I may be way off mark but this is the usual I tip
the boy who carries your suitcase to your room? Rp100
after a meal? about 10%
a taxi driver? Usually do a 'keep the change' thingy
the boy who has cleaned your room all week? Rp 500 - 1000, depending on length of stay and service

Tipping a whole days salary for picking up a suitcase!!! Sorry I must sound really mean... I know it's only just over a quid... But please think of things in perspective to the local wage... Otherwise it will get continually more expensive and people will try and rip white skin off more and more! - Sorry moan over....

boy who carries cases 50rps
after meals (if good) 10%
taxi drivers.........agreed price before travel, if they want a tip they should have included it!
room cleaner. usually 100/200 rps if they have done a fair job
and I usually give the security guy on the gate 50 rps on leaving.
del

i agree with you del, thats about the same as we tip

Thanks to all your replies. J
ust one last thing. We booked a trip to Cola beach last year through our Tour Operator. I think it was called Castaway. Again this year its something we both want to do again.
At the end of the trip everyone tipped the guide and bus driver.
Do you and if so, how much?
I just don't like offending people and I don't want to over tip, as I can feel another trip being booked to India in the near future.

Unless you know the taxi driver.....the tip should be a big fat "0"....in the past few years the taxi drivers have almost doubled their fares..(yes i know the price of petrol has gone up..)...but when you see what a Indian tourist pays for the same journey as you ,you will be amazed at the difference...."English people are easy to rip off"....By law every taxi and tuc tuc has to use a meter....ask when you ask about the price to put the meter on....99% will say no..." no its broken"...travel by local bus, cheap and lots of fun.

Tipping is very prevalent all over India. In expensive establishments you should tip up to 10% while in smaller places some loose change or 20-30 Rs will be most appreciated (don't worry about it in the really cheap restaurants).

Taxi drivers should not be tipped (they overcharge anyway).

Giving too much feeds inflation, while paying too little denies the locals a reasonable return for their efforts.

Remember - India has a population of 1 billion - most of whom are unemployed.
So the ones you meet in hotels or restaurants are the lucky ones.

I don't see whats so wrong with tipping over the odds, a pound or two, its no big deal and if an indian family can eat well for a week then I am pleased. BUT!! one of the lads selling t shirts had, as he told me, sold a tee hirt for £30 that is crazy

but using your argument for tipping, why is it crazy if the purchaser was happy to pay £30?

Del, its a personal thing, I wouldnt pay £30 for a t shirt in the UK, so to me it seems crazy, but I quite agree if the customer is happy no problem.
Max, as far as I am aware poverty isn't exclusive to the slums of Bombay - there are plenty of poor people in Goa living in appalling conditions - admittedly many are 'out of state' but poor non the less. Look at the children being looked after by CWT and other charities, are you saying they don't need help.
With respect, you don't know the people I know in Goa and your assumption that I see my self as 'Lady Bountiful' is way off mark. The boys looking after your room, carrying your case etc, the beach shack waiters, the sun bed boys - in many cases these, who luckily have jobs, are looking after extended families, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, so an extra pound or two is very welcome.
Each to their own I say - I donate to CWT, I have football shirts donated by friends in the UK to take to the boys home in Candolim, I will also spend time helping out IAW in Goa and yes it gives me pleasure, it is part of my holiday. So if that is 'playing the great philanthropist' so be it.

Give direct to the charities by all means, I also donate to charities whenever I can.

However

the boy who carries your suitcase to your room? Rp100

don't do stuff like this - because all the hotel porters will expect 100 Rs for carrying a couple of cases.
Then us tourists will just be seen as a "cash cow".
I have no desire to spoil your enjoyment of Goa - so would you please not do anything which may spoil mine.

Max, the last thing I want to do is spoil anyones holiday. I don't imagine that I am the only 'soft touch' that visits. I think we probably balance each other out - those, like you who see the reality of the situation and people like me who equate 100 rupees to a bar of chocolate.
I honestly can't see me changing, too set in my ways but whatever, I wish you and I many more happy enjoyable holidays in Goa

I would usually say about 10% of bill in resturant but really as far as room boys go, all you need to do is cross over into the neibouring states and the first thing that strikes you is the absence of scooters, if you are well off, you might aspire to a pushbike, but the vast majotity of roomboys can afford them without any bother, so to give them more than 200 or 300 rps would seem to be going a bit over the top to me Alan

I have never had an argument with a taxi driver, some may charge a few rupees more than others but we are talking about pence - doesnt make a great deal of difference. If they overcharge then don't use them again.
Why shouldnt the waiters aspire to having scooters, the work lono hard hours, good luck to them. How many of us are one and two car families, how many of us bike to work.
Same with mobile phones, nice clothes etc, why shouldnt they have them. We are a means to an end, these people are looking for a better life and getting it thanks to tourism
I didnt visit Goa because it was cheap, I wanted a place to relax and enjoy, found it and am very happy

hi fiona
when we were in bombay we made sure we had lots of 10 and 20 rupee notes for tipping they dont expect as much there as in goa and the indians only usually give approx 10 rupees at the airport for someone carrying their case etc or on arrival at the hotel for the room boy to take your case to your room
the one thing you need to be aware of is sometimes when you arrive at your hotel you are surrounded by so many people expecting a tip its a bit much there were so many faces surrounding us at our last hotel that i could'nt recognise who i should tip! ie the driver from the airport
but at other hotels we have had a fairly quiet arrival so it depends where your staying

thanks- thats very useful info

The 1st couple of times we went to Goa we got fleeced at the airport. I think about 10 different porters touched our cases from arrival door to the coach and that was a pound each. The second year we took £20 pound coins and gave them all away. We dont do it now, we battle with them to keep our cases. Not because we are tight, its just that they are becoming greedy and it was getting on my nerves. What really annoyed me is outside the airport is a cafe of sorts. I went in to get a coke and gave him a pound I think it was 20 rupees. he said he didnt have any small rupees change so I gave him the coke back took my pound and gave it to some kid outside. The man in the cafe was fuming. My OH was killing himself laughing.

Several posts have been removed.
lets keep this thread to advice as to what to tip.

I am surprised at Ginlizzies post as I have never had any of the kind of problem she highlights.
Usually one porter grabs my cases and takes them to the taxi or bus and generally gets a pound for this (although several have suggested that £5 is the going rate!! ).
Everyone to their own beliefs though, but I can't be bothered worrying about it for the sake of a pound. ( and I am a Yorkshireman with short arms and long pockets, also known as a Scot with the generosity removed )
I find it a quite funny that this subject crops up each year and always generates a bit of heat.
If Thomas Cook or First Choice offered a baggage reclaim and carrying your luggage to the taxi for a quid how many of you would sign up straightaway without a second thought?