i tipped 10%, about 6-7 levs for meals.

i didnt tip the bloke at the airport, he just grabbed my case and took off with it, scrounging fool.

I always chage up the pound coins for Bratislava porters, they explained to me they can only get the equivalent of £15 per 20 for coins Tonyt.

I'm surprised they can get that Tony I wondered who else ended up carrying them back besides me.

Patka

Had £60 in change when I came home June. no doubt the same in Sept. but they always look after me and any companions with me. Cheers Tonyt

Hi there

Going to Bulgaria for the first time in July.Is it normal practice to tip the hotel staff (waiters and maids etc.)and if so what is a reasonable amount.Don't want to upset anyone by giving too little Hope you regular visitor's can give me some advice.

Regards

Sharpy

Hi sharpy,

Tipping certainly hasn't been part of the culture in Bulgaria until the recent expansion of tourism.

I tend to operate on the principle of rewarding good service with around a 10% tip but I wouldn't tip for poor service or because it may be expected.

Baldur

We usually give the maids 20 lev (£6) per room for the fortnight, but give it to them direct and leave them any half empty cans of toiletries. Tonyt

I agree with Tonyt and Baldur of course, and as usual!

Peter

Hi,

At the end of my holiday I tipped all my change ( Not that much) into the Tip box at reception.

I also gave the maid 10 Lev on last day, she was delighted. The maids work so hard for so little I think its right to tip.

Yours,
BRAD

Having been to Bulgaria 5 times we learnt that if you are going to tip the maids tip them at the beginning of your holiday and you will get nothing but good service for the whole time you are there.There is not much use in tipping when you are leaving and have not got absoutly brilliant service. We usually tipped 20 leve per room. But be careful of night porters if you arrive late at night as they can sometimes stand expecting a tip knowing you will probably not have small notes or coins. We also bought the hotel reception staff choclates as they very rarely get tipped and we were reconsised the next year as soon as we arrived.

I agree with tgilmour. If you tip the maid the very first day, you will get perfect service.
Since in many hotels the maids change rooms every now and then, we always tip them every day or at least every secound day.

Depending on what small money we have we leav 1-3 Lev pr. day. We usually find one spot in the room where we put the money with a little note saying Blagodarya
If you just leave the money on the sink or something you will probably find them there when you get back to your room.

My motto: You have to give some to get some!

when we last went the average wage was less than our bar bill so we left a small tip with those who served us well and at the end of the week a decent thank you

wizard

we stayed in three different hotels over the years and our maids stayed the same for the whole 2 weeks we were there. Thats way we said about tipping the maids at the beginning. As for wages we got friendly with the life gaurd on the beach outside our hotel (the fiesta beach in sunny beach) and his wages was £100 per month so if we can afford to go to their country we can afford to tip.

we have probably over tipped, usually 2-3 levs everytime we got around more if we had a meal maybe about 15 levs last year i left coins for the maids everyday then on my last day i left all toiletries a travel kettle and a full size iron and gave them about 80-90 levs to share between them both, it broke my heart when they both started crying and huggin and kissing me they couldnt thank me enough.if you are happy with the service you should leave what you can afford they work extremely hard and long hours often leaving their families for most of the year( remember in winter they usually go to a ski resort) for very little pay. we have a quite priveleged life compared to the bulgarians yet we still dont smile half as much as them

Nowadays I dont bother with a travel kettle, I buy a Tesco Value full size one for less than £6 and leave it for the chambermaid (husband buys a plug from Bulgarian DIY shop and fits it for them) It would cost them about a months wages to buy one in Bulgaria.

Patka

Hi all.
I think tipping maids as you start your holiday is the best way to go,as you ensure a good service.If you dont do this I know they will do there best during your stay to ensure a good tip but i think they go that little bit more with the first option.This is from experience as i have done both on several occasions.You lso dont have to worry about saving some cash for them at the end and even catching them if your on a early flight.
As far as the hotel bar goes i always give the barstaff £5 straight away and say if you see me get up pour me a drink and if you provide a good service theres another before i go home this applies for self catering and all inclusive.It workes for me.
To be honest i have never tipped any reception staff thinking about it.this will change as they usually provide a invaluable service.
In restarants i usually do the 10 % thing dependant on service and meal quality.
This will be our first time in bulgaria i expect it to be simular to turkey as regards tipping .Its just different money.Wont take long to get used to it.
steve

Steve

A 10 leva note to bar staff and your room maid at the beginning is quite enough to get excellent service. If you have a few words of Bulgarian it works wonders. One year on arrival we needed to phone a friend in Varna, we had the full international number but wanted to know just which to dial for a local call. My husband just showed the full number to a maid and said Molya(please) she immediately knew what we meant, showed him and as soon as he had finished she took us to their room which was close to ours and made us join her and her colleages for vodka & shopska salad. That was a few years ago, we still meet up with her every year. Beware, the Bulgarians are thieves, they steal your heart.

Patka

Steve

Hope you have a lovely time in Bulgaria and dont be afraid of what you tip anyone as they will be very grateful. as you said about Turkey hope it will be much the same as we are going to Turkey for the first time in Sept after being in Bulgaria 5 times. Please remember the reception staff they work very hard and ge forgotten.

Tom

tgilmour.
hope you enjoy turkey i love it there but needed a change.
where in turkey are you going ?
steve