Tipping and service charge

It’s a tradition in Sri Lanka to tip if satisfied with the service. Most restaurants include a service charge of Rs10% in the bill. If you are paying with a credit card and want to reward good service direct, then give the server some cash direct. (We suggest half of the 10% service charge that’s been added to the bill).

If there’s no service charge included, then tip 10% of the bill in cash direct to the server.

Other places to tip?

In hotels and guest houses, there will be a service charge of 10% added to the bill. This gets shared among the staff on a points system making sure people you don’t even see (like the gardener or hotel beach cleaner) get something too.

It is customary to tip the hotel bell boy who identifies your luggage and brings it to the room. Rs100 to Rs200 per bag should do. Colombo hotel doormen who are especially helpful deserve Rs500 from time to time. Whether you tip the staff from housekeeping who clean your room, depends on whether you ever see them, and on the room rate.

If you do see them and are really satisfied with their performance, Rs200 a day per guest is OK for a basic establishment, or Rs500 day per guest for a super place. But really it depends on the relationship you build up with staff during your stay. Basic salaries in the hospitality industry are low and a decent tip encourages as well as rewards good service. It will also result in a guest getting more personalized attention.

Tuk-tuk drivers? If there’s no working meter, the driver might include his tip in the fare; negotiate the cost of your journey first and, if you’re happy with the ride, round up what you pay to the nearest hundred rupees. If not happy, pay what you’d negotiated.

With metered tuk-tuks, follow the same procedure: round up to the nearest hundred.

Conventional taxis?

Ten percent of the fare is reasonable. For car or mini-van hire used for touring, Rs500 to Rs1,000 per day (not per passenger) would be appreciated, but the amount depends entirely on how helpful, obliging and informative the driver is. (If you stop on your tour and buy gems or spices from a spice garden, the driver will get a commission; even the tea factory where you buy tea will reward the driver with a packet or two.)

On a tour that involves staying overnight, the driver will get a commission from the guest house if he arranges the reservation, while his accommodation will be provided free. If you do the guest house/hotel reservation yourself, agree on a fee for the driver’s overnight expenses before you hire him. At mealtimes on a hired-vehicle tour, let the driver find his own place to eat (he’ll usually get a meal free from the establishment where you eat). You don’t have to invite him to join you at the table.

The freelance guides you’ll encounter at popular tourist sites and outside railway stations are not performing a free service, even if they get a commission from where you stay or shop at their suggestion. If they are extremely helpful and you feel generous, a tip of Rs500 to Rs1,000 would be appropriate.

With beggars, be alert. Many are professional and do quite well at their job of begging so we suggest limiting your compassion to genuine cases of distress, so you do not encourage others to take up the “job”  of begging.

Last Modified: April 17, 2024