How to choose an operator

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Every year some climbers have a terrible experience on Kilimanjaro which could have been avoided if they had just chosen their operator carefully. This is our insider's guide to avoiding the worst pitfalls and getting yourself a great climb.

First tip is to book with an operator not an agent. Agents just take your bookings- someone else is then subcontracted to run your climb. This may work out fine if you are lucky but the agent cannot control what actually happens on the mountain so you just have to hope. Not only that but agents get commission from the operator that bumps up the price you pay. So book direct with an operator: they can give you a good price and can directly control the quality of your climb.

Second make sure the operator meets the basic legal requirements. They should have financial bonding to protect your money if they go bust. They should have proper public liability insurance and they should have a Tanzanian Tourist Board licence's: if an operator cannot be trusted to comply with these basic legal issues would you trust them with your safety?

Looking carefully at what is included in a quote is the next tip. Big things that matter are whether airport transfers are included both coming and going, whether you have a good quality hotel before and after the climb and whether all the park fees are included. Some companies quote these as a local cost and given they are about $700 this is a huge cost to leave out.

In terms of the climb itself the guide to client ratio is critical to your safety. We always have a minimum ratio of 1 guide for every 2 clients. And really good tents are essential, there is nothing worse than a leaky tent and of course you need good food and plenty of it to have the energy to summit.

Social responsibility might seem like just a nice to have but an operator that cares about his team, cares about Kilimanjaro and cares about Tanzania will also care about its customers. Membership of the Kilimanjaro Porters Protection Association, KPAP, should be a minimum - KPAP makes sure its members treat their porters well. Operators who do not sign up might be cheap but they save you money by paying their porters as little as $2 a day.

Also look at what they say about the environment, we support the Leave no trace organisation ensuring Kilimanjaro will be left unspoilt for future climbers. And finally maybe see if they support any local charities. We fund a local children's home and the porters association with a contribution for every climber.

The last thing to check out is what they will do when things go wrong. Things that do go wrong are flights are delayed- we will reschedule your climb right down to the last moment at no extra cost; luggage is lost or arrives late -your operator should be set up to deal with this and some people in a group can get ill - a good operator will always be able to split a group so that not everyone has to descend.

Get proper references. Don't just rely on testimonials they are too easy to make up. Get real emails and contact people yourself and if you use facebook check out an operator's page as you can see exactly what other climbers have said.

So there you have it: six tips to get yourself a good climb. Book with an operator not an agent, make sure they operate legally, check exactly what they include, find out if they are socially responsible, ask what they do when things go wrong, and last but by no means list get some references. And whoever you choose have a great climb.

To ensure you have a great experience on your Kilimanjaro climb, use this checklist to vet your operator. You can print this off and add the operators you are looking at here.