This article contains advertising. Some of the hotel, flight and transfer links in it are paid links: if you book through one, we get a commission from the booking company, and your price is the same either way. It never affects what we recommend. Affiliate disclosure
Tipping in Greece is voluntary but welcome: leave 5-10% at a taverna, about 10% where the table service is attentive, and up to 15% when someone made the evening. Everything smaller gets rounded up, from a coffee to a taxi across the centre. Below is how much to tip in Greece in each situation a visitor to Athens meets, from souvlaki counters and rooftop bars to hotel porters and free walking tours, with worked examples in euros and the few cases where the right tip is nothing.
It’s written for first-time visitors, and especially for anyone used to American tipping, where 20% is a reflex; in Greece that’s generous rather than standard. The one caveat: a tip here is a thank-you on top of a wage, and cash handed to the person who served you is still the only tip you can be sure reaches them. Details checked 26 September 2026 against the City of Athens visitor guide, the Greek Ministry of National Economy and Finance and the national market rules for restaurants. For the rest of the essentials, from plugs to pharmacies, start with our practical guide to Athens.
| Where you are | Typical tip | How to give it |
|---|---|---|
| Taverna or casual restaurant | 5-10%, or round up | Cash left with the bill |
| Restaurant with full table service | 10%; up to 15% for excellent service | Cash, or add it when you pay by card |
| Café, table service | The change, or €0.50-1 a person | Coins on the receipt |
| Counter service: takeaway coffee, bakery, souvlaki to go | Nothing expected | Coins in a tip jar, if you like |
| Bar or rooftop bar | €1 a drink, or about 10% of a table tab | Cash on the counter or table |
| Metered taxi | Round up, or add €1-2 | Say the total before paying |
| Hotel porter and housekeeping | €1-2 a bag; €1-2 a night | By hand; each morning, with a note |
| Private guide | About 10% of the fee | Cash at the end |
| Group tour guide | €5 a person for a half day, €10 for a full day | Cash at the end |
| Free walking tour | €10-15 per adult | Cash at the end |
What’s changed in 2026?
Card tips are no longer taxed away. Until 2024, a tip added on a card terminal in Greece was taxed in full as the employee’s income, one reason older guides insist on cash. Since 1 November 2024, under Law 5162/2024, tips that staff receive from customers have been free of income tax up to €300 a month and free of social insurance contributions at any amount. On 31 July 2026 the finance ministry announced a switch to an annual limit of €6,000 from the 2026 tax year, designed around seasonal work: someone working a six-month summer season could take up to €1,000 a month in tips tax-free instead of €300. The change was due before parliament in September and would apply to the whole of 2026.
The hotel levy is not a service charge. Since 1 January 2025 the Climate Crisis Resilience Fee has been €2 a room a night at one- and two-star hotels, €5 at three stars, €10 at four and €15 at five from April to October, falling to between €0.50 and €4 from November to March. It’s usually charged when you check out, and it goes to the state. It isn’t a tip, and none of it reaches the staff.
What hasn’t changed: tipping is still voluntary, still modest by American standards, and still simplest in coins and small notes.
Is tipping expected in Greece?
Appreciated, yes. Expected, not quite. Greek waiters and hotel staff are paid a wage and taxis run on a meter, so a tip tops up pay rather than making it up, and nobody will follow you into the street over an empty saucer. The City of Athens visitor guide tells visitors to tip waiters, taxi drivers, bellboys and hairdressers, suggests 10-15% in cafés and restaurants, and says to round up taxi fares or add a couple of euros.
Plenty of Athenians leave less. Greeks eating out together often round the bill up or drop a few euros on the plate rather than work out a percentage, and at a family taverna 5-10% is perfectly normal. Pitch your tip somewhere between the local habit and the official guidance and nobody will blink.
Verdict: tip for service, not out of obligation. An American-style 20% isn’t wrong, just unnecessary, and leaving little after a careless meal isn’t rude.
Tavernas and restaurants: how much to tip in Greece for a meal
Most of your tipping happens over food, and the kind of place tells you nearly everything. Our Athens food guide covers what to order; this section covers what to leave.
