Tipping is a “compulsory tradition” on every Kilimanjaro hike. The guides, cooks and porters receive salaries, but they also rely on the tip as a supplement to make a living. We recommend each hiker giving a tip of between $250 to $350 to the mountain crew at the end of the climb.
Tipping Recommendations
Whereas we realize that tipping may not be a common practice in all countries and cultures, it does play a part in the financial compensation for a Kilimanjaro climb. Africa Natural Tours companies pay porters at least 20,000Tsh for each day. This is a good basic wage but it does not equate to a living wage. promotes that a fair minimum compensation – from salary and tip – for a porter’s work done properly is at least 34,000Tsh for each day (~USD15.00).
Many people recognize the hard work that the porters do to support the climb. We propose that climbers consider paying a tip amount in the range of US $6 to $10 per day depending on the level of service provided. It is best to tip porters directly or to announce the amount that you would like them to receive.
We encourage climbers to consider a minimum tip amount that would supplement the salary payment to attain at least 34,000Tsh ($15.00). Tipping is, of course, still based on the crew meeting your expectations. In order to determine the appropriate tip amount, it is necessary to know the wage amount per day paid by the climbing company as well as the number of porters assisting the climb. Kindly note that there may be specialty porters on your climb with positions such as waiter, camp crew, toilet porter, summit porter, medical porter. It is ideal if these porters receive extra compensation for their additional duties beyond a regular porter.
Because there is no enforcement of a minimum wage for porters, climbing companies can pay different amounts with the industry average at 13,500 Tsh ($ 6.00) per day. Once you know the daily wage amount being paid to the porters you can calculate the tip amount to compensate at least 34,000 Tsh ($15.00) per day. The challenge is to know the actual amount paid as many companies may claim to pay $10 per day which may not be the reality.
As the word itself suggests, tipping on Kilimanjaro is not compulsory. That said, it's a well-established practice and is expected. As mentioned, Kilimanjaro staff rely on climbers' tips to subsidize their salaries. While we pay them the minimum wage stipulated by Government, their salaries are, in fact, inadequate on their own to provide them with a liveable wage. (We explain a little further on why this is the case ... it is not that we are being stingy, but rather that we're following the preferred system ...). So, tips are really very important to Kilimanjaro mountain crews.
It can be tricky to work out an exact amount to set aside for tipping early on in the planning phase, as you don't yet know how many climbers will be in your group, and therefore how large your mountain crew will be. But then a good rule of thumb is to set aside 10% of your climb price for tipping. With that ballpark figure in mind, we now explain the norms for tipping amounts and how to work out an average tipping amount based on your group's size.
Why do Team Kilimanjaro not simply apply a 10-15% service surcharge and include the cost of the tip into the overall climb cost? There are 3 main reasons that we use the system of direct voluntary tipping. It gives greater control to the guide over his team as porters know that the chief guide (and not the office) is responsible for the division of the tip. This then motivates porters to be obedient when allocated unpopular tasks as they know that slacking and insubordination will be punished via a reduced share of the tip, and working hard as a good team player will be rewarded with an enhanced share.
It ensures the highest possible level of service delivery a team is capable of by making the climbers instrumental in the incentive process. It achieves this by being a safeguard against complacency in the sense that people of all cultures will, to our minds, work harder if they know that their remuneration is going to be indexed to how hard they have worked and how well they have performed. It eliminates the need for porters to register as taxpayers according to Tanzanian tax legislation, with effectively around half of their take-home funds being accrued via a non-taxable means.
The following is paragraph4.11 from the TRA's Income Tax Practice Notes and describes the system that TK has always aimed to capitalize on so as to eliminate the tax burden for TK workers and maximize the amount that a porter may legally take home. Employees in certain trades obtain tips which form a substantial part to their income. The payments of tips received from the employer or a third party as a reward for services rendered in the course of the employment are taxable. Payments given as a present in appreciation of the recipients’ personal qualities, such as faithfulness, and consistency and readiness to oblige, would not be taxable.
It is customary to tip your mountain crew upon completion of your trip. The decision on how much to tip should not be determined based upon whether or not you reached the summit, but by how well the guides, cooks and porters served you while you were on the mountain. The standard tipping amounts are roughly dollar 20/day for guides, dollar12/day for assistant guides, dollar12/day for cooks, and dollar 6 per day for porters. These figures are based on recommendations by the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP), the independent organization that advocates fair treatment of porters and is responsible for many of the improved working conditions of those who work on Mount Kilimanjaro. Note that some porters such as waiters, toilet porters, and summit porters have additional responsibilities and should be given additional tips for providing these services (the amount is up to you).
To each group will have one lead guide. There is generally one assistant guide per three clients. There is one cook for every ten climbers. There will be one waiter per group and one toilet porter per group. The number of porters in your party depends on the selected route and the number of days. Generally, there are two porters per person on the Marangu and Meru route, and three porters per person on all other routes. However, the number of porters is larger for small parties. Make an effort to know your porters and their roles if possible. They will appreciate the recognition.
Tips are usually paid at the end of your hike after you have reached your final checkpoint and signed out with the authorities. It is customary to pay tips individually in separate envelopes unless advised otherwise (some tour companies suggest you pay your lead guide who then re-distributes the money). Please check with your trek operator what their preferred practice is. Also, some operators suggest that you give your tips at the last meal on the mountain. Unless expressly asked to do this by your tour operator we suggest waiting to distribute tips at the end of your trek.
Tips are usually given on the last day of the hike, either at the last camp (on the way down from the summit) or at the gate and the whole group usually contributes to the tip pot and tips together, rather than individually. Each company has a slightly dissimilar way that they want you to distribute tips and will usually tell you before your hike. There are varying opinions on whether you should give the tip to the main guide to distribute fairly – as this is a good incentive for everybody to pull their weight as the main guide will know who’s done what or whether you should give the tips individually to each guide.
Alike to your climb, tipping is a large part of the culture and practice with safari guides. Your guide’s experience and service are often some of the best parts of the safari and this is one way to show appreciation for their efforts. Here are the suggested guidelines to consider when planning your safari dollar25 per/person per day for safari guide, or dollar 40 if solo traveler dollar 15 per/person per day for cook – if applicable
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