Tipping In El Salvador - A Complete Guide
Quick Guide
🍽️ Restaurant - 10% If No Service Charge
🚕 Taxi - Not Expected
🛎️ Porter/Bellhop - $0.50-$1/Bag Customary
✈️ Airport Porter - $0.50/Bag Customary
🍹 Bar - Not Expected
🛏️ Housekeeping - Not Expected
📸 Tour Guide - Not Expected
El Salvador really doesn’t have much of a tipping culture. Barring a few specific scenarios, most service providers won’t expect a tip.
Calculate a culturally appropriate tip for El Salvador using the calculator below and read on for more detail on tipping in Restaurants, Taxis and Hotels.
El Salvador Tip Calculator
Good Tip For El Salvador
Tip
$0.00
Total With Tip
$0.00
Split Bill By
0 Each
Tipping in Restaurants
Additional tips aren’t necessary in the vast majority of cases as most restaurants in El Salvador add a service charge (typically 10%) on to the bill.
That 10% service charge is perfectly sufficient but feel free to leave an extra 5-10% on top if you want to reward exceptional service. That’s completely optional and nobody will care if you don’t.
If there isn’t a service charge, leaving a 10% cash tip would be considered appropriate.
Tipping Taxi Drivers
Taxi drivers throughout El Salvador don’t expect tips.
In fact, you need to be vigilant as some taxi drivers, especially airport drivers, may charge you more than they should.
If there’s a meter, make sure it’s on and they’re using it. If it’s not, they might be planning on charging you an inflated fare so in that case, it’s best to agree on a total price before you set off.
Tipping The Porter/Bellhop
Bucking the trend of other Salvadoran service providers, it is common to tip hotel porters around $0.50-$1 per bag.
For an airport porter, tipping $0.50 per bag is perfectly acceptable.
Which Currency To Use
The official currency of El Salvador is the US Dollar (USD).
Most places (e.g. the majority of restaurants) take card. It’s really just a minority of small establishments that don’t. Just bear in mind that it can sometimes be more expensive to pay by card if fees are charged.
If you do take case, it’s handy to have a lot of small bills as a lot of places won’t offer change if you pay with a larger bill.
ATMs are pretty much everywhere (gas stations, malls etc.).
Que tengas un viaje seguro! (Have a safe trip!) 🇸🇻🏖️🏞️🌮
