Tipping In Chile - A Complete Guide
Quick Guide
🍽️ Restaurant - 10% If Good + No Service Charge
🍹 Bar - No Tip Expected
☕️ Café - No Tip Expected
🚕 Taxi - Round Up To Next 500 Pesos
👨✈️ Private Driver - 10,000 Pesos/Day
🛎️ Porter/Bellhop - 1,000-2,000 Pesos Total
🛏️ Maid - Optional 3,000-5,000 Pesos/Day
📸 Shared Tour Guide - 3,000-5,000 Pesos PP/Day
📸 Private/Trek Guide - 10,000-15,000 Pesos/Day
🚎 Tour Driver - Equal To ½ Of Guide’s Tip
⛺️ Trek Assistants - Equal To ½ Of Guide’s Tip
🛍️ Bag Boy/Girl - 500-1,000 Pesos
🅿️ Parking Attendant - 100-200 Pesos
In Chile, tips are generally expected and a lot of workers rely on them but most of the time they’re still an optional reward for good service.
Calculate a culturally appropriate tip for Chile using the calculator below and read on for more detail on tipping in Restaurants, Bars, Taxis, Hotels etc.
Chile Tip Calculator
Good Tip For Chile
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Total With Tip
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Tipping in Restaurants
Check your bill as most restaurants add on a 10% service charge. Sometimes they’ll ask if you’d like to include this tip (“propina”). Unless you’re dissatisfied, it’s customary to say yes.
If there’s no service charge, tip around 10% for good food/service or 5% if it was just OK.
Cash tips are preferred since your server will get them directly and will be able to use them immediately. Card tips are generally pooled and split between all staff.
Bear in mind that most Chilean waiters are very poorly paid and do rely on tips. However, due to the low cost of living, even a small tip can go a long way.
Hotel breakfast wait staff don’t expect a restaurant-level tip but they might appreciate a tip of around 1,000 Pesos per person each day.
Tipping Bartenders & Baristas
It’s not customary to tip bartenders and baristas in Chile. Most don’t expect them.
Sometimes, bars and cafés will add a 10% service charge to your bill, or they’ll ask if you’d like to add it on. If asked, say yes unless you’re really dissatisfied with the service.
Tipping Taxi & Private Drivers
It’s standard practice to round up your taxi fare to the nearest 500 Pesos. If you’re handing them a bill and you’d like them to “keep the change”, just say “quédese con el vuelto”.
Sometimes, they’ll already assume you’re rounding up and won’t ask. Feel free to ask for your change in this case but I’d only do this if the driver was unfriendly, unsafe or if they were tipping themselves too generously.
Private drivers, on the other hand, expect tips of around 10,000 Pesos per day.
Tipping The Porter/Bellhop
Hotel and airport porters do expect tips. Usually 1,000-2,000 Pesos total is perfectly acceptable whether you’re in a small or large hotel, basic or luxury.
Tipping Housekeeping
Housekeepers don’t tend to expect tips but they do appreciate them.
If you’re happy with the service, tipping them 3,000-5,000 Pesos per day is a good rule of thumb.
Tipping Tour & Trek Guides
For a shared tour, tip your guide 3,000-5,000 Pesos per person, per day as long as you’re satisfied with the experience.
Private tour guides and trek guides should be tipped around 10,000-15,000 Pesos total per day.
Tour drivers, trek cooks and trek assistant guides should also be tipped. Give each of them half of whatever you gave the main guide.
Which Currency To Use
You should always tip with Chilean Pesos (Symbol: CL$, Code: CLP).
If you’re stuck with US dollars or Euros, only give unmarked/untorn bills with no graffiti or the person you give them too will find it difficult to exchange them. They’ll also find it impossible to exchange international coins.
“Que tengas una buena estadía” - Have a good stay! 🇨🇱🏔️🍷🌊
