Tipping is hard enough to figure out in your home country, and when you’re abroad it can be a real head-scratcher if you’re not at all familiar with local customs. So here’s some brief advice for those headed to South Africa.
In restaurants and bars, 10% – 15% is standard, plus more if you had really superior service. But check to see if a gratuity has automatically been added to your bill before you tip.
Tour guides, taxi drivers (except Uber, which doesn’t require extra tips), massage therapists and hairdressers also get about 10%.
Porters at airports expect between R5 and R10 per piece of luggage. For porters at hotels it’s about R10-20 per instance that they help you.
You might find a parking guard at a restaurant or shopping center who will watch your car when you’re inside the establishment. Don’t treat them as a nuisance — give them about R2 for their service. And the same goes for petrol (gas) station attendants who fill your tank and process your payment.
At game reserves and lodges, check with management to determine the etiquette at the establishment. Some lodges ask that you tip each member of staff individually, while others use a tip basket where proceeds are divided equally among staff. For safari rangers and trackers, tips are usually given to the individual, to the tune of about R200 to R300 per family or couple per day for rangers, and R100 to R200 per family or couple per day for trackers.
