How Much To Tip in Scuba Diving – 6 Questions Answered

The trouble with tipping is the huge variation from culture to culture. In the US, generous tips are an expectation in most service based industries due to the way people are paid. In the UK and most of Europe, tips are usually a bonus awarded for excellent service. Canada, Australia and Asia have a similar approach to Europe. In some places offering a tip can even be seen as rude and your offer may be declined.

As well as cultural expectation, the pay in the area will also have an impact. In locations with low minimum wages, tips may be more expected. In locations where wages fairly cover the difficulty of the job (such as Australia), you’re more likely to just tip when you’ve been given a great experience.

You should also consider what nationality of tourists usually visit that dive location, and who runs the dive operation. Locations which are frequented more by American divers (such as diving in the Caribbean or Central and South America), are more likely to expect you to tip. Equally, if you’re diving with an American owned operation elsewhere in the world, you may be expected to adhere to American tipping culture.

One of the biggest complaints from divers about having to tip in the dive industry is that it’s a hidden cost.

Costs should be clear up front to make it easier to budget for trips, so a sudden expectation to tip when you arrive on a boat can be challenging. However, if you’re a responsible traveller it’s not about whether you agree with a local custom, it’s about being respectful of it.

If you’ve done your research and discovered that tipping is common wherever you’re traveling, it simply becomes a cost that you can plan for.

On Roatan tipping is customary and you should budget accordingly.

Now you know that tipping is the norm in ROATAN – what’s the etiquette on when to hand it over? This can vary depending on what sort of diving you’re doing.

The rough guideline here is if you know you’ll be diving with the same crew or guide for your whole trip, you can tip them at the end of all of your dives. If there’s a chance your guide or crew might change, you might be more comfortable tipping them directly after each dive.

This particularly applies if one member of the team has gone above and beyond for you to provide exceptional service. Captain turned the boat around because you forgot something? Instructor lent you a spare mask? Divemaster found the elusive creature you’ve always wanted to photograph? Show them how much it meant to you!

Scuba diving (alongside many other adventure sports industries) is plagued by a belief that because dive professionals often love what they do, they don’t need to be paid as highly for their work. Unfortunately, passion can’t pay the bills.

Dive professionals often work incredibly long hours in a physically demanding job, whilst also taking care of peoples’ lives underwater.

It’s rare to be compensated fairly for their work, so the majority of divemasters, instructors, boat crew, and shop staff will be appreciative of a tip to recognise their hard work.

Although customer service is a huge part of the job, don’t forget that it’s not just your dive guides or the people you directly speak to who make your dives happen. There are so many other staff members behind the scenes, such as crew filling your cylinders, people maintaining rental equipment, staff taking bookings, and people organising courses.

With that in mind, consider making a tip to the entire crew which will then be split between everyone, both front of house and behind the scenes. This is often what happens to tips if there’s a tip box or collection.

If you feel that one particular member of the team made your trip perfect as mentioned above, you can also tip that person directly.

In destinations where tipping is common practice, the amount which divers tip their crew seems to be fairly consistent. Most recommendations fall somewhere between $5-10 (US) per tank, although this can vary slightly depending on the type of operation you’re diving with.

The lower end of the $5-10 is probably appropriate if you had a good, safe time and received the level of service you expected. If you feel the service was exceptional and the staff went out of their way to make the experience special for you, perhaps tip closer to $10 per tank.

How Much To Tip Scuba Instructors:

• If you’re taking on a course, the $5-10 per tank becomes less relevant as it doesn’t take into account the time spent with your instructor in the classroom or confined water environments

• A rough guideline for tipping scuba instructors for courses is 10-20% of the cost of the course, but as before, you should tailor this to the experience you feel you’re given.

Recommendation: do not give to a single staff member a multi-staff tip, asking him/her to share with the remaining staff; Please note: Some staff members may not share it accordingly!

Suggestion: at Island Diving Center’s Reception, please ask for individual envelopes with our staff names printed individually - this way you know that the exact tip goes to the correct staff member.

Some people prefer to tip with experiences or gifts in favour of handing over money. This can include taking your guide for dinner or drinks, or gifting them an item. Whilst this can be a kind gesture, dive professionals can’t pay their bills in gifted bottles of rum!

However, if you’re returning regularly to the same dive operator, presents can be meaningful to the team. If the dive location is remote, an email ahead of time to ask if you can bring along any home comforts in your luggage is a thoughtful touch.