How much money does it cost to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro?

The long and short is that it can cost anywhere between US$1,000 and $4,000 to climb Kilimanjaro. This excludes flights, clothes and gear. You would probably need to add on at least another US$1,000 for those things depending on where you live and how much gear you already own. The climb price alone depends on a lot of factors including things such as tour operator and itinerary. Given that the biggest cost involved in climbing Kilimanjaro are the park fees, no tour operator can undercut another by any serious margin. What they can do, and a lot of local operators do this, is to pay their staff below minimum wage, provide low quality food and take the shortest and least scenic route up the mountain. This is why local operators are often much cheaper than western operators. I personally would never touch a local operator unless they were registered with with the porter welfare group KPAP http://www.kiliporters.org/ . Operators registered with KPAP follow all the mountain rules, including fair treatment of porters and guides! Exploitation on Kilimanjaro is a major problem and choosing cheap local operators only enhances the welfare issues.   The second cost consideration is the route. Once again, the cheap local operators will take you up the shortest and lest scenic route - the Merangu route. This route has by far the lowest summit success rate because 5 days does not give your body enough time to acclimatize. You would be much more sensible in paying a little extra and trekking one of the 7 or 8 day routes. For basic local operator price Merangu route - US$1,000 - 1,500 Local Operator price for longer route like Machame or Lemosho - US$1,600 - 2,000 Western operator price for Machame or Lemosho - US$2,000 - 3,000 High end operator like Mountain Madness - US$4,000 + Gear - average US$500 - can be rented for cheap though. Flights - average US$800

I have climbed Kili a few times as the president of the http://kiusa.org and will be climbing again in Feb/2014. Our cost to climb the Marangu Route is approximately $1,500 which includes the park fees and tips. This can vary based on the route you take as the Marangu route there is no need for tents and it is typically a quicker climb (we always do the entire climb in 5 days for instance). If you want a more cushy climb- go with one of the US or European operations and it will cost you $4k+. If you want a basic climb with decent meals and a guide who knows what's up- I would suggest contacting the Marangu Hotel directly http://www.maranguhotel.com/marangu/ and they will help with all the coordination.Some guides are better than others- but there is a family who has been doing this for dozens of years- ask for Aliah (pronounced Ah-lee-ah) and/or one/more of his brothers (David, Gibson, etc). Here are some pictures of my first climb in 2010 if you care to check them out: https://plus.google.com/photos/114264799838141448094/albums/5450740017597784257?banner=pwa - Happy climbing- Tanzania is one of the most beautiful places on earth- be sure to set aside a few days after your climb to hit the beaches in Zanzibar...it is the perfect reward for your achievement.

It matters on how much you care about your comfort, and also how much you care about your porters. Cut-rate outfitters do not take care of their porters well. There is NO way you can have a good quality climb team heading up the mountain for $1000, when they have to pay park fees of almost $700 for the average climb! Leaving the flight aside (~$1500 from the US when I went) you may want to budget some money for the nights before and after the trip. With the park fees, hotel fees, porters, and gear, I'd say you are probably looking at around $3000, $3500 not including flights, and assuming a good guide, good pace, and good route (we did Lemosho). Factor in about $300 (or more) for tips at the end. Some of our team is heading up again next year, I won't be joining. But if you need a group to join, I can help you make contact. I do not know this year's rates.

I've climbed the Kili in last September. Like it was said, cut-rate outfitters do not take care of their porters well. And they are the most important factor for your success. Also, in the city on the slopes of the mountain, called Moshi, you can rent all needed equipment, high-quality with no more than ~$60. At the end, paying around $1250 plus tips (around $250), you can have an amazing experience, with responsibility to the crew. I advise you look for the reality of the porters on Mt. Kilimanjaro, they really struggle to make a living out of their unbelievable efforts. http://www.kiliporters.org/ About the companies, you can easy find them on internet. By what I face there, I can say my guide David, is a hero. http://www.davidgoliathtours-safaris.com/

My husband climbed Kili in 2011 and it cost about 5,000 with flight from North America, guide and porter fees, hotels, permit, tips, etc. There were people who did it for a lot less and some who did it for quite a bit more. People who did it for less often tried to do the climb in 3 to 4 days, which really increases the chance of altitude sickness (as evidenced by the extremely fit Martina Navratilova). Taking the full week really increases your chance of a successful summit. And, as long as you are there, and if it is the right time of year, taking a photo safari in the nature reserve is well worth it. Interesting bit of trivia--Kilimanjaro has more deaths than any of the other Seven Summits (including Everest), due to the massive number of people who climb the mountain each year.

For everything you need to know about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro I wrote a guide to help trekkers prepare and choose their route of difficulty etc -http://www.trip.me/blog/trekking-mt-kilimanjaro-ultimate-trekkers-guide/

It depends on a few variables: a) No. of ppl in the group, b) Tour operator (local vs. western), c) Season.For reference, I did mine in Dec 2015 with a group of 9 people with 34 support team using a local operator for about $4K. My breakdown is as follows:Gears: $1K (I had to buy everything from scratch - did not rent anything) Flight: $1.3K Tour: $1.5K (Dec is considered a rainy season so the price was cheaper) Tips: $300 Hotel: $0 (First and last night hotel was included in the tour price. I paid $100/night for the additional nights I was in town)Note: Although I went during rainy season, I would not have known if no one told me. It only rained on Day 1 and a short white-out condition on Day 4. Mountain weather is unpredictable so if you are willing to take your chance, you can safe some cost on the tour.

Try using local companies like http://www.barafutours.com  It is a local company that is located right at the base of Mt kilimanjaro. Prices differ in terms of routes and the number of days. prices range from $1350 to $1700 for the climb and includes airport pickups and drop offs as well as two nights accommodation in Moshi town. Hope this helps..