{"id":1916,"date":"2019-12-02T11:13:57","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T11:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vaticantour.com\/blog\/?p=1916"},"modified":"2021-03-10T15:41:15","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T15:41:15","slug":"tipping-in-rome-a-nifty-guide-highlighting-the-dos-and-donts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vaticantour.com\/blog\/tipping-in-rome-a-nifty-guide-highlighting-the-dos-and-donts","title":{"rendered":"Tipping in Rome: A Nifty Guide Highlighting the Do\u2019s and Don\u2019ts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Planning a trip to a foreign country raises several questions. Some are exciting and prompt us to book the hotels we are going to stay in and the private tours for families<\/a><\/strong> immediately, while other questions are more practical and concern public transportation, tipping and language issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Italy, tipping is not mandatory. Italian\nworkers receive a monthly salary for their service. Also, the prices charged\nare pretty straightforward and includes 22% of VAT.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, if you are satisfied with the\nservices received, you can tip whenever you feel like. It\u2019s not like the locals\nnever tip. It\u2019s just that tipping is less obligatory and is done in modest\namounts in the boot-shaped country. Ahead, we’ve got 4 pointers on how to tip\nin Italy.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leave the Extra Change On The Counter After A Quick\nCaffeine-Fix.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Italians love coffee. Often, you will find\nthem enjoying an espresso after breakfast and throughout the day]. After\nfinishing the beverage, they round out the price of the coffee and leave the\nchange on the bar counter. That\u2019s how they tip, follow their cue on your next\nvisit.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Demystifying Coperto<\/em>\nand Servizio Incluso<\/em> in Italy<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many restaurants in Rome serve bread and\noil to their patrons. In return, the patrons pay a cover charge, known as coperto<\/em>, which directly goes to the\nrestaurant. It is not to be confused with a tip. The amount varies between 1\nand 3 euro per head and is mentioned on the menu.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For proper sit-down meals, the rule-of-thumb\nfor good service is to round up your bill to the nearest ten. Most locals leave\nthis amount as a cash tip for their servers in the restaurants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases the receipt specifies a\nservice charge, also known as servizio incluso<\/em>,\nthere\u2019s no need to tip. We suggest you check the menu properly before ordering.\nIt will help you know whether the restaurant has a service charge or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tipping Taxi Drivers, Tour Guides and Hotel Porters<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While exploring Rome, the norm is to leave something behind, at least a few euro. When tipping a guide you should keep in mind the duration of the tour taken, and just how much you got out of the whole experience. Say, for example, you\u2019ve spent 3 hours with a guide in a group tour, then a tip of around 5-10 Euros would be appropriate. If you did a full day then this amount would raise a bit. If however you have a private guide who has focused only on you then somewhere between 20 to 50euro would be more appropriate depending on the amount of time you have spent with the guide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For cab drivers, the trick is to round up\nyour total fare. So, if you are charged 18 euro for a ride, we recommend paying\n20 euro to your driver in gratitude. For hotel porters, one euro per bag is the\ngeneral rule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it is not NECESSARY to tip if you are\nnot completely satisfied with the service. The decision of tipping entirely\nrests upon you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Not To Tip:<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Below we\u2019ve listed a few situations when\nyou should avoid tipping:<\/p>\n\n\n\n