Tipping in Israel. Private guide and tour guide in Israel. Individual excursions and tours, recreation. Licensed by the Ministry of Tourism. Scary memories of Israel's Ovda airport
Cafe, Israel
In Israel, as elsewhere in the world, tips are left for quality service in cafes, restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues, etc.
In a restaurant, the tip amount is 12% of the bill received. If you leave more, the waiter will be only too happy. When the bill arrives, you need to carefully look at the sign regarding service. In some places, tips are included in the bill, so you need to check it to make sure you don't tip twice.
Israelis generally don't tip in bars. If you would like to thank the bartender, then an amount of 10 shekels will be sufficient.
Taxi drivers are not given tips, but it is customary to round up the payment amount to the nearest whole number of shekels. To avoid problems during calculations, you should make sure that the meter is turned on during the trip. Taxi drivers have the right to demand 3.5 shekels for each suitcase that was transported, even if the passenger loaded the items into the luggage compartment themselves. Taxi companies believe that it is quite legal to charge such a fee for transporting a garage.
If the goods are delivered to your home, the tip to the courier is from 5 to 10% of the cost of the delivered order or 10 shekels. 
Courier delivery
Gas stations usually don't pay tips. But for 10-20 shekels, which you give as a tip, the car will be washed more thoroughly and not only the interior, but also the trunk will be vacuumed efficiently. Very often, glass cleaners start cleaning windows without the owner's permission in order to get a tip. If your car is clean and you don't want to wash it, you can tell the car wash. If you continue to insist on cleaning the windows, the actions can be regarded as extortion and you won’t have to pay even if the windows are washed.
It is not customary for Israelis to pay tips in hotels. That's why maids, waiters and receptionists love foreign tourists. You can tip at your own discretion; usually it is a small amount. For a certain amount you can negotiate with the maid about additional services. It is customary to pay porters from 5 to 10 shekels for each place. 
Spa
In beauty salons and SPA it is not necessary to pay tips, but their presence can improve the quality of service. Tips for a manicure are usually 10 shekels, for a massage - 20. For a cosmetologist, the tip size depends on the complexity of the cosmetic procedures and can be up to 50 shekels if the client liked the service. In Israeli hair salons, it is customary to pay a tip to everyone who serviced your hair. A hair washer gets 10 shekels, a hair coloring worker gets 15 shekels, and an employee who styles hair after a haircut can count on 10 shekels. The hairdresser himself receives 20 shekels, if he is not the owner of the salon.
06/18/15 Sunny
I’m originally from Moldova, because we have a visa-free regime, and I recently wanted to spend my holidays in Israel. I bought a round-trip ticket for 5 days, booked a hotel, a trip, made medical insurance, took about $1000 in cash from the cathedral and a few hundred euros on the card and flew.
At customs they interrogated me for almost 3 hours; they simply did not believe that I had come to rest. They mocked me and my country. Sent back without explanation. No water or food for almost 24 hours. As a result, I lost money for a hotel and a trip, lost time, nerves and the opportunity to relax normally
Very disappointed, I thought they welcome tourists
How to save money when traveling to Israel
February 2009 brstov
I was recently in Israel, at the Dead Sea. Hotel "Tzel-Arim". It deserves three stars, but that's what it is. But you don’t overpay for 5 that aren’t even there. Houses for two owners stand along the embankment. Quiet, no one bothers anyone. There are huge hotels nearby such as Crown Plaza and Meredian, but many complain about the service and food. And the beach is not everywhere nearby. So we were lucky with the hotel.
While still in Moscow, I found out that you can save on transfers and excursions if you take them directly in Israel. Based on a recommendation, I contacted one local company - TaxiGold - to meet me, take me to the hotel and back, etc. We saved $250 on this because... without intermediaries.
