FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Kilimanjaro Climb and Safari - Between Two Companies
Old Aug 9, 2011 | 6:05 am
  #10  
Austinrunner
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,861
Originally Posted by $1500forGLD
Can you please elaborate on why $2200 is "ridiculously high"? The $1200-1500 climbs don't seem to carry the best safety equipment (e.g., oxygen and gamow bags). I'm not interested in a budget company that doesn't carry this safety equipment, nor am I interested in paying $5000 for some fancy company where they're using my money for a bunch of US employees and glossy DVDs. I've seen several companies that are in the $2000-3000 range that seem to offer all the luxuries (particularly safety) of the $5000 companies. Are you suggesting that these companies are offering basically the same thing as the budget companies?

Also, what could I book in Moshi that I can't book here? Are there operators in Moshi that don't have websites? I feel like I'd rather read reviews now and know who I'm putting my life in the hands of...
The best way to book a Kilimanjaro climb is to go to Moshi and then personally visit the offices of the companies you're considering. You can ask all the questions you want then. All of them are flexible. Say what you want, and they'll arrange it, from a budget climb to the most fancy. That includes safety equipment, better tents, better food, warm clothes, group size. Whatever is on your list. You can also effectively negotiate price. Very few of them have websites. Most that do are like the one you're considering: heavily marketed by foreigners with correspondingly higher prices. Anyone who pays $2,000 (not including tips) for a Kili climb is paying too much, IMO, unless you're taking an unusual or long route, such as the Western Breach with a campsite in the crater. I don't know their current prices, but the Marangu Hotel (among others) is honest and arranges safe climbs. Plus, their hotel is beautiful and comfortable without being ostentatious.

Have you looked closely at the fine print of the company you are considering? Their well trained guides with loads of experience and a high degree of safety training rarely lead the climbs personally. This illustrates the problem with climb websites. If you're not careful, you'll pay way too much or pay for things that you don't actually get.

I know what I'm talking about because I've lived in Moshi 5 months out of the last 2 years.
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