Tipping is not compulsory in Namibia, however, it is recommended for different areas of life and even expected in some. The following should give a broad overview. Please always keep in mind, that Namibians in the service sector generally do own very little. If you give a car guard N$ 10 as a tip, it is worth about 4 hours of work! Unfortunately, tourists quite often destroy “prices”, as the next time this car guard would also expect that money from a Namibian.
- Car guards (only if they are present on arrival and departure): N$ 2-3, at night up to N$ 5
- Porter in a major hotel: N$ 3-5
- Restaurants: 10 % up to maximum of about N$ 100
- Cafés (if you drink e.g. only a coffee): round up to a maximum of 10 %
- Beggars: N$ 0, as they do not deliver any service
