When it comes to tipping in Mexico, there are always lots of questions. Here are some helpful suggestions for navigating this.
What to tip in Mexico is one of the most common questions we receive regarding travel to an all inclusive resort. It can be difficult to understand what is appropriate to tip for different items and situations. Here is a quick guide we put together to help.
While tipping at All-Inclusive resorts isn’t required, it is definitely appreciated by the staff. It is completely up to you to decide if you would like to tip or not (and how much) while you’re traveling. Please note all tips quoted here are in USD and you can check the current peso to dollar exchange rate online if you’d prefer to tip in pesos. Here is a link to a currency converter
Here are the typical tipping ranges we see:
You can tip in US Dollars or Pesos. It doesn’t matter.
- Transfer/Transportation Driver from the airport to the hotel – $2 – $5 per person in the shuttle if it’s a shared transfer with lots of other passengers not in your group. $10 – $20 per person total if it’s a private transfer.
- People that help you with your bag at the airport and at the hotel upon arrival – $1 per bag.
- Bellman that takes your bags to your room(s) – $1 – $3 per bag. You tip according to the number of bags, the distance they must carry them, etc.
- The wait staff at the buffets, beach bars, snack counters – $1 -$2 per person or about $1 per drink/each time to you go to the bar.
- The full-service wait staff at a la carte or dinner restaurants – $5+ per person. If it’s a more formal meal you might consider $10+ per person. And some people tip what they would tip for a similar restaurant style at home.
- Bartenders – $1 per drink or $5 – $10 per night if you are spending a lot of time with one bartender or in one bar area.
- Maid service – $5 per night. We leave this on the pillow each morning before leaving our room.
- Spa & Salon Services – 10% is the standard tipping norm in Mexico and we usually see tipping from 10% – 20% in these areas.
- Excursion Tour Guides – $5 – $10 per person for the day. If you have separate transportation to the excursion, we recommend $2 – $5 per person for the driver.
- Butler Service – $10 – $25 per day for moderate to great service but it depends on how much they actually help you. If they are constantly doing things for us everyday we normally tip $25 – $50 per day but if they are not seen or heard from much during our stay we may only tip about $10 a day. You do not need to tip them every day. You can give them the whole tip on the day you check out but we normally start with a small tip and let them know that we will be giving them their final tip on the last day of our stay.
We recommend tipping throughout your trip and at each meal/service as opposed to waiting until the end of the trip. A lot of times your wait staff will start to recognize you and you’ll tend to receive more service or attention.
I hope this helps. Have a great vacation!