🇹🇭Tipping in Thailand

At a glance

• 🍽Restaurants●○○OptionalRound up, or 10%
• ☕Cafés●○○OptionalRound up
• 🍸Bars●○○Optional฿20–50 per round
• 🚕Taxis●○○OptionalRound up
• 🛎Hotel porters●●○Common฿20–50 per bag
• 🧹Housekeeping●○○Optional฿20–50 per day
• 🧭Tour guides●●○Common฿300–500 per person, per day
• 🚗Private drivers●●○Common฿300–500 per day
• ⛵Boat & yacht charters●○○Optional฿500–1,000 for the crew, or 10%

Card tipping. Card terminals rarely offer a tip line. Cash in baht is the practical way to tip, and small notes are much more useful than coins.

• —Upmarket restaurants and hotels often add a 10% service charge plus 7% VAT. The service charge does not always reach staff.
• —Leaving small coins is seen as a bit rude. Round up to the nearest 20 baht instead.
• —Street food stalls and local markets are not tipped at all.

Common questions

Do you tip in Thailand?

Not traditional, but small tips are normal and welcome. Thais have not historically tipped, but decades of tourism have made small gratuities routine in hotels, tours and tourist-area restaurants. Nothing is compulsory, amounts are small, and leaving coins is considered slightly dismissive — round up to a note instead.

How much do you tip at a restaurant in Thailand?

Round up, or 10%. Round up at local places, 10% at a proper restaurant. At a street stall or local shophouse, pay the price and leave. At a sit-down restaurant, rounding up to the nearest 20–50 baht is normal, and 10% is generous. If the bill already shows a 10% service charge, nothing further is needed.

Can you tip by card in Thailand?

Card terminals rarely offer a tip line. Cash in baht is the practical way to tip, and small notes are much more useful than coins.

Other destinations

• 🇮🇩Indonesia
• 🇻🇳Vietnam
• 🇦🇺Australia
• 🇭🇷Croatia