Rob,

Give the PH as much as you think you can afford and let him figure out what to give the crew. He will understand the pecking order and who should get what. Several times I have given the PH X amount of dollars and he has taken half and given half to the crew. Let him figure it out.

Good luck,

Mark

I am heading to Africa for my first Safari. What is the typical tip for the PH (not going after dangerous game, this time)?

Assuming you are pleased with his service I'd throw him US$200-300. And I'd give the camp staff US$75 to be divided between them.

Rob,

I too am going on my first safari (plainsgame - RSA) in only 51 days! I will be on a 10 day hunt with 9 animals on license. Recommendations from the booking agent were $350 -$500. I will be interested in what other responses are. I was thinking of a smaller amount of cash and perhaps giving him my rangefinder.

I would think about 10% of the daily rate.

I tipped $100 per day to the PH and the support folks. I got every bit of that in effort and help. I would not take gifts or clothes or whatever, fast cash makes fast friends.

My general rule is, on a PLAINS GAME HUNT:



PH gets 10-13% of the total Daily Rate.



Trackers, skinners and cook get $20-$30 total per day (divided among them as the PH directs).



Game Scout (an employee of the concession, not of the PH), $2 to $3 per day. At the direction of the PH, I have never had to tip any of the other camp staff who are employees of the concession (but figure $5-$10 total for each of them, usually two or three people).



DANGEROUS GAME HUNT:



PH gets $100 per day.



Camp staff $50 per day (divided among them as the PH directs).



Game Scout (have to go with your PH's recommendation, seems to vary by country).



I always take gifts for the staff and leave the PH my knife, flashlight and other things (bug spray, suntan lotion, gun cleaning stuff -they usually like those individual Sheath swabs, wet wipes, pocket size version of The Perfect Shot, etc.) I usually collect all my left over stuff in a big ziploc bag and ask the PH what he can use. I never consider these gifts as a substitute for the cash gratuities.



Just my general idea about gratuities, as always it is best to get some guidelines from your outfitter about these matters in advance. Including what form (cash, traveler's checks, local currency, or combination thereof) of payment is best.



Regards,



Terry

10% of the daily rate is a good rule of thumb. BUT, it depends on the PHs and staffs service. If you find it lacking, then tip a little less.

Erik D.

www.dunia.no

RobE

Tipping or gratuities are an individual thing and often can be based upon precident, BUT always IMHO remember it is the perogitive of each individual client to decide, and is not as hard and fast as might be the rule in the USA or some other developed countries

Here are some broad guidelines ...

Generally speaking if you have had a good hunt and you are a happy chappy then I would say give the PH/Guide maybe a hundred bucks or so and some small gift in kind such as a knife bino's or some item of hunting equipment that you might have brought along on safari and have the inclination to leave with your PH as a personal thank you .. Dont be toooo brash and spendthrifty with cash, unless of cource money is not a concern and you want to reward regardless of what might be the norm ...

With regards skinners trackers and other associated hard working camp staff this can be a dilemna as in Africa there is a definate pecking order and precident can come into play at times, so to save a situation developing I strongly suggest you FIRST discuss this aspect with your PH/Guide and he will offer you relavant advice for his particular operation as each company had a different structure and basic operating norms .. Generally speaking a hundred bucks would adaquately cover for the lot which the PH will divvy up appropriately, also cigarettes and small items of clothing especially baseball caps T/shirtrs with logos and similar items are popular and more than appreciated by the staff ...

Some detractors will say [ dont give it all ] to the PH as he will pocket the lot, well if that is whom you are hunting with then I suggest he is a SOB and that he will not be a popular man in the future, remember in this world most are good decent people only some small percentage will be greedy at the expense of others, they soon get found out to their detriment ..

Hope that gives you a ball park overview

Have a wonderful hunt in sunny SA

Peter

5 bucks and a box of twinkys ........ just kidding

i tip for a 14 day dg hunt about 1000

plains game about 300-400.

For a fourteen day hunt for plains game and Cape buffalo, my total of all tips was a bit under $1000.

I have only been on three hunts and gave significant cash on the first two hunts. During the third hunt my PH explained that generous "westerners" were killing his good help by giving them too much cash. The cash was going towards booze and girls (that was his opinion).