Tavernas, ouzeris and mezedopoleia
5-10%, or round up to a tidy figure. Paper tablecloths, wine by the carafe, a menu that hasn’t changed in years: the tip here is small and uncomplicated. On a €37 lunch for two, €40 is normal and €42 says you loved it. Leave it on the plate the bill arrived on, or hand it over with the payment.
Restaurants with full table service
10%, and up to 15% when it was excellent. These are the places with linen, a wine list and a waiter who explains the day’s fish and paces the courses. On an €86 dinner for two, €95 is right; €99 is for service that genuinely made the night. Hotel restaurants and fine dining sit here too. Glance at the bill for a service line before adding anything: it’s rare in Athens, and if it’s there, you’ve already tipped.
Souvlaki places, bakeries and counters
Nothing at a counter. A pitta gyros ordered at the counter, a spanakopita from a bakery or a coffee to go carries no tip, though some counters keep a jar for coins. Sit down at a souvlaki place with waiter service and taverna rules apply: round up, or leave a euro or two.
Big tables
10%, pooled before the bill arrives. With six or more people, agree the tip first and put it in one pile. Eight people each leaving loose change is how a waiter ends up with €3 on a €210 bill. If you’re splitting across cards, have one person cover the tip in cash, or tell the waiter the combined total, tip included, before anyone taps.
The free dessert
A gift, not a hint. Many tavernas end the meal with something on the house: a plate of fruit, a few squares of semolina halva, a small carafe of tsipouro. It’s a kérasma, a treat, and it won’t appear on the bill. You owe nothing for it, though rounding up a little more generously is a gracious reply.
Here’s how that works out on example bills. The totals are illustrations; the proportions are the point.
| Example bill | Where | Leave |
|---|---|---|
| €18.60 | Two gyros plates at a souvlaki place with table service | €20 |
| €37 | Taverna lunch for two with a carafe of wine | €40-42 |
| €64.50 | Taverna dinner for two | €70 |
| €86 | Restaurant dinner for two with full service | €95 |
| €210 | Taverna dinner for six | €225-230 |
Bread, water and the bill: what’s a charge and what’s a tip?
Greek rules on restaurant bills are stricter than most visitors realise, and they matter here because a padded bill is the one place a tip can turn into a mistake.
The menu has to be outside. Restaurants, tavernas, cafés and bars must keep a price list in Greek (other languages are optional), post it outside the main entrance and show it to every customer before they order. Read it at the door, before you sit down, particularly in the tourist lanes of Plaka and Monastiraki. The City of Athens visitor guide itself warns against being lured in by waiters standing outside restaurants in touristy areas.
No cover charge, and no bread you didn’t agree to. A Greek restaurant may not charge a couvert for plates, cutlery and napkins, and it may not serve and bill you for bread or bottled water without your consent. In practice, both often land on the table unasked. They’re menu items with menu prices, so if you don’t want them, say so as they arrive.
The bill must be itemised: each item at its menu price, then the total. The UK Foreign Office reminds travellers of the same rule. A normal Athens bill has no service line, so whatever you add is your tip, and you add it after checking the rest.
The bill won’t come until you ask for it. Lingering is normal, and a waiter who brought it unprompted would be hurrying you. Catch their eye and say “ton logariasmó, parakaló”, or mime signing in the air. Cafés work the other way: the receipt often arrives with your drink, tucked under the saucer, and you pay when you’re ready to go.
Paying and tipping, step by step
- Ask for the bill: nobody will bring it unasked.
- Read every line: what you ordered at the menu price, nothing called cover, no bread you turned away.
- Pick the tip: round up somewhere casual, about 10% with full service, more if they earned it.
- Pay at the table: most places bring a handheld card terminal, so say the total you want charged, tip included, before it’s keyed in.
- Leave the cash: in the folder or on the plate, or hand it over with “kratíste ta résta”, keep the change.
Cafés and bars: coins, not percentages
Coffee at a table
The change, or €0.50-1 a person. Ten per cent of a €4.20 freddo espresso is 42 cents, which is why percentages vanish at café level. Leave the coins from your change or round €4.20 up to €4.50 or €5. The same goes for breakfast or cake with your coffee. You can make one freddo last two hours, and nobody expects the tip to grow to rent the table.
