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Nikki is the CEO of Pura Vida! eh? Inc. (Costa Rica Discounts), and the author of the guidebooks Moon Costa Rica (2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 editions) and Moon Best of Costa Rica (2022 edition) from Moon Travel Guides. Together with her Costa Rican husband, Ricky, she operates the Costa Rica Travel Blog, created the online community DIY Costa Rica, built the Costa Rica Destination Tool, oversees the brand-new (summer 2023) Costa Rica Travel Shop, and designed the Costa Rica Trip Planning 101 E-Course. Also, Nikki wrote the Costa Rica cover feature for Wanderlust Magazine's sustainability-focused Travel Green List issue, showcased Costa Rica destinations and experiences on Rick Steves' Monday Night Travel show and podcast/radio show, and served as the Costa Rica Destination Editor for Essentialist, a luxury travel brand. Want to show your appreciation for her free article below? Thank Nikki here. ❤️️
Don’t forget to tip your guides!Ricky and Nikki; with Miss Lidia, restaurant staffRicky; with our boat captainNikki; with our hotel’s cleaning staffNikki; with our tour driverRicky; with a parking lot attendantNikki; with our tour guideRicky; with our private transfer service driver
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At Pura Vida! eh? Inc., we often receive questions from travelers about tipping in Costa Rica. Answering these questions with confidence is tough because the deciding factor in determining whether you should or should not tip during your Costa Rica trip, as well as how much you should tip if you decide to do so, is the level of service you receive from tour guides, drivers, waiters/waitresses, hotel staff, and other workers. Since service levels vary and evaluations are subjective, it’s nearly impossible to say with certainty that you should tip, let alone how much you should tip. What we can do, though, is offer general recommendations for tipping in Costa Rica based on what we give, on average, for deserving services. Be sure to adjust the tip amounts below to your degree of comfort according to whether you experience above-average or below-average service.
If you come from a country where tipping isn’t customary…
If you’re visiting Costa Rica from a country where tipping isn’t commonly practiced, you may not feel comfortable tipping tour guides, drivers, waiters/waitresses, and/or hotel staff in Costa Rica. This is your prerogative, even though most service staff in Costa Rica hope, if not expect, to receive a tip. If you don’t feel comfortable tipping in Costa Rica because of your cultural norms or a different reason, don’t tip. Conversely, if you’re visiting Costa Rica from a country where tipping is generally practiced, know that leaving a tip is a kind and customary offering that’s sure to be appreciated.
Should I tip in USD or Costa Rican colones?
As we cover in our related blog post Spending Money In Costa Rica: What To Know About USD, Colones, Credit Cards, And More!, tips can be provided in US dollars or local Costa Rican colones. Tips in colones are preferred because they save tour guides, drivers, waiters/waitresses, hotel staff, and other workers a trip to the bank to exchange the funds, but that’s not to suggest that any worker would turn down a tip in US funds. 🙂
Tipping in Costa Rica: Tipping tour guides
Our quick Costa Rica tipping chart
Though the article below covers our tipping recommendations in greater detail, if you’re short on time, review our quick Costa Rica tipping chart:
Who to tip
How much to tip
For how many people
Your tour guide
10-15% of the tour cost
Per person or group of 2 people
Your tour guide
10% of the tour cost
Per group of 3 or 4 people
Your tour guide
5-10% of the tour cost
Per group of 5 or more people
Your tour driver
$2-5 USD (flat rate)
Per one-way service
Your shared shuttle service driver, private transfer service driver, or boat / water taxi captain
$2-5 USD (flat rate)
Per group of 1-4 people
Your shared shuttle service driver, private transfer service driver, or boat / water taxi captain
$5-10 USD (flat rate)
Per group of 5 or more people
Your taxi driver
Round-up the total shown on the meter
Per one-way service
Your parking lot attendant
$1-2 USD (flat rate)
Per vehicle, per hour of parked time
Your waiter / waitress
15-20% of the total meal cost if Costa Rica’s 10% service charge (a mandatory gratuity charge) is not added to the bill
Per person
Your waiter / waitress
5-10% of the total meal cost if Costa Rica’s 10% service charge (mandatory gratuity charge) is added to the bill
Per person
Your chef (if provided by your vacation rental at no extra cost to you)
15-20% of the total meal cost (or the estimated total meal cost, if the actual cost is worked into your rental rate and unknown) if Costa Rica’s 10% service charge (a mandatory gratuity charge) is not added to the bill, or 5-10% of the total meal cost if the service charge is added to the bill. If you don’t know if the service charge has been added or not, split the difference and tip 10-15% of the total meal cost.
Per meal
Your chef (if hired and paid for privately)
10-15% of the total meal cost
Per meal
Your bellhop
$2-5 USD (flat rate)
Per one-way service (luggage carriage)
Your hotel room cleaning staff
$2-5 USD (flat rate) or more, if the staff is responsible for cleaning an entire rental unit, not just a room/suite
Per night
Your hotel/vacation rental concierge
$2-5 USD (flat rate) or more, if the concierge makes a custom arrangement that requires a lot of work or an arrangement for a large travel group
Per booking service
Which tour guides should I tip?