Of the excursions, I was in Jerusalem, of course. I took a group one from those they offer in the hotel lobby - it turned out to be garbage, we ran everywhere, 50 people in the group, we were “taken” to the necessary shops. At the end of the trip, the four of us from our group got together, took a car with a driver, the one who was taking us from the airport, and went again to Jerusalem. We walked quietly through Christian places, walked around the city, went to some suburbs - there were Russian monasteries, monks from Russia, we had a fun conversation. They say it’s difficult to get there - the selection process takes place at home. But on holy ground. Another cool place is Masada. Such a rock in the desert and a fortress on top of it. The Romans destroyed it after 3 years of siege. The height is 500 meters, look down and the eagles are flying. There are also such huge machines like ancient Rome - they punch through walls, made of wood, 4 meters high. They say that about 20 years ago the Americans made a film about Masada and left them here. Friends of mine also went to Bet Shaan. There are also Roman ruins there, a whole city. Impressive. In short, there is still a lot to look at. And most importantly, I warmed up and took a break from our permafrost.
Advice to everyone - don’t take a group excursion, you’ll be screwed to the fullest extent. The deal is simple – $90-100 per person in a group of 45-50 people. And if you take a taxi for four (2 couples) - the same $100 per person, but you decide where to go and what to see.
Scary memories of Israel's Ovda airport
03/09/2008 Lyudmila
I wanted the Red Sea (and the Dead Sea too), but without the annoying Arabs and for reasonable money. In general, everything was fine on the trip, but I’m still shaking from “farewell to the sacred land.” We had a Moscow-Ovda-Moscow charter. Ovda is an airport near Eilat. So, they brought us to the airport at 12.30 with a departure at 16.00. There is no waiting room at the airport, not even crappy benches to sit down. All the time before the flight, in the heat, people languish, standing in lines.
The so-called “check-in” began about 40 minutes before departure. It consisted of a complete search and shaking out all things from suitcases and questioning with passion. It’s good that they’re not tortured, but it’s ’37 and that’s it. They didn’t like the fact that I didn’t have enough things. What exactly does a person need for a week? A couple of T-shirts, a few shorts and some small things. To top it all off, they took me to a separate room, stripped me naked and groped me all over (Idiot, I didn’t want the Arabs to grope me). As many times as I travel, I have never encountered such humiliation anywhere. In Moscow, the attitude towards the homeless is better than towards Russian tourists at the Israeli airport! I just started getting hysterical, my nerves went away and I burst into tears. And after that they still want tourists to come to them, visas, like, are cancelled! We shook everything up and looked at all the photos in the camera. They took away everything except my wallet and then graciously allowed me to board the plane. They said that they would put all the things in a box and I could pick it up at the airport of arrival. Including warm clothes (it’s -2 in Moscow, and I’m only wearing a T-shirt), a cell phone (I can’t even make a call), not to mention a camera. And the hair curler and chargers were taken away altogether! They said that I would receive it by mail in a month! But that is not all. It turned out that they didn’t pack the things in any box, but simply threw everything into luggage, including a woman’s handbag, which contained a phone, money, and a camera. Those. Come in, dear guests, and take what you want. Everything is open.
Only by some miracle nothing was missing (special thanks to our movers for not taking anything). Even after the passengers boarded the plane, representatives of the Israeli security service again appeared and again counted us several times. In conclusion, I can say that thanks to such traditional Israeli hospitality (probably they didn’t want to part with us) our plane took off at the beginning of eight instead of 16.00. All the passengers on our flight were simply shaking, and not at all from turbulence, but the conductors shared information that this happens on almost every flight.
The question of how much to tip, and whether to tip at all, is an unwritten rule. In Israel, where almost every service representative expects generous remuneration, despite the fact that most clients are convinced that the quality of service leaves much to be desired, this issue is quite acute.
Yediot Ahronoth published a piece today discussing the economic relationship between service workers and customers, and also provides recommendations on who should be tipped and when, and what the average tip amount is.
It is reported that in Israel, remuneration is often expected even in cases where no service was provided or the service was unsolicited. “In most cases, we pay anyway. If there is anything more hateful for an Israeli than expenses and costs, it is only the fear of being accused of greed,” Yedioth Ahronoth journalist Guy Koren describes the national peculiarities.
