On A Budget!
Don’t come to climb Kilimanjaro if you are “on a budget.” I received a phone call the other day, from someone looking for a cheap, but quality climb up Kilimanjaro. Budget trips don’t seem to really exist on Kilimanjaro anymore. Budget trips did exist a few years, but after prices for the park fees went up, you are most likely going to spend AT LEAST $1000 on trip. And this $1000 would be a low-end trip purchased and organized when you arrive.
If you are spending $1000, I don’t really consider that to be a “budget climb” anymore. If you are coming from the US, you are probably spending about $1500 for your plane ticket, and about another $300 in shots and $200 in new gear.
This means, at the least you are going to spend about $3000 per person for the entire trip, hardly someone who is “on a budget.” My theory is that if you have $3000, then you can get $4000, and buy a better trip up the mountain, organizing it in advance.
Don’t ask me about “budget safaris.”