Tipping in Portugal

Hi,
We have been here in Portugal a bit more than three weeks. In that time we read..."just round up". If the bill is 18.40 Euro...19 or 20 is fine.

We have asked a couple of wait staff/workers we have come to know as we tend to stay 6 days in a place. Both had been born and raised in Canada and now live and work in Portugal. They said a tip is nice but it is not expected. Rounding up to next euro is what they do.

We had been worried we might be insulting people with a tip, or even leaving too large a tip. Different countries have different cultures.

wayne iNVIseu, not an expert

It depends where you are in Portugal. I have been to Portugal 14 times and I have always left 10% tip in a restaurant. Wages and generally low in Portugal. I don't tip if just having a coffee. I always hire a car and have therefore never hired a taxi. 1/2 euros a bag in hotels.

I have just googled this and the consensus is that 5/10% ought to be paid in restaurants. Check if service is already included.

Do you have a copy of RS Portugal Guide Book yet? If so, great. If not, I would suggest you get one as it certainly helped up plan for our May trip to Portugal. His guide book, if you need one, can be purchased elsewhere on this web site. As far as the weather goes, if you go to the RS tours and click on the Portugal Tour, you will see a listing for WEATHER lower on the page. Clicking on that will give you the "average" temperatures for the year. I was glad to see the responses about tipping as that was one item I still had not figured out.

Portugal in June this year and I am wondering what to expect. eg; weather

Internet met climate websites offer statistical averages such as:
http://www.climatedata.eu/climate.php?loc=poxx0022&lang=en

http://www.yr.no/place/Portugal/Porto/Porto/statistics.html

June: 18.1°C Avg 22.7°C Avg High 13.5°C Avg Low 6 days precipitation
July is the dry month (2 days of precip for the month)

Portugal is a big country, so you need to look at the destinations that you are proposing to visit. It will be cooler in the north. I was there last May/June on the Algarve and temps were 26 - 30 every day, but it does get cooler in the evening, so you will need a jumper/ jacket.

The wind is the main factor if you are near the coast. There is less wind on the Algarve at the eastern end, but Lagos/Sagres and the western coast are very windy. There are plenty of surf schools around due to the amount of wind there.

The sea remains cold, as it's the Atlantic, not the Med.

June is very busy with golfers and retirees visiting, so don't expect it to be quiet.