BootsnAll has a fantastic adventure trip up Mt. Kilimanjaro on the Machame Route with lots of start dates between now and the end of the year, so if you were interested in joining you might want to jump on this cheap airfare to Kilimanjaro to save some money. Of course, tying a trip up Kili with an African safari is always a great idea for a once-in-a-lifetime trip, too, so be sure to chat with adventure expert Donovan about your options.

Check out BootsnAll for great deals on airfare to Tanzania. And hey, if you weren’t already planning a trip to this fascinating African country, these deals on airfare might make you change your mind!

Read about why you should add Kilimanjaro to your round the world trip.

REI, just like many companies, is not based in Africa nor do they have an actual company there. They are partnering with another company, which I think is Tusker Trails or Abercrombie & Kent, and then selling the trip for more because they have the audience. If I calculate the total cost of this trip, if you were to buy it when you arrive, it is about $2500, give or take a few hundred dollars. The value that REI brings is they already have the contacts who can set up the trip and give you a good experience. If you were to arrive in Tanzania and try to orchestrate this exact trip, you are bound to chance. You might find someone who could do it for cheap, be a great guide, and have good equipment, good vehicles – or you might find hook up with a local Fly Catcher, and the trip could be ruined. It all comes down to your patience level.

My only qualm is that REI Adventures should be doing a Machame route camping trip, instead of the Marangu route, staying huts. I think the average REI attendee would be more a camper on the mountain and want a little bit more action vs. the lame, flat Marangu route. The cool thing about REI’s trip that I have not seen before is they have a great cycle trip on Day 13, which starts on the edge of this amazing sheer cliff, that is actually part of the Great Rift Valley.

Don’t get me wrong, REI does a few good things on their trips in Africa to help make it a little better. I have seen their trips before. The question is, do you have money to pay for this trip, or could you arrange on your own? That’s something you need to decided for yourself.

With tourism remaining strong, there was a recent announcement today that Virgin Atlantic Airways will start daily flights from London to Kenya this June 2007. If you are going down to either Kenya or Tanzania are looking for a camping safari or to climb Kilimanjaro, you might want to consider this airline.

Fortunately, this means more competition among the few airlines, which will hopefully drive the prices down. And I bet they will have some affordable cheap deals for the first few flights to Kenya in June.

However, if you still need to save money in Tanzania, the only way to really save a few bucks is to wait until you arrive – and then go out and find a company, negotiate, and perhaps you would have saved a few hundred dollars. If you buy it from the United States or Europe, you will pay more. Most travelers unfortunately don’t have that much time to spend a week wandering around, looking for the person you trust the most. If you have plenty of time and energy, wait until you arrive in Tanzania and see what you can find. Doing this doesn’t promise you are going to get a good rate, as many people have arrived in Tanzania and not been able to find anything. But you might be able to join into a trip or find a group you can climb Kilimanjaro. It’s a risk, but it’s the only strategy left.

If you want to pay a bit more, but have an extra day, you should fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport. BootsnAll also lists airline tickets deals in Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa.

On July 2006, the camping and entrance fees to all Tanzania National Parks was raised for Lake Manyara and Tarangire National Park as well the Arusha National Park. It was $20 camp fee, now is $30. On Mount Kilimanjaro was $40, now is $50 and entrance fees for those park was $25 now is $35.

This January 2007, they again raised the entrance fees for Serengetti and Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro Crater fee from $25 to $100 per car.

Now most of you reading this are paying a couple thousands dollars for your adventure in Tanzania, you think, “What does another $10 for this, and another $15 really mean?” Well, first off, most of these costs are PER PERSON PER DAY, so they can really add up. Second, it’s just another tax that really makes the cost of safaris more and more expensive. With fuel prices also high in Tanzania and distances far, I only see the cost of safaris going up and the average family not being able to plan an adventure in this country.

Since I have covered this question on another tipping post, I thought I would remind everyone how much you can spend on a tip – the total amount with everyone included.

Take into consideration that an average group of two people climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro would probably have around 8 more people. You would probably have about 5 porters, a guide, and an assistant guide. This is assuming you are going with a good company that has tents, chairs, tables, etc. This isn’t for a budget company.

If you calculate this out on a seven day Machame climb for two people, a tip could look like this
$35 per porter multiplied by 5 porters =$245
$70 for the assistant guide multiplied by one guide = $70
$100+ for the guide = $100

If you calculate this out, you are looking at $415. Of course, this would be divided by two people so it would be around $200 each.

Still $200 is another $200 and adds up. Don’t ask me about the time I add 70 porters for 30 people. Our tip was close to $4500.

The best method for tipping is to discuss with your group – maybe after your summit day – how much you are going to tip each person. You should tip based on their value on the mountain – and do not feel obligated to tip if they did not give you proper service. You should figure out a tip for each porter, each cook, each assistant guide, and the lead guide.

When the group comes up with how much they plan to tip, they should all put the money together into one pot, and then distribute it on the final morning of their descent, usually after breakfast and after all the bags are packed. You can also distribute it at the end of your climb, but it can sometimes be chaotic and full of other people at the gate.

When you distribute the money, it’s best to hand the money to each person, and thank them for their help on the trip. Do not give the money to the guide and ask him to distribute it. However wonderful, nice, and trustworthy he seems, sometimes the full amount does not get back to the porters and the porters want to be tipped directly. If you do give it to the guide, announce to the porters how much should be distributed per person.

If you have a really big group and are carring lots of money for tips, it’s good to bring envelopes and seperate all the money in advance. It causes less confusion.

I know they have some expenses on the mountain, but if they can’t even get a descent toilet ANYWHERE on the mountain, it kind of makes you wonder what they are doing with that money.

Before you contact anyone about climbing Africa’s highest mountain, make sure you can answer each one of these questions.

Which route on Kilimanjaro?
How many days on Kilimanjaro?
How many people in your group?
Do you consider yourself budget? Middle of the road? Or High End?
Would you join another group?
Do you want to be picked up from the airport?
Do you need a hotel reserved for your first and last night?

Of course, the different tour outfitters can help you answer these questions, but it’s important to have a basis for understanding why the cost could change.