Kilimanjaro Trek Operators
 

Hello all,

I have been doing a bit of research on various tour operators for Mt. Kilimanjaro. I would appreciate it if you could please comment on who you used. There's so much variation in terms of reviews, price, etc. We are planning on going October 2009.

Thanks!

Kiliwarriors. Great reviews. Check out their website.

Hi please try this mountain guide is name is Emmanuel his contact is [email protected]
all the best.

We used Roy's Safaris and had a great experience. The owner was wonderful and went out of his way to get our bag up the mountain after our airline lost it.

Our guide, James, was very knowledgeable and pleasant to hike with.

I used Tusker Trail, but this was a few years ago. They are a top notch outfitter, with great, well trained guides, great equipment, and they treat their porters well.

When I did my research, I found that you have about 3 different tiers of outfitters. You've got the real budget outfitters that use the huts and get you up as quickly as they can. They're success rates are abysmal.

You've got the mid-range outfitters who go from budget to mid-range. Better than the budget outfitters, but still try to get you up pretty quickly, have serviceable equipment, but porter treatment isn't that great. But, some can be very good at a good price.

And, then you have the top tier outfitters. They'll generally charge around $3000 for a trek. For that, you'll get trained guides usually with some advanced first aid certifications. You'll get top notch equipment like dining tents, tables, chairs, tents, etc. You'll get safety equipment like hyperbaric chambers, oxygen, first aid, medication, etc. And, the porter treatment will be good - porters with proper clothing, their own tents, sleeping bags, etc.

The top tier tends to have a much higher success rate and much lower accident rate than the others. Generally, this is because of the excellence of the guiding and because they take longer to get you to the top. The budget operations tend to skimp on time on the mountain, which affects your acclimitization. A single day can make a big difference. I think Tusker has a success rate in the high 90% range.

The top tier are companies like Tusker, Kiliwarriors, Thomson, International Mountain Guides, etc.