The owner of a hair salon in Tel Aviv's Kikar Medina Square, home to expensive fashion boutiques, gives a more pragmatic explanation for why many in Israel still agree to leave a tip: "We expect to get something in return. I, for example, on every holiday "I send two bottles of good wine to my butcher, and I always give the postman a gift for the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah). I always tip the hotel maid in advance and the car wash too."
“Israelis are not willing to overpay. Sometimes they are very stingy or leave nothing at all,” says anthropologist Sheli Shenhav. “On the other hand, over the years, Israelis have become increasingly oriented towards Western countries. Because of this, we have developed a culture of tipping, which didn't exist before."
Restaurants
In Israeli cafes and restaurants, it is customary to leave a tip of 12% of the order value. In many places on the invoice presented for payment you can see the inscription “amount does not include service”. When delivering an order to your home, it is customary to leave 10% of the order value to the courier.
Taxi
For each suitcase transported, the taxi driver has the right to demand 3.5 shekels, even if the passenger loaded the luggage into the trunk himself. Taxi companies insist that such a fee for transporting cargo is absolutely legal.
Gas station
There are differing opinions on the question of who should tip and for what for washing and cleaning the car. Common sense dictates that there is absolutely no need to leave a tip. Experience suggests that for an additional 10-20 shekels, your car will be thoroughly vacuumed: not only in the cabin, but also in the trunk.
An attribute of almost every Israeli gas station has become glass washers who, in anticipation of a reward, place a dirty wet rag on a sparkling clean car. Service sector law specialist Shlomo Lampert emphasizes that a service provided against your will should be considered extortion and there is no need to pay for it.
Hotels
According to the director of one Eilat hotel, 99% of Israelis in hotels do not tip hotel workers. Therefore, the favorite clients of maids, waiters and receptionists are foreigners.
Loaders
A fairly common situation is when the ordered washing machine is brought into the house by one person, and another carries receipts for it and demands money “for the hard work that two did.” Yedioth Ahronoth's recommendation is to pay 50 to 100 shekels to the person who actually carried the things.
Beauty salons and hairdressers
Regulars of beauty parlors and SPA say that tipping is not necessary, but can significantly improve service. It is customary to leave 10 shekels for a manicure and pedicure, and 20 for a massage therapist. Tips for a cosmetologist can reach 50 shekels, depending on the complexity of the procedure, provided that the client is completely satisfied.
In fashionable Israeli hair salons, it is customary to leave a tip to everyone who touches the client’s head on duty. A hair washer gets 10 shekels, a worker who dyes hair can expect 15 shekels, and another 10 shekels is considered good form to put in the pocket of a worker who does hair styling after a haircut. The hairdresser himself, if he is not the owner of the hairdressing salon, is given 20 shekels.
Tipping: to give or not, that is the question
IN USA The larger the establishment, the more significant the amount of the fee; sometimes you have to leave up to 25% of the order value for a tip. And this is not a whim, but the norm of the memorandum of the National Restaurant Association of America.
In the Old World the rules are not so strict. In Switzerland, the Netherlands and Austria It is customary to leave no more than 3-5% of the bill. By the way, one nice Austrian rule could well be applied in our Fatherland: if the waiter fails to respond to your request to bring the bill three times, in Austria you can simply get up and leave.
In Scandinavia The tip amount (7-10%) is always included in the bill amount. So you shouldn't leave any extra money. In Italy tips are also included in the bill and are marked with a special expression servizio e coperto (“service and serving”) - from 5% to 10% of the order amount. Portuguese and Spanish waiters expect the same amount of remuneration, but here tips are not included in the bill.
In France tea fees under the beautiful name pourboire, which literally means “to drink”, are also included in the bill. But in addition to this official 15-16%, you will also have to put some change in the plate on which this bill was submitted.
And here in Greece the mandatory 10% tip is called a "friendly gift" - philodorima.
In German In establishments, a polite client who does not forget to tip is greeted by hospitable hosts with a free “strip”.
