how much money to bring on safari?
 

Okay, gang. Here is an impossible and very individual question. How much money is the "right" amount to bring on a 16-day safari?

I had assumed there was relatively little to spend money on...until I read a post by someone who brought $850, and wished she had a bit more. I think she was a single traveller, if I understood correctly.

I figured since my private safari is all-inclusive, I would just need a small amount for tips, a few masks and spears (with a weight limit of 15 kg, I can't buy a lot more trinkets!).

The travellers are me, my wife and 2 teenagers. We are not very thrifty types. Normally I wouldn't worry about this issue, but it sounds like credit and debit cards are not widely accepted. However, I don't want to carry a huge wad of cash and have it stolen.

Opinions?

nhulberg- figure at minimum, $5.00-$10.00 a day each person for the guide, another $3.00-$5.00 a day each person for the spotter and another $3-$5 a day each person for the camp staff. That's at minimum $44.00 a day, times 16 days= $704.00. $5.00 a day for most of us is nothing, for the guides/camp staff it is an incredible amount, so don't be cheap with them! You have 4 people to split the money with (you, wife 2 kids), so you shouldn't worry about getting ripped off. Add some money for drinks, souvenirs etc. and you're looking at $1000 minimum.

Hello,

It depends on where you're travelling and how you plan to tip (and what your options are).

For security reasons I avoid carrying a lot of cash and use a credit card for my tipping in South Africa and Botswana as cards are accepted at most camps -- this may not be an option in East Africa. You'd need to check with your agent.

I carry very little cash as it's basically used only for the occasional taxi in a city or souvenir purchase in a village market. This has resulted in occasional frustration when I didn't have enough cash to buy something I wanted, but nothing major. If you plan to do a lot of shopping this may be more of a factor.

Cheers,
Julian

I agree with Dennis regarding cash for the tips.......

Stuff to buy.....i dont know what camps/lodges you visit or other cities on your trip, but, usually most places do accept credit cards for your purchases. No problems.

Hari

Hi nhulberg,

You need to work out what you will need - for me, that is mainly tips and a little bit of safety cash. Even this will be a wad of cash as you need a lot of smaller notes for tipping. In my wallet I carry a small amount of cash, and the balance is in a bag at the bottom of my backpack.

I don't think I am a thrifty person by any means, and I will never get home and say I wish I had bought such and such! I probably carry more cash than many, but I never have any regrets about not getting something. You always should take more than you think you need, I should imagine more so when travelling with 2 teenagers.

Kind regards,
Kaye

I had 16 nights in camps and brought $600 with me in $1s, $5s and $10s. I wish I had brought more. By the time I got to my last camps I was running low and wasn't able to give as much as I would have liked. (I also think I miscounted the cash early on.)

Once you get there, trust me, you will want to tip, so bring plenty. You can always bring home your extra cash!

I just returned and calculated $30/day for tips and/or whatever else (souvenirs, and not much as this was probably my 12th visit; friends didn't want to see anymore "stuff" - though coffee and tea were appreciated and took up little room when packing).

I had about $800 cash leaving which included 100/$1s (many came back with me); 2/$50s for Visa; my local carfare to/from airports in the States ($110); about 6/$20s for guides; balance in $52 and $10s - all fit in two small envelopes from the bank and didn't take up much room in my day-pack. I actually returned with about $300.

When it comes to credit cards, Visa is widely accepted; MC and Amex less so. At shops/restaurants in NBO you can pay by CC; most lodges will take CC for payment of your beverage bill.

It's alsoa good idea to obtain local Kenyan Schillings on arrival at airport ATM or the cash exchange window found at Baggage Claim. This is good for purchases at roadside curio/souvenir shops and for "camp staff" tips (rather than USD). Especially use KSh, if any left, near end of trip for this purpose as the KSh are not exchangeable back to USD. If in TNZ, you really don't need local currency; besides there aren't many ATMs from which to obtain - USD are gladly accepted everywhere.

Depending on where you are staying in Kenya/Tanzania, you will mostly have a guide/driver (same person); some camps if using camp vehicles have a guide and tracker/spotter, so the guide and tracker each get a tip.

Tips should be paid at conclusion of your stay at any lodge/camp, not on a daily basis; if your own guide/driver the entire stay, you tip at conclusion of your trip.

Spears - be sure you buy those that can be broken down into 2 or 3 pieces when packed in bottom of your bag. A single piece spear will get inquiry. In fact, even with weight limits, it's good to have a separate folding bag to use for all your trinkets, which you can lock and ship as checked luggage. This bag won't be a weight problem leaving your last destination.

Bags are usually only weighed on your first flight out of NBO to Samburu, the Mara or elsewhere.

Hope this along with the above replies helps.

When figuring tips-it looks like $30.00 a day for 2 people is reasonable-do you mean 30 USD or 30 in Kenya currency? Maybe this is nit-picking but I am on a budget and better be clear onthis issue so as not to offend anyone when I finally get to safari! Thanks!
Dory

tried posting earlier, don't know where it went...I was the one that took 850 and wish I had more. I spent more on trinkets than I thought I would. Like someone else said, I also gave a larger tip to my guide than planned for. MC/VISA were widely accepted, AMEX was not. If you don't shop, and your safari is all inclusive, you won't need more than $ for tips and drinks in camp.

Dory,
30 USD

nhulberg,
If you posted your itinerary, we may be able to give more specific suggestions.

Just a suggestion....if you have already paid for your all inclusive trip and are mainly taking tip money as we did, take larger bills...20's and 50'. After reading much on Fodors about tipping, we decided on (for 2 of us) 20.00 per day for guides, 20.00 per day for staff (left more at a couple places) 10.00 per day for spotters and a few other misc. tips along the way...at the airports, etc. But mostly took 50's and 20's and were told that they appreciated the larger bills rather than all 5's or 10's since the bank charged them less exchange for larger bills. We took way too many 1's and didn't use many of them and they took up more room than the bigger bills too.
As someone already said, everyone is so helpful and nice that you will want to give them more