Visiting Puerto Vallarta - Part 9

Tipping Guide for Mexico continued:-

As you read through this guide you will find that this system extends too many areas. As you will see in a later section even all-inclusive does not include tips.

Everyday situations:-

Airport porter: $15 – $30 pesos per bag or the current equivalent to $1-$2 USD.

Hotel porters and luggage handlers: $15 – $30 pesos per bag.

Hotel doorman who helps you get a cab: $30 pesos.

Hotel room service waiter: $30 pesos per delivery.

Hotel concierge who performs a service: $45 pesos or more depending on the task.

Hotel maid: $50 – $80 pesos per day, this will also depend on number of people in the room and how much work you leave to be done in the room. Depending on the system you may have different maids who clean your room each day or your normal maid may be off on the day you leave. This is the reason you may want to tip daily rather than at the end of your stay to ensure the correct maid receives the tip. Your daily tips can be left on your dresser with a note saying: “Gracias por su servicio” which will confirm it's for the maid.

Condo maid: $75 pesos tip at the end of your stay for a single bedroom unit. If you have a larger than normal place or more bedrooms then scale up the amount you leave.

Restaurant waiters: 15% – 20% but only if a service charge is not included on the bill.

Bartender: $15 pesos per drink, or 15%-20% of total bill.

Spa services: 15%-20% of service price.

Tour guides – when in a large group such as a coach tour: $75 pesos per person. This is only a guideline and if the tour guide has been exceptional then you should offer more to reflect that.

Tour guides – when you take a smaller personalized tour: $150 pesos per person is considered normal.

Now comes the real anomaly, the one place you would expect to tip you don’t.

Taxi drivers: It is NOT customary to tip taxi drivers unless they assist you with luggage or other packages and then $10 pesos per suitcase is reasonable. However, if you have found the driver is really helpful offering tourist tips or information on the history of the area then and extra $50 pesos will not be refused.

Tipping Guide for Mexico continued in part 10