At the end of my last hunt I gave most all of my clothes, including the jacket off my back, along with some cash. The tracker appeared much happier with the fleece jacket than the $300 RSA. He went on to tell me the jacket would have cost him almost a month's wages and it was something he very much liked. He never commented on the money.

Regarding the staff, no doubt your PH can make suggestions. I just checked my journal from my hunt last fall in Zim and here's what My PH suggested for the staff. This was for a 12-day hunt. My PH got $650.



Head Tracker $100

Driver $75

Assistant $75

Water carrier $75

Game Scout $75

Skinner $100

Asst Skinner $75

Chef $80

Asst Chef $75

Waiter $50

Laundry and Room Cleaner $50

Camp Hand $50

Don't take any wooden nickels?



Buy WalMart stock?



The staff must really love you. That is way beyond anything reasonable. That is what the daily rate is for in the first place, IMO.

Spring,

$880 staff tips for a 12 day hunt, that certainly is generous. The PH shouldn't have any staffing problems if he recommends tips like that.

Regards,

Terry

On my last hunt in Zimbabwe for sable and other plainsgame I tipped as follows:

14 days @$450/day

The PH also drove the vehicle (an open land cruiser) and we were accompanied by a tracker and a skinner every day and a "game scout" when we hunted on a different property for a few days.

PH $600
Tracker $60
Skinner $50
Camp tip pool $100 (covered all the 2 trackers and 2 skinners, the cook and two other staff)
Game Scout (3 days) $10

The PH asked us not to tip the skinners and trackers separately but to use the camp tip pool. The camp tip pool amount was at the suggestion of the PH with the money passed out on an equal basis at the end of the season.

Whatever you do, do not tip during the safari wait until the end.

Rob E:

There is a lot good advice presented here. My simple criterion for tipping is this: Was I happy with the hunt? And the answer is either yes or no. On my one trip to the Eastern Cape in 2001, I had so much fun I couldn't stand it.

There were lots of animals, the PH and tracker/skinner were polite, professional, and worked hard. The food was excellent and my clothes were cleaned everyday. And no one was reckless. I loved it.

And when it came time to tip, on the last day, I balanced advice that I have been give, which was to tip about 10% of the basic hunt cost, with actually how pleased I was with the outfit and the animals I had taken. I gave the PH $500 (and told him to buy some new tires for his truck), the skinner/tracker got $150, and the cook/laundry gals another $100 or so. I could even justify giving them more, simply because I was happy.

I also handed out cigaretts, inexpensive knives, and knive sharpeners. Everyone smoked and cigaretts were (and are) an inexpensive way of keeping the machine well oiled. But I would not confuse gifts with money. They are different. But I view tipping as a reward. If I was unhappy, I would not give a plug nickle to anyone and I would dispose of the knives and smokes and what ever else I have in the bag in some other way.

On the last day, when the hunt is done and you are having a sip in the early evening, you will know exactly how much you are willing to tip with out any advice what-so-ever.

If one is to tip for the PH driving the Cruiser, the staff cooking food and doing laundry, the tracker tracking, the assistant trackers following the trackers, etc.....

Just what is the daily rate for? Partying down at Spring Break?

Terry,
My PH did mention that they have almost no turnover, considering that the average monthly wage for most people in Zim is less that 1/4 of what I tipped the guys for a 12 day hunt. The guys they have were indeed very good and the nice tips during the hunting season no doubt encourge the good ones to come back year after year. All that said, his suggested tips were indeed more than I had expected, and with limited cash in the bush, it caused my tip to him to be a bit less than I would have preferred...

"Just what is the daily rate for? Partying down at Spring Break?"

Get real. These people break their back everyday for you and if you knew their pay structure you'd weep.

Regardless, I guess you don't tip at restaurants afterall aren't the waiters/waitresses paid from the menu price.

I took my Ph to Cancun this year. We usually take a trip while he is in the states on holiday on my nickle. I never really added it up, we just try and have fun. I never count money in a friendship.

Will,

I don't know you other than thru this forum......from your last post here I assume two things:
1- You have a great sense of humor,
2- You are trying to be provocative and pick a "fight"

Hopefully the former

Happy hunting!

In Tanzania, the norm is between $80 to $150 a day. The latter for a longer hunt. Remember all hunts in Tanzania include DG. Ask your agetn/outfitter for advice but tip only what you feel comfortable with and if satisfied.

