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Do I need to tip taxi drivers in Madrid and Barcelona?

Do I need to tip taxi drivers in Madrid and Barcelona?

Old Aug 15th, 2001, 11:19 AM
  #1  
Shelliac
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Do I need to tip taxi drivers in Madrid and Barcelona?

I know that you need to tip taxi drivers in NYC, and other large cities. I am assuming you need to tip taxi drivers in Madrid and Barcelona also. Is that true? And if it is true approximately how much (or percentage of your fare)?
We will be there in mid-Spetember and we want to take a taxi from the airport to our hotel in those cities.

Please help!

Shelliac
 
Old Aug 15th, 2001, 11:40 AM
  #2  
Kim
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You do not tip taxi drivers in Spain, just as you do not tip waiters, either. It is part of their salaries and is not expected nor accepted.
 
Old Aug 15th, 2001, 11:47 AM
  #3  
Maribel
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Shelliac,
Yes, 10 per cent of the fare.
-by the way, this is the one tipping issue my husband's Spanish family and I agree upon! (they, along with most Spaniards, only very rarely leave a tip in tapas bars and moderately priced restaurants, while I usually leave an extra 5 per cent-just can't help feeling guilty about leaving nothing, although they keep insisting!)
 
Old Aug 15th, 2001, 12:13 PM
  #4  
xxx
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Maribel, you seem to know everything there is to know about Spain. I will be making a trip to Spain soon and I hope you can help me to. Just curious, are you from Spain??? Thanks.
 
Old Aug 15th, 2001, 12:19 PM
  #5  
ger
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Shelliac: I tipped the taxi drivers in Madrid & Barcelona (about 10-12%) and once in Barcelona, when I miscalculated, the driver insisted on giving some of the money back as he said I had given him too much!

Maribel: haven't seen you post for ages. Thanks for your info on Barcelona - it was spot on as usual and your were right about getting an hotel in L'Eixample - it is a great area.

Regards .. Ger
 
Old Aug 15th, 2001, 12:20 PM
  #6  
tara
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Pedro we are you when we need you? I am interested in this question also since I will be traveling to Spain next year. You seem to know everything about Spain.
There are conflicting answers posted here.
 
Old Aug 15th, 2001, 12:21 PM
  #7  
tara
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I meant, Pedro where are you when we need you?
 
Old Aug 15th, 2001, 12:44 PM
  #8  
Maribel
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Hi Ger,
I haven't posted in a long while because we've been on our annual six week holiday in Spain. I loved
reading your Bridget Jones Diary report from Barcelona! It was wonderful-brava!
No, I'm not a native Spaniard but I very luckily married one, from Madrid. About the taxi tipping issue, when I first went to live and study in Madrid in '70 as a teenager, my Spanish "mother", the very proper seņora with whom I lived instructed me to tip the taxi driver only 10 per cent, and I've done so ever since, but I have noticied that in cities in the south, taxi drivers have sometimes seemed pleasantly surprised by that amount.
It may be over generous there.? Pedro, if you're "listening" what do you think? Is that too much to tip in Sevilla, for example?
 
Old Aug 15th, 2001, 01:35 PM
  #9  
Cova
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Hi Maribel,
ten percent is way too much in Bilbao. What we do is rounding, so for example, if the price is 775, you will pay 800, no more.
And there are some taxi drivers who donīt deserve the tip. After all, itīs a reward for a good service.
 
Old Aug 15th, 2001, 02:24 PM
  #10  
Jean Valjean
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It has been my experience that tipping is not a really cultivated practice in Spain.

For tapas bars, you just round to the next 100 pesetas. At low-mid priced restaurants, 100 pesetas will do.

In a high price restaurant, probably 1000-2000 pesetas would suffice.

As for taxis, I used them extensively (living in Barcelona) and I found out that tipping is appreciated, but definitely not expected. If they perform any special "service", like helping with luggage, or taking you to the airport, there's a "suplemento" included in the fare.

For suitcases, the "suplemento" is usually around 150 pesetas. That covers the tip.

In other places in Spain, I found that these "suplementos" also apply.

Hope this helps.
 