Takeaway coffee and kiosks
Nothing. Coffee to go, a pastry from the counter or a bottle of water from a períptero, the street kiosks selling drinks, snacks and cigarettes, carries no tip. A jar by the till is an invitation, not a bill.
Bars and rooftop bars
€1 a drink at the bar, about 10% on a table tab. At the counter, round up or leave a euro a round. With table service at a cocktail bar in Psyrri or Kolonaki, 10% is right for good service: on a €24 tab, leave €26 or €27. Rooftop bars facing the Acropolis already price the view into every drink, so tip on the service, not the scenery.
Beach bars on the Riviera
Café rules at the sunbed, taverna rules at lunch. Where a waiter brings drinks to your lounger at the beaches south of the city, round up or leave a euro or two a round. A full lunch at a beach restaurant gets the usual 5-10%.
Verdict: don’t overthink cafés and bars. Carry a handful of €1 and €2 coins and a couple of €5 notes and the question answers itself. For the food and drink side of the city, see our guide to eating out in Athens.
How much do you tip a taxi in Athens?
Round up, or add €1-2. That’s the City of Athens guidance. On a metered €11.40 fare, hand over €12 or €13 and wave away the change. If the driver lifts heavy cases into the boot, add another euro or two.
The airport flat fare. The run between the airport and central Athens is charged at a flat fare rather than on the meter, and that fare has changed several times, so check the current day and night rates on the airport’s website before you land rather than trusting an old blog. On top of it, €2-5 is generous if the driver handled your bags; nothing extra is needed if all they did was drive.
No meter, no tip. The City of Athens tells passengers to make sure the meter is running as soon as they sit down. If it isn’t, and a price is announced at the end instead, you’re owed an explanation and a receipt, not a tip.
Apps and cards. The UK Foreign Office suggests pre-booked transport or apps such as Uber and Free Now, which send licensed taxis in Greece. If the app offers a tip after the ride, use it. Paying by card in the car, tell the driver the rounded total before it’s keyed into the terminal; tipping after the payment has gone through means digging for coins anyway.
Hotels, apartments and hostels: who gets what?
Hotel tipping works per task rather than per cent, and bellboys are on the City of Athens list of people to tip.
| Who | Tip | When |
|---|---|---|
| Porter or bellboy | €1-2 a bag | When the bags reach your room, and again when they come down |
| Housekeeping | €1-2 a night; €3-5 at a five-star | Each morning, with a note |
| Concierge | €5-10 for a hard-won booking | At the time; nothing for directions or a map |
| Doorman who hails a taxi | €1 | As you get in |
| Room service | About 10% | Unless the bill already shows a service charge |
| Short-let host | Nothing | A good review is worth more to them |
| Hostel staff | Nothing | Buy a drink at the bar if you want to say thanks |
Housekeeping is the tip people forget. One lump sum on the last morning goes to whoever cleans that day, not necessarily the person who did your room all week. Leave €1-2 each morning with a word on paper (“efcharistó”, thank you, will do) so it’s clearly meant for them rather than forgotten change.
Bags after check-out. If the hotel keeps your luggage until your flight, give €1-2 a bag to whoever hands it back. If it can’t, our guide to left luggage in Athens compares lockers, bag-drop apps and the airport options.
The resilience fee on your final bill is the levy described above. It doesn’t count towards the tip, and it shouldn’t shrink it either.
Tour guides, drivers and free walking tours
Guides are where visitors most often get it wrong in both directions, because the “free” in free walking tour and the price on a private guide’s invoice send opposite signals.
| Tour | Tip | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Private licensed guide | About 10% of the fee | More if they reshaped the day around you |
| Paid group walking tour | €5 a person for a half day | Handed to the guide at the end |
| Full-day coach trip | €10 a person to the guide, €2-3 to the driver | Delphi, Mycenae and similar |
| Free walking tour | €10-15 per adult | This is the guide’s pay for the walk |
| Food tour | 5-10% of the ticket | When the guide made it more than a string of tastings |
| Day cruise | A few euros a person | Only if there’s a crew tip box |
Private guides
About 10% of the fee. A licensed guide charges a professional rate, and the tip is for the extras: timing the Acropolis to dodge the worst of the heat, finding shade between monuments, answering the fourth question about the Caryatids with patience. If the guide was merely competent, the fee covers it.
