Tipping Guideline
Tipping is always a popular subject with Tanzania safaris, Kilimanjaro hiking & the overall Tanzania holiday experience. Travelers often ask themselves how much they should tip or why should tip in the first place. After paying for your safari, it is only logical asking yourself these questions given the sums one pays for such an experience.
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This article will inform you on everything on the issue.
Tipping culture & origin in Tanzania
Tanzania is not a wealthy country. And most Westerners see the local customary wages as unjust. So, it has always been a tradition to tip your safari crew or mountain crew and others who serve you while traveling in Tanzania. In fact, it is fair to say tips are expected when traveling through Tanzania and the crew or servers will feel unappreciated when not tipped.
Why is Tipping So Important? And Why You Should Tip
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Guides, cook and other staff derive much of their income from the tips, on the other hand, it subsidizes wages they receive, as a company we try our best to make sure our crew & staff get fair wages, which we pride in ourselves as we pay better than the market average. However, this is not quite enough as most of our crew are hired on a temporary basis and there can be time lags between being on a job and being out of a job (There might be a huge interval between one safari and the other so the tips which they receive plays a very important role to them as additional income).
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Tip to show gratitude and appreciation, most of the crew will work tirelessly to ensure clients get the best out of their experience, thus going further than what's required. Example, on a hike, some porters carry small backpacks which are to be with clients, some go as far as carrying the client so as to increase his/her chances to summit. On safaris, guides are known to risk getting fined but ensure clients get more on evening game drives which by park regulations are to end by 6:00pm. Some even go off tracks to ensure clients get closer to animals (however none of this is required of them & are heavily discourage by we “companies”)
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Tips encourage and motivates your crew. As employers in this industry we understand that the best guides, chefs will leave better paying companies for less pay if they will derive more in tips in the later company.
When to Tip & How to Do it
Most clients tip at the end of the safari, which makes sense as it should be based upon the overall satisfaction from the experience.
Note: Why we don’t add a surcharge to the trip’s price to cover tips?
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Tipping in Tanzania is tax free, we adding it onto the price will be subjected to 18% vat on the price & as the tips will then be tamed as official income to the crew it will then be subjected to income tax. Hence lowering the value, the crew receives or increase the tip amount to the client
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Transparency, we do believe our team have full trust on us but to ensure we don’t ever have to explain we encourage our clients to tip directly and recommend those whom feel need to discreet should use envelopes.
Who to tip
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Guides
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Cooks
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Servers
Factors to consider when tipping
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Crew performance
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Private or group tour
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Number of days on tour
How to make sure your tip gets where you intend it to?
You should make an effort to hand your tip directly to the person it is for. This way, you can help ensure that your wishes are being respected. It is fine if you wish to put your tip into an envelope or give a group tip to be divided evenly but you should make effort to let the crew informed so each can receive as you planned
Tipping currency
Tipping can be done via foreign or local currency. For foreign currency we recommend you use US dollars, Euros, pound sterling. These currencies can easily be converted to Tanzanian shillings.
Tanzania Safari Tipping Guideline
Tipping will slightly vary depending on the tour you are taking. So here is a guideline that will help you sort & plan thoroughly.
We recommend that you follownthe guideline below. However tipping is not mandatory or enforced but highly recommended. As it is a safari tradition & the crew will be expecting some tips. You can tip more or less depending on the performance of the crew.
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US$ 8 -10 per guest per day for a group guide
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US$ 20 – 30 per guest per day for a private guide
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US$ 8 -10 per guest per day for a group safari chef
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US$ 15 – 25 per guest per day for a private safari chef
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US$ 1-5 for general staff
Note: minimum tip to private guide is assuming you are 2 & maximum is assuming you are 10. If you are on a private group of more than 3 we recommend you use group guide guideline.
Kilimanjaro Tipping Guideline
Unlike tipping on a safari, tipping in Kilimanjaro is not much of a bonus or reward particularly attentive service but a mandatory payment to subsidize wages porters or guides receive.
First will have to keep you informed on wages:
The minimum wage set is 10usd a day per porter, 20usd per guide, 15usd per assistant guide & mountain cook. And again we emphasize that they may be a time lag between a job to the other, however, many companies don’t even pay this figure, if you pay anything less than 1800usd for 5days & 1900usd for 6days it is highly likely the wage demands were not met correctly. It is fair to say even when the minimum wage requirement is met these wages are still low & that’s why we recommend each client to tip.
Each group will have
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Head Guide
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Assistant Guide
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Cook
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Porters
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Toilet porters & cook assistants
Kilimanjaro tipping guideline per group per day:
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Head Guide: 20-25 USD
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Assistant Guide: 12-20 USD
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Cook: 12-20 USD
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Assistant Cook: 10-15 USD
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Porters: 7-10 USD
Note: Joining a group will reduce your tip figure as a tipping obligation will be shared among the group.
Hiking Gear Donation
You might consider donating your clothing and equipment to the climbing team in addition to tipping them after your climb. Remember that the staff climbs Kilimanjaro many times a year and can go through their clothes and gear rather quickly.
You can be straightforward to ask if something is needed and then donate it individually. Your donation is of great assistance to these individuals. Many of them are unwilling to spend their money on material goods as they consider it a luxury rather than a necessity.
They will appreciate your generosity tremendously as this will make their hard job even easier. Avoid giving items to your guide to distribution them to porters.
Donations should be given directly to individuals as intended especially those with the greatest need or who were of particularly helpful during the hike.
Tipping ceremony on the last day after Kilimanjaro summit
Tipping will be done on the last day of the trek in what is known as the tipping ceremony.
The head Guide will assemble the entire staff to say a word of thanks. Tips can be made in US Dollars (USD) or Tanzanian Shillings (TSH). It is very important that US bills are not older than 2000, as they are not accepted in the country or will derive a lower value in Tanzania.
It is very helpful to organize a well-estimated amount of USD before arrival, as exchange rates may vary and differ a lot.