We did parts of our trip with a private tour guide arranged in each region. The organiser who connects us with local guides gave us this guidance on tipping:
Tipping is not customary in Vietnam, though it is highly appreciated. Workers from the upscale hotels (4 to 5 stars) are more likely to expect tips, although it’s perfectly fine if you don’t. In some restaurants, a 5-10% service charge is added to the bill, hence you may not need to pay a tip. Tour guides and your chauffeur will expect a tip for their service. Our recommendation is USD $5 per guest per day for your guide and USD $2 per day per guest for your driver (more or less based on your satisfaction, of course).
So based on that we tipped the following for our drivers and guides in each region:
– Saigon and Can Tho 4 days with the guide and driver: guide = $40 USD, driver = $20USD
– Ho Chi Minh Walking Food Tour with private guide (4-5hrs) $10 USD for guide
– Hanoi 2 days with guide, 3 with driver: guide = $20 USD, driver = $15 USD
– Halong Bay 2-3 days with English speaking “boat wrangler” who got us a private table when I was going to lose my mind on the crowded boat. We tipped him 200k VND and the crew the same
– Hue and Hoi An: this one was a bit messy as the guide was not great and I cancelled halfway through…he got a few free meals out of us first though. We tipped the driver $12 USD for 3 days.
Other tips were mostly in VND especially after we got out into the Hoi An and An Bang area which are more regional. They were small extra amounts at local restaurants we visited numerous times and little extras for taxis or local drivers.
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