Are you wondering about how much to tip during gorilla trekking? Well, this article is for you. Gorilla trekking is an amazing activity for anyone who loves wildlife. While on a gorilla tour, you are bound to interact with many local people including park Rangers, porters, hotel staff, tour company drivers and the local community. The people in Uganda, Rwanda and Congo are generally very friendly to foreigners. They will go out of their way to ensure that you have the best possible experience while on your tour.
Most folks in developing countries receive a low pay. Their salaries are in most cases just enough to keep them going. It is important to consider tipping those who helped ensure that you had a memorable safari. Giving tip is one way of supporting them, appreciating their efforts/work and giving back. Tipping the Guides, Rangers, hotel staff and traditional dance performers indirectly contributes to the well-being of their families. They could use the tip to buy food for their families or pay part of their children’s schools fees. The impact you create by giving tip should therefore not be underestimated.
Tipping during gorilla trekking
Some travelers have complained about the growing tipping culture in many African countries with some claiming that it creates a dependency syndrome. However, tipping has never been compulsory and should only be done when one is satisfied with the services offered. It is also worth mentioning that tipping has never been a cultural thing in most African countries. It was borrowed from Western countries and has now become very popular – especially in the tourism and hospitality sector. Because of that, most Rangers, Guides, hotel staff and some company Guides will be expecting some tip from travelers.
Amount of tip during a gorilla tour
Driver/Company Guide: Company drivers/Guides are often the representative of the tour operator in the field. Most travelers rarely visit offices of their tour operators. They are picked from the airport by the company Guide and taken straight to the national park. After the safari, the driver takes them back to the airport or to their hotel. Company Guides are trained to be professional, kind and very helpful to travelers. They have vast knowledge about all the national parks and will answer all your questions about 
the country, species of wildlife and culture/people. The driver makes stopovers along the way for travelers to enjoy the unique African scenery, buy stuff along the roadsides and interact with the locals. They are at the disposal of the traveler for the entire duration of the tour. Office Guides can make or break a trip and tipping them is highly recommended.
The recommended tip for a company Guide is between $10 to $15 per day. This should only be given at the end of the trip and only when you are satisfied with their overall performance. If you are many travelers, collect the money and hand it to the Guide as group. A Guide who picks you up on time, is courteous and shares with you everything you need to know during the gorilla safari deserves a tip. The traveler can choose not to tip the Guide even if she/he was excellent.
Park Guides and Rangers: The Park Guides are the ones responsible for leading tourists deep into the forest in search of the primates while also sharing knowledge about the Eco-system. Apart from 
clearing the forest, they also provide information about each of the individual gorillas encountered. The armed Park Rangers help protect you in case of an attack from forest elephants, buffaloes and other large mammals. In case you want to visit the toilet while in the forest, they will dig a temporary hole for you to use. Some will even help travelers take photos or clear vegetation obstructing their way.
You can choose to give each of the Rangers/Guides between $5 to $15. Alternatively, you can give a certain amount to the Chief Guide and request him to distribute it to all the others. Most of the national parks have a central box in their offices where tip can be put.
Porters: Porters are neither Park or tour company employees. They help tourists carry heavy luggage, bags or camera equipment while out in the jungle looking for the gorillas. Some porters even carry sedan chairs for elderly gorilla trekkers. Porter come from diverse backgrounds ranging from former poachers, students looking for fees to parents looking for some money to buy the next meal. They can be hired at the time of briefing for gorilla trekking or be found at the starting point of the hike. Porters charge a fee of between $10 to $20 for their services. You may choose to give them an extra tip if you feel that they deserve it.
Hotel/Lodge Staff: These could include waiters, waitresses, housekeeping and maintenance staff. While on a gorilla trekking safari, traveler spend a lot of time in lodges and hotels. They should expect to 
have constant interaction with waiters and waitresses. These hotel staff are often not well-paid despite the high-end facilities in the hotel they work in. Reward hotel staff with tip if you find them courteous, helpful, responsive and professional. The tip should only be offered when you are about to leave. The amount should be between $3 to $5 per day. The tip can be given directly to outstanding individuals or as a lump sum to all the staff who ensured your time at the hotel was great.
Cultural Performers: Cultural performances are commonly arranged by hotels or when visiting the Batwa people in Uganda. The Gorilla Guardians Village in Rwanda is an excellent cultural center where everything about Rwanda is showcased. The amount of tip given to cultural performers is difficult to estimate. If you are traveling in a group, we advise that you collect money among yourselves and give it to the leader of the performers. Ensure that all the other members are aware of the tip.
Additional Information about tipping during a gorilla safari
Tip can be given in both the local and foreign currency. Most locals still don’t have credit cards or bank accounts. The currency used in Uganda is the shilling while Rwanda has francs. The locals will be impressed if you offer tip in a foreign currency but they cannot use it immediately like local currency. 
They would have to go to a Forex bureau (Forex bureaus are very rare in rural areas). The office driver/Guide should advise you on how to go about with the tipping and where to exchange money into smaller notes.
The right time to tip is after the completion of an activity (in the case of Park Rangers, Porters and Guides), when checking out of a lodge (in the case of hotel staff) and when completing the trip (in the case of the company Guide/Driver). Where possible, give the money directly to the Guides, porters and other park officials to avoid a situation where the money ends up in the hands of one person.
In a nutshell, tipping is not compulsory or an obligation. This article is not meant to promote tipping but is only a guide for travelers who wish to support the local community. It is also important to note that tipping may help you gain favor with the Guides and motivate them to do more for you – especially if you plan to visit again.