If you decide to tip a tour guide, the general rule of thumb is to tip the specific tour guide you have. This recommendation might sound obvious, but you may participate in tours where you interact with several tour guides and you’re not sure who to tip. If the tour operator’s office or reception desk displays a communal tip box/jar such as the one pictured at the top of this article (ask the staff at the tour’s entrance or reception desk if you’re not sure), you can leave your tip there, and at the end of the day, it (along with other participants’ tips) will be split among the day’s employees. You’re most likely to find tip boxes/jars at adventure parks where several tour guides operate tours collaboratively. When a tip box/jar is not provided, simply hand your tip to the specific tour guide who led your activity. For example, if you participate in white-water rafting tour, although several tour guides may be working on the day of your tour, hand the tip to the tour guide who led your specific raft. If two or more tour guides shared your tour’s guiding responsibilities (for example, if both were in your raft and they took turns guiding it), feel free to divide your tip across the tour guides.
How much should I tip tour guides?
Average tip percentages in Costa Rica are slightly lower than in the US/Canada where the standard runs between 15% and 20%. Costa Ricans are typically satisfied with less, around 10% to 15%. If you’re a solo traveler or traveling as part of a group of 2 people, consider tipping your tour guide 10-15% of the total tour cost. If you’re traveling as a group of 3 or 4 people, consider tipping your tour guide around 10% of the total tour cost. If you’re traveling as a group of 5 or more, consider tipping your tour guide 5-10% of the total tour cost.
Tipping in Costa Rica: Tipping drivers including tour drivers, shared shuttle service drivers, private transfer service drivers, taxi drivers, and parking lot attendants
Tour drivers
Many travelers forget to tip drivers who are responsible for transporting you to and from organized tour/activity locales, or to and from your hotel and the location where the tour takes place. In general, we recommend giving a flat rate (not a percentage of the tour cost) of $2-5 USD to each driver who performs the service well.
Shared shuttle service drivers, private transfer service drivers, and boat/water taxi captains
These drivers/captains are generally responsible for transporting you between cities or beaches, resulting in multi-hour drives/rides. We typically recommend offering a flat rate of $2-5 USD to each driver who performs their service(s) well. If you’re traveling as part of a group of 5 or more people, consider tipping the driver a flat rate (not a percentage of the shuttle service cost) of $5-10 USD.
Taxi drivers
Tipping taxi drivers isn’t as common a practice as tipping other drivers in Costa Rica. However, it’s kind to show your appreciation for the ride by rounding up the total shown on the maria (meter).
Parking lot attendants
If you intend to rent a car in Costa Rica, you’ll often find yourself looking for places to park. Outside of the capital city of San Jose, and especially at beach towns situated on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, most parking lots are unofficial, makeshift lots. At several of these lots, you’ll encounter an individual (usually a resident of the local community) who offers to watch parked cars for a small fee. (The fee isn’t a gratuity per se; it’s a payment for an optional service.) The fee amount depends on the travel season, the popularity of the place, and the size/capacity of the lot, but tends to average $1-2 USD per hour of parked time. Although in most cases it isn’t a requirement to pay the attendant, we always do, to help support local workers. When the fee amount is by donation, use the $1-2 USD per hour of parked time as a guide.
Tipping in Costa Rica: Tipping waiters and waitresses
Tipping restaurant wait staff an average of 15-20% is the norm in Costa Rica. Many restaurants automatically add a 10% service charge (a gratuity charge) to their bills, which may appear as a 10% service tax or service fee. Most restaurant menus will state whether food and drink costs include or exclude the charge (ask restaurant staff if you’re not sure). If you see the charge noted on your bill, opt to leave an additional 5-10% tip. If the charge does not appear on your bill, leave 15-20% of the total meal cost.
Tipping in Costa Rica: Tipping hotel staff
Bellhops
Bellhops are responsible for transporting your luggage to your hotel room upon check-in. In general, we recommend giving a flat rate of $2-5 USD to each bellhop that performs their service well.
Room cleaning staff
Many travelers forget to tip the hotel staff who are responsible for cleaning your room upon check-out. In general, we recommend giving a flat rate of $2-5 USD for each night spent at the hotel.
Hotel concierge
Most travelers make tour and activity arrangements through tourism companies, so hotel concierge services aren’t often used. That said, if you use one, consider tipping them a flat rate of $2-5 USD per item that they arrange for you, or more, if the arrangement is for a large group or is a custom request that requires a lot of work.
Who shouldn’t you tip
Because you’re probably like us, and not made of money, here’s who you can easily get away with not tipping, unless, of course, they provide fantastic service that you feel is deserving of a financial reward:
Public bus drivers
Restaurant and hotel kitchen staff (save for private chefs; see the chart above)
Hotel reception and/or reservations department staff (save for concierge employees; see the chart above)
Car rental agency employees
Business owners and/or management staff
Souvenir store employees
QUESTION TO COMMENT ON: What are your recommended guidelines for tipping in Costa Rica?
Pura vida!
Do you have questions about tipping other types of employees in Costa Rica, or want help figuring out how much to tip in unique situations or special cases? No problem! When you’re ready, make an appointment here to communicate with me (Nikki) privately and we can discuss these and other topics to get your questions answered fast and your Costa Rica trip poised for success. Pura vida, amigos! 🙂
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Summary
Article Name
What To Know About Tipping In Costa Rica
Description
Want to know about tipping in Costa Rica? We tell you if you should tip, who you should tip, and how much you should tip in Costa Rica. Learn more!
The comment section of this article has moved! If you have a question or comment about our article above or Costa Rica travel in general, please post it in our Questions and Answers Forum on DIY Costa Rica, our sister website, where you can also access our private Costa Rica recommendations, our Costa Rica Destination Tool, and our Costa Rica Recommendations Map. See you there, amigos! 🙂
Solid advice on tipping in Costa Rica. It can quite tricky, especially in restaurants. The 10% service charge is almost always included – check the bill when they bring it to you to double-check. Often there will also be a space for “propina” or an extra tip on the receipt as well if you plan to pay by credit card.
In smaller local, family-run restaurants the service charge might not be added, so be sure to ask.
A good tour guide passionate about their work should definitely be tipped. It’ll be a relatively small amount of money to you, but a big deal to them since incomes are much lower in Costa Rica.
Thanks for the great tips! Also, you’re absolutely right—tips are an important source of income for many Costa Ricans. It’s wonderful that travelers supply them, whenever and however much they can. 🙂
Reblogged this on travelrecos and commented:
A very good post for anyone travelling to Costa Rica! This is a vital part of local knowledge every traveller should know. Watch out for my feature on tipping culture in the Philippines!
Thanks so much for the re-blog! Great recent post on “stuff to remember in budget hotels.” Costa Rica backpackers could benefit from reading that article of yours. 😉
Thanks for this – really useful article; we’re heading to Costa Rica tomorrow and had no idea whether we could tip our driver in USD. Won’t have to rush to get currency now!
How much should my husband and I tip the Captain and First mate on a charter fishing trip for 2 days? It will only be the two of us on the boat. Thank you
This one is tough to estimate. It depends on a lot of factors, including whether the trip is an overnight one, whether it’s an inshore or offshore fishing trip, whether the staff prepares meals for you during the trip, and obviously, the quality of service you receive. Normally, I’d recommend tipping 5-10% of the tour cost, but chartered fishing trips can be wildly expensive, so that approximation may not work for you. Would you feel comfortable reporting back with the cost and of the fishing trip and its inclusions? That will give me a better idea of a ballpark for tipping.
The “to tip of not to tip” question I have is for two events we encountered:
1: parking at any beach (we encountered this at three separate beaches): a public parking area where men wander around asking for tips to “keep your vehicle safe”. We even encountered this on the road near public parking so we opted not to tip and our car was fine. It just seemed strange. Should we have ripped?
2: going over a dry ravine on the road to a beach: several me were standing around with shovels but not doing anything. They asked us for a tip for maintint the road. Again, we declined but thy let us pass without incident. Again, should we have tipped?
You ask such great questions! It sounds like you may have already returned home from your trip, but our answers to your questions may help future travelers with respect to their upcoming vacations, so we appreciate you sharing them on our Costa Rica Travel Blog.
We’ll start with a disclaimer: It’s tricky to say in all cases whether something is or is not legitimate, and therefore, whether you should or should not tip. There will always be sincere people just as there will always be people who try to take advantage of situations. The below recommendations are simply what we would do in each case, but the most important advice we can offer is to always trust your gut.
In response to question #1:
We tend to tip in this case. It isn’t required to do so, but we tend to give about $1-2 USD or 500-1,000 colones per hour of parking time. The people who keep watch over cars are usually members of the community, and the attendant job is their only source of income. This being said, there’s no guarantee that their vigilance will prevent problems such as vehicle theft, theft of possessions from inside the vehicle, and/or vehicle damage. Regardless, we err on the side of caution and take parking lot attendants up on their offers and have them watch our car.
In response to question #2:
We tend not to tip in this case. On rare occasions, we have encountered government- or school-run projects that request donations from passersby, but in these cases, the project is formally established as a fundraiser and has uniformed representatives or provides official donation receipts. With respect to road construction, it is rare to be asked on the spot for a donation, especially when details, evidence of the project, signage, and/or other representation are not provided. We usually only see this type of random, personal fundraising in town/community centers where residents roam the streets with a jar or a can in hand, asking neighbors for donations to help a loved one who is struggling. In these gut-wrenching cases, we usually provide monetary support.
Thank you for the great resource.
Do you tip gas station attendants who fill your car with fuel, clean the windshield, etc? If yes, how much?
Do they have grocery baggers, like Mexico, that work only for tips? If yes how much?
Thanks
We don’t always tip gas station attendants. Only if we’re paying with cash will we round up the total to provide a small tip.
Most grocery stores don’t have baggers (apart from the cashier), but some larger chains might. In either case, we don’t tip the cashier/baggers as they tend to be paid store employees.
Pura vida! 🙂
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