How to find the best Kilimanjaro tour operators (2024)
There are so many companies offering Kilimanjaro climbs that it can be hard to know which to choose without some sort of roadmap. With that in mind, here's a list of things to help you find the best Kilimanjaro tour operators in 2024.
1. Check if it's a tour operator or travel agent
2. Ensure the operator is licensed in TZ
3. See if it's a KRTO (formerly KPAP) partner
Pays its crew fairly. Trains its guides adequately. Feeds it crew properly. Provides its crew with warm clothing and decent tents. In every other way treats its staff fairly and respectfully.
4. Check what's included and what's excluded
Hotel accommodation the night before and the night after your trek. Private transport to and from the trailhead. Use of a four-season sleeping bag and a sleeping mat. A private chemical toilet just for your group. All meals, snacks and purified drinking water.
5. Consider the routes and trek durations on offer
The best Kilimanjaro tour operators offer the longer routes because they're safer.
If you want to find the best Kilimanjaro tour operators, you must consider the overall safety and quality of the experience on offer.
6. Determine the level of service offered
What level of help is on offer before the trek to help you prepare? What's the quality of the food that will be served? What's the quality of the camping equipment provided? How experienced are the mountain crew? What's the guide-to-client ratio?
7. Check on its safety measures and equipment
What first aid training do the guides have? What health checks are standard on each climb? What first aid equipment is carried on the trek? What are the evacuation protocols should something go wrong?
8. Research its approach to trekking sustainability
9. Investigate its website
10. Pose the company a question
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11. Check out online reviews
Extra thought: Does the operator offer add-on trips?
You enjoy a more seamless experience when it's just one tour operator taking you on the different parts of your Tanzania or East Africa adventure.
A thrilling Big Five safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. A trip to the sunny beaches of Zanzibar. A chance to see the Great Migration in Kenya . An exciting mountain gorilla trek in Rwanda or Uganda .