You might check out the individual countries in the Lonely Planet Worldguide. http://www.lonelypla…

Typically under "Money & Costs" they mention something about tipping in each country.

quote: is gratuity clearly stated on bills if it is added

Usually, if not, ask. When in doubt-10%, more if you thought the sevice was truly exceptional.

In the UK, don’t tip in a pub.

Good advice. Things are so expensive inthe U.K., and the USD, along with other currencies – very weak vs. the British pd. I would not tip more than 1% there in pubs or cafes… If the food is good, and the service very good in a restaurant, I will tip about 6 or 7% in U.K. As for Germany, Czech. Rep, France, and others on the EURO… They do understand that the USD is weak, although it has gotten back about 5% of late…and 10% or more vs. the Japanese Yen, etc. However, it is still pretty bad for us Americans the past two years. That in mind; I plan to tip 5% across the board in 2005… I used to tip 10% in a good restaurant, perhaps even 12%, if really pleased, and about 7% in pubs…

It all depends on your presonal pref. I used to work for tips (bartending in early 90’s), so I respect what they do, and understand how important tips are. However, that was here in the USA, where nobody makes anything hourly wage-wise… So, the 15 to 18% tipping rule has applied for years here. I think it should be more like 12% to 15% here, and 5 to 8% in Europe…

Hello everyone

Yeah, tippng is such a tricky subject. I mean, I read everywhere that you shouldn’t tip in most European countries. I even heard that some people actually take it as an insult. Nonetheless, I still tip. partly because in the US it is standard and expected, and partly because the servers/bartenders/waitstaff are doing a service and it is hard work.

Also, like Sunskin mentioned, in the US the servers are reliant on those tips, and with that, they work exceptionaly hard to earn those tips. I noticed a huge difference in service between the US and European countries because of this. In the US, they are much more attentative and constantly check on you to make sure you have everything you need, and your drinks are refilled, on the other hand, I almost always find myself (patiently) waiting forever for a refill or for some ketchup when travelling.

Nonetheless, I tip and it varies depending on the service and attitude of the staff.

Happy travels

There was an interesting discussion on this topic on bootsnall: http://boards.bootsn…

Don’t forget, though, that in many European countries the tip is already included—- for example, in France, you’ll see a small notation that says something like "service 15% compris", so that if you tip as we do in the US, you might be adding 15-20% on top of of the "buit-in" tip.