We will in Europe for 3 week vacation in October visiting France, Italy and Germany.
We have a couple paid tours like Pompeii/Amalfia from Naples and Tuscany from Florence. We also signed up for a free walking tour in Rome.
In Italy what amount is normal to tip a guide for either a paid tour or free walking tour?
Would the same hold true in France and Germany too?
You should tip the free walking tour guide very well. They always take a group picture and the tour company charges the tour guide for each person in the picture--their marketing.). that is the tour guide's source of income.
A paid tour guide should receive a token tip--depending on how good they are.
You don't need to tip anything for the tour, regardless if it's free or not. Tour companies give free tour so they can convince people to take their other tours. These guides are well paid for the efforts.
Donna
Tipping in Europe is as far removed from tipping in the US as is possible. If people tell you to tip well or X% ignore them, they're simply transferring their tipping attitude to somewhere that isn't the same.
I found this advice on the Rick Steves website:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/tipping-in-europe
I've never taken a free tour, but we usually tip a tour guide a few Euros.
"Tour companies give free tour so they can convince people to take their other tours. These guides are well paid for the efforts."
Donna's comment doesn't apply to at least a large group of free tours, which do operate as David described. See also this blog post from Rick.
I definitely would not tip for a paid tour in Italy, France or Germany. You are already paying for the tour and tipping should not be expected. I am sure they would take tips but it is really not a good thing to bring a US mindset with you and tip.
If a guide went out of their way as a special request for you or you held up their schedule significantly due to something than I may tip them well, but that would be based on the level of effort/amount of time.
A free tour I would let the situation dictate and follow what seems right. I think if the intention is to make money from the free tour via tips I think at some point that will be verbalized to you and if I enjoyed the tour I would not have issuing pay 5 euros to the guide.
