Tipping on Kilimanjaro

Tipping on Kilimanjaro can be a little tricky, particularly if you are not familiar with tipping. Your travel agent will certainly provide you some information about this, but here's some independent advice.

The thing to remember is that your tip isn't really a 'tip' - it is a supplement for salaries that are far too low for the work being done (see end of post for more info).

At the end of your trek you will be expected to tip your team (guides/porters etc). You will be told that this is 'entirely voluntary' and 'not expected', but unless you have had a completely shit experience that is not true. If you are trekking with an experienced company like African Walking Company (booked through Africa Travel Resource) you will have been extremely well looked after and would be purely nasty not to tip.

Tipping is customary in Tanzania - don't be mean! You earn a lot more than these great people!

How does it work?

On the last morning of your trek your chief guide will hold a 'Tipping Ceremony'. This is when your guides and porters will stand around and receive your group's tips.

At the ceremony your group might choose to say a few words, sing a song or something else short in order to celebrate the moment. We saw people playing harmonica, singing and our group led an all-in 'Heads, shoulders, knees and toes', which was pretty funny (most porters don't speak much English so were following the actions looking a little bewildered).

Prior to this you will have decided how much you are going to tip (this is explained in 'how much...' below). We called up each of our head guide, assistant guides and cook one by one and gave them an envelope (a folded sheet of paper in our case) with their tip inside. We announced what we were giving them to the whole group.

If you are able to (i.e. if you have the exact change) it is also nice to tip the porters and 'helping porters' individually too. We had 30+ porters, so announced to everyone exactly how much we were giving each porter and each helping porter then gave that to the head guide to divide later. It is critical to announce this amount so everyone is clear on how much has been given.

Your guides and porters might then sing, dance and thank you in return. It's all very nice.

How much do we need to contribute?
I want to preface these comments by saying we are not wealthy - we are middle of the road people with middle of the road ideals, working hard and enjoying our traveling. These are suggestions only, but having conquered the mountain this is how we felt (which was different to how we felt prior to climbing).

Our group were given different advice depending on who we booked through. Some were told US$50-70, others US$60-80 and we were told US$80-100. The African Walking Company rep told us US$80-100, but on their 'Tipping Guide Sheet' it advised US$50-80.

Let's set the record straight. You should be tipping US$80-100 (unless you didn't have a good experience or have good reason to tip less) if your group has 6-10 people. If you are fewer you will need to tip more each to make up the total pool.

On the last night we sat around the dinner table and everyone in the group put their money into the middle. We then had to decide how to split it.

AWC had recommended the following breakdowns:
Chief Guide: US$50-70
Cook: US$40-50
Assistant Guides: US$30-50 each
Helping Porters: US$15-20 each (these are the porters who also help around the camp bringing meals, looking after the toilet tent etc)
Regular porters: US$10-15 each

If you have had a good experience, tip at the top of this scale.

Additional Personal Tips
Inevitably someone on your trip will go well beyond the call of duty to help you. A guide might carry your bag on the summit push, an assistant guide might always be there in the mornings with a big smile to get you going and someone has to empty the toilet....

These people make your trip special and you should not hesitate to tip them above and beyond the 'pool'. A few dollars for a porter, $5-10 for an assistant guide (or more) is gratefully received.

One of our assistant guides saved our bacon on summit night by carrying our bag all the way to the summit. Without him we would not have made it so we gave him $20, an extra $10 to the chief guide for keeping an awesome trip going smoothly (they do HEAPS of work, so be generous) and a series of $2-3 tips for the porters who helped most.

Bring up to US$50 per person in smaller denominations extra just in case. Consider all the money you are spending on the trip - if someone made it unreal, or helped you get there, then leave extra behind. Some of these guys only get one trip a month (or less in quiet times), so what you leave behind helps a lot. Let's be honest, the extra $50 won't destroy your bank balance.

Leaving Excess Gear and Leftovers
If you don't want to leave extra money, that's fine. Personal choice.
The other thing you can leave, though, is your spare gear.

By the final day you might realise that you don't need all those leftover energy bars, batteries or spare raincoat. Maybe you are happy to buy new gloves, a new daypack, gaitors, thermal or shirt.
Anything, it doesn't matter what it is - whoever you leave it to will be happy.

We left gloves with a porter, a headtorch with an assistant guide, batteries and energy bars with another guide. Other people left a lot more.

Your excess gear is also like a tip, so give it to people you feel have earned it.

The main thing is be fair.

Salaries aren't big in Tanzania, guides and porters make very little. Porters earn about US$5 a day, assistant guides not much more (US$8-10) and chief guides about US$20 a day (very little for the huge amount of work they do to arrange the trip). Follow your conscience and reward exceptional service.