©
David Debrincat
South Africa Travel Guide
©
David Debrincat
As with Anglo-Saxon cultures, tipping is common practice in South Africa. Apart from showing your appreciation, leaving a tip provides a vital source of income to service industry employees. Tipping constitutes a large part of their earnings.
Although tipping in the UK is common in South Africa tipping for all services is customary. Even if it's taken for granted in the country itself, it's important that tourists understand its necessity.
The huge number of people working in restaurants or the tourist industry cannot understand why some tourists don't tip, as it's a vital source of income for such employees. After all, if you're well off enough to pay for a trip to South Africa, then leaving a few pennies is not going to break the bank.
During your trip to South Africa, you'll quickly realise that tipping in bars and restaurants is par for the course. Waiting and bar staff depend upon tips - they form a large part of their salary. For them, being tipped is not an added plus, it's a necessity in order to survive.
Many establishments include the amount you should tip in the bill. In which case you can either pay the waiter/waitress/barperson directly or add it to the total if you're paying by card. If the amount to tip is not mentioned, it's usual to leave between 10 and 15% - anything less and you'll look like a miser.
Obviously, if you're not happy with the service you've received, you're not obliged to leave a tip.
In addition to restaurants and bars, other service industries rely on tips. If a few Rands are enough for your driver or parking attendant, make sure you give a guide or ranger at least a fiver, to thank them for taking you on your safari. These are unwritten rules, part and parcel of life in South Africa. Likewise how you tip depends on how happy you are with the service you received.
