Tipping In Romania Guide – How Much To Tip In Romania

Are you headed on a trip to Romania? Then, you’ll need to know how to tip in this part of the world. No one wants to be in a foreign country and offend the locals.

Here in this tipping in Romania guide, we cover what a hotel maid, bell boy, restauranteur, tour guide, and taxi driver will expect as a part of Romanian customs.

Romanian Lei Local Currency Information

Currency: Romanian Leu (RON/Lei)

Denominations: Notes: 1- 100 Lei. Coins: 1 – 50 Bani

Other currencies accepted: If you have Euros left over from your Europe travels, you might be able to use them in Bucharest; it’s doubtful they will take them anywhere else, especially in smaller towns and cities.

For this reason, it’s not a safe idea to rely upon, and it’s far better to change a small amount of your cash before you arrive and then use a reliable bank, ATM, or change office when you arrive.

How Much Should You Tip In Romania- Tipping Culture

If it is your first time in Romania, you should note that Romanians have embraced a tipping culture. However, it’s not pushed at you; that said, there are some unwritten rules.

You only need to tip if you had a great experience you had. As a general rule, you should plan to tip 5-10 percent for general service and up to 15% for exceptional service, as that is what is normally expected in Romanian culture.

Tipping At Bars & Restaurants In Romania

In Romania, you are 100% expected to tip bartenders as it’s part of the wage, and it depends on how much you enjoyed your drinks and what to tip – between 10-20% of the bill is the general rule of thumb. You should leave cash tips on the bar or in the tip collection jar if there is one.

In local restaurants, you should leave a tip if the gratuity is not already included on the total bill. Look for “coperto” on the receipt, which stands for “service charge.”

You can leave a cash tip in the wallet with the receipt to ensure that the server gets the tip directly. If you pay the gratuity on your debit or credit cards, the Romanian servers will probably never see the money.

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Tipping Service Providers

When visiting Romania, you may also find that a tip might be hinted at when you’re ordering fast food or attending a spa, hairdressing salon, or other such type of service.

Again, it’s up to you if you want to, but if you enjoyed the experience, give up to 10% of the bill for good service.

Tipping Tour Guides In Romania

If you have been on a perfect tour and want to tip the guide, you should consider leaving a tip around 10% of the tour as a reasonable gratuity. However, if you seriously enjoyed it, you might want to add much more. On the other hand, if it was a terrible tour, don’t feel obliged to tip anything!

Tipping Taxi Drivers In Romania

Taxi drivers are one area where tipping isn’t usually expected, but you can round up your fare amount if you want to do so. You should realize that if you’re going to tip anyone, it’s best to do it in notes and not coins, as these aren’t worth much and could cause offense!

In major cities like Bucharest, you should be warned that cab drivers are well known to scam unsuspecting tourists – so check and double-check the meter and final fare, especially on short journeys.

Tipping In Hotels In Romania

Finally, if you’re staying in a hotel and want to tip the hotel main, you could consider around 4 Lei per day for the cleaning staff for each day you’re staying and around 5 Lei per piece of luggage you have for the hotel porter. If you use the services of a hotel concierge, it’s kind manners to tip them before you leave, with anything up to 15 Lei considered average.

What Is Customary To Tip On Public Transportation

This is one area where no actual tips are required. But hey, if your bus driver helps you with directions or your bags as you would in other European countries, give the person a small tip!

What Currency To Tip In?

Always tip in the local currency – otherwise, staff have to collect tips in your currency and go to the exchange office, and they may lose a portion on commissions and time spent exchanging money. That said, if you have landed and only have euros or Dollars in your wallet, leave them, as it is better than nothing.

Now you are ready to leave a small tip or a generous tip without making a mistake – happy tipping in Romania!

Romania Tipping FAQs