sometimes simply leaving the coins you received as change can serve as a gratuity, and sometimes you should leave more. Just note that whatever you give, it’s always a good idea to tip in cash rather than adding gratuities to a credit card slip (since that may not ultimately make it back to the person who gave the good service).
For more details on specific situations, be it at a restaurant, hotel, taxi, or bar, here’s when and how much to tip in Spain.
Overview of tipping in Spain
Situation | Should you tip? | How much? |
| Meal at a sit-down restaurant | Optional | Leave 10–15% for good service; make sure it isn’t already included. |
| Drinks at a café or bar | No | No tip if it’s just drinks; round up if you ordered food. |
| Taxis | No, with one exception | Give a few euros if they helped with your bags. |
| Tour guides | Yes | Depends on group size (see below) |
| Hotel bellhops | Yes | 1-2 euros |
| Hotel housekeeping | Yes | 1 euro per night |
| Concierge | Yes | 5-10 euros if they made a booking |
| Hotel room service | Optional | 1-2 euros |
| Masseuse or hairdresser | Yes | 1-2 euros |
How much to tip at hotels in Spain
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Bellhops/Porters
Leaving a tip is customary when a bellhop or porter helps with your luggage. Give one or two euros per bag, up to a maximum of five euros for multiple suitcases.
Housekeeping
Leave one euro for each night of your stay; for exemplary service, leave more. (The people who clean your room are often the least well-paid members of a hotel staff, so if you can afford it, be a little more generous here.) Since you don’t always have the same person cleaning your room each day, it’s recommended to leave a tip every day that you receive a room cleaning, rather than a lump sum at the end.
Concierge
If the hotel concierge helps you out by booking restaurant reservations, lining up tour guides, or recommending local activities, a gracias and a gratuity between five to 10 euros is expected.
Room service
While tipping for room service in Spain is not required, giving one or two euros to the person who delivers your meal will always be appreciated.
How to tip at restaurants and bars in Spain
How much do you tip post-paella in Spain?
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Restaurants
Tipping servers in restaurants and cafés in Spain, while appreciated, isn’t mandatory. It’s tough for Americans to get used to not leaving a tip, but locals generally don’t leave anything extra at all in more casual eateries.
In fine-dining restaurants, a tip may already be included in the check. Scan the bill to see if the phrase “Servicio incluido” is printed on the tab. If you see that phrase, it means the tip is included in the total. If you don’t, a 10–15 percent tip is appropriate for good service at nicer restaurants.
As in the USA, cash is preferable and ensures that the tip money gets to the server, as tips on credit card receipts sometimes don’t make it back into their pockets.
Cafés and coffee shops
You do not need to tip for a coffee at a café or coffee shop.
Bars
In Spain, you generally don’t tip for a glass of wine or beer, especially if that’s all you ordered. However, if you ordered food, leave a few coins on the bar or round up to the nearest euro.
Tipping taxis or drivers in Spain
Rounding up the fare to the next euro is all the tip you need when you’re paying off a cab. Unless, that is, the driver goes out of his or her way in service, like carrying your heavy suitcase into the hotel or airport terminal. In those cases, add a few euros to the fare.
If you’re using a Spanish rideshare service (like Cabify and BlaBlaCar), tipping is not required. But if you receive especially good service, you can leave a tip in the app afterward.
How much to tip for a tour in Spain
Park Güell was initially intended to be a housing development but was later converted into a park.
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You should absolutely tip your tour guide in Spain, since guides rely on them for their living. What you tip will depend on the quality of the service, the length of the tour, and also how big the group is.
For private tours where you and your travel partner(s) are the only clients, you should tip 10–15 euros for a half-day tour and 15–25 euros for a full day (total, not per person).
For public tours that require a fee, your tip would depend on the size of the group. If you are part of a small group, thanking the guide with a tip of three to five euros per person is a good practice. For larger group tours, one euro will suffice.
Tipping spa therapist, masseuse, barber, or hairdresser
For spa treatments and similar kinds of personal services, leaving a tip of one or two euros is customary in Spain.
This article was originally published in 2019. It was most recently updated on April 12, 2023 to include current information.
