Practicalities
Getting There
You will either be flying into Kilimanjaro Airport near Moshi, or to Nairobi and then making the transfer overland from Nairobi to Moshi which takes about 6-7 hours. In Nairobi we stay at Wildebeest Camp, outside the city centre, in beautiful and peaceful surroundings. In Moshi we tend to use one of three hotels depending on whether or not people want to be close to town or not.
Accommodation
In Moshi and Nairobi you will be staying in twin rooms, on a bed & breakfast basis.
On the mountain you will be camping in two person tents, which will be supplied by us and erected by the porters each day. You need to provide your own sleeping bag.
Camp Facilities
In the camps there are long drop toilets provided by the National Parks. These are normally pretty basic, not monitored regularly and consequently vary greatly in standard – you will need to bring your own toilet paper and keep it dry. We now recommend that groups pay for portable toilets to be taken as part of the expedition. Your camp team will provide water for you to wash in. Please bring biodegradable soap for washing with so you don’t pollute the mountain. Many people also find wet wipes and anti-bacterial hand gel useful.
Valuables and Money
Try to minimise the valuables you have with you but always keep your passport, other important paperwork and cash with you in a waterproof wallet or bag. As a general rule if you don’t need it, don’t bring it. Your passport and money should be kept on you at all times. Portered luggage should not contain valuables. Items not required on the mountain can be left in Moshi and returned to you once you have climbed the mountain.
The currency in the two countries you will be visiting is the Tanzanian or Kenyan Shilling but US dollars are normally accepted in Tanzania.
If you don’t want to carry too much cash then you should take credit/debit cards or travellers’ cheques. There are ATMs in most towns in East Africa but make sure your bank is aware you are travelling to Tanzania and Kenya or your cards may be blocked when you try to use them. The alternative is to take US$ or UK£ and change these at an exchange bureau. It is possible to take travellers’ cheques (dollars not sterling), which is a more secure way of carrying money abroad, but does mean a significantly lower exchange rate and they can be difficult to cash in.
You will need US$ to pay for Visas and also for tips for the expedition staff.
