Traveling in a foreign country can be slightly intimidating, but it doesn't have to be... you might not know the language, and likely you're not 100% familiar with the local customs or culture... This is normal, and we see it as our job to help "get you mentally prepared" so that you have a better feel for what's happening around you!
Here at Adventures to Tuscany, you'll hear us talk a lot about truly authentic experiences and deep cultural immersion... We pride ourselves on working hard to prepare our guests, so that you know how to plan & prepare for your trip... and so you know what's going on and that you have the best experience possible. Most Tour operators do very little of this, and when their tour guests get to their destination, they muddle through... but often, they feel somewhat "lost" as to what's expected of them or what they're supposed to do... questions abound, and typically because of the standard 44 -50 person group sizes, those questions often go unanswered... or a guest ends up just asking the question to another tour member who doesn't really know the answer either...
Our goal has always been to overcome these issues, and we use this BLOG as our main conduit to prepare you by feeding you just one one spoonful a day... If you've been following along, you may not realize it, but you're already far-far ahead of most Americans who travel to Italy... You've already read a lot of customized articles addressing the who, what, when, where and why's of your destination and your Tour... And we'll be posting several times a week for the next 8 months before you leave for Italy! And we're just getting started! If you continue to follow along with the BLOG, you'll be an expert by your departure... And that is our goal! As always, please reach out to us if you have questions, or if we can help in any way!
Tipping in restaurants in Italy... Probably one of the most heavily debated and argued topics among frequent international travelers... And with this in mind, we're going to try to give you a little confidence with your tipping practices...
To truly understand this topic, you must first talk about the Italian Culture and what local Italians do in their daily lives... Here in the US, most of us know and understand that our waiters & waitresses get paid a lower base wage and depend on gratuities for their living... And that gratuity over the years has pretty much become a standard of 15 - 20%, and it's often the minimum expected whether you got special service or not... In Italy, waiters & waitresses are professionals and they get paid a full wage and could never make it on tips because in their culture, they just don't tip very much, if at all... and they're not necessarily expected to do so...For the most part, most native Italians do not tip very much at all... It's just not part of their culture... In a restaurant, they'll often just leave "the change." If they got special service... Perhaps if their check is 38 euro, they'll just leave the change from 40 euro... (around 5%). Seriously, most Italians do not tip at all... We're talking zero... zilch... notta! It's not that they're cheap; it's just not a thing in Italy. And quite honestly, most Italian waiters don't expect a tip... (except from Americans... more on this later)
Most typically, restaurants in Italy will charge you a "Coperto," to sit down, which basically translates to a cover charge... This is normally 2 to 3 Euros per person, and you'll usually see it listed on the menus & on your check as the coperto... You'll sometimes hear people say this is the "bread charge..." But don't bother telling them you don't want the bread, cause you'll still pay this... and then on the menu you'll usually see the words "Servizio Incluso" which means the service charges (or what we might consider the tip) is included in their food prices... What gets difficult to understand is that this charge, the coperto, is not a tip and it does not go to the waiter, but it does help the owners of the restaurant offset the higher wages they pay their waitstaff. Some trendy or touristy restaurants in bigger cities will have listed on the menu servizio non-incluso, and then, either expect you to tip, or they'll sometimes add a 10 - 20% service charge onto your check...
What complicates all of this is that most American tourists, over the last 70 years, who don't understand this issue, feel guilty not tipping, and leave the typical 15 - 20% tip that they would in the US... This has created a very weird, hard to explain "double standard" where many waiters and waitresses (especially in the bigger cities) while knowing full well they'll get little or no tips from their fellow Italians, will still expect Americans to leave big tips...
So the following scenario is what makes the debate go on forever; Your typical American, feeling guilty about not tipping, will end up asking the waiter; "Is the tip included?" Now you have to understand this: They don't think of the Coperto or the Servizio as a tip, these are just standard charges and they (the waiters) don't receive them... So they legitimately & truthfully say "No, the tip is not included..." So the American leaves a 15 - 20% tip on the table! And this is why this issue is confusing and debated so heavily all over the internet!
What we suggest and what we do is to check the menu outside the door before you enter the restaurant... It will usually state the Coperto and whether or not the Servizio is included... Then if the service is included, and you've received good service, we suggest you leave a very small tip... usually one or two euro per person or maybe 5%. You can now feel relieved of your guilt... You've shown respect, and you've left a much bigger tip then most Italians ever would... (again, most just don't tip). If someone has done something extraordinary and special for you, (perhaps you've asked for a special table, asked them to take a photo, or asked for something not on the menu) and you want to do something special for them in return, you could leave 10%... That, in Italy is a huge tip! And of course, if you're just an overly generous person, trust us, no one will hate you if you leave them 20%! 