Tipping in Georgia: restaurants, guides, drivers, hotels and taxis — what is expected

Tipping in Georgia is optional but increasingly normal in anywhere tourists go, and the short answer is: check the bill first, because many restaurants in Tbilisi, Batumi and Kazbegi already add a 10 to 15 percent service charge, usually printed near the subtotal. If that line is there, a further tip is a bonus for good service, not an obligation. If it is absent, 10 percent in cash or by card is the going rate at a sit-down restaurant, and rounding up is enough at a café or bakery.

Outside restaurants, Georgia runs on a mix of old Soviet-era informality and a fast-growing tourism economy, so norms differ by sector. Guides and private drivers work on daily rates that do not include a tip in the quoted price, hotel staff rarely see service charges on the room bill, taxi apps calculate the fare precisely and most riders simply round up, and bathhouse attendants in Tbilisi’s Abanotubani quarter have an informal but fairly fixed scale. Below is what each group actually expects in 2026, in lari, with the reasoning behind it.

Restaurants and cafes: read the bill before you tip

Georgian menu prices are VAT-inclusive by law, and a growing number of restaurants in tourist areas add a separate service charge, typically 10 percent, sometimes 15 percent at higher-end places in Tbilisi and Batumi. This charge is meant to replace discretionary tipping, though it does not always reach staff the way a cash tip does, which is why many regulars still leave a few lari extra for good service. Ask the waiter directly, “Is service included?”, if the bill is in Georgian only. There is no uniform national rule fixing the percentage or requiring disclosure in a specific place on the receipt, so treat the line item as a restaurant-by-restaurant decision rather than a law.

• Service charge already on the bill: no further tip required; 5 to 10 percent extra for excellent service is appreciated, not expected.
• No service charge shown: 10 percent of the pre-tax total is standard at a restaurant with table service.
• Cafes, bakeries, street food: round up to the nearest 1 to 2 GEL, or leave small coins.
• Supra (traditional feast) with a toastmaster and hired musicians: a separate cash tip of 20 to 50 GEL for the group of musicians is customary if they are not already included in the price you were quoted.

Guides and drivers: a daily amount, not a percentage

Guide and driver rates quoted for private tours, including ours, are day rates for the service itself and do not build in a tip. Tipping is not required to receive good service from a licensed guide, and our own guides and drivers are instructed never to ask for one; it is entirely the traveller’s choice to reward a day that went well. As a planning reference, the table below reflects what independent travellers in Georgia commonly set aside, scaled to the kind of day described on our services and tours pages.

On a multi-day private tour such as Georgia in 7 Days — The Classic Grand Tour or Georgia in 10 Days — Tbilisi to Svaneti to the Sea, most travellers give the total at the end rather than daily, and split it between guide and driver if they are different people. If a group guide works with a coach of twenty or more, as on our groups and MICE programmes, a collective tip handed to the guide to distribute is more practical than individual gestures.

Hotels and guesthouses

Tipping is not built into Georgian hotel pricing, and most guesthouses, which remain family-run even in Tbilisi and Kutaisi, do not expect it at all, though a tip is always welcome if a host went out of their way. In larger hotels in Tbilisi and Batumi, norms are closer to international practice.

• Porters: 2–5 GEL per bag.
• Housekeeping: 5–10 GEL per day, left in the room, ideally with a note so it is clear it is a tip and not forgotten change.
• Concierge: only for a specific favour such as a hard-to-get reservation, 10–20 GEL.
• Breakfast staff at a guesthouse: not expected; a kind word in the guestbook matters more.

Taxis and ride-hailing apps

Bolt and Yandex Go, the two apps used across Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi, show the fare before you confirm the ride, and tipping is not built into the local culture of either service. Rounding up to the nearest lari, or adding 2 to 5 GEL for help with heavy luggage or a long wait, is appreciated but genuinely optional. Street taxis without a meter should always be agreed in advance; once the fare is settled, there is no further tipping expectation.

Bathhouses, spas and personal services

At the sulphur bathhouses of Abanotubani in Tbilisi, the attendant who performs the traditional scrub and soap massage (kisi) works for tips in addition to, or sometimes instead of, a fixed treatment fee, depending on the bathhouse. Expect to pay 10–20 GEL per person directly to the attendant in cash, on top of the room or pool entry fee, and ask the price before the treatment starts if it is not posted. Hairdressers, nail technicians and massage therapists outside hotels generally follow the restaurant pattern: 10 percent is a fair tip if service was not already included.

How to tip in lari, and how to check the current rate

Lari (GEL) is the only currency to tip in; staff cannot reliably make change in euros or dollars, and card terminals rarely have a built-in tip function outside a handful of international hotel chains. Carry small notes, 1, 2, 5 and 10 GEL, for exactly this purpose, since large-denomination notes in a tip jar look like change left behind rather than a tip. At today’s rate, 1 EUR is worth roughly 2.91 GEL, so a 20 GEL guide tip is about €7 and a 10 GEL restaurant tip is about €3.40; rates move daily, and our data page carries the latest National Bank of Georgia figure used across our pricing, which is the easiest place to check before a trip.

When not to tip, and when it matters most

Government offices, border crossings, museum ticket desks and pharmacies never expect tips, and offering one can cause confusion or offence. At the other end, the people most likely to be underpaid for the hours they put in are small guesthouse hosts in rural Georgia, drivers on long mountain days to Tusheti or Svaneti, and bathhouse attendants working on tips alone, and this is where a tip genuinely changes someone’s day rather than topping up an already-built-in service charge.

Practical summary

• Check the bill for a 10–15 percent service charge before adding anything in a restaurant.
• No service charge shown: tip 10 percent in cash or by card.
• Guides and drivers: 20–40 GEL per traveller per day is the common range; give it directly, in lari, at the end of the service.
• Hotels: 2–5 GEL per bag for porters, 5–10 GEL per day for housekeeping; guesthouses rarely expect tips.
• Taxis and ride apps: round up; no obligation.
• Bathhouse attendants in Abanotubani: 10–20 GEL per person, paid directly in cash.
• Always carry small lari notes; tip in GEL, not euros or dollars.
• Verify the day’s exchange rate on our data page before converting a tip budget.

Sources

• Georgia Today – hospitality and tourism sector coverage
• Agenda.ge – Georgian business and hospitality news
• Matsne Legislative Herald – Tax Code of Georgia
• National Statistics Office of Georgia – wages and income data
• Georgian National Tourism Administration – visitor resources
• Georgia.travel – official destination information
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia – travel information