Article by: Joe Shin
Taking on a trek like Kilimanjaro isn’t an easy feat in more ways than one. First, you have to be well-equipped and have trained long and hard to stay safe while on a mountain like this.
Then, once you have set your mind to it and moved forward with your training, you will need to take the next most important step, finding a luxury tour operator to take you up the mountain.
Our advice: start doing your research as early as possible. Want our next helpful tip? On tours like this, know that your financial investment matters.
How Is a Luxury Tour on Kilimanjaro Different?
Kilimanjaro is the highest freestanding mountain in Africa. It has an altitude of 5,895 meters, making it one of the most famous mountains in the world for all kinds of trekking. From backpackers to scramblers and mountain climbers, this mountain trip appeals to all extreme adventurers.
What makes a luxury tour up on Kilimanjaro different from our average tour company? Namely, it’s the effort and accommodation that the tour team puts into the trip.
Luxury doesn’t mean staying in the best hotels at the top of the mountain in this case. Instead, it means extra porters to carry the luggage, providing quality camping and hiking gear. In addition, they take more care to avoid altitude sickness and prepare you better for the bitter cold so that you are more likely to have a successful summit.
Choosing a lousy operator can often make a trip exponentially more dangerous than it would have been with an experienced group. Other than the decision to go, this will likely be the most critical decision of your trip. Here are our tips for finding the right Kilimanjaro luxury trekking package for your trip.
Tips to Find the Best Kilimanjaro Luxury Trekking Package
Plan Ahead
Most importantly, get started earlier rather than later. Then, you can prepare however much you want. In the end, if you don’t have a reliable company to take you up the mountain, then it was all for nothing.
If you don’t book in time to get access to a good tour company, it will be better to wait until the next trekking season than to opt for an unreliable tour guide. On trips like these, not being prepared is akin to seriously risking your life.
You should book your tour guide company anywhere from 6 to 9 months in advance. Booking this early also gives you plenty of time to get any other equipment you might need to complete the trip that the tour doesn’t provide in the country.
Use a Mix of Locals
What do we mean by a mix of locals? It is often best to find a company that uses a mix of locals from your area and Tanzanian locals. If you are American, that often means finding an American tour guide company that employs reliable Tanzanian locals.
Our reason for this? An American company with some American guides can help cater to the needs of an average American trekker. However, they will often still rely on the Tanzanians to provide them with safe passage and route up the mountain.
Read All the Reviews
Reading reviews isn’t only applicable when it comes to buying a product on Amazon. You should also read the reviews of your potential tour company in depth. That means taking the time to read ALL of the reviews from the last several years.
Going back further than two or three seasons is often unnecessary, even if the reviews are available. That’s because of the turnover that often occurs in these businesses. Tour guides change jobs frequently because of the arduous trek, even seasonally. Reading further back will often have no bearing on the current team of people working the mountain.
Pay attention to the good and bad reviews, taking all of them with a grain of salt. If there are bad reviews, were their complaints about the trip being dangerous? Were they something that you were willing to compromise on?
What about the good reviews? Read them with the same amount of skepticism, thinking specifically about how you want your trip to go.
Examine the Operator’s Website and Their Credentials
Next up, take the content of the operator’s website into account. What do they have to say about their tour that sets them apart from anyone else? Do they have any credentials or a record of the training that they give their tour guides to be assured you are in good hands?
Check through the website for something called “Trip Notes” or a similar document. This should give you a detailed rundown on the kind of trip that you can expect and exactly what you need to be prepared to do. A well-detailed account of the trip will be good evidence that they are professionals.
Preparing for Your Luxury Kilimanjaro Trek
Prepare, prepare, prepare. We can’t stress it enough. But, ultimately, finding the right trekking package will help you know better how to train, what to bring and how much you need to invest in having a great, safe and successful trek to the top.
Our tour packages range from 4 to 10 days to give you an amazing experience of climbing up to the peak of the world’s highest free-standing mountain and view the unique vegetation that cannot be seen anywhere else. We make it our utmost priority to serve your dream of reaching “The Roof of Africa” with our highly talented and experienced climbing team come true.
Check out our exclusive tour packages that will make your trip to Kilimanjaro a truly memorable one!