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Machame Route Kilimanjaro

COUNTRY:
Tanzania
LOCATION:
Kilimanjaro
HOLIDAY TYPE:
High altitude, strenuous trekking holidays
DEPARTURES:
2012: 10 Feb, 17 Feb, 24 Feb, 25 May, 1 Jun, 8 Jun, 15 Jun, 22 Jun, 6 Jul, 20 Jul, 3 Aug, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, 31 Aug, 7 Sep, 14 Sep, 21 Sep, 28 Sep, 5 Oct, 19 Oct, 26 Oct, 28 Dec
2013: 11 Jan, 1 Feb, 8 Feb, 15 Feb, 22 Feb, 24 May
PRICE:
From £1949 - £2469 (10 days ) including UK flights
MORE INFO:
From £1249 - £1339 excluding flights.
LATE AVAIL:
We have late availability on our 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th February departures.
VOUCHERS:
Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday
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Machame Route Kilimanjaro
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Machame Route Kilimanjaro

Small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.

How this holiday makes a difference

Environment

Responsible mission: As adventure travellers we relish and celebrate the diversity of the world. We also recognise our obligation to protect the environments that we explore. Our aim is to tread lightly, whilst contributing to maintain the world’s culture and nature, and most importantly to engage the help of all our customers to utilise the potential of tourism as a tool to aid sustainable development. We believe that responsible travellers are welcome in the places that they visit.

On this trip: We travel in small groups (max 16 people) so have a minimal impact on the environment as we go. On this trip we use a local agent from Tanzania, locally owned hotels, local leaders. Not only does this mean that more of the money we generate stays within the community, but their local knowledge and expertise helps us to better understand the environment in which we are travelling, whilst reinforcing within the local community that preserving this environment is both important and worthwhile.

Responsible code: Being Responsible is at the heart of everything our company does - full details of our code can be found on our website. The local supplier for this trip will promote our responsible travel code throughout your adventure. You will also receive specific information on this trip’s responsibility in your trip notes.

Helping to minimise negative impact: All of our customers are invited to offset their international flight emissions. Contributions go to the Blue Ventures Carbon Offset program, a non-profit organisation which provides solar stoves for subsistence communities in Madagascar, benefiting the people and protecting the environment. We also contribute £2 per person towards offsetting of your in-country travel. We fully offset all emissions from our staff travel and run an energy efficient office.

Giving something back: We have a foundation that collects the funds that you donate to us to support our projects. All our customers are invited to make a £1 per person contribution to the foundation at the time of booking. We will match every contribution that you make with our own £1. You as a customer choose where these funds are used from a shortlist of nominated projects – so it really is YOUR foundation.

Partnerships: As a company we support The Travel Foundation, a UK charity that has been established to promote responsible travel practises throughout the whole of the travel industry. We also work with a number of charity partners who work in the destinations that we visit; including Friends of Conservation and Born Free Foundation. We partner with many small grassroots projects throughout the destinations that we visit - they all share our responsible vision.

Community

We actively supports the Arusha Children’s Trust, donating $5 per person travelling, which is dedicated to improving rural education.
With our local partners we are working with the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project to ensure that best practices are being adhered to in relation to porter welfare

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How we choose providers
Machame Route Kilimanjaro
Machame Route Kilimanjaro
Machame Route Kilimanjaro
Machame Route Kilimanjaro
Machame Route Kilimanjaro

Machame Route Kilimanjaro

Reviewed 21 Jun 2010 by Chris Moss4 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


Summiting Mount Kilimanjaro. The holiday as a whole was fantastic though; amazing time in a brilliant country. The staff and porters were great, guiding us and carrying our bags everyday.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Although included in the trip notes, wet wipes, chapstick and sanitising spray/dry wash were invaluable. Also gaiters, which I forgot to use on the first day, were very useful for keeping the mud and dust off.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


Yes. The money we contributed through tips and local spending hopefully helped the local economy.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


I thoroughly enjoyed the holiday. The group I was in was great, we all got on very well. My biggest disappointment was the flights. Ethiopian airlines were average at best. On the return flight especially we were left waiting in Addis Ababa airport with no explanation of the delay. The gate was also changed with no announcement and we then had to wait over an hour to pass through check in. Once on the flight the food served was poor. In both directions in fact the main meal was not nice. I discovered from some of my group members they had flown with KLM and the service sounded a lot better. If I had the choice again I would have flown KLM and avoided Ethiopian airlines.

