How Much Does It Cost to Climb Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the world’s most accessible mountain summits. If you are thinking about how much does it cost to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, this article would be your perfect online resource. Just continue to read this article to discover how you can prepare your budget. 

In summary, the cost for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro varies from $1600 to $2400, excluding your international flight tickets. If you include your flight fees, the total cost could range from $3600 to even more than $6000, depending on which country you will coming from.

If you are new to African travel, this figure might look too big, but when you visit, you will find and feel to pay even more than the amount that you have been charged. Most travelers prefer a cheap coast when traveling so they can save their wallet, just a few of them will be ready to spend more as long as they are going to receive the best service in compensation.

When traveling to Africa, Our advice, in general, is don’t consider or think about opting the cheap price tours. The rule here is so simple, cheap tours are expensive and expensive tours are very cheap! We hope you already know what we mean here. In other words, if you want your trip to go smoothly, prepare a medium-sized budget or more as a luxurious traveler. You should always ignore the budget option unless if your wallet will force you to do so!

The total cost for climbing mount Kilimanjaro is always based on the number of people, duration on the mountain, and the quality of the service.

Kilimanjaro Climbing Price Breakdown

The cost to climb Mount Kilimanjaro doesn’t come as a wish of any tour operator who organizes your strip. It is a combination of many expenses and expenditures for preparing the best trip. This is because mount Kilimanjaro is not a technical-based mountain climb. It requires a proper plan by the operator, preparation, and good health. Although mount Kilimanjaro doesn’t need physical fitness, a certain level of hiking fitness matters. So a lot of expenses will be going to facilitate the preparation of your climb.

Let’s check the mount Kilimanjaro climbing cost breakdown, one by one.

Kilimanjaro National Park Fee

Like any national park that you will visit in Africa, climbing mount Kilimanjaro will require any tourists to pay park fees introduced by the authority. The fees for climbing mount Kilimanjaro are $50 camping fee, $70 entry fee, and $60 hut fee at the Marangu route. These are the daily fees that should be added with a $20 rescue fee, US $15 fly doctor rescue fee. Depending on the number of days on the mountain, the average amount of the total fee on the mountain is up to the US $1,000, for a 7 days trip. The price includes the VAT.

Tour Operator’s Fee

You can not climb Mount Kilimanjaro without a certified operator.  If you are thinking about climbing Mount Kilimanjaro yourself, you can’t do so for the case of Mount Kilimanjaro. The Mount Kilimanjaro National Park Authority put in place some of the regulations including that all tourists should climb the mountain with verified operators. A tour operator is the one who will take care of everything throughout your hike.

So your plan about mount Kilimanjaro climbing cost should include the charges that will be invoiced by the Operators. The charges of tour operators who will be ready to offer a mid-range service can start from $1,600 US to $3,000, depending on the operator you choose.

Mountain Crew/Porters Tips

Even if you go hiking mount Kilimanjaro as a Solo traveler, expect to have a mountain crew of more than two people. In each climb, you will need a mountain guide, 3 porters, and a cooker. Porters are the ones that will make your climb possible. Thy is responsible for handling all other activities like carrying your luggage, camping equipment, preparing food and so on. All the tasks can not be done by you and your mountain guide. So the crew will help you to have a smooth accend by dealing with little stuff like carrying your phone or a camera so you can enjoy your good time on the mountain.

The crew on mount Kilimanjaro consists of very cheap labour who are paid very little by tour operators. Some of the operators don’t pay them at all, their aim is to cut off the price of their packages and increase their margins. Some of the operators expect the crew to get their wages from tips. It is an unusual situation you can’t control.

In order to support the crew, any reasonable amount of tip would be appreciated by them and you will be directly supporting their families. You can budget $200 to $350, or even more as you can afford for tipping the crew.

Camping and Climbing Gear

When looking for the cost to climb Kilimanjaro, you should include or consider the costs of climbing gears. Most tour operators include the cost of climbing gears on their package price. Please ask your tour operator whether you should rent the gears or they have included in the price.

Tanzania visa

Most visitors who visit Tanzania will require a visa. Depending on your country or nationality, a Tanzania visa costs from $50 to $100 for US Citizens. If you are planning for a trip to conquer this mountain, you should also consider budgeting this amount for your visit to the country.

Trekking Cloth

You will need proper wearing when climbing mount Kilimanjaro. Your operator will guide you through this, but you should also prepare yourself a budget. Clothes like a rain jacket, sunglasses, and hike shoes are very important.

Apart from trekking equipment that will be supplied by the tour operators, some of the operators will offer an option to rent trekking clothes for $30 or more. Just consult your tour operator about the exact figure, or just buy them for yourself.

Transport Fees in Moshi or Arusha

Mount Kilimanjaro stands tall with a Moshi Town on its foot and a nearby city of Arusha. Most tour operators come from Arusha and Moshi. You should budget a minimum of $150 transport/transfer fee, especially if your accommodation is in Arusha.

International Flights Fees

At the beginning of this article, a summarized price excluded the international flights, but we thought we should mention it and part of your budget plan. Depending on where you will be from, the costs of your flight from your home country to Tanzania should be considered. Most of the Tour operators in Tanzania don’t provide air ticketing services. So we will leave the international flight cost estimate to yourself, but don’t forget it as it highly affects your budget, especially if you are from America, Asia, Australia or Europe.

Personal Cash/Expenditures

Other than having good photos of your trip, you might want to get back home with some souvenirs as a memory of your trip. There is a lot of items that may interest you to buy as a memory. Some buy African clothes, necklaces, shoes, women Changa’s and much more.

Apart from buying some souvenirs, extra cash might make you comfortable in town, just like when you are in any other city in the World. We don’t limit you to how much you should carry but don’t carry a large amount in your pocket. An amount like more than $1,000 should always be left in your credit card as you can withdraw anytime you need money from an ATM.

More about Cost to Climb Kilimanjaro

Up to this point we hope that you already have some clues about what amount you should have on your budget. If you are looking for the best mount Kilimanjaro guide, feel free to contact us. We are Tanzanian Safari Company with a registered licence to operaton on mount Kilimanjaro. We have a great team of porter and mount Kilimanjaro guides who are ready give you the best experience.