Traveling to new countries always stigmatizes questions about how to behave once you arrive. One of the most useful and practical bits of knowledge is knowing who to tip, when to tip, and how much to tip. This saves you from embarrassment, feeling guilty, or creating negative feelings about foreigners among the locals. Here are some quick tips on tipping in Tanzania:
In Tanzania, tipping is generally not expected for things like eating in a restaurant, taxi rides, haircuts, or other services. The locals certainly don’t tip when eating out. However, as westerners are viewed as having money to spare, it is common for travelers and expats to tip servers at restaurants. How much is entirely dependent on how generous you are feeling, but around 7-10% is what I’ve always done. Anything extra is hugely appreciated.
Since the taxi or bajajis (the African version of a tuk tuk) don’t have a meters, a price is negotiated and agreed upon before the driver starts. A tip on top of that price is not expected.
When you do tip, be careful of flaunting your money. Someone could see the numerous bills in your wallet and try to pick pocket you after you leave a restaurant.
When participating in safaris, guided tours around the National Parks, or hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro, a tip is definitely expected, and can be costly. A good guide should get $10-$15 per day per group. When climbing Kilimanjaro, the tips were broken down to $8 per porter per day, $15 per day for the chef, and $20 per day for the guide. The bulk of the wages for these workers comes for the tips, so it is quite important to budget that in to your trip.
Overall, if you are happy with your experience, then you should express that by tipping those who made it possible.
How do you tip in Tanzania?
2 Comments
Very interesting!
Great