Travel Answers

Hi! I climbed kili in 2007 with 8 friends and when we came back we decided to collect technical mountain clothing for the porter association in Moshi. Now we're looking for someone who will be there when the packs arrive and make sure that they will get the association. Anyone who can help us to do that, please contact me by email and we'll arrange the ship date. Thank you! chiara

Hi everybody...I would like to go to see Mt. Kili and not climb it. The reason for me is altitude; I climbed Mt. Whitney in California (14,495 Ft.) and I know for an absolute fact that getting to the top of Kili is not going to happen. I am in shape, but the altitude kills me. My question is...is there someplace reasonably close to Kili where I could get photos of it, including one of myself with Kili in the background? I am familiar with the Park entrance fees and would prefer to avoid them since I know I won't be climbing. Thanks for your help.

Hello, I'm currently planning a trip to Kilimanjaro in July 2008. Can anyone tell me, if I should bring my own sleeping bag or if the tour operators also provide sleeping bags? If I can rent them, are they suitable for the low temperatures above 4000m or are they not so high qualitative? Thanks, Streli

greetings, my husband and i are planning to trek kili from about december 20 - 25. i know this is an extremely busy time on the mountain so i have a few questions. we are planning to book it once we arrive in tanzania (december 12) because we've heard this is a good option if you're on a budget and want to shop around a bit and also know exactly what you're getting. i'm just concerned that it might be too busy at that time of year and we won't be able to get on a trip? also because it's an incredibly busy time, will we have any trouble renting any gear that we need? (sleeping bags, tents, walking poles)? we are also going to go on a budget safari on the same trip. will we want our own sleeping bags and tent anyway? thank you so much. kstar

Hi Folks, we (3 guys of 34) are planning a 3 weeks tour to Mt. Meru, then Kili (Lemosho) and then Safari in the Ngorongoro crater. Has anyone been there recently and has some tips or knows some dont's? Is anyone going there between 20 Jan 2008 and 7 Feb 2008? Our base camp between the trips will be Moshi. How is the town? Is there anything going on? best wishes, Thilo

Hi there! I'm looking to do Kilimanjaro in 2009. What trekking company would you recommend? And why? I am interested in doing both a trek and a safari in the Serengeti. Any useful tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!! :) I've looked into Thomson Treks, Wilderness Travels, and Alpine Ascents so far. They all seem soooo expensive! -Bruingirl-

2 Weeks to go until I fly out to tanzania now. I will be climbing the lemosho route from the 4th Septmber. I will be taking diamox with me but what I wanted to know from the veterans out there is when I should start taking the medicine. I have read that people who take it early on will lose a lot of valuable sleep by staying up all night peeing however, as it is essentially a prophelaxis is taking it as early as possible a good idea or is it better to wait until I feel the effects of the altitude. Any other info about the drug (or the climb in general) will be greatly appreciated. I promise this will be my last question! Thank you in advance Graham

Hi, On september 5th my collegue and I are going to Afrika for klimbing the Kilimanjaro. My collegue became sick so we are not shore that he will be able to go. So I want to get to know some people who also start the climb on september 6th on the Machame-route. Grtz

Hi there, I am hoping to climb kilimanjaro this september, myself and another memeber of the party have reached a sticking point and I would like your help to settle it. (I won't tell you what my opinion is to kep this fair). We have had two quotes for the lemosho route from africa travel resources and mem tours of1900 and1300 respectively. We have spoken directly to african travel resources and they seem like a very professionally run company and seem to offer a good package, they seem confident that they will give us the best chance possible of reaching the summit. We have been supplied much less detail from mem tours ,although it does seem similar in many respects and, although there is little evidence to the contrary, we aren't so sure that they will be as supportive on the climb with respect to food and watching how we go. I would like to know your opinions on which we should go for, especially from people who have used either company, although everyone is welcome. Does1900 sound too much or is1300 too little? How much did you pay and did you book in tanzania or in your home country? Which would YOU go for? By the same token we have been offered a 5 day safari by both for1300, how does that price sound? I would really, really, appreciate some help with this so we can move forward and (finally) book our flights. Cheers, I really appreciate your help. Graham

