Tipping in Georgia: The Georgia Tipping Guide
Tipping expectedHow much to tip in Georgia
Notes by Service
Restaurant
Hotel / Housekeeping
Taxi / Rideshare
Round up the app fare; cash tips optional.
Spa & Massage
Bar
Round up per drink.
Hairdresser / Barber
A small tip is appreciated.
Tour Guide
Food Delivery
GEL 2–5 is appreciated.
About Tipping in Georgia
Overview
If you are travelling to the country of Georgia, you must familiarise yourself with this nation’s currency and tipping etiquette. As a guide you should tip in Georgia, but not for everything and certainly not if you receive bad service. The currency in Georgia is called Lari. One hundred tetri equals one lari. The currency code is referred to as GEL. Bargaining is a custom in Georgia, and when you visit, make sure you exchange your money for GEL. It will make your stay much more enjoyable.
When to tip
Tip at sit-down restaurants in tourist areas (10% is becoming standard), with taxi drivers (rounding up), hotel housekeeping, and tour guides for Kazbegi, Kakheti wine tours, and cave city visits such as Vardzia and Uplistsikhe. For private guide-drivers on multi-day Caucasus road trips, a daily tip is expected.
How to tip
Georgian lari in small denominations are the practical tipping currency. At restaurants, leave cash on the table or ask for the total including a 10% addition when paying by card. For wine tour guides in Kakheti, GEL 20–50 per person for a full day is the appropriate range.
Cultural context
Georgia's post-Soviet transition and rapid emergence as a tourist destination has created a service culture in transition — older establishments have Soviet-era attitudes where tipping was unknown, while newer wine bars, boutique guesthouses, and adventure tourism operators actively expect and appreciate tips. The country's famous supra (feast) culture means hospitality is genuinely central to Georgian identity, and tipping here feels like participating in that tradition rather than imposing a foreign norm.