Tipping in Vietnam: who expects a tip and how much to give

Debbie Nestor, from Ireland, tipped each of her two Ha Giang guides about VND 300,000, plus VND 70,000 for each meal, which was all she could afford. Kwangpyo Park, an American on a Ninh Binh boat tour, heard from his guide that USD 1 to 2 was right for the rower; he was so taken with the old rower's energy that he gave VND 200,000. Back in Hanoi's Old Quarter he left VND 50,000 on a VND 80,000 bar bill for a drink recommendation he liked. Both told their stories to VnExpress International in 2024.

Who gets a tip, service by service

Tour guides and drivers

Vu Son Tung, an English-speaking guide for ten years, gave the same paper the guide's side: guests from Japan, South Korea and Spain don't tip, most Europeans do, and Americans tend to be more generous. For a European group of fewer than ten, he put the usual tip at USD 5 to 7 per person, less for bigger groups. He's happy either way, since his salary is stable.

The flip side is the hard sell. The same VnExpress piece opens with Carol Leong, whose Ninh Binh rower demanded tips and pushed souvenirs, delaying the boat's return to the dock. If that happens, you don't owe anything. For two of the tourists quoted, pressure means a smaller tip, not a bigger one.

Spas and massage

Spas sit next to guides on the tourism authority's short list, and Lonely Planet puts masseurs in the same group as guides and private drivers: people who generally expect a tip unless it's clearly included in the price. One commenter on r/VietNam's "Tipping guide? Wtf" thread in October 2026 called massage and spas the one exception in a country where tipping "isn't really a thing here". We didn't find an official or operator figure for how much, so we're not giving one.

Restaurants and bars

At ordinary restaurants and street stalls, don't feel you have to. Most Vietnamese don't tip in restaurants or taxis, and another reply on that Reddit thread asked visitors not to bring American tipping habits with them, because it makes life harder for locals who don't tip. If a server or bartender goes out of their way, you can still tip, as Park did in Hanoi.

Hotels

Tips aren't really expected in hotels. If you want to thank a porter or cleaner, Experience Travel Group's tipping guide, last updated in June 2026, puts the right amount at about VND 20,000. The firm is an Asia travel specialist that designs private trips, so treat the figure as one operator's rule of thumb.

Grab: how the tip button works

Grab is the one place in Vietnam with a set system, and Grab's own help page spells it out:

1. Pay cashless and rate five stars. The in-app tip only appears for cashless bookings (bank card, ZaloPay, MoMo or Viettel Money) that you rate five stars. It won't show for one to four stars or for cash rides.
2. Pick or type an amount. You can enter any tip from VND 5,000 to VND 100,000. It goes on the same payment method as the ride.
3. Do it later if you forget. Go to Activity, then History, and pick the booking: you have seven days after a ride, ten days after a GrabFood or GrabMart order, and 72 hours after a GrabExpress delivery.
4. Or just hand over cash. That's always allowed; it just won't show on your e-receipt.

Grab takes no commission, so the whole tip goes to the driver. In October 2026 one r/VietNam user asked what's fair for a delivery driver who rode through heavy rain.

Our take

Don't tip by default and don't let anyone make you feel you should. Do tip a guide who made the day, a spa therapist after a good treatment, or a Grab driver who rode through the rain, and pick a figure from what real travellers gave rather than a US percentage. Our Vietnam costs page has the prices tips are measured against. If someone asks or pushes, smile and say no; the official line is that you're under no obligation.

How we checked this

The baseline comes from Vietnam's official tourism website (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism) and Lonely Planet's August 2026 Vietnam advice. The hotel figure is from Experience Travel Group's guide, updated June 2026. The Grab rules were read on Grab Vietnam's help centre in a browser on 21 October 2026. The guide's figures and the travellers' amounts come from one VnExpress International article of 30 June 2024. The local views come from r/VietNam threads posted on 19 and 20 October 2026.

What we could not confirm

We found no official or operator figure for tipping spa therapists or restaurant servers, so this guide doesn't give one. The hotel figure is one tour operator's suggestion, not an industry rate. The guide and traveller amounts date from 2024 and aren't a price list.

Photo (cover): Ji-Elle / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0