Why Tourists Told To Not Tip While In Italy Might Be Receiving Wildly Outdated Advice

Americans brushing up on their homework before a trip to Europe have probably come across travel guides or TikTok influencers sharing one particular culture-shock tidbit: that tipping is nonexistent in this part of the world. A baffling thought, since tipping 15 to 20% for every service-related interaction is second nature to Americans. But those happily skipping out on tips in Italy — a favored European destination of Americans — are operating on some very outdated travel advice, warns an American transplant in Italy. After 16 years of living la dolce vita in Umbria, writer and editor Elizabeth Heath confirms that the tipping culture has found its niche on Italian shores, albeit with less intensity than the American standard.

The no-tip advice is rooted in the wages Italian and American waitstaff receive. Europeans in the hospitality sector earn minimum wage, a stark contrast to their tip-dependent counterparts in the U.S. This leads to a lot of confusion on the part of American tourists, a sentiment echoed on CNN by an Austin-based writer: "I think 'chaos' is the best word for the state of tipping in Europe now, The old rules are out, and no one is really sure what the new rules are."

But if Heath's observation of tipping becoming "increasingly the norm" and "definitely appreciated" is anything to go by, it seems like Italy has moved toward a "tip-aissance." Forget the outdated advice of leaving your Italian waiter with a simple thank you — a token tip has gone from taboo to the thing to do.

So you've just finished mopping up a traditional Italian meal and have mentally congratulated yourself for having avoided the most common American "Italian" dishes one shouldn't order in Italy. Then the waiter hands you the bill. Though some restaurants in popular destinations can charge tourists more than locals, don't be taken aback by the "coperto" or "pane e coperto" charge on your bill — this is a standard addition of a few euros charged to every person for bread and table settings. A tip of €1 to €2 is perfectly acceptable, but don't be fixated on this amount — rounding up a bill, say paying €30 for a €26 meal, is an easy way to handle the tip. 

Italians love practicing the art of conversation over long, languid meals, so consider a tip appropriate for the level of attention from your waitstaff, especially if you have lingered longer than usual. On a recent trip to Sicily, an American tourist visiting with 11 other friends settled on adding a 10% tip to their evenly divided bill for their waiter to make up for the lack of a service charge at the end of their meals. "It's not expected; it's not sought after. And if you do tip them, [they're] very grateful," he told CNN.

Though Europe still trails behind digitally advanced countries like China (the nearly cashless country where mobile wallets are a must), tourists in Italy needn't be too dependent on cash, either: Global payment platform Ecommpay's 2025 data showed that 69% of Italians use cashless transactions rather than physical money. Just make sure to have some coins ready for tips throughout your trip. And rather than leaving it on the table, make sure to hand it directly to your server.