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Tipping is NOT mandatory BUT common practice and traditionally provided for a good service to the hard working mountain crew. It is common to tip your mountain crew after climbing Kilimanjaro. The decision on how much you tip your crew should be based on the quality of service that you received – not if you reached the summit or not – as this cannot be guaranteed. Make your decision based on how well the guides, cooks and porters served you while you were on the mountain. The recommended tipping amounts are as follows:
PER GROUP is 20 USD/day for your main guide, 15 USD/day for assistant guides, 12 USD/day for your chef and 8 USD/day for each porter.
Each group will have one Lead Guide that is responsible for the whole crew. There is generally one assistant guide per three clients. Every group will have a cook, a waiter for all meals and toilet porter. The total number of porters depends on the selected route, the number of days and the total weight of all items needed. Generally, there are two porters per person on the Marangu Route & for climbing Mount Meru, and four porters per person on all other routes. However, the porters/client ratio is larger for small groups. For groups of less than 3 people, the hiker/porters ratio is 1:4.5 and 1:6 for solo hikes, depending on the route and total weight.
Make an effort to know your guides and porters and their roles if possible. They will be happy to be recognized as they all have their individual roles for your successful climb.
Below are some guidelines on how much to tip your staff on a full eight day climb, provided that their service was satisfactory. These figures are the total tips given for your total group.
Tipping guidelines per Group per day:
Lead Guide: 20 USD
Assistant Guide: 15 USD
Cook: 12 USD
Porter: 8 USD (number of porters depends on total luggage)
Example: 8 Days / 6 climbers / 28 Crew Members (number of porters depend on total luggage)
Client/porter ratio: 1:4
1 Lead Guide: 160 USD
2 Assistant Guides: each 120 USD
1 Cook: 96 USD
24 Porters: each 64 USD = 1.536
Total:
/6 clients: 338 USD per client (for an 8 day hike with 6 hikers)
PLEASE NOTE: We have a clear “No-negotiation-on-the-mountain” policy
It is against company policies for guides or porters to discuss tipping during or after your climb. The tipping procedure, the number of porters as well as the recommended tipping amount will be clarified before your hike during your briefing.
Tipping Ceremony on Kilimanjaro at the last camp (after summit)
We will explain all details about the Tipping Ceremony in your briefing before your hike. On your first day on the mountain, your guide will introduce your team by name and create a tipping form for all crew members. The tipping ceremony will then take place after the summit attempt and before leaving Kilimanjaro National Park. The Main Guide will assemble the entire crew so that you can distribute your tipping and your team can say a word of thanks to all guests. Each crew member signs our tipping form in front of you to make sure that each individual received the correct tipping amount. You will also sign the form to confirm the amount. We review the form after every climb to enforce fair and proper distribution.
Tips can be made in US Dollars (USD) or Tanzanian Shillings (TSH). It is very important that US bills are not older than 2002, as they are not accepted in the country. It is very helpful to organize a well estimated amount of USD before arrival, as exchange rates may vary and differ a lot.
Donation of Clothing & Equipment
You might consider donating your clothing and equipment to your crew in addition to tipping them after your climb. Remember that the staff climbs Kilimanjaro many times a year and can go through their clothes and gear rather quickly. You can be straight forward to ask if something is needed and then donate it individually. Your donation is of great assistance to these individuals, many of who are unwilling to spend their money on material goods they consider a luxury rather than a necessity. They will appreciate your generosity tremendously. Avoid giving items to your guide for distribution to porters. Donations should be given directly to individuals they are intended for, perhaps those with the greatest need or who were of particularly good service.
Tipping for your safari guide
The suggested tips for a safari are 20 USD to 30 USD per day for the guide (who is also the driver). So for instance, on a five day safari the guide can be tipped 100 USD to 150 USD total from the entire group (not per person).
For camping safaris, you will have a private chef to prepare all your meals. The recommended tipping is 10 USD per day per group (not per person).
It is common practice to give the tip after the safari at the airport or at the accommodation.
Tipping at hotels and restaurants
Small tips (1 USD / 2000 TSH) may be given to hotel staff or drivers for their service, however this is not customary.
It is also not customary to leave tips at restaurants.
