Do You Tip In Turkey: Tipping Etiquette For Every Situation
When traveling to a foreign country, it is important to always adapt and learn their local customs. These include the basics of their language, the country’s procedures, respecting religious traditions, as well as the norms of their local currency. One question that always comes up no matter what country we visit is “Do you need to tip?”
The purpose of tipping used to be to show appreciation for good services. However, over time, the culture of tipping evolved and now oftentimes, a tip is almost mandatory. With the increase in tourism, the North American tipping culture was brought over worldwide and has raised the expectations of what a customary tip may be.
So do you tip in Turkey?
If so, how much do you tip?
We’ll cover all aspects of tipping in Turkey and break down what amount is normal for each domain of service.
In this way, you can ensure that you are always being respectful of the local norms in that country during your visit.
Let’s jump right in!
Do you tip in Turkey?
To answer the question, Yes, tipping overall is customary in Turkey. However, this depends on what area of service. Overall Tipping, or bahşiş in Turkish, is fairly modest in Turkey. This is contrary to where we are from in Canada where a tip of 15-20% is required when dining at a restaurant.
During our 2 weeks trip in Turkey, we experienced multiple scenarios of tipping. Sometimes, tipping was mandatory and included in the bill. Other times, tipping was expected but optional. And finally, sometimes tipping was not at all expected. This may also vary depending on the city that you are in. When we spent a few days in a big city like Istanbul, the tipping etiquette was different than in a small town like Ürgüp.
Below we will cover the many different scenarios that you may encounter and explain the expected tip, if any.
How much to tip in Turkey?
So how much should you tip when visiting Turkey?
As a general guideline, tipping 10% can be considered the standard. This, however, depends on the domain of service, as well as the quality of the service.
Tipping is to reward excellent service. If the service was poor, we believe no tip should be left. Back home, a tip of 15% is required regardless of the quality of service, which means they have no incentive to provide any better service.
We believe that to improve the tourism industry worldwide, the practice of tipping should be reserved for situations where the quality is beyond the norm. But that’s just our 2 cents.
Back in Canada, we are practically obliged to tip a minimum of 15%, even if the service is terrible. If you leave a 10% tip on your dinner, you will receive a pretty bad attitude and a couple of glares.
Whereas when we were in Spain for example, we tried leaving a few dollars in tips on a meal and the waitress tried refusing and said it was not necessary. We insisted and she was so appreciative of the gesture. It makes for such a more pleasant experience as compared to when it is obliged.
Check out below as we break down the tipping amount for each category of service.
Tipping in restaurants
You will most likely encounter situations of tipping while dining in restaurants. As a general guideline, a tip of 10% would be considered customary. This, however, depends on several factors including the type of city you are in, the fanciness of the establishment, and sometimes just the difference between restaurants.
Also, some restaurants will include the tip as a service charge on the bill. So make sure to verify the bottom of the menu or the bill to see if they have already charged you for it.
For example, when we were in Istanbul, most restaurants included a 10% service charge automatically in the bill. Whereas in Gorëme, it seems like only the fancier restaurants included a service charge. When visiting Ürgüp and Avanos, where more locals eat, a tip did not seem to be expected at all. The same applied when we enjoyed delicious seafood in Kas, in the South of Turkey.
💡 Note: Credit card terminal machines may not have a ‘tipping’ option unlike in North America. So if you want to leave a tip, let them know to charge you an amount including the tip. For example, if the meal costs 400TRY, and you want to leave a 10% tip, let them know to charge you 440 TRY instead.
Tipping in bars
When visiting a bar, tipping is not expected but you can always round up on your bill. This may differ if you visit a fancier bar or one located in a hotel. As with most cases, if you really enjoyed the quality of service provided, leaving a small tip is a kind gesture.
Tipping in hotels
Do you tip in Turkey Hotels? Tipping is not expected at hotel establishments but you can leave a few dollars for housecleaning staff. During our 2 weeks visit to Turkey, we stayed at 3 hotels and 1 Airbnb, and there didn’t seem to be any cleaning service during our stay. For that reason, we didn’t feel obliged to leave any additional tips.
If you receive a more private service, such as with a porter, it is always kind to leave around 2-3$ per bag. The same applies if you order room service where they have to personally deliver something to you.
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Tipping in taxis
When riding a taxi, you should ensure that the taxi meter is running to calculate the fares. In Turkey, tipping the taxi driver is not required. Therefore, normally you can simply round up the final price. In any case, even if you want to pay the exact fare, most drivers will not carry very loose change.
If you decide to hire a taxi for an entire day, then leaving a tip of around 10% could be a nice gesture. The driver brought you around the city, waited for you, got stuck in traffic, and will likely have shared many of their personal stories. Since they dedicated their day to you, we feel it would be kind to provide them with that tip.
Tipping private transfer driver
When you ride a private transfer let’s say from the airport to the city centre or back, normally tipping is not necessary. As usual, leaving a little bit is always appreciated if the service is excellent. We booked our private transfer during our stay in Istanbul with Welcome Pickups and had an excellent experience with them.
