Tipping Guideline on Kilimanjaro

Tipping Traditions  

The end of a climbing is usually followed by a tipping ceremony in many places across the globe. This is the case for Nepal, Peru and many other countries with mountain peaks that captivate and draw climbing enthusiasts. It is not something mandatory that the guides or the organizing company have the right to demand from you, but rather a gratitude for a well-run climbing that required joint 24/7 effort and care from an entire team. The amount of the tip should depend not on the cost of the tour, but on the experience you received.

The following tips are commonly recommended with Karibu Adventure for Kilimanjaro climbs per client depending the number of the clients: 

• $ 250–350;
• $ 450–650.

Who Works on Kilimanjaro  Climbs

Let us tell you a little about the people that make Kilimanjaro Climbs possible. Besides guides and porters accompanying the groups, there are those whose work is less visible.

• There is a team of porters who take care of the toilets.
• And there are those who make sure that no litter is left behind.
• Provision of the water supply is another example of invisible work done by the porters. So, Barafu Camp lying at an altitude of 15,223 ft (4,640 m) has no source of water anywhere nearby.
• There is also a separate team that supplies the group with fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and other products that cannot be stocked in advance. This team starts the ascent from the bottom of the mountain on the 4th or 5th day of the climb, and makes their way up without stops for the duration of 12 hours. It takes the toughest and sturdiest men to do this job.
• The work of mountain chefs involves cooking both for the climbing group and the crew so that everyone would get the energy to make the climb to the summit.
• The dishwashers are responsible for keeping the camping equipment clean; they work irregular hours to allow climbers to finish their dinner at any convenient time and get the dishes ready for the next meal.
• Waiter, who serving the meals and organize everything in the dining tent.
• Professional camp masters supervise the set up and dismantling of tents in each camp and ensure adherence to the layouts prescribed by the protocols of Karibu Adventure. It’s camp masters who make the overnight stays as comfortable and safe as can be.
• Base Stuff who are organizing the whole climb 24/7 follow up each day and hour steps.

The amount of work and responsibility load differ depending on the position a person is taking in the mountain crew. Therefore, the tips are fairly distributed among all crew members based on the level of their contribution. If climbers wish to reward someone individually, it can be done with a separate tip addressed to that crew member.

Our Kilimanjaro tipping guidelines were established after consultation with the Mount Kilimanjaro Porters Society and are intended to give a fair tip to the porters and guides. Please note that these guidelines and approximate figures are intended to assist you in making a choice. You should not feel obliged in any way to tip, or be pressured by any member of staff to do so.

How Karibu Adventure Handles Tips

For maximum transparency and accountability, tips are always transferred to the crew members’ bank accounts along with the salary on the day of descent from Kilimanjaro. All our guides, porters and cooks work with us under contract, they have individual IDs and accounts with Equity bank, one of the largest banks in Tanzania. Besides providing transparency to clients and crew members, the method of bank transfer allows us to track each transaction thus ruling out the possibility of errors and currency exchange problems.

If the tip for the whole climb is given directly to the guide, there is a possibility of unfair distribution. The bank runs the currency exchange and distribution according to the payroll. This way we prevent quarrels over tips. Money is a very important resource in Tanzania, and we make sure that this sensitive matter is treated with due thoroughness.

Tipping Distribution Guideline

Porters $10 per day

Cooks $15 per day

Assistant Guides $20 per day

Kilimanjaro Guides $25 per day

Safari Guides $25 per day

Base stuff each $5 per day, those who are working in our office.

Please Note: Tip amounts listed for Kilimanjaro and safari are per group, not per individual traveler. For instance, four people on safari should each contribute $5/day if they want to tip the driver.

Good time for tipping

On the day of descent from Kilimanjaro at the Hotel, each climber receives an envelope and a tip sheet. On the tip sheet climbers are to put down their name and dates of their climb as well as the tipping amount they leave to the mountain crew, the amount can be higher if you wish. The tip sheet will have several blank lines for names of the individual crew members you would like to thank for your experience. These can be guides, porters, summit porters or chefs that were particularly helpful or brilliant in their job. Next to their names you are supposed to indicate the tipping amount to be transferred to them

Along with the tip sheet filled in, the climber is to leave the money in an envelope, seal it and hand it over to the manager. We understand that this is a delicate moment, so we do everything to keep this process confidential.

How to Check that the Guides and Porters Received Their Tips

Any customer who climbed Kilimanjaro with Karibu Adventure can make an inquiry at any time to see if their tip has reached the mountain crew that accompanied them during the climb. Here is the right way to do it.

After transferring the tips to the crew’s accounts, we immediately receive confirmation receipts from the bank, which we can show to our clients on request. Customers can also verify that the transfer of tips has been made duly by resorting to the independent organization responsible for protecting the rights of porters — KPO.

If you have any additional questions, feel free to ask our managers

Revised on 9th October, 2023