Reviewed 22 Feb 2010 by Lynda Hughes3 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


Doing the scramble on the barranco wall, and actually seeing the sign for the Uhuru peak appear in the mist.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


When the guide says drink and eat plenty listen to them. Camel backs or equivalent is worth investing in and make sure your ruck sack can accommodate it. You don’t realise how much energy you use. Also take plenty of high energy snack bars. Make sure you take enough dollars as the tips appear to be compulsory, it all adds up to the cost of the holiday (we paid $110pp).

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


It employs hundreds if not thousands of locals and the money tourists spend in Arusha and Moche directly benefit the community. There is a lot of litter and used toilet paper all along the route and I don’t think the guides stress enough the need to check that litter has not been dropped and that people should take biodegradable toilet paper /wipes.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


Overall holiday was very good but we had a good group and laid back guide. Not enough information is given about how tough the last day is on a 6 day holiday to give people the opportunity to make an informed choice about paying for an extra day. Also need information about the success rates of different routes.

Reviewed 01 Nov 2010 by Rachel Laver2 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


The views were spectacular and the guides and porters were incredibly friendly and helpful. Justaz the lead guide was brilliant, friendly, organised and very competent.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Take plenty of snacks with you. I would take a sleeping mat as the ones provided aren't very comfortable. I got travel insurance through the Post Office in the end after getting some very expensive quotes from specialist companies. Kili is a Malaria free zone so you don't need tablets for the time you're there but you will need hem when you're travelling elsewhere in Tanzania

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


Not really. I was pleased to see that Porters were limited to carrying 15 kilos and this did seem to be adhered to. I was dissapointed by the amount of loo roll and litter in places!

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


Good. I was very dissapointed to not make it to the top of Kili and would have chosen to do the trip over a greater number of days to allow acclimatisation.

The holiday could have been improved by better tents, toilet tents and chairs rather than stools in the mess tent.

Read the operator's response here:

The Machame is the most challenging route we offer and whilst most trekkers make it to the top, there are occasions where conditions and an individuall's reaction to altitude prevents them from summitting. We currently offer a number of routes, both camping and staying in huts, and are introducing the Lemosho Route from June next year which allows extra time for acclimatisation. We are currently looking at the practicality of supplying chemical toilets to our trekkers on the mountain.

Our Responsible Travel Co-ordinator has been copied in on your concerns about the weights being carried and we will continue to monitor this matter with our local ground agent. The Adventure Company supports the International Porter Protection Group, a body dedicated to promoting the welfare of porters throughout the world, indeed at the moment we are contributing to a project to build a shelter for porters in the Gokyo Lakes region of Nepal.

Reviewed 29 Sep 2009 by Mark James2 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


Reaching the top of kilimanaro

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Not to go in a big group like I did

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


No

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


There were far too many in our group - we were told there was 12 yet there was 17 of us. Every meal was a nightmare, we were squashed round a 12 seater table, it was a disgrace.

Read the operator's response here:

We were sorry to hear that Mr James was unhappy with the size of the group, we normally take around 16 clients but this can vary occasionally . Appropriate dining arrangements should have been made to accommodate all and we have taken steps to ensure there are no similar issues on future trips.

Reviewed 16 Jul 2007 by Alyson Greenwood4 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


Reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Take your time, drink lots of fluids, listen to your guides and never give up!

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


Not really sure - so many people going to the summit of kili has to have a negative impact somewhere but the massive park fees must come into play somehow. Also had the impression that the local agent is paying extremely low wages to the porters and staff and then encouraging us tourists to top this up with very high tips.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


Fantastic!
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Holiday Reviews

We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!

Read our review policy

Machame Route Kilimanjaro
Machame Route Kilimanjaro
Machame Route Kilimanjaro
Machame Route Kilimanjaro
Machame Route Kilimanjaro
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