Tipping is a topic that gets all sorts of reactions. Some emotional. Some simply ignoring different practises suit different regions. I use the example that we don't tip gas station attendants and grocery store packers, but we generally tip taxi drivers in Vancouver. In Mexico it is common to tip grocery packers and gas attendants but generally not taxi drivers. Just different customs. The following seems reasonably balanced by many contributors: tripadvisor.ca/Travel-g150768-s606/Mexico:Ti…

The link AlegreVancouver gave is accurate except for the restaurant section. The bills no longer break out the IVA. We always tip 15% rounded up or down of the total (for good service, of course) . Unless the bill is very small, then I leave 10 pesos.

We have asked our middle-class Mexican friends and this is what they do also.

Here's a link to an article I recently wrote about tipping in Oaxaca:

suite101.com/a/tipping-oaxaca-mexico-restaur…

Alvin Starkman - Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast

I tip what I would tip here in Canada. People are waiting tables, taxi drivers, tour guides, etc. they work as hard if not harder than in Canada. I tend to tip on the high side since I have worked in the service industry waiting tables to pay my way through university and know what a difference it can make. However, I do not tip for crappy service.

In my opinion, our dollar goes very far in Mexico and I don't mind tipping around 20% for restaurant bills and taxi rides. For chambermaids, I make sure I tip daily rather than once at the end of my stay to ensure everyone gets something rather than the person who is working on the last day.

I've read the argument - from an expat living in Mexico - that bringing your foreign tipping styles to Mexico makes it hard for the locals. Taxi drivers, for example, will drive right past locals trying to flag them down (they tip 0%), hoping for the elusive 20% tourist tip.

When in Rome...

Viajero...thanks for saying what I wasn't prepared to do. Travellers should immerse themselves in the culture they visit rather than impose theirs on others.