Tipping is customary in Tanzania and it is a real part of what your guide and camp staff earn. Who to tip, how it is usually done, and how to have the cash ready.
Tipping is customary on safari in Tanzania, and it is expected. It is not a bonus for exceptional service. It is a normal part of what guides and camp staff earn, and they plan on it. Most visitors want to get it right and are not sure how, so this page sets out how it usually works.
It does not give amounts. Guidelines change, currencies move, and your operator will give you current figures at the briefing before your trip. It explains who is tipped, how, and how to be ready.
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Your driver-guide is with you every day, from the first morning to the last drive. They find the animals, drive the roads, manage the timings, and answer the questions. The tip you give them is the largest of the trip, and it is given at the end, directly, by the group.
The usual approach is for the group to agree a total and hand it over together, in an envelope, with a few words. It is a good moment, and most guides would rather have it done simply than with ceremony.
Your operator will give you a guideline per day for the guide at the briefing. If you are travelling as a couple or a family, the guideline is usually for the vehicle, not per person. Confirm which.
Every camp and lodge has staff you see, such as the people who serve meals and escort you to your tent, and staff you never see, who cook, clean, and pump the water. Almost every property has a communal tip box for all of them, and the tip is split among the whole team.
The usual practice is to put a tip into the box when you check out, for the nights you stayed. Your operator's guideline will give a figure per guest per night.
If someone has looked after you particularly, you can tip them directly as well, quietly. But the box is the main thing, because it reaches the people you do not see.
Some activities come with their own guide, separate from your driver-guide, and they are tipped separately at the time.
A walking safari has an armed ranger and often a walking guide. A boat safari has a boat crew. A balloon flight has a pilot and ground crew. A village visit has a local guide. A Kilimanjaro climb has a whole crew, covered on the porters and tipping page.
For each of these, a smaller tip at the end of the activity is normal. Ask your driver-guide what is usual. They know, and they will tell you.
Tips are given in cash. US dollars are accepted everywhere and are the simplest. Tanzanian shillings are equally welcome and sometimes more useful to the person receiving them.
Bring more small notes than you think you need. Breaking a large note in the bush is difficult, and a tip that is too large because you had nothing smaller is a common and expensive mistake.
Sort the cash before you travel. Put the guide's tip in one envelope and the camp tips in others, labelled. Keep them somewhere safe in your main bag. There are cash machines in Arusha and Moshi and none in the parks, so whatever you carry in has to last.
Tipping is customary, but it is not compulsory, and a tip is still a response to how you were looked after.
If something went wrong with a guide or a camp, the more useful thing to do is to tell your operator, at the time if you can, so it can be put right. A smaller tip says less than a clear conversation does.
If you had a genuinely good trip and are unsure how much to give, err toward the guideline. Nobody on a safari crew is paid so well that a tip does not matter to them.
Ask your operator for the current tipping guideline when you book, not the day before you leave. It changes, and you want to plan the cash.
Bring US dollars in small, recent, clean notes. Old or damaged bills are often refused.
Sort the envelopes at home.
And on the last day, take a moment with your guide. The tip matters. So does saying what the week meant.
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