Tipping while on holiday is common in most parts of the world and South Africa is no exception. However, it is not always clear who it is appropriate to tip and how much. Furthermore, travellers may not have the right amounts of cash available at the right time. To avoid any inconvenience, Wendy Wu Tours operates a tipping policy where a stated amount is given to your national escort at the beginning of your tour and tips are disbursed amongst your main service providers (for example local guides, drivers, trackers and rangers) throughout your tour.
The amount is designed to be at a reasonable level for travellers while being fair to the local people and includes a gratuity for the national escort. Any other tipping, such as tips for bathroom attendants, restaurant staff or hotel porters that are taking luggage to your room, is at your discretion based on satisfaction of services received, as are gratuities for additional requested special services. We generally find that most customers appreciate the convenience of our tipping policy, but we do recognize that it may not suit everyone. However, as this is a group tour, we ask that everyone follows the same protocol to be fair to other group members and to ensure smooth operation of your tour.
For private tours, we generally recommend the below:
Restaurants: A tip of around 10-15% of the bill is standard, though some restaurants may include a service charge.
Hotels: R10–R20 per bag for porters, R12–R50 per night for housekeeping services
Guides: For guides and drivers on a private tour, R100 - R300 per person per day.