Itinerary

If you didn’t decide to take a few nights on safari of the Serengeti, or chill on the beaches of Zanzibar, the idea is you’re coming straight from home to Kilimanjaro. We’ll be providing transport from the airport to our hotel, your home for the first two nights of the experience.

Registration, introductions, and team briefings will all begin tonight, along with a beautiful dinner on the great lawn of the hotel. Spend your free time jumping in the pool, grabbing a snack, meeting new (and old) friends for a drink, or just enjoying an evening in a nice bed.

First, enjoy a beautiful breakfast buffet at the hotel to kick things off for the day.

Then, it’s time to do something really special. In 2025, the Race2Adventure Staff visited The O’Brien School for the Massai. 420 students attend this school daily. They are the children of the Massai, a people in Kenya and Northern Tanzania, focused on goat and cow cattle, as well as growing crops.

Get ready to be greeted with beautiful singing as the children, teachers, and administration will welcome us in a hair-raising ceremony! We played soccer with the children, taught a few playground games, and got to walk around this really impressive facility. In 2025, Race2Adventure donated enough money to fully fund the school’s “Poultry Project” including building a new space for the project, new coops, purchasing chickens, and being the foundation for a program that teaches the children how to take care of and get the most from an animal their people are less familiar with. We’re excited to come back and see how that program is progressing. We’ll also look forward to making a significant donation thanks to all of you attending. We will celebrate the day at a big luncheon with the children and staff. Giving back before we embrace all that is Kilimanjaro is the absolute best way to begin this journey in Tanzania.

Tonight, we will have final bag checks, weigh our bags to ensure they’re not too heavy for our porters, rent any necessary equipment from our climbing operator (e.g. trekking poles, sleeping bags, sleeping pads), and get a good night’s sleep before heading out the next morning.

HERE WE GO! An experience that will be with you for the rest of your lives is about to begin. Not only will you be embarking on this journey with a friend or family member. You’ll be joined by Race2Adventure staff who have already had the ability to summit Kilimanjaro, fellow R2Aers turned S2Aers, skilled guides, talented chefs, and strong porters.

So who are “porters”? Porters are AMAZING! They are the group responsible for putting up your tent, taking down your tent, setting up your dining tent and taking it down, carrying your big bag from camp to camp, setting up camp bathrooms every day, handling waste management, and on and on. This is glamping at its finest, and it’s downright awesome.

We will trek through FIVE climate zones on our way to the top. Today starts with jungle and rainforest vibes. Trekking in shorts, gazing upon monkeys, and kicking off your first day of “Pole Pole” (pronounced Polay, Polay) is what it’s all about. “Pole Pole” means “Slowly Slowly” and man does this strategy work. Physically exhausting yourself at a fast pace is not what gets 100 of us to the top. It’s “Pole Pole” for the win! Embrace this first climate zone and the ultimate strategy designed to get us all to the top.

When you arrive at the first camp, your tent, dining tent, bathroom, and all the fixings of a comfortable night’s stay are waiting for you. Maybe you sleep like a baby through the night. Or maybe you’ll just be super-cozy in your down sleeping bag, smiling at the sounds of nocturnal monkeys swinging through camp. You’re one day down with four to go before you reach the top. NICE WORK!

Every morning you’ll be greeted with a gentle tap on your tent. A porter will ask if you would like a warm cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate to start your morning. Let the warm fluids fuel your packing and get you ready for the day. Next up is breakfast with your core group of 10 people, checking vitals (oxygen level and heart rate), and then we’re off for more stunning scenery and another climate zone change.

What do we mean by “core group of 10”? Although we are absolutely a larger group of 100+, setting out to break the Guinness Book of World Records for “Most number of people to summit the top of Kilimanjaro together”, you will have a group of 10 that is your unit for the week. You will eat, have meetings, and stick together throughout the week. You can pick your group of 10, a few friends that are part of a team of 10, or come alone and we’ll assign you to a group. No wrong answer there.

What do we mean by “vitals”? This is simply a super-smart way for the guides to check in with their clients on how they’re feeling. We will be slowly acclimating on our way up to the top, and this vital check ensures your body is giving all the signs it is good to go. It checks two crucial components – your heart rate and oxygen levels. This is a ritual at every breakfast and dinner throughout the week.

Camp Shira 2 is our home for tonight. 2 days down, 3 to go until we reach the top!

What a gorgeous day this is! It’s likely the first day you’ll catch a glimpse of the top of Mount Kebo (aka Kilimanjaro). It’s too much fun to look up and say with confidence, “That’s where I am going!”

As we trek our way up, before we reach the Lava Tower, a beautiful “tea” set up will be prepared for all of us. It’s like a short outdoor picnic with warm drinks and snacks. This team really knows how to treat you right, and you’ll feel it every day. This is just one of those many moments.

The idea today is we will ascend higher than the place where we will ultimately set up camp (Barranco). You go up, give your body a taste of that elevation, and then come down. There is science to meeting or exceeding the 92% success rate on this Lemosho route, and this strategy is all part of that.

3 days down, 2 to go until we reach the top!

When you wake up today, you’ll get a great look at the famous “Barranco Wall”. It’s a necessity to go up and over this wall, standing in the way of you and your ultimate summit. It does entail a few moments of not looking down, but ultimately, it’s just a fun hour-long scramble up and over. There’s even a fun millisecond piece called “Kissing The Rock” as it’s better to hug (and kiss) the wall versus lean back. Rest assured, it’s all part of the journey and incredibly safe.

The descent into Karanga Valley has us passing by rivers, waterfalls, and weaving and bobbing rocks along the trail. Then it’s up and over to Karanga Camp and BOOM, 4 days down, 1 to go!

You’re doing it! We’re doing it! You’re giving your body the time it needs to adjust to all of the elevation gains. Temps are dropping a bit due to the higher altitude, but you’ve come prepared with all the necessary gear so all good there. Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate in the tent? Yes please! Typical breakfast with porridge, sausages, and crepes per usual? Of course! No big rush today as the hike from Karanga to Barafu is the shortest and simplest of the week. A little more elevation gain Pole Pole style, and we’re there.

After arriving at Barafu Camp, it never becomes more real that you’re doing this thing! Groups are checking in, getting ready to summit that night, groups are coming down with big and accomplished smiles on their faces. THIS IS IT!

Today is all about rest. Naps are recommended between lunch and dinner, as well as dinner to the summit-start at midnight. Get ready to be nervous, tired, ecstatic, wide awake, and plain ol’ ready to do what you’ve set out to do – GET TO THE TOP!

You’re on a nickname basis with this mountain now. Kili is ready to welcome you to the top. We depart at midnight with our headlamps and moonlