Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro - Tipping suggestions

Don’t give any tips until you and all your gear have reached the gate safely.

In Tanzania it is customary to give gratuities to guides, cooks and porters subject to your satisfaction. Gratuities are not included in the price. Many people are not made aware of this and are left feeling embarrassed at the end. We feel it is important that all climbers are made aware of the tipping expectation prior to doing their climb, as you may think you will not need much money on the mountain and be inclined to leave your cash behind in safe-keeping.

When you are climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, all of the guides and porters salaries have been paid as part of your package. Tipping is not included but is recommended and highly appreciated. Here are some basic guidelines.

Remember, if you're not happy with the service, don't tip or tip less.

Each group of 4 or more will have a head guide, an assistant guide, a cook, and 2 porters per climber. The head guide manages his own team who work together on every climb. Therefore, payment can be made to the head guide who will then distribute the tips to each person.

It works best if you collect the groups tips and then have one person pay the head guide at the Gate/Hotel after the climb. You may want to write down on a paper exactly what amount you want each person to receive.

For larger groups (5 or more) you will have additional support staff that may include waiters, additional guides and porters. You can use US dollars or local currency to pay the tip.

• Head guide: Tip $20 for each day you are on the mountain total for a group of 4
• Assistant guide: $15 for each day on the mountain - total for a group of 4. There is some flexibility here, depending how helpful your assistant guide was.
• Cook: $10 for each day on the mountain - total for a group of 4. Often acts as a porter and a cook.
• Porters: $8-10 for each porter and for each day on the mountain - total for a group of 4. You will have 2 porters per climber unless you bring extra gear or you have a large group that may require extra porters

Your tips for the guide, assistant guide and cook should be shared among your entire group. Each person should be responsible for tipping their 2 personal porters as well as contributing towards the other guides and cooks.

Our recommendation is to use these figures as a guideline but to bring extra money. These amounts may seem like a lot before the climb, but trust us, once you are there, you will want to give as much as you can, especially when see see how hard all of them work to try and ensure you have a successful summit.