I'm needing some help trying to determine how much to tip our chauffeur for an upcoming 8 day trip to Ireland.

I don't have the transportation cost of the trip just the total trip price which includes transportation and hotels.

We are a family of 4. I was thinking 50 euros per day, but thought I would post here to get your feedback

Thanks in advance

>>I was thinking 50 euros per day<<

€50 . . . per day? Is this for a coach holding 45 people?

If you are talking a car and 2 or 3 passengers . . . €10 per day would be generous. You could round up to €100 for the 8 days but that is a lot.

50 euros per day for a family of 4 ...total 400 euros for the 8 days.

What are you really doing? It sounds like you have booked a luxury private vacation that includes a private chauffeur daily, but for some reason, your travel agent has not broken out the charge of the driver for you? I've just never heard of a packaged tour that includes a private chauffeur for a week, but maybe there is. I agree with janis, 100 euro for the week sounds fine. I don't really understand if you are thinking of tipping 400 euro to this driver? Just sounds incredible to me. This is presuming they or the company that they work for IS being paid something already for this service.

I will admit I personally may tip a driver/guide about 10 euro for a day trip when I'm part of a group, so they are getting maybe 75-100 euro total for the day. And I understand you are four people or so but the driver isn't doing that much work for the fact that there are 4 people versus 1.

>>total 400 euros for the 8 days.<<

That is ridiculously too much - honest. This is a TIP, not his salary. €100 TIP (remember - it is only a gratuity) is MORE than generous. Europe is not like the US where we tip every time someone sneezes and 20% for mediocre service.

<<I was thinking 50 euros per day>>

That is "American thinking" and totally out of place in Europe. Whether it's a bus coach tour or a private driver, anything beyond 10€ a day is excessive.

Who's to say the driver will even earn a tip? It's not obligatory here and only given for exceptional service received. €50 would be plenty, if you feel it's deserved.

We had a driver for 7 nights, 8 days in Scotland for our private tour for 8 people driving from Inverness to Skye, Harris and Lewis, Oban, and back to Inverness. A tip was much debated. In the end we gave a tip of 120 L and the driver thought it was so generous he drove us to the airport the day after the tour ended for free.

>> In the end we gave a tip of 120 L and the driver thought it was so generous he drove us to the airport the day after the tour ended for free.<<

Exactly -- (£120 = about €135 for the OP's benefit) and that was for the same time frame for a group twice the size and most likely a much larger vehicle and even the driver thought it was excessive. He obviously was very appreciative, but even @ £100 he probably would have been gobsmacked.

Tipping in the USA is a special case -- We have a crazy tipping culture - tip everyone for everything. Don't drag our customs to other countries.

Just an update after reading the Conditions for hire a 15% standard tip or more is to be paid to the driver directly.

This would be roughly 900 euros at the end of the 8 days....

Well, sorry, but that's insane. Find another solution.

What's the difference pay a Service Fee at restaurants or cafes of 15-20% and paying Service for a private chauffeur? Are we "insane" for paying the mandtory service fee/tip at restaurants too? What's the difference pray tell??? Maybe the driver does depend on that for his wages - some bus tours I've seen have that policy too. Price similar services/tours to see what they charge.

Wonder how they make sure folks pay that much after tour is finished?

>>This would be roughly 900 euros at the end of the 8 days....<<

Does that mean the driver is charging nearly €7,000 to drive you around for 8 days??? That is insane. I doubt that is the situation at all. A driver is not tipped on the cost of your accommodations, entrance fees, etc. Merely on his individual services.

PAL: >>Are we "insane" for paying the mandtory service fee/tip at restaurants too?<<

£900 is most likely 15% of the bill for the entire itinerary. So yes that is nuts. The driver is tipped based on HIS services, not for the hotel etc.

<<Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater >>

PalenQ #2 on the cliché standard response list of about 10. yawn.

Sounds like that driver may well depend on the 15% service charge (about $130-40/day; not outrageous for all-day service IMO) for his/her wages or the company would not make such a demand, which I too find outrageous and odious as I do mandatory service charges and even tipping at places like restaurants - all costs should be the responsibility of owners who should pay staff decent wage out of the take.

>>Sounds like that driver may well depend on the 15% service charge <<

Depend on tips? And just how did you deduce that? That isn't how the hospitality industry works in Europe (which you would supposedly know)

Because IMO otherwise no company would also pay the chauffeur a decent wage and demand that such a large tip be paid to him/her (guides are often independent contractors who are not full-time employees of company who bid for the job even at times I understand - and there are more than a few group tours that operate this way and state so in the brochures. Very important point if the chauffeur depends on that tip for his/her wages and no one - even you - can say whether or not that is so for sure.

I do find the whole US tipping culture being brought to other countries annoying, it's not how it's done in many other places. However, it sounds like the OP has more money than they know what to do with so let them give the guy his monthly salary in tips and make his Christmases all come at once. He'll be talking about these crazy Americans for years to come.