To tip or not to tip, that is the question

We are sometimes asked if you are supposed to tip in Iceland, at restaurants, in taxis and so forth. The short answer is no, you are not supposed to tip. Every person that serves you, whether it is the waiter in the restaurant or the cleaning staff at your hotel, is paid a decent pay and does not have to rely on tipping to earn a living.

Tipping is not a part of Icelandic culture, the staff does not expect you to tip them and they might also be offended if you do. Therefore you should not tip.

That said you might witness a waiter (or some other servicing staff) accept a tip from a customer. In most cases he‘ll do it because he is simply to bothered to explain (yet again) that tipping is not accepted.

But what to do if you are extremely satisfied with the service you got? Well, then just simply compliment the person in question and show your gratitude in that way.