Have a great hunt and report back on your esperience.

Lv Eric,
That is a great way to thank your ph for a good job. However, before you became friends what was your experience? Would you leave a tip or would you offer him an all expenses paid trip while visiting you?

Regarding the staff, one needs to talk this over w/the PH and/or the concession holder. Short story, in the Caprivi most of the Bushman are very susceptible to booze. An American hunter who purchased a hunt at SCI was there after elephant gave the staff a very large tip (I saw "the book" where the outfitter jeeps track of tips as well as "loans", recall it being around $200/ea). It was so "nice", that the staff disappeared after the hunt for about a week getting pissed as they say, and one of the younger guys got into trouble and ended up in a fight over a woman and currently resides in the Katima jail where I am sure accommodations are "nice".

The wealthy gentleman also gave $4000 (10% of a ~$40K hunt) to the owner of the concession, who handed it back to him and would not take it. My PH said he would have taken that in a heartbeat, and I don't blame him. But the point is that one should also consider if the PH is the owner of the company, or an employee/PH working for $100/day or so excluding his time and cost to get to/from the hunting area, and adjust accordingly. And, the percentage thing may not apply to these expensive hunts, even for the rich-and-famous.

Bill

Bwanamich,



If one is to tip everybody in sight, where does it stop? Does one tip the pilot on the flight over? The flight attendents? Everybody tips at restaurants, but that is part of the deal (well, most do).



Personally, I do not like the atmosphere created by tipping. Some PH's and their staff are standing around on the last day with their eyes fixated on your wallet, to see how many free dollars they are going to get. Admittedly, though, most PH's are quite grateful for any tip, but I also think they are gracious enough not to expect big tips, as showered on them by infatuated clients.



As in the original question that was posed, everyone gets caught up in the expected need to tip. Most that go hunting there are not in the same league as Eric or many others here. If the guy(s) have saved every penny to their name to go hunting, I do not believe there is any need to tip at all. There is no point, IMO, to try to compete with high rollers. Tips are tips in my opinion, and not required under any circumstances.



I am not sure why it is the responsibility of the client to make up for the implied low wages paid by the outfitter (as is accepted as standard practice in restaurants, etc. in the U.S.), especially when many outfitters I see live pretty good life styles, flying new planes, etc.



Here is what I usually do, whether anyone thinks it is appropriate or not.



When hunting DG:



PH: A day's daily rate, if we are completely successful.

Head tracker: $100, if we are completely successful.

Other trackers/helpers: $25 each.

Camp "staff": $50 total.

Rob E,

I think the best answer out of all of this was the first reply by Deerdogs. Seems appropriate to me.

I you are hunting with the owner of the ranch, say like in Namibia. How is this figured into tipping? Bob

Like Deerdogs said, if you had the best time of your life then $200-300 I would think is plenty, which should be spread around to the staff for the most part.

But, also, I do not think you need to feel obligated to tip at all. Some folks live the big-tip lifestyle. I don't.

Myself for 7-10 days plainsgame:

$100 Tracker
$20/Skinner
$20/Cook-wait staff

Typically this runs around $240. More for the tracker if he goes above and beyond.

PH tip is up in the air. Last year, 7 days I think I gave $450.

I look at it like tipping at a restaurant. 20% of the total dailey rate. If that was $3500 then $700 in tips. I guess I'd rather go back and be known as generous then a cheap skate.

I figure 10% of the daily rate to the PH and let him distribute it among the staff and himself however he wants..

I understand from my pal who keeps a house in Bulawayo that he pays his two live-in staff US$300 each per year. They are very grateful as this is considered a good wage for the average blue collar Zim joe.

You throw a tip equal to 2 months wages at the junior skinner and the chances are his is going to spend the next month AWOL, pissing it up in the local Shabeen.

Do any of our esteemed guests tip the poor old dried up poverty stricken booking agents

happy hunting

Peter

Great Question, while I was at Reno convention I asked my PH the same question. His reply was more than I thought. Hunting 2 camps DG and Plains, only will be at 1st camp a few days, his suggestion $200 to $250, he would divide among camp staff. 2nd camp maybe 14 days, $850 to $1000, again he will divide among staff. I never asked him about a proper tip for him as he is owner and PH.