Tipping in New Zealand: 2026 Guide for Travelers

Restaurants and Cafés

Most cafés and casual restaurants have you order and pay at the counter, so there’s no moment where tipping comes up. A tip jar by the register is optional; dropping in a coin or two after a great flat white is a nice touch but not expected.

At fine dining restaurants, some diners leave up to 10% when service was outstanding, particularly for a celebration meal. It’s a personal thank-you rather than an obligation, and servers won’t assume it’s coming. For a broader look at no-tip dining, see our guide to restaurants without tipping.

You may also see BYO (bring your own) restaurants, where you can bring a bottle of wine and pay a small corkage fee, often charged per bottle or per person. Like a surcharge, corkage covers the restaurant’s costs and isn’t a tip.

If a card machine asks if you’d like to add a tip, choosing “no” is the normal response. There’s no social pressure in New Zealand to tip on card.

Public Holiday and Card Surcharges

Many cafés and restaurants add a public holiday surcharge, commonly around 15%, on days like Waitangi Day, Anzac Day, and the Christmas and Easter holidays, when staff are paid time-and-a-half. Some also charge a smaller surcharge on weekends, though that’s less widespread than in Australia. Businesses usually post a sign or a note on the menu.

Some businesses also add a card or contactless surcharge, typically a small percentage, when you pay by credit card or tap. Rules around these fees have been under review, so how often you see them may change. Surcharges cover costs — they aren’t tips for the staff.

Tours and Adventure Activities

New Zealand’s guided activities — Milford Sound cruises, Franz Josef glacier hikes, Hobbiton tours, jet boating, multi-day Great Walks — don’t come with a tipping expectation. Guides are paid wages. On a long day where a guide went above and beyond, NZ$5–20 per person is a generous gesture, and some tours leave a tip jar out for this. Private and multi-day guides sometimes receive more. Our tour guide tipping guide explains how US expectations differ.

Taxis, Hotels, and Everyday Services

• Taxis and Uber: no tip; rounding up a cash fare is fine.
• Hotels, motels, and lodges: no tip for porters or housekeeping.
• Campervan rental staff and shuttle drivers: no tip.
• Hairdressers, barbers, and spas: no tip.

Paying in New Zealand

Cards and contactless payments are accepted nearly everywhere, and many travelers never use cash. If you want to tip, coins (NZ$1 and NZ$2 are coins) work for a tip jar. NZ$1 is roughly 60 US cents; check the current rate with our currency converter. If you’re also visiting Australia, its customs are similar but with more weekend surcharges — see tipping in Australia.