Tipping in Peru: 2026 Guide for Travelers

Restaurants and Cafés

At sit-down restaurants in Lima, Cusco, and Arequipa, 10% is the standard tip for good service. Lima’s acclaimed fine-dining restaurants may warrant a bit more. At a menú del día spot — a fixed-price lunch of soup, main course, and a drink — rounding up or leaving a sol or two is plenty. At a cevichería or a pollo a la brasa joint with table service, 10% is generous.

Some upscale restaurants add a service charge to the bill, labeled servicio or recargo al consumo. If it’s there, you don’t need to tip again. When paying by card, ask whether a tip can be added; in many places it can’t, and servers would usually rather have cash anyway.

Carry small notes and coins. Shops, cafés, and taxis often can’t break S/ 100 or S/ 200 notes, which makes tipping awkward. Break big notes at supermarkets or larger restaurants.

Tipping on the Inca Trail and Other Treks

On the classic four-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu — and on alternatives such as the Salkantay or Lares treks — a crew of porters, a cook, and one or two guides looks after your group. Porters carry the tents, food, and cooking gear over high passes, and tips are a significant part of their earnings.

Tips are usually pooled by the group and handed over at a short thank-you gathering on the final evening or morning. Amounts vary by operator, crew size, and group size, so ask your trekking company for its recommended figures before you leave and bring the cash in soles. As a rough guide, many trekkers budget somewhere around S/ 150–300 (about US$40–80) per person in total for the whole crew, with the guide and cook each receiving a larger share than an individual porter.

• Bring the tip money in small soles notes so it can be divided fairly.
• Where your operator allows it, hand porters their share directly rather than giving the whole amount to the guide.
• Good-quality used gear makes a welcome gift, but it’s a bonus — not a substitute for cash.

Day Tours, Machu Picchu Guides, and Drivers

For a group day tour — the Sacred Valley, Rainbow Mountain, the Ballestas Islands, or a Lima food tour — tip the guide around S/ 20–40 per person, and a few soles for the driver. A private guide for a Machu Picchu visit is often tipped somewhat more, depending on the length of the tour and the size of your group. Our tour guide tipping guide explains how to think about private versus group tips.

Hotels, Taxis, and Bars

• Hotel porters: S/ 3–5 per bag.
• Housekeeping: S/ 5–10 per night, left daily.
• Taxis: most street taxis have no meter, so agree the price before you get in. No tip is expected. Ride apps work in Lima and other large cities, and tipping there is optional.
• Bars: tipping isn’t a strong custom. Leave small change, or about 10% at cocktail bars in Lima or Cusco.

Soles or Dollars?

US dollars are accepted by many hotels and tour companies, but tips are best given in soles. Staff in small towns may struggle to exchange dollars, and any dollar bill with a tear or mark is likely to be refused. Withdraw soles from ATMs in cities before heading out, since cash machines are scarce on treks and in rural villages.