UKH

Has anyone been up Kilimanjaro and if so any advice on a good guiding company?

You cannot do it without on can you?

Cheers Ben

I went with Jagged Globe, the whole thing was excellent. They use local guides and porters plus a UK / European leader employed by them and cover every consideration. The whole experience was excellent, all we had to do was turn up and walk in the right direction and cope with the altitude. We did the Lemosho Glades route which is slightly longer but very enjoyable. 

Permits are charged by the day so the cheapest way is to opt for one of the shorter routes with local guides, but this will increase the risk of issues with altitude and may be a less enjoyable experience. 

KE Adventure were excellent.

We did Mount Kenya in the first week and then Kili in the second week. Not only are you better acclimatised, Mount Kenya is a more interesting trek and a great peak. 

Or do Meru first?

We went with a local company called Zara Tours, https://zaratours.com/kilimanjaro/ in September 2015. Well looked after all week. Lead guide very friendly with really good english. Really good meals and coped with a wheat intolerance without issue. All routes available on just about any date you might want, and about 25% cheaper (paid in US dollars) than organising through a UK company. Not sure what a british host/leader would have added. They really molly coddle you for example setting up and breaking camp, providing warm water for washing and eating our meals at a proper table. Lots of porters carrying camping kit and up to 10kg of personal kit. All firms the same in this respect, which is good for local employment.

absolutely! Or just do Meru and skip Kili altogether 

I went with Zara as well, the Umbwe route which was very quiet, in fact ours was the only group on it! I had a guide called Gabriel and a porter called Methodist who's favourite words of advice were Pole pole!!

Point Lenana, or was there an option to attempt Batian/Nelion? 

I tried the Machame Route with Explore a good few years back. Didn’t get to the top; I found i acclimatised slowly and found it hard going. I didn’t even try the summit day; having struggled with the previous day going from 3800 to 4600m, I thought starting up to 5900 within 8 hours was going to be unpleasant for me at best. 

It still rankles a bit, to be honest- another day to acclimatise and I’d have been fine, I think. So don’t skimp, a longer trip will cost more but it’s money well spent. 

And yes, I should have done Meru first...

Can you not just go climb Mount Kenya without a guide anymore?

How about Limbo?

Course you can, I wasn't planning on booking!

You cannot walk up Kili without a local guide. If you want to do it as inexpensive as possible you could get a guide on your way to the gate when you sign in at the park but then there are masses of unknowns in doing it that way. 

Alternatively, a Tanzanian based company will do all the logistics and guide you up the mountain. A few have been suggested on some of the posts above. 

Finally you could choose a UK based company to take care of the logistics and guide you up the mountain. Exodus, Jagged Globe or Hepworth Adventures will do that for you. Feedback from the last provider is very positive from people who have been on previous trips. Https://hepworthadventures.co.uk/Kili

But, I should be honest and declare an interest in the last company mentioned and hyperlink provided!

Thanks
Jeremy