A Guide to Tipping on Safari in Africa

Why Do You Tip on Safari?

Should You Tip on Safari?

This is hard to answer as it's not a clear-cut issue for many travellers. To help answer the question of whether you should be tipping on safari, let's look at it from:

Guests' Perspective

Travellers from the US generally come from a culture where tipping is the norm and expected, while those from Europe or Australia generally don't, so are often unsure of how to tip on safari.

Some would simply like to do away with tipping on safari altogether and add the money onto the final bill for a trip. Although this is a commendable idea, it's hard to put into practice because a safari has so many moving parts. Also, would brilliant staff at one lodge sacrifice a good tip for average staff at another?

Some guests object to tipping on the grounds that the workers' salaries should be enough to cover their living expenses and that lodge owners should pay more. This, once again, is a commendable idea but your safari costs cover not only wages but also concession fees, fuel, insurance, security, maintenance, food, beverages, Wi-Fi, entertainment, maintenance – the list is endless! An increase in wages would cause an increase in costs to you as other costs – like conservation fees or pumping borehole water – are fixed. Many lodges are using solar power, starting their own kitchen gardens and so on, in order to cut costs where possible and pay workers as much as possible.

Bear in mind that a major cost for owners is housing, feeding, clothing and medically caring for staff who must live on the property for weeks or months at a time. Workers cannot catch a bus or train home to their apartments at the end of their shifts and they cannot work a second job either.

Most guests expect to tip and make provisions to do so in their budgets – but we stress that gratuities are completely at your own discretion for service you feel warrants them.

Staff's Perspective

Of course, you say, staff will want tips. Who wouldn't want ‘free money' on top of their salaries? Once again, it's not as simple as that. Think of a tip as more than just a ‘thank you' for making your bed or showing you a lion – it's also in recognition of the following:

• The long periods that staff spend away from their children, families and friends. They are often on duty for weeks at a time because getting in and out of the bush is difficult. It's compensation for not being able to return to a spouse or child after a long day at work.
• The expense incurred travelling home. Most staff live in far-flung rural areas or cities that are difficult and expensive to get to. Your US dollars go a long way to helping families reunite.
• The bittersweet burden that almost every employed person in Africa carries is the expectation to support their extended family members who are unemployed or at school. This support network is vital in bringing up children and stopping unemployed people from turning to alcohol or crime. A good tip has wide-ranging and positive ramifications. The vast majority of workers do not fritter their money away on frivolous luxuries but pay for school fees, doctor's visits, groceries and so on. They may not have access to social security or medical aid like workers in the rest of the world.
• The long hours that staff work. They're up way before hot tea or coffee gets delivered for your 5am wake-up call in the morning and go to bed way after your last nightcap to put out the campfire, patrol the perimeter, prep the game-drive vehicle, and countless other chores that go into running a slick operation in the middle of the wilderness.
• The little extra lengths that staff go like remembering your name, mixing your favourite drink without being asked, finding the specific bird you've always wanted to see… Again, our clients consistently remark on how incredible the staff in Africa are because of all the little things that they do with friendliness and grace.

Safari staff are responsible for our safety, comfort, health and nutrition, often under difficult circumstances that we know nothing about. While we're enjoying drinks in the boma, kitchen staff may be fending off marauding vervet monkeys. While we're out on a blissful boat cruise, they may have to contend with pipes broken by elephants looking for water. The behind-the-scenes dramas of a lodge are incredible, and a safari tip is often a welcome recognition of that extra work.

Some guests may feel that a ‘safari is expensive enough' so tips are an unnecessary added expense. From a worker's perspective, who returns to a village with no running water or electricity, it may be puzzling to see visitors who have pricey cameras, binoculars, watches, and jewellery worth several years' salaries baulking at paying a relatively small amount in tips. The thinking – rightly or wrongly – may be that a guest who can afford a $10,000 safari could surely afford to tip $100.

Who Do You Tip on Safari?

