Set aside US$600-800 for a budget trek, more if you plan on ascending by an unusual route or insist on walking without other trekkers. Once on the mountain, however, you won’t need to pay for anything else throughout the trek, except for the occasional chocolate bar or beer which you can buy at the ranger’s huts on the way.
Why Is It All So Expensive?
With little change from US$500 for even the cheapest trek, it cannot be denied that climbing Kili is a relatively expensive walk, with no refund available to those who fail either, at first sight this trek can seem very bad value too - though this is one of the most beautiful and challenging treks there is and for those who successfully reach the summit, the sense of achievement and the enjoyment of the trek makes any amount worth it.
To give you some idea of where your money is going, the following is a breakdown of fees I payed for a six-day Machame trek:
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Rescue fee |
US$ 20 per trip |
US$ 20 |
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Park entry fee |
US$ 30 per day |
US$ 30 x 6 days |
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2 porters - 1 guide entrance fee |
US$ 1 per person per trip |
US$ 1 x 3 |
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Camping fee |
US$ 40 per night |
US$ 40 x 5 nights |
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(If you take the Marangu Route |
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Total : |
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US$ 403 |
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Tipping
In addition to the cost of booking your trek, you will also need to shell out tips to your crew at the end of it all. Tipping is not so much a bonus to reward particularly attentive service or honest toil, as a mandatory payment to subsidize the poor wages the porter and guides receive. In other words, tipping is obligatory.
There are no set figures or formulas, though one method that’s currently very popular is for everybody to contribute 10% of the total cost of their trek towards tips. So if you paid US$750 for your trek, you should pay US$75. Another approach I’ve heard about is where each member of the trekking staff receives a set amount, from $20 to each of the porters to $40-50 to the assistant guides, and US$60-70 to the guides.
Having collected all the money, the usual form is either to hand out the individual shares to each porter and guide in turn; or, more usually, to give the whole lot to the guide and let him deal it out.