Hi, Anyone have experience with Tropical Trails or African Travel Resources for Kilimanjaro Expedition? Zaidi

Hi all, I'm planning to climb the Kili (machame route, 6 days) between the 11 and 13 of December 2006. I'm looking for a person or group to climb with! Originally I was planning to climb together with a friend, but unfortunately I had to postphone because of Bilhartzia (wurms in your body). I already did some research on which tour operator I want to climb with. But I'm more than interested to hear about other offers. My budget is 1000 or lower. Tour operators which had good offers: Victoria Expeditions (arusha, meru inn,900, incl all equipment & clothes) or Bobby Safari's (arusha, 850, incl all equipment but without raingear) If you are interested to join me, please contact me ASAP: fredhulleman@hotmail.com OR: +254727067417 Hope to hear from you, and looking forward to reach the summit! Fred

Hello - I had surgury on my ankle 6 months ago (severed tendons) and I just got the go ahead from my doctor to climb Kili in January. I have not exercized in 6 months except the last three days I did a 5 mile run, 2.5 and 2.5. What are all your recomedations for physica training, altiutude sickness and building up confidence. Our climb date is January 15. Thank you for any assistance

I gather that the first part of a Kili trek can be pretty wet, muddy etc so I've been going for gore-tex lined boots for my climb planned for mid October. Problem is the first set I bought weren't all that waterproof ($200). I walked for a few minutes along the beach and got wet from water seeping through the gusseted tongue. I returned those boots and got a different manufacturer's gore-tex boots ($185) but encountered the same problem. Water seeped through the gusseted tongue when I let some water from a garden hose run on the boot for about a minute. I considered getting some kind of seam sealer for the tongue but the mountain equipment store I bought the boots at said this was a bad idea. I'm thinking waterproof should mean waterproof... am I being naive here or do they all leak? Second question... are waterproof boots actually essential, nice to have, or not really needed in the first place? I will also be using gaiters that go almost to my knees... the kind that clip to the laces and fasten underneath the boot with a strap.

Hi, We're planning on doing a mini documentary of our upcoming climb on Kili, and I've been trying to figure out the best way for us to pack our photo and video equipment. We're not trekking with a production crew so it would just be us climbers with the gear. I've read various tips that the freezing temperatures at the summit can damage camera equipment....and yet I've also seen some stunning photos on the summit. Would we be able to do some filming in those temperatures? (Would we even have the strength to do so?? ;-) Any advice from those who experienced the climb would be appreciated! Thanks everyone, G_G

Anyone have any experience with either Good Earth Tours or Tropical Trails for Kili climbing tour companies? Thanks!

Hi there, I did get some replies on my last post about tour companies in tanzania, unfortunately my vt email account has decided to delete them so can you all please give me some reccomendations for tour groups? I would prefer it if they: - cover the machame route - are based in moishi - are fully licensed - take good care of their porters, and give them the right equipment / fair wages Thanks for your help. Graham

can any1 tell me the cheapest deal to climb kili...theres 4 of us going,we dont even plan to get the porters,maybe just the guide....how much is the entrance fee for the park anyway?

Hello everybody! I would like to do the climbing of the Kilimanjaro...one problem: I am afraid of heights! Is this a problem? And which route should I choose best given my height fear: Marangu or Machame? Thank you Marco Polo's!

Hi all! My friend and I are planning to climb Mt. Kili this Fall. We did Machu Pichu a year ago, and I understand it is nothing in comparison to Mt. Kili in terms of stamina required. So we are looking for the best ways to prepare ourselves. I had an idea to sign up for a marathon training, but wonder if that kind of training will help with climbing. Please share your tips. Thank you all! Cheers, A

Does anyone have any experience of this firm based in Moshi?

