How much to tip in Liechtenstein, and when you needn't bother

Tipping is one of those customs every country handles differently and nobody explains. In Liechtenstein, happily, the official tourist board puts it in writing, and the answer is reassuring. It’s optional, and the usual amount is modest. Here’s my approach, and where it doesn’t arise at all.

What the official guidance says

In its country facts page, Liechtenstein’s tourist board covers it in two sentences. Tips aren’t compulsory, and they generally sit between 5 and 10%. There’s no further small print or published service charge, so I won’t invent rules I haven’t read anywhere.

I think that’s a sensible guideline and an easy one to apply, because it leaves you room without turning the bill into an exam. Decent service, 5%. Genuinely good service, 10%. And if it wasn’t good, nothing, since it isn’t compulsory and nobody should make you feel otherwise.

Which currency, and how to leave it

The currency is the Swiss franc, so the tidiest option is to tip in francs. Euros are accepted in plenty of places, but change tends to come back in francs, and mixing currencies at the same table only muddles things. Getting the exchange right is the subject of currency and payments in Liechtenstein.

As for adding a tip when paying by card, no official source I’ve read explains how it works. So I’d always carry a few coins or a small note in francs. It gives you the freedom to decide without depending on the card machine.

The mountains are a special case

At the Alpine Club’s huts it’s a practical question rather than a cultural one. The Pfälzerhütte accepts nothing but cash, and the Gafadurahütte warns there’s no card payment, only notes and coins in francs or euros. Anyone going up to eat or spend the night who wants to leave a tip needs to bring it from the valley. Half board at the Pfälzerhütte costs CHF 75 for non-members, so 5% would be under CHF 4. Everything else about the huts is in Liechtenstein’s mountain huts.

Where you’ll eat, and where it applies

Tipping is for restaurants with table service. The tourist board recommends several places to try Käsknöpfle, the country’s best-known dish, including the Berggasthaus Masescha with 13 Gault-Millau points, the Restaurant Adler in Vaduz, open since 1908, the Wirtschaft zum Löwen in Schellenberg and the restaurant at Sareis, 2,000 metres up. I’d apply the same guidance in any of them. What to order is in Käsknöpfle and where to sit down in where to eat in Liechtenstein.

What doesn’t need a tip is anything paid at a counter at a fixed price. Buses, museum tickets, the Citytrain and the passport stamp don’t expect one. On a booked guided tour, by contrast, I would leave something for a guide who’s done a good job, with no fixed percentage, because the service is personal.

Taxis, hotels and a winery tasting

Three more situations are worth a word. Taxis, which the tourist board says are available around the clock, are a personal service, and I’d round up to the next franc or leave that 5% if the driver has helped with your bags. For hotels I haven’t seen any published custom, so I’d only leave something when a member of staff has gone out of their way for you.

The third is the Hofkellerei tasting, which costs CHF 19 and includes a guided visit of about 90 minutes. That’s a fixed price and nothing more is expected. If the guide has brought the place to life, a few coins are a kind gesture rather than a duty. The visit itself is covered in the prince’s winery.

If you’re used to British habits, none of this should feel strange. The difference is mainly the currency, and the fact that some places in the mountains won’t take a card for the bill, let alone the tip.

My summary so you needn’t think twice

Carry a little cash in francs, leave 5 to 10% in restaurants if you liked the service, and don’t feel guilty if you didn’t. In the mountains, the tip money has to come up with you. And if you’re working out the trip’s budget, what everything costs is in Liechtenstein prices and budget.