1Caroline

In September/October my husband and I will be traveling to Morocco and I have some questions. While we are accustomed to tipping in the US and Europe, I want to be sure we're on the right page in Morocco and since many of you have been there, I'm sure you have the answers here.

(1) What is the correct percentage to tip for good service at a restaurant?

(2) If you are doing a private tour into the Sahara and to some other cities, when and how much do you tip your driver/guide? Do you wait until the end as you do on a cruise? Do you tip a percentage based on the total cost or per day? Does the guide pay out of pocket for the bottled water, etc. or is that provided by his company?

(3) If the cost of meals was figured into the package, do you still tip at the riads or was that figured in too?



Any other information you can provide would be helpful.

MmePerdu

http://www.cntraveler.com/travel-tip...-Tipping-Guide

MOROCCO
At Restaurants: Ten percent is generous, but check to make sure the service isn't included in the bill.
At Hotels: Two dollars per bag to the porter; $10 to the concierge at the beginning of your stay, to guarantee good service; $5 per night to the housekeeper, preferably paid day by day.
Guides and Drivers: For cab-drivers, round up to the next 10-dirham note; private drivers and guides should both get around $15 per day.

thursdaysd

That sounds rather high to me, but then that's Conde Nast, right? And I can't remember the last time I stayed in a place with a concierge.

Lonely Planet's take:
"Tipping and bargaining are integral parts of Moroccan life. Practically any service can warrant a tip, and a few dirham for a service willingly rendered can make life a lot easier. Tipping between 5% and 10% of a restaurant bill is appropriate. A supply of small coins is vital for the payment of taxis, tips and guides. It is a good idea to load up at a bank when you arrive so you are well prepared."

Fra_Diavolo

Going with thursday -- those numbers look very high. $5 a night for a hotel housekeeper? Maybe if you're staying at the Mamounia. Try $1.

The city cab drivers are already scamming you -- try to get one to turn on the meter. The real fare is a small fraction -- I'm talking 1/10th or so -- of what you're quoted. Offer 50% of what they ask to take you to the train or bus station. NO TIP AT ALL unless the meter is running. (Forget small change, though, they won't have any.)

I'd say $1 per bag max for porters, hotel or train.

MmePerdu

I was assuming a higher end experience than LP would be addressing, given her mention of "private" tours. I'm not in the private tour crowd or tour crowd, come to that, so my own tips would certainly be more modest.

Regarding meals included, my experience is whomever pays the bill also pays the tip. So if your guide is paying the tab then also the tips. If you pay for meals yourself then also the tip.

Ian

It was suggested to us that 100-120 dirham per day was right for a driver/guide & that is what we gave our excellent driver.

Ian

1Caroline

Thanks everyone.

Ian, that sounds like a good guideline. Since we are usually Independent travelers, I just wanted to make sure we were within the norm there.

WithLovefromMorocco

Normally it is about 10 to 15 % for restaurants,bars and as well as guides and drivers. No need to tip everyday for the guide or driver.keep it till the end of the trip.

Wash5309

Good topic, traveling myself to Morocco and was wondering the same thing!

To Ian & MmePerdu, I have a question though about the $27-30 USD per day to a driver/guide point you each made. I feel like I'm missing something (or maybe I'm stingy) but that strikes me as an awful lot. I'm doing a 10 day tour of various cities and I was of course planning on tipping a couple times throughout the trip to the driver and guide (regardless of how the service is) but according to your rates, we should be giving around a $280+ tip each if our guide and driver are good for the duration of the trip? Or maybe I'm confused and you meant that as only being given sparingly throughout the trip? Can you kindly explain where you received that reference from?

Can other folks chime in on their tour experiences in Morocco and if this sort of tipping is standard practice? I just want to figure out what is decent so I go in with the correct expectations.

MmePerdu

I was not initially offering my own experience, as mentioned, but that suggested by CN Traveler in the article quoted, assuming that for a private higher end tour there wouldn't be a group contributing to tips.

But if it's a group tour I think more like $10 a day total, if everyone in the group is contributing a similar amount. So a total of $100 for a 10 day trip for both people (your driver & your guide).

I participated in 1 tour of about 10 people on my first trip to Morocco years ago. Tipping was done once, at the end of the trip.

Alex251986

10% is the average of tipping in Morocco, and always is depends on the service you get, as the tipping is very important in Morocco according to the people salaries are low.

cgeidl

I was a reacher and I found the average teacher in Morocco makes about $350 per month. We will have a ten day guide and we plan to tip from $50 to$100 for the trip.
$100 is more than the teacher and the driver/guide also makes some salary from the tour company. I have heard most drivers with their own car live well in Morocco.
We also will bring a few Momentos with us to give as we go along.

Bedar

When I taught h.s. in Kenitra in the late 70s, I made $400/mo. At U. Med V in Rabat I made $600/mo. Salaries have since gone up.
I'm not sure what you're asking here. Perhaps how much to tip your driver ? I'd say $100 for 10 days - that's $10/day which should be sufficient. What sort of mementos are you thinking of passing out ?

cgeidl

On our last trip to China I purchased some key chains with the US Flag before leaving. When I went to give the first one to a local guide there was a minute tag on the chain. Yes ,you guessed it MADE IN CHINA. This time we will make sure what we bring was made in the US.
Just looked up the average wage in Morocco and for 2014 it was $415. Includes professionals and government employees.
I think $10 per day would be fair to tip.

janisj

>>I'm not sure what you're asking here. <<

The OP's trip was in <B>two years ago</B>

Bedar

Janisj - You are another one who doesn't read posts. Just above cgeidl is asking on Oct. 20, 2015 about tipping today. Unfortunately she attached her queries to an older thread, nevertheless ...

janisj

>>Janisj - You are another one who doesn't read posts. Just above cgeidl is asking on Oct. 20, 2015 about tipping today<<

Actually I did see/read cgeidl's post. But don't see that she asked a question -- merely made a comment about what they plan on doing. No <B>?</B> that I could see -- just topping an old thread.

janisj

>>Actually I did see/read cgeidl's post.<< . . . <i>Both</i> of them.

lamiab

Hi everyone! too much discussion, you have to tip in Morocco as you usually do in Europe.life is expensive in morocco too, almost the same as Europe. it is about how generous you are and how the service was from either a guide,a driver or a waiter and not about percentage. By the way teachers if they are of ladder 12 that's how they class them in morocco they make 1200$ per month, a head waiter makes 1000$ per month +tips,a cook makes 800$ per month but a head chef makes between 3000$ to 7000$ and more in a 5*,a director of one of the 5* hotels in Marrakech makes 14000€ per month.... He eats and sleeps in the hotel and his ride is the hotel's too he doesn't even spend it.

Bedar

lamiab - thanks for the information on salaries I'm glad to hear that everyone is making more than when I worked there. Then again, the cost of living has gone up so how "real" the salary rise is we can't know. Thanks again.