In Tunisia and Egypt theoretically, you don’t have to pay a tip at all - the cost of service is included in the bill. However, most tourists still leave about 5-10%: a rare person is able to withstand the gaze of the local servants, expecting additional compensation. In Israel 10% will be enough, but in most other nearby countries 6-7% will be happy; in Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovenia 5% will be satisfied. In Turkey 7-10% is considered good form.
IN Australia and Japan Giving tea is generally prohibited. The Japanese consider rewarding for good service an insult. After all, this means that somewhere the service is bad. National self-consciousness cannot tolerate such shame.
The question of how much to tip, and whether to tip at all, is an unwritten rule. In Israel, where almost every service representative expects generous remuneration, despite the fact that most clients are convinced that the quality of service leaves much to be desired, this issue is quite acute.
Yediot Ahronoth published a piece today discussing the economic relationship between service workers and customers, and also provides recommendations on who should be tipped and when, and what the average tip amount is.
It is reported that in Israel, remuneration is often expected even in cases where no service was provided or the service was unsolicited. “In most cases, we pay anyway. If there is anything more hateful for an Israeli than expenses and costs, it is only the fear of being accused of greed,” Yedioth Ahronoth journalist Guy Koren describes the national peculiarities.
The owner of a hair salon in Tel Aviv's Kikar Medina Square, home to expensive fashion boutiques, gives a more pragmatic explanation for why many in Israel still agree to leave a tip: "We expect to get something in return. I, for example, on every holiday "I send two bottles of good wine to my butcher, and I always give the postman a gift for the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah). I always tip the hotel maid in advance and the car wash too."
“Israelis are not willing to overpay. Sometimes they are very stingy or leave nothing at all,” says anthropologist Sheli Shenhav. “On the other hand, over the years, Israelis have become increasingly oriented towards Western countries. Because of this, we have developed a culture of tipping, which didn't exist before."
Restaurants
In Israeli cafes and restaurants, it is customary to leave a tip of 12% of the order value. In many places on the invoice presented for payment you can see the inscription “amount does not include service”. When delivering an order to your home, it is customary to leave 10% of the order value to the courier.
Taxi For each suitcase transported, the taxi driver has the right to demand 3.5 shekels, even if the passenger loaded the luggage into the trunk himself. Taxi companies insist that such a fee for transporting cargo is absolutely legal.
Gas station There are differing opinions on the question of who should tip and for what for washing and cleaning the car. Common sense dictates that there is absolutely no need to leave a tip. Experience suggests that for an additional 10-20 shekels, your car will be thoroughly vacuumed: not only in the cabin, but also in the trunk.
An attribute of almost every Israeli gas station has become glass washers who, in anticipation of a reward, place a dirty wet rag on a sparkling clean car. Service sector law specialist Shlomo Lampert emphasizes that a service provided against your will should be considered extortion and there is no need to pay for it.
Hotels According to the director of one Eilat hotel, 99% of Israelis in hotels do not tip hotel workers. Therefore, the favorite clients of maids, waiters and receptionists are foreigners.
Loaders A fairly common situation is when the ordered washing machine is brought into the house by one person, and another carries receipts for it and demands money “for the hard work that two did.” Yedioth Ahronoth's recommendation is to pay 50 to 100 shekels to the person who actually carried the things.
Beauty salons and hairdressers Regulars of beauty parlors and SPA say that tipping is not necessary, but can significantly improve service. It is customary to leave 10 shekels for a manicure and pedicure, and 20 for a massage therapist. Tips for a cosmetologist can reach 50 shekels, depending on the complexity of the procedure, provided that the client is completely satisfied.
In fashionable Israeli hair salons, it is customary to leave a tip to everyone who touches the client’s head on duty. A hair washer gets 10 shekels, a worker who dyes hair can expect 15 shekels, and another 10 shekels is considered good form to put in the pocket of a worker who does hair styling after a haircut. The hairdresser himself, if he is not the owner of the hairdressing salon, is given 20 shekels.