Tipping at restaurants in Turkey
Bahşiş runs deep in Turkey, especially in tourism. At restaurants, around 10% is the norm; some guides say 5–10%, others 10–15%, so 10% lands squarely in the middle. Tip in cash, in lira, and hand it to your server rather than adding it to a card payment.
New since January 2026: no more service charges
You may have read that Turkish bills sometimes include a servis ücreti (service charge) or a kuver (cover charge). That’s history: an amendment to Turkey’s price-labelling regulation, in force since 30 January 2026, bans restaurants and cafés from charging service, table or cover fees – including under other names such as garsoniye. So the old advice to check whether service is included no longer applies. If a “voluntary” extra line appears on your bill, you can refuse it.
Cafés, lokantas and çay
In cafés, over a glass of çay or at a simple lokanta, round up or leave some small change. Nobody expects a percentage there.
Taxis, BiTaksi and transfers
In a taxi, BiTaksi or Uber, round up to a convenient amount. For a private airport transfer, 5–10% is a nice gesture, especially if the driver handles your luggage.
Hotels
Hotel tips are flat amounts, best given in lira. Since lira prices move quickly with inflation, it helps to think in dollar or euro terms:
- Porters: the equivalent of about $1–2 per bag.
- Housekeeping: the equivalent of about $3–5 a day at mid-range hotels.
- Room service: around 10%.
Many hotels have a tip box at reception; what goes in is shared among the whole team.
Hammams
At a hammam, around 10–15% of the price is usual. It’s normally shared among the attendants who scrubbed and massaged you – hand it over as you leave, or at the till with a word that it’s for the staff.
Guides, day trips and boat tours
Private guides and drivers get a tip from the whole group at the end of the day – roughly 10% of the tour price is a sensible rule of thumb. On coach day trips or Bosphorus cruises, a small amount per person is enough. If you charter a gulet privately, the crew is often given 5–10% of the charter fee in an envelope handed to the captain at the end, though these figures come mostly from charter companies.
Tipping by card
In Turkey, tips paid by card are still booked as business revenue and taxed, so often little of it reaches the staff. Rules for card tips have been discussed, but none are in force so far. The practical approach: pay the bill by card and leave the tip in cash, in lira.
Useful phrases: “Hesap, lütfen” (the bill, please) and “Üstü kalsın” (keep the change).
Worked example: dinner in Istanbul
Dinner for four, a bill of ₺2,450:
| Tip | Amount | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | ₺122.50 | ₺2,572.50 |
| 10% | ₺245.00 | ₺2,695.00 |
| Round to ₺2,700 | ₺250.00 | ₺2,700.00 |
The calculator above shows the approximate value in US dollars at the current reference rate, so you don’t have to convert in your head. Heading on to Greece? Tips there tend to be a little more modest.
Sources
Last reviewed: . Based on official tourism boards, laws and public authorities, consumer organisations, and established travel guides and media. Tipping is always voluntary – all figures are guidelines.
- Alomaliye: text of the price-labelling regulation amendment of 30 January 2026 alomaliye.com
- Turizm Ekonomi: Türkiye ends cover and service fees turizmekonomi.com
- Takvim: card tips still unregulated (2026) takvim.com.tr
- Turkey Travel Planner: tipping in Turkey turkeytravelplanner.com
- ÖAMTC (Austrian automobile club): tipping abroad oeamtc.at