Free walking tours
€10-15 per adult for two to three hours. “Free” means tip-based: there’s no ticket, and what you put in the guide’s hand at the end is their pay for the walk. Give what it was worth. €5 is fine on a tight budget, children usually count for less, and nothing is an answer only when the tour was genuinely poor. If you book a place and your plans change, cancel: guides plan around the numbers, and a no-show can keep someone else off the list.
Day trips, food tours and boats
€10 a person to the guide on a full day, €2-3 to the driver. On a coach trip to Delphi or Mycenae, the guide does the talking and the driver does the mountain roads; both deserve something. On a food tour, tip 5-10% of the ticket if the guide made it more than a walk between tastings. On a day cruise to the Saronic islands, a crew tip box is the only cue you need.
Verdict: ignore advice to tip €20-25 a head for an hour on a group tour. That’s private-guide money, and on a Greek group tour it would stand out.
Hairdressers, spas, delivery riders and everyone else
Hairdressers and barbers: round up, or 5-10% for a cut you’re happy with; they’re on the City of Athens list too. Spas and massages: about 10%, unless the price says service is included. Delivery riders: €1-2, more in a heatwave or a downpour, through the app if it has a tip button. Petrol station attendants: not expected, though the coins from your change are welcome if one fills your hire car.
No tip is expected at supermarket tills, bakery and kiosk counters, pharmacies, museum and site ticket desks, ferry ticket offices or on board, or by bus and metro staff.
How much should you budget for tips?
Less than you might think. Here’s a four-day city break for two, using the amounts above and middling bills; your own totals will move with where you eat and how you get around.
| Four days, two people | Tips |
|---|---|
| Four dinners, bills of €60-90 | €24-36 |
| Four lunches, bills of €30-40 | €8-16 |
| Eight coffee stops | €8-16 |
| Two evenings at a bar | €8-10 |
| Airport taxi both ways, plus two rides in town | €6-14 |
| Porter on arrival and departure, housekeeping for four nights | €8-16 |
| One free walking tour | €20-30 |
| Total | €82-138 |
That’s roughly €10-17 a person a day, and dinners plus the walking tour make up more than half of it. Skip the tour and the total for the whole trip falls to roughly €60-110.
When should you tip less, or nothing?
The bill has a line you didn’t order. Get it corrected before you think about a tip. Tipping on a padded bill rewards the padding.
The service was careless, not just slow. Kitchens get swamped on summer nights, and a waiter running eight tables in the heat deserves patience. One who ignored you, got the order wrong and shrugged doesn’t need a tip to rescue the evening.
The taxi meter was off. Pay, ask for a receipt, and leave it there.
Service is already on the bill. Then you’ve tipped. Anything more is for something exceptional.
Verdict: two habits are overrated. One is the American 18-20% reflex. The other is tipping in foreign money: dollars and pounds cost the recipient a trip to a bureau de change, and coins usually can’t be changed at all. Tip in euros. If you’re still deciding how much cash to carry, the money section of our Athens travel essentials covers cards, cash and the nightly hotel fee.
Greek for paying the bill
Nobody expects Greek from you, but a few words land well at the end of a meal.
| English | Greek | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| The bill, please | Τον λογαριασμό, παρακαλώ | ton logariasmó, parakaló |
| Keep the change | Κρατήστε τα ρέστα | kratíste ta résta |
| Everything was lovely | Ήταν όλα πολύ ωραία | ítan óla polí oréa |
| Can I pay by card? | Μπορώ να πληρώσω με κάρτα; | boró na pliróso me kárta? |
| No bread, thank you | Όχι ψωμί, ευχαριστώ | óchi psomí, efcharistó |
| Tip | φιλοδώρημα, or informally πουρμπουάρ | filodórima, pourbouár |
| Receipt | απόδειξη | apódixi |
Tipping in Greece FAQ
Do you have to tip in Greece?
No. Tipping in Greece is voluntary, and waiters and hotel staff are paid a wage, so a tip is a thank-you rather than part of the price. Leaving something is still normal: round up in cafés and taxis, leave 5-10% at tavernas and about 10% where the table service is attentive. Nobody will chase you for leaving little after poor service.
