What is a Kilimanjaro tipping ceremony?
The Kilimanjaro tipping ceremony is a celebration at the end of your trek where you celebrate your adventure, thank your crew for their hard work, hand out tips, and bid your family-for-the-week goodbye!
What is a tipping ceremony?
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A tipping ceremony outline
On the final day of the trek, the lead guide assembles the entire mountain crew together with all of the climbers. Climbers who summited Uhuru Peak are given certificates, which are issued by Kilimanjaro National Park . The groupβs spokesperson (we talk more about this role in a moment) says a few words of thanks to the staff, which the lead guide translates into Swahili. The spokesperson gives the lead guide the completed tipping form and total tip. The lead guide counts the money in front of everyone and then signs the tipping form to acknowledge the correct amount has been received. The lead guide then announces, in English and Swahili, the tip amount being given to each type of crew member. In this way, every crew member knows what to expect as a tip. Thereβs now lots of dancing, singing and celebrating by everyone!
A note on fairness in tipping
Why do we need to appoint a spokesperson?
On the penultimate day of the trek, the spokesperson discusses with the group how much money to give to each type of crew member as a tip. A good time to do this is during your last dinner on the mountain. Youβre all together, happy from your summit, and excited to chat about your tips, because you're invariably so impressed with the incredible service received! You can invite the lead guide to help you decide on amounts if youβre feeling unsure.* The spokesperson fills in the different amounts on the tipping form. The spokesperson then gathers the groupβs collective tips to hand over during the tipping ceremony to be held the next day. If possible, please divide the tips into the correct amounts for each crew member. But we understand that this isnβt always possible given the denominations to hand. At the tipping ceremony, speak on behalf of the group by offering a few words of thanks to the crew for all of their hard work and care. (Hence the reason for dubbing this person the spokesperson!)
Can I donate trekking gear instead of tipping?