Hi there, It seems I've agreed to climb mt. kilimanjaro, sometime in 2007. SO I need as much advice as possible please: - I live in Manchester, are there any packages available that fly from Manchester to Tanzania. - Is it possible to arrange the trek directly with the local travel companies? If so who? And what sort of price are we talking? - How much does it cost per day to be on the mountain? - What is the cheapest way of doing the trip (without it becoming unsafe). - What kind of training did you undertake? Do they have any altitude training places in the u.k.? - I would also like to do a spot of diving in lake malawi whilst I am out there. Is it fairly accesible from kili? Any other advice would be really welcome. I'm just starting out with planning this so I may have even overlooked the small things. Thanks for your support Graham

Hi, My wife and I are thinking of climbing Kili next June (2006) What will the weather be like? Also does anyone have any experience of a company called Terra Firma travel? They seem to offer a good package. Thanks

Call me crazy...this is my attempt to climb Mt. Kili. Any ideas where I should being looking or preparing? Has anybody had experience with Marangu Hotel as a guide?

Call me crazy...this is my attempt to climb Mt. Kili. Any ideas where I should being looking or preparing? Has anybody had experience with Marangu Hotel as a guide?

Will I need a visa to travel to Kilimanjaro from the UK with a British passport? There doesn't seem to be any metion of it on the trek sales websites, so I wanted to check...just in case I missed the small print. Thanks

Hi I am looking to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro sometime in September 2005, and looking to have a travel companion. I am m/30 and rate myself as a fairly descent climber with a failry good sense of humor. i have done quite a bit of research on the the trip and different routes, cost, and so on... so if anyone is intersted in knowing more please email me at gada_ketan@hotmail.com or ketan.gada@gmail.com I am open to suggestion about the travel dates... PS: this will change the way u look at the world for sure... - Ketan

An opportunity to leave work for a month and a half has come up. My friend and I are excited about our decision to try Africa for the first time. I'm a little concerned about the weather in May as I start my research in the little time I have left. Is May in peak wet season, which would not make Kilimanjaro, and Rafting the Zambezi possible? Any suggestions on trekking outfits, and rafting outfits. We are both experienced in High altitude and moderatly difficult terrain. Apparently a guide is required on Kili. Whats the most inexpensive angle on this. I normally organize this when I'm there, and not over the internet. The local library where I live may not have much info on the mountain. Any suggestions on the route to take? Also want to see Zanzibar and do some snorkelling,maybe some night life. Both of us like to party, and take things lightly. Any suggestions on fun beach towns? We may do this first if the weather is a factor. Basically, this is a short notice trip. We are a couple of single fun lovin Canadian boys who like to drink bear, hang on the beach, climb high mountains, and do some rafting. Somewhere along the way we'd like to see some animals. Is May/June totally a bad time. I buy plane tickets at the last moment, and have more than once in the past totally changed destinations at the very last second.

I've never been trekking before, but my boyfriend has persuaded and inspired me to cut my mountain trekking teeth...on Kilimanjaro (well, it's a nice gentle start!!) We are planning to go in September, and I've been slowly gathering information about what I will need, but I want to be sure about my boots as I don't want anything to stop me getting to the summit!! I am going to struggle financially if I just buy the most expensive of everything believing it to be the best, so I'm hoping someone here can give me a little guidance on the best value brands, where I can save some money and where I really shouldn't scrimp at all! I have found a pair of hiking boots which seem to fit the criteria I will need, but they don't seem very expensive. Can anyone advise me on these? The brand is Viking. surplusandadventure.com/isho... Thanks in advance for your help. Jules

Which trek is more dazzling, Kilimanjaro or Mt. Kenya? Only have time for 1.

I'm doing the Marangu route in late October. I've been told to get a down filled coat but I already have a heavy duty fleece andwaterproof, will this be enough? Also have people had problems near the top when using a platyous?