Fair climb calculator

Park fees, crew wages and tips — the floor under an honest Kilimanjaro price.

Fair climb calculator

Park fees, crew wages and tips — the floor under an honest Kilimanjaro price.

Most of what a Kilimanjaro climb costs is fixed before any company adds its margin: park fees set by TANAPA, and the wages and tips of the crew who carry the camp. Pick your route and group below to see those numbers — so you can judge a quote, and so crew know the published floor for their own pay.

Route

Days on the mountain

Climbers in your group

The most-climbed camping route. Six-day versions are sold widely, but seven days acclimatises better.

1. What the park charges

Published per-person fees. Nobody can discount these — they are paid to the park for every climber on every permit.

Conservation (park entry) ($70 × 7 days): $490
Camping ($50 × 6 nights): $300
Rescue (one-time): $20
Forest (one-time): $10
VAT (18%): $148
Per climber: $968
Your group of 2: $1,935

2. What the crew must be paid

A typical minimum crew: about three porters per climber, a guide for every two climbers, and a cook. Operators often bring more people, not fewer — so this wage total leans low. If your operator gave you a crew list, type the real numbers in.

Lead guide · Kiongozifloor TZS 40,000/dayTZS 280,000

Assistant guide · Kiongozi msaidizifloor TZS 30,000/dayTZS 0

Cook · Mpishifloor TZS 30,000/dayTZS 210,000

Porter · Mpagazifloor TZS 25,000/dayTZS 1,050,000

Wage floor for a crew of 8, 7 daysTZS 1,540,000 ≈ $589

3. Tips, done so they arrive

Guideline rates, paid by the whole group together. The per-person figure is the one to say out loud — announcing each crew member’s tip in front of everyone is what stops it being skimmed.

Each lead guide × 1: $140
Each cook × 1: $84
Each porter × 6: $42
Whole crew: $476
Each climber contributes: $238

The floor under an honest price

Park fees: $968
Crew wage floor: $294
Tips: $238

$1,500 per climber before anyone buys food, fuels a bus, or maintains a tent. Food, transport, kit, and the operator’s own costs come on top — so a credible price sits well above this. A quote far below it usually means the difference is coming out of the crew.

Wage conversion at roughly 2,615 TZS to the dollar (checked 2026-06-11). Permits also carry small per-crew-member park charges not shown here.

Route

Days on the mountain

Climbers in your group

The most-climbed camping route. Six-day versions are sold widely, but seven days acclimatises better.

1. What the park charges

Published per-person fees. Nobody can discount these — they are paid to the park for every climber on every permit.

Conservation (park entry) ($70 × 7 days): $490
Camping ($50 × 6 nights): $300
Rescue (one-time): $20
Forest (one-time): $10
VAT (18%): $148
Per climber: $968
Your group of 2: $1,935

2. What the crew must be paid

Lead guide · Kiongozifloor TZS 40,000/dayTZS 280,000

Assistant guide · Kiongozi msaidizifloor TZS 30,000/dayTZS 0

Cook · Mpishifloor TZS 30,000/dayTZS 210,000

Porter · Mpagazifloor TZS 25,000/dayTZS 1,050,000

Wage floor for a crew of 8, 7 daysTZS 1,540,000 ≈ $589

3. Tips, done so they arrive

Guideline rates, paid by the whole group together. The per-person figure is the one to say out loud — announcing each crew member’s tip in front of everyone is what stops it being skimmed.

Each lead guide × 1: $140
Each cook × 1: $84
Each porter × 6: $42
Whole crew: $476
Each climber contributes: $238

The floor under an honest price

Park fees: $968
Crew wage floor: $294
Tips: $238

Wage conversion at roughly 2,615 TZS to the dollar (checked 2026-06-11). Permits also carry small per-crew-member park charges not shown here.

Fair climb calculator

Fair climb calculator

1. What the park charges

2. What the crew must be paid

3. Tips, done so they arrive

The floor under an honest price

1. What the park charges

2. What the crew must be paid

3. Tips, done so they arrive

The floor under an honest price

Know your rate

How to hand over tips

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