Tipping in Ubers
In Turkey, the Ubers are essentially the same as the local taxis. Due to a court case that occurred in 2019, Uber was initially banned from Turkey. However, this decision was overturned in 2021 under the condition that Uber operates in conjunction with the local taxis. For this reason, all the Ubers that you will find in Turkey are essentially the same as the local yellow taxis. For more information, you can check out this post about our experience with Ubers in Istanbul.
Tipping is not required when using Uber in Turkey. The price is already pre-determined prior to your ride. You do have the option of adding a tip after getting out of the vehicle but this is totally optional.
Tipping at an all-inclusive resort
Tipping at an all-inclusive is more complicated since many services are provided. Also, since all-inclusive resorts are much more touristic, oftentimes a tip can be expected. There is commonly a tipping box where you can leave an amount at the end of the trip that will be shared among the staff.
If a bellboy helped you, you can always leave 2-3$ per bag. If a bartender served you for your entire stay, it is always nice to leave a 10-20$ tip to show your appreciation. Finally, house cleaning will usually occur during your stay so leaving a 5-10$ per room would be a kind gesture.
Otherwise, if you just want to provide an overall staff tip, then simply put it in the tip box.
ℹ️📅 Planning your trip to Turkey? Make sure to check out our Complete Turkey Itinerary Guide where we share what places to go to, what to do there, where to stay, how to get around, and many essential tips!
Tipping in Spas and Hammams
When visiting Turkey, experiencing Hammams is one of the must-do things. Whether you do it during your stay in Istanbul or in Cappadocia, the hammam experience is very unique. But you may be wondering if you need to tip in these establishments.
Tipping is not mandatory when visiting spas and hammams, however, if you received a good service, you can leave a 10% to show your appreciation. When we went to the Hammam in Urgup, we took the full hammam package including massage.
After we changed and were ready to leave, nobody was waiting in the front for us. This seemed to signal that they were not expecting a tip. We ended up looking for the massage therapists to hand over a tip, but I guess it was not required.
Tipping tour guides
As a general rule, tour guides will commonly expect a tip after the tour. Customarily, you can give around 5-10$ for a tour that lasts an entire day.
However, you should also evaluate the quality of service, as well as what type of company structure it is. We ended up booking a food tour through AirBnB directly with the individual, who ran his own personal tour guide business. In this case, since he does not have to share the earnings of the booking fee, we could see that he did not expect a tip.
However, if the tour is run by a big company and the guide only gets a cut of the price you paid, then I would recommend leaving a tip.
When we went on our 4-day Blue cruise adventure in Fethiye following our stay in Kas, a crew of 4 had taken care of us. Their service was amazing and we absolutely loved the experience. After the trip, we made sure to leave them a tip (in this case around 30$ from each of us).
Tipping street musicians
Sometimes you’ll encounter street musicians in Turkey. At times, they will be performing on the street corner, but sometimes it will be at a restaurant. Like in other countries, they play purely for tips so there is no standard of how much. Simply leave any amount that you find appropriate to show your appreciation for their performance.
Tipping on public transportation
You will likely be using public transportation frequently, especially while visiting main cities like Istanbul (link). Public transportation is available in cities in Cappadocia, but it is far less convenient so you will most likely rent a car.
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Tipping is never expected on public transportation as you already pay for your fare with the IstanbulKart or the multi-passes.
This post is part of our series about Turkey. If you want to learn more about Turkey, planning your trip, and some of the best experiences there, check out the guides below:
How to tip in Turkey
When tipping in Turkey, most of the time it will be by leaving some cash. The widely accepted currency is the local Turkish Lira, but also Euros and sometimes USD are accepted. The Turkish lira is the most convenient for locals since it is the primary currency in Turkey. However, due to their economic situation with the fall of value in Lira, Euros are more stable.
Keep in mind that when paying with a credit card for your service, most credit card terminals do not have the option to add a tip. You must let the waiter know the total you want to be charged. For example, if your meal costs 400 TRY, and you want to leave a 10% tip, then let them know to charge you 440 TRY.
Some waiters will ask if you want to add an amount to the bill, but in our experience, this doesn’t happen often.
Recap: Do you tip in Turkey?
Understanding the tipping culture of a country is very important to ensure you are respectful to the local culture and staff that provide you services. This is one of the things we always look up once we arrive in a foreign country.
Having provided you with the breakdown of how much to tip in Turkey, you can feel confident about following their customs during your stay.
The second question we often wonder when traveling is if we can use the taxis and Ubers there. Check out this post where we discuss our experience of Ubers in Istanbul.
We hope you found this information helpful. If ever any information appears to be inaccurate or not updated, please let us know. Our goal is to provide you with the most comprehensive information to help you plan your next adventure!
Wondering what to do in Istanbul during your stay? Or wondering if Cappadocia is worth visiting? Or maybe you want a change of scenery and want to know the best activities in Kas, Southern Turkey? Check out those articles to find out!
Finally, it is very important to have an idea of how much things cost in Turkey. Check out this post where we break down our spending for 16 days in Turkey!