Mount Kilimanjaro Tipping Guidelines
We realize that tipping may not be a common practice in your country or culture so this document is designed to help this process be easy, transparent and fair for all involved as there is a tipping culture for your Kilimanjaro trek.
A tip (of course) is never compulsory and we recommend tipping only if you have received a satisfying service from your mountain crew.
Kilimanjaro porters are at the bottom of the food chain. A cut throat price war rages on the slopes of Kilimanjaro and when budget operators cut corners to save money, the porters are the first to suffer.
Cheap Kilimanjaro climbs can only be done at the expense of your porters, period.
A tip is designed to add to the support teams financial compensation with a goal of providing a fair living wage for all involved in your trek with the combination of your generous tip and basic wage.
Recommending tipping amounts for Climbing Kilimanjaro are the same no matter which route you end up choosing. You should tip;
- Lead guide: $20/day
- Assistant guide: $15/day
- Porters: $10/day (for each porter)
- Cook: $15/day
These amounts are per group of climbers NOT per climber. You will be advised of the total size of your crew in your final briefing pack.
When and how to tip
- Never feel pressured to give a certain amount of tip beyond the recommended amount.
- DO NOT discuss the subject of tipping with your mountain crew.
- The distribution of tips is BEST DONE AT THE PARK GATES after your climb / before heading back to the base hotel as this is the end of the trek for some support team members.
- To make it easy and avoid spending time giving a tip to each, you can give the whole amount to the head guide and request him to kindly announce to the whole team in English (we recommend this way to encourage transparency and avoids any attempt to unfair distribution), the amounts that you wish each crew member to receive.