The one-line answer
Tip 10% in Colombian restaurants, and expect to be asked about it rather than to work it out yourself. The standard is a propina voluntaria, a voluntary 10% service charge that restaurants commonly add by default. The waiter is supposed to ask whether you want it included before it's printed on the bill. Say yes, say no, both are allowed. Almost everybody says yes.
That's the whole rule. The rest of this page is the detail that stops you second-guessing every bill for a week.
How it shows up on the bill
Look for the word propina or a line that says the service is included. If you were never asked and it's already on there, you can ask for it to be taken off, politely, and it will be. This happens often enough with tourists that it isn't a confrontation, it's an admin correction.
A few practical notes:
- Percentage: 10% is the norm. Some places in tourist areas print more. You are not obliged to accept a higher number than 10%.
- Cash or card: either works. Cash handed to the person who served you is the most direct route.
- Rounding: for a coffee or a beer at a counter, rounding up is plenty. Nobody expects 10% on a 5,000 peso café tinto.
- Groups: for a big table, check the bill before it's split. The 10% is usually already in the total.
What you don't need to tip
Taxis: no tip. The thing to watch instead is the fare. Street taxis in Cartagena don't run meters, so agree the price before you get in the car. Uber and InDriver quote up front, which is why most people default to them after dark.
Bars where you order at the counter: round up if you like the bartender, otherwise nothing.
Shops, bakeries, supermarkets: no.
Where a tip genuinely lands well
Tour guides, boat crews and housekeeping are the places where a tip is a real part of the income rather than a top-up, and they're also the places most travellers forget. A guide who spent three hours with you, a crew who loaded your bags on and off a boat, the person who cleaned your room every day: those are the tips worth remembering, and cash directly to the person is the cleanest way to do it.
There's no fixed rate. Use the same 10% instinct and don't agonise.
The part we can speak for: our own bill
Our bills carry 8% food tax on all food and drinks. That's a tax, not a tip, and it's non-refundable. Worth knowing so you don't read it as service.
On wages, we'd rather you knew where your money goes than guess. With tips and bonuses, nobody working at Blue Apple takes home less than the established living wage in Colombia, and our lowest wage is a minimum of 15% above the national minimum. It's also why we're straight with people about prices: we don't compromise on quality, so we don't discount, and paying people properly is part of what the price covers.
The tip is still yours to decide. It just isn't holding up the floor here.
A note on haggling, since it's the same nerve
On the street, with hats and bracelets and cocadas, a little back and forth is normal and expected. In a restaurant, a taxi you already agreed a price for, or with someone carrying your bags, it isn't. The difference is worth learning on day one, because getting it the wrong way round is the fastest way to have an uncomfortable week.
Short version to screenshot
10% in restaurants, and you'll be asked. Nothing in taxis, but agree the fare first. Cash for guides, boat crews and housekeeping. Round up at the counter. Read the line marked propina before you pay it twice.
See you on the boat.