Tipping is always a popular subject with Tanzania safaris, Kilimanjaro hiking & the overall Tanzania Holiday. Travelers often ask themselves how much should I tip? or why should I tip. After paying for your safari it is only logical to ask yourself these questions given the sums already paid for the safari.

Why is tipping so important? & why you should tip
The reasons are;

• 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 is hired temporarily and 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)
• 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 things that are required example on a hike, some porters carry small backpacks which are to be with clients, some go as far as carrying the client 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 6:00 pm, some go off tracks to ensure clients get closer to animals (however none of this is required of them & are heavily discourage by we “companies”)
• Tips encourage and motivate your crew, as employers in this industry we understand that the best guides, and chefs will leave better-paying companies for less pay if they will derive more in tips in the later company, after letting you in on this we believe you understand how tips are crucial to the overall performance of the crew

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. In 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 an effort to let the crew informed so each can receive as you planned

When to tip.

Most clients tip at the end of the safari, which makes sense as it should be based on the overall satisfaction of your crew

Note: Why don’t safari soles add a surcharge to the trip’s price to cover tips?

• 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 increases the tip amount to the client
• Transparency, we do believe our team has full trust in us but to ensure we don’t ever have to explain we encourage our clients to tip directly and recommend those who feel the need to discreetly should use envelopes.

Who to tip?

• Guides
• Cook
• Servers

Factors to consider when tipping

• Number of days on tour
• Private or group tour
• Performance of crew

Tipping currency

Tipping can be done via foreign or local currency, for foreign currency we recommend you use US dollars, Euros, and pound sterling as this can be easily converted to Tanzanian shillings

Tipping guidelines on a Kilimanjaro hike.

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. Again we emphasize that there may be a time lag between one job to the other, however, many companies don’t even pay this figure, if you pay anything less than 1800usd for 5 days & 1900usd for 6 days, 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 not fair & that’s why we recommend each client tip

Each group will have

• Head guide
• Assistant guide
• Cook
• Porters
• Toilet porters & assistant cook (occasionally depends on package purchased or group size)

Tanzania Tipping guidelines per Group per day:

• Head Guide: 20 – 25 USD pp per day
• Assistance Guide: 12 – 20 USD pp per day
• Cook: 12 – 20 USD pp per day
• Assistant cook: 10- 15 USD pp per day
• Porter: 7 – 10 USD pp per day