Old Aug 15th, 2001, 07:23 PM
  #11  
lara
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I thought you do not need to tip taxi drivers in Madrid or Barcelona just like you do not tip waiters. However, some people seem to know more about Spain and seem to think that you do need to tip. I never tipped in Spain because I thought it would be considered rude and that you are flaunting the fact that you have extra money to spare.
 
Old Aug 16th, 2001, 01:15 AM
  #12  
Paul
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Kim & Lara, you're both petty and ignorant!!! Of course some sort of tipping is involved. Did you not read up on Spain before traveling there and making fools of yourselves? How can you say that tipping is neither expected nor accepted, and that it is included in their salaries. And that it would be considered rude to flaunt the fact that you have money to spare. What planet are you from? The Frugal Planet Of Morons?
 
Old Aug 16th, 2001, 10:55 AM
  #13  
Jean Valjean
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Paul:

Tips in Spain are certainly not expected. They are accepted, though.

The concept of tipping in Spain is QUITE different from the US. A waiter in Spain has a reasonable salary that allows him/her to have a decent lifestyle. Tips would not represent more than 5-10% of his/her salary, which is probably just inverse in the US.

If you don't tip, no one will think that you are petty or cheap. Leaving 25 pesetas at a bar only means "Thanks", and not "I am cheap / I got bad service / I got good service or anything of the sort.

To be quite honest, I think that a proper salary to people in the service sector is much more civilized than a "mandatory" gratuity.
 
Old Aug 16th, 2001, 11:28 AM
  #14  
Big Spender
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Paul:
Yes I've read up about Europe and in fact I've actually been there and lived there. I'm sure you know that it is the standard in continental Europe to add a 15% service charge to the bill. This is used to pay the service staff so that they don't have to depend on tips. I can only assume that you consider a 15% tip to be an insult and rude to the staff in the US, and must tip more than that. So please come back and tell us how much we ought to tip in addition to that 15%. Instead of insulting people come back and tell us the proper way to handle this.
I'm waiting for your "knowledgeable" and "informed" answer. I certainly don't wish to make a fool of myself. Do you?
 
Old Aug 16th, 2001, 01:26 PM
  #15  
Dolly
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I carefully read what Kim and Lara wrote. And I would have to agree with Paul. No where in Paul's reply does he say that you must leave a big tip. He just stated that you should give a little extra. We are not talking big bucks here. It is accepted and appreciated.
 
Old Aug 16th, 2001, 02:24 PM
  #16  
We
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Dolly:
Paul offered no advice on tipping. He just called Kim and Lara "ignorant" "petty", "fools" and "morons". Would you call this good travel advice. I noticed that Paul offered similar insulting "advice" on the "More bad Spanish news" thread.
So where is he when someone asks for advice and clarification.
Where are you Paul? Why don't you tell us how much we should tip in Spain?
Where are you Paul?
 
Old Aug 16th, 2001, 02:34 PM
  #17  
Janie
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I would follow Maribel & Pedro's advice. They seem to be very knowledgable on Spain. I myself, always leave change when I frequent tapas bars. The same with taxi drivers. Sometimes I leave more, other times less. It depends on the service I receive. I hope this helps alittle bit.
 
Old Aug 16th, 2001, 08:58 PM
  #18  
xxx
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Paul,
You probably have never been to Spain or outside the US for that matter, that is why you talk nonsense and insult people, you cannot give real advice because you do not know anything about traveling. You are probably a teenager who has no friends and has nothing to do. In Spain (restaurnats) they add 15% to the bill for service, so they do not need tips, it is not required as in the US.
 
Old Aug 16th, 2001, 11:06 PM
  #19  
Peggy
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"We" and "XXX" are really disgruntled little women by the names of Kim and Lara. If you two can't take the heat, then get out of this forum. It's for experienced travelers, not neanderthals as yourselves!
 
Old Aug 17th, 2001, 12:06 AM
  #20  
Sandy B
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Paul....you are my hero. I noticed how these 2 characters, Lara and Kim, are now using aliases to attack you. It's very funny. It is obvious that they do not read the threads properly. I agree that some sort of change should be given. It seems that some of these people are just cheap. My husband commented to me that maybe these 2 women are only accustomed to budget and or backpacking travel. We always travel first class. Perhaps that is the difference between us and the anti-tippers. We do not mind giving a little extra for good service, even though it is not required. To each his own. Happy travels.
 

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