Tipping

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Staff at lodges, guides, porters, drivers and other people providing services to travellers are definitely hopeful of receiving tips.

How much to tip

How much and to whom you choose to tip is usually defined more by the tipping culture that you are used to back home. The people that you meet will most likely vary their levels of expectation depending upon your nationality.

So if you are American or Canadian, then you will probably be amongst the highest tippers. If you are European then you will probably the be tipping somewhere in the middle of the range. But if you are from South America or the Far East then you may not be used to tipping at all.

The guidelines given below and in your trip paperwork are intended to be in the middle of the range, you might choose to tip in a range from zero to double these numbers.

In some environments such as lodges, on safaris and on treks, tipping is structured in ways which make it clear, fair and less easy for staff to abuse.

If at any time you are not sure about how much to tip or how to go about tipping, then you can simply ask the lodge manager.

Tipping currencies

Tips are most commonly given in local currencies or in USD, GBP or EUR, so be sure to carry small denominations with you.

To be honest all currencies will be gratefully received, but the more unusual they are, the more the recipient will likely lose when converting them into their local currency.

The hazards of over-tipping

Offering very large tips is usually seen as being generous, but there becomes a level at which it can becomes foolish, counter-productive or even insulting.

The most common incidence of over-tipping is when travellers become confused about the exchange rate and pay 10x or even 100x the correct amount. This may sound like a really daft thing to do but, for example, the Kenyan shilling is worth roughly ten times the Tanzanian shilling, so mistakes can easily be made when crossing that border during a trip.

The most outrageous tipping that we have ever heard of is a customer who actually purchased a brand new Toyota Landcruiser for his driver-guide. Obviously the guy must have been very wealthy, but we suspect that there was probably an element of duping involved. This happened in Arusha, where talk of it spread like wildfire. In no time driver-guides were dreaming up all kind of ways in which they might be able to convince their clients that they should do the same for them. Some of the scams created were actually quite convincing and we had unconfirmed reports of some notable successes. Certainly the value of a regular sized tip was seriously undermined for a while.

The main danger of massive over-tipping is that it erodes the amount of respect that local people have for travellers and erects rather than breaks down barriers. It increases the degree to which travellers are viewed less as people and more as targets for financial advancement. It really does contribute heavily towards a breakdown in this most important type of relationship, between the hosts and the international guests.

Please do not significantly over-tip.

Guides

Guides are extremely important to the success of your trip and this is usually reflected by larger tips.

We presently recommend in the range USD 10 per guest per day, although if there are only 1-3 of you on the safari then you might bump that up to a total of USD 40-50 per day.

Assistant guides, trackers and rangers you may consider tipping at around half that level. Those tips are usually handed directly over to the guides.

Lodge staff

Almost all lodges operate a staff tip box. This is usually the best way of offering tips, since it ensures that all of the staff get their fair share, even the ones you did not meet but who were working hard behind the scenes, such as cooks and laundry ladies.

We usually recommend in the range USD 5-10 per guest per day.

You may also want to pass tips to specific members of staff if they have been particularly helpful or friendly, but this should be in addition to your staff box tip, not instead.

Trekking staff

Tipping is essential and substantial on trekking trips such as those on Mount Kilimanjaro. Specific explanations of tipping requirements are provided in your trip paperwork.

Transfer drivers

For drivers of simple transfers you may want to offer a discretionary tip, particularly if he has been friendly and gone out of his way to make you feel welcome, or has solved any little teething problems along the way. Around USD 10 per hour between the group may be suitable.

Street people

In some countries you will encounter many people who want to help you in return for some modest payment. This can sometimes seem like a hassle, or even a hustle, but it is part of the local life, there is no social security here and people who are out of work are obliged to try to earn something on the street.

We tend to be more appreciative of people who are being more creative and thoughtful about their work, who are right there at the moment that you need them, offering exactly the service that you require.

For example, if you find yourself walking down to the port in Dar es Salaam, then someone will no doubt appear and offer to buy your ticket for you. This can save you a whole lot of hassle and confusion, plus the ticket should not be any more expensive since a small commission is built into the price for your new friend. This is the African equivalent of priority boarding and it is worth sliding a couple of extra dollars to your assistant if he does the job for you. That said, don’t simply give him all the money up front and then watch him disappear out of sight forever, you do need to have your eyes wide open when you enter into this kind of street deal.

We sometimes deliberately think up jobs for street people to do for us. Maybe trot down to the market to get some tomatoes, guard our vehicle, clean the windshield. We don’t need these things to be done, but its a much more dignified way for people to receive a little bit of money from you than simple charity.

Do not encourage begging

Please avoid giving anything away for free on the streets, especially to kids, who are particularly vulnerable to being turned into beggars.

If you have things to give away, such as leftover pack lunches, then make sure you always stop and engage with people properly before offering anything to them.