💲Our detailed guide to tipping in Mexico City

Tipping when traveling is confusing. Here's how much to leave servers, guides, and massage therapists in Mexico City, plus why you should tip at the grocery store.

Tipping is part of the culture in Mexico City like it is in the United States. But the customs and norms aren’t the same.

We want to be respectful travelers, and we know that under-tipping can keep someone from earning a fair wage. But over-tipping can mean you spend too much on your trip, and can seem insulting.

This guide can help you get it right.

For all our tips, recommendations, and itineraries, grab a copy of Eternal Spring: Our Guide to Mexico City. It's optimized for your phone, with links to everything you need for your trip.

🍴Restaurants and bars

As in the United States, tipping is expected and normal at any sit-down restaurant with table service in Mexico City. You should tip at least 10 to 15 percent.

After you request your check (don’t expect your server to offer it unless you ask), you can either pay with cash and add in your own tip or pay with a credit card.

If you pay with a credit card, the server will bring a terminal to your table. They will ask you if you wish to leave a tip—a propina.

If you say yes, they will probably turn the terminal toward you so you can choose from preset choices, usually for 5, 10, and 15 percent. In some places that cater more to tourists, the options might be 10, 15, and 20 percent.

Picking the middle or highest level of the options offered is usually fine. If you had excellent service and you want to tip more, you can tell your server the dollar amount or percent to add. If you say, for example, 20 percent, they may pull out their phone to do the math.

You can always pay with credit card and leave your tip in cash. We’re trying to make it a habit to tip in cash as often as we can, since that way it’s more likely the money ends up in the server’s pocket.

🌮Street food

Tipping is less formal at taco stands and other street food stalls in Mexico City. You may simply see a container out on the counter for coins.

Some street food stands don’t take credit cards—look for solo efectivo, meaning cash only. In that case, it’s common to give the server whatever coins you get back in your change, or 10 percent. You can also add that amount if you’re able to pay with a credit card.

If you pay with a card and the server doesn’t ask you if you want to tip, it’s not expected. You could still leave a few pesos in coins.

🚗Uber

By U.S. standards, Ubers in Mexico City are very inexpensive. If we’re going someplace that’s too far to walk, or it’s raining, we’ll take an Uber and they usually cost $40 to $50 MXN ($2 to $2.50 USD).

Regardless of the fare, the default tip options usually only go up to $20 MXN ($1 USD)

We usually choose that amount if it works out to be 20 percent of the fare or more. For more expensive rides and rides to or from the airport where the driver helps with luggage, we tip 20 to 25 percent.

But keep in mind that, unlike in the U.S., tipping for rideshares is something that’s nice to do. It’s not expected.

🎫Tour guides

Figuring out how much to tip tour guides in Mexico City is tough. There are lots of different types of tours, at all different price points, and with different group sizes.

Generally, you can tip 10 to 20 percent of the cost of the tour.

Some walking tours are free, so tips are 100 percent of the tour guide’s income. In that case, $200 MXN ($10 USD) is appropriate. Of course, you can shift that up or down based on the length and quality of the tour. Cash may be required.

💇🏽‍♀️Personal services

You probably won’t need a haircut while you’re on vacation, but you might want to get a manicure, massage, or another personal service.

I like to get my nails done in Mexico City, because it’s a lot less expensive than getting a manicure in the U.S. and it gives me an hour to practice my Spanish small talk with a native speaker.

Tip 10 to 20 percent on these services with cash.

🛒Grocery stores

This one might surprise you. It surprised us! Someone, usually an older man, might bag your groceries at the grocery store when you pay. These people only work for tips—they don’t get paid otherwise. We give them 5 or 10 pesos, depending on the size of our order and what coins we have handy.

❓When in doubt

It’s a good idea to carry an assortment of smaller bills and change. That way, if you aren’t sure how much you should tip, you can try to see how much other people are tipping and use that as your guide.

⚠️Don’t overtip

Be careful not to over-tip. Many food experiences in Mexico City are delightfully inexpensive compared to what you would pay for a similar meal in the U.S., and you may want to reward those who you see as comparatively poor or in need.

We get it, but over-tipping can be insulting, and announcing a 20 percent tip, now fairly standard in the United States, can trigger a double-take in some places. Don’t go any higher than that.

Plus, when travelers and visitors consistently over-tip, it can lead to preferential treatment for those who speak English, are white, or have other characteristics that set them apart from the locals. The more this happens, the more it puts locals at a disadvantage.

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