Tipping Guidelines

Gratuities in the Tanzanian tourism industry generally follow the North American system. Tourists are expected to tip at restaurants and hotels, on safari, and while hiking Kilimanjaro. The following information provides a guide to tipping in Tanzania. The information is a collection of tipping recommendations from guidebooks as well as our company's experience with tipping in Tanzania.

Please remember that all Duma Explorer staff is paid and no one relies on tips as a substitute for wages. As with any tipping situation, if you enjoy your experience, give a generous tip; if you do not enjoy your experience, adjust the tip accordingly.

Hotels and Restaurants

Tips are expected at high-end luxury hotels and lodges. While tips are also expected at moderately priced safari lodges, not all patrons tip. Tips are not expected at restaurants and hotels frequented by locals. Most tourist lodges and hotels will have tip boxes at the reception desk. You can tip hotel staff individually, place a tip for all hotel staff in the tip box, or do both.

Safari Staff

Driver/Guide: US $10 - US $25 per day per guide
Chef: US $10 - US $25 per day per chef (adventure camping safari only)
Duma Explorer safari staff should be tipped equally.

Mountain Staff

Generally, you should budget between 10% and 15% of your total climb cost for tips. If you are traveling in a small group, you should contribute more per person to the tip kitty. We provide a list of your crew as well as jobs performed on the day you begin your climb. Please use this list to allocate tips. Tips are generally distributed at the last camp or hut on Kilimanjaro and Meru. We recommend giving each staff person their tip. If you are part of a large group, you may also call a few people at a time to distribute tips.

Head Guide: US $15 - US $30 per day per guide
Assistant Guide: US $10 - US $20 per day per guide
Cook: US $8 - US $12 per day per cook
Porter: US $4 - US $10 per day per porter

Some porters have extra jobs such as toilet cleaner, camp crew, and waiter. Please tip these porters a bit more than porters who do not have extra jobs.

Tip amounts listed for safari and Kilimanjaro are per group, not per individual traveler. For instance, if four people are on safari, they should each contribute $5/day if they want to tip the driver $20/day.