Is 10% a good tip in Greece?
Yes. Ten per cent is a solid tip at a sit-down restaurant and a generous one at a casual taverna, where 5-10% or simply rounding up is normal. The City of Athens visitor guide calls 10-15% fine in cafés and restaurants. Keep 15% for service that stood out, and don’t feel you need to reach the 18-20% that’s standard in the United States.
How much do you tip a taxi driver in Athens?
Round up to the next euro or add €1-2, as the City of Athens suggests. On an €11.40 fare, €12 or €13 is right. Add a little more if the driver loads heavy bags, and €2-5 on top of the airport flat fare if they helped with luggage. If the meter wasn’t switched on, you don’t owe a tip.
Can I tip by card in Greece?
Yes. Tell the waiter the total you want charged, tip included, before it’s keyed into the terminal, or use the tip option if one appears on screen. Since November 2024, staff tips have been largely free of income tax and social insurance contributions, so card tips are no longer taxed away. Cash handed to the person who served you is still the surest route.
Should I tip in euros or dollars?
Euros. Dollars, pounds and other currencies leave the recipient paying to change them, and foreign coins are close to worthless to them because they usually can’t be exchanged. If you’re arriving on a cruise ship at Piraeus, bring a few euro coins and €5 notes ashore for tips, taxis and coffee.
How much should I tip on a free walking tour in Athens?
Around €10-15 per adult for a two-to-three-hour tour, a little less on a tight budget or a shorter walk. Free walking tours are tip-based, so what you give at the end is the guide’s pay for the walk. If you booked a place and can’t make it, cancel, so the guide can plan the group and free the spot.
Is service included in restaurant bills in Greece?
Not as a separate charge, normally. Greek rules require an itemised bill at menu prices, ban cover charges for plates and cutlery, and forbid charging for bread or bottled water you didn’t agree to. A typical Athens bill therefore lists only what you ordered. If a service line does appear, treat it as your tip and add more only for exceptional service.
Is tipping different on the Greek islands?
Not in principle. The same amounts apply on Aegina, Mykonos or Santorini as in Athens: round up for small things, 5-10% at tavernas and about 10% with full table service. Bills on the busiest islands tend to be higher, so the same percentage means more money, and beach clubs with waiter service follow restaurant rules rather than café ones.
Related Athens Guides
- Athens Practical Guide: money, plugs, water, etiquette, pharmacies and the rest of the everyday essentials.
- Athens Food Guide: what to order in the tavernas and cafés you’ll be tipping in.
- Luggage Storage in Athens: lockers, apps and airport options for the hours between check-out and your flight.
Sources and How We Checked
Everything here was checked on 26 September 2026 against the official sources below, apart from the hotel levy rates, which were last checked on 25 September 2026 against the Greek travel trade press’s report of the 2025 decision; the page was compiled from these sources rather than from other travel lists, and no first-hand visit is claimed.
- City of Athens, This is Athens visitor guide: Dos and Don’ts, for tipping amounts, taxi meters and restaurant touts.
- Hellenic Ministry of National Economy and Finance: press release on tax-free tips, 31 July 2026 (in Greek).
- Region of North Aegean: obligations of food-service businesses (in Greek), a regional summary of the national market rules on price lists, cover charges, bread and itemised bills, read from the July 2022 web-archive copy.
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Greece travel advice, safety and security, for itemised bills and taxi apps.
What we couldn’t verify: the current airport taxi flat fare, which has changed several times and sits on a site that blocks automated checks; whether the September 2026 tips bill had passed by the time you read this; and how any particular business shares out card tips among its staff.
Athens Tourism Guide is an independent publication. We are not affiliated with the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, OASA, the Greek National Tourism Organisation or any business named here, and no business paid to be included.
Photo Credits
- Souvlaki plate in Athens: photo by Miyagawa, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Freddo cappuccino on a café table: photo by Nbarth, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
- Yellow taxis in Athens: photo by V.B.Speranza, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Hotel Grande Bretagne on Syntagma Square at night: photo by George E. Koronaios, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Lane in Anafiotika: photo by C messier, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Tavernas on Mnisikleous Street (featured image): photo by Jakub Hałun, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