Generally, tips are given to workers who are not ‘professionals' in the sense that they haven't necessarily had significant tertiary education to qualify for a specific job. There are some exceptions though, like spa therapists or guides, who generally hold formal qualifications.

How to Tip on Safari

How Much Do You Tip on Safari in East & Southern Africa?

Once again, this is a tricky one to answer because there are so many factors: the service you received, your personal budget, your ideas around gratuities, etc. The rule of thumb is to tip as much as you can when the moment comes. We've never regretted a substantial safari tip but have often wished we had more cash to tip with.

No matter how much you tip, don't apologise for the amount. Simply hand it over in whatever form and say thank you sincerely. Gratitude, appreciation and recognition are always warmly received by staff.

So how much do you tip on a Kenya safari? How much should you tip on a Tanzania safari? Or how much do you tip a butler on safari?

Of course, there are also regional variations and country-specific activities:

Mauritius

• Tipping in Mauritius restaurants is optional, especially if sales tax has already been added to your bill. If in doubt, enquire discreetly with the manager.
• Porters and hotel workers expect to be tipped but taxi drivers do not.
• It is customary to tip boat skippers, who will share it with the crew, as well as PADI staff, usually via a communal tip box.
• It is the norm to tip golf caddies.

Mozambique

• It is also customary to tip boat skippers, who will share it with the crew, as well as PADI staff, usually via a communal box that's customary when tipping in Mozambique.

South Africa

• It is customary to include golf caddies when tipping in South Africa.
• Self-drivers should tip ‘car guards' (who offer to look after your vehicle while it is parked) and petrol (gas) station attendants' nominal amounts. It is illegal for anyone but trained staff to pump fuel.
• Staff on Rovos Rail will expect to be tipped.

Seychelles

• It is customary to include PADI staff, boat skippers and golf caddies when tipping in Seychelles.

Mount Kilimanjaro

• It is usual to tip guides, cooks, waiters, porters, and tent crew who ensure a successful summit – hand the tip to the head guide at the celebration after your descent.
• It's a lovely gesture to hand over items such as spare (clean) socks, scarves, gloves, boots, headlamps, batteries and so on to the team who assisted you – they will appreciate getting these expensive extras that make their dangerous jobs a little more comfortable.

Zanzibar

• It is customary to include PADI staff, boat skippers and transfer drivers when tipping in Zanzibar.

Tanzania & Kenya

• It's usual to include a group of Maasai dancers who perform at your lodge when tipping in Kenya or Tanzania.

Rwanda & Uganda

• It is customary to include guides, trackers, security personnel (rangers) and porters when tipping on a gorilla trekking safari in Rwanda or Uganda.

Advice For Easier Tipping on Safari

After travelling the length and breadth of every destination we've been recommending since 1998, these are our practical suggestions to make tipping on safari easier:

1. Examine Your Itinerary

Note the instances where you think you may be expected to tip – such as the transfer driver from the airport to your hotel, the porter at the hotel, or the waiter for dinner that night – and how much you want or can afford to give them. Ask your Africa Safari Expert for advice if you're in doubt.

2. Divide the Tips into Separate Envelopes

Split them either per day or per accommodation. This makes it much easier to keep track of your cash.

3. Get Small Bills Like USD 5, 10 & 20

These are easier to hand over and few places will be able to break $50 or $100 notes. In some countries, like Zambia, you are legally required to get all change in the local currency, leaving you with a handful of kwacha that you can't use back home or elsewhere.

4. Bring Cash With You

South Africa is the only country where you can reliably draw money from ATMs or cash machines, which makes tipping in South Africa rather effortless. For the rest of the safari destinations in Africa, bring cash along with you.

5. Keep Your Cash Secure

Use the in-room safe. If there isn't one, ask the manager to put your valuables – like money and passports – in the lodge's safe or strongroom.

6. Take US Dollar

The currency is the most widely accepted across Africa, especially in places like Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls. It's also much easier to stick to one currency if you are crossing borders or doing a multi-destination safari rather than dealing with pula in Botswana, or shillings when tipping in Kenya.

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