How much do safari guides get paid?

As of Aug 23, 2023, the average hourly pay for a Safari Guide in the United States is $24.70 an hour. While ZipRecruiter is seeing hourly wages as high as $66.83 and as low as $6.97, the majority of Safari Guide wages currently range between $14.42 (25th percentile) to $23.56 (75th percentile) across the United States.



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There are highly exclusive safaris costing more than $1,000 per person per night, easily arranged mid-range safaris costing from $300 to $600 per person per day. and budget adventures from just $125 per day.

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The average salary for Professional Tour Guides employees is around $79,364 per year, or $38 per hour. The highest earners in the top 75th percentile are paid over $90,340.

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Profit margins of a walking guide tour business can vary depending on several factors such as the location, the number of tours operated, the size of the company, and the competition in the area. However, on average, a walking guide tour business can expect to see profit margins of around 20-30%.

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There are exceptions if your specific tour experience includes gratuities or you simply didn't have a good time, but in general, tipping your guide at the end of the tour is customary in the U.S. and Europe, though it's much more common in the States.

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Since transportation is limited, travellers must often pay for specialised vehicles, such as 4x4s, to traverse the terrain. The cost of these vehicles, combined with the high cost of fuel and the extra time it takes to reach the wildlife reserves, leads to an increase in the overall cost of a safari.

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For big-budget, luxury safari experiences, there really is no upper limit on what you can book in both countries. But it doesn't matter whether you are after a simple camping safari or a no expense spared luxury lodge holiday, you will pay more in Tanzania than Kenya.

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The base average African safari cost is somewhere between $125 to $1,500 per person, per day or $625 to $7,500 per person for a 5-day safari.

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Tour guides often have rewarding and fun careers, as they're in a position to educate and entertain the tour's participants. Whether you're leading a group to a travel destination or on a college campus, tour guides answer questions and provide guidance.

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African safaris are expensive. Travel Africa magazine stated that the standard price of a 10-day safari in Botswana is £6000-8000 (US$8,500-11,000), or $850-1100 per person per day. Major international safari companies routinely quote $750-1000 per person per day for Tanzanian or Kenyan safaris.

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A lot goes into the cost of running a remote safari lodge, Addison added, especially when taking into consideration high taxes, conservation fees and national park levies. Generally our experience is that it takes at least five years to pay off a lodge before it even starts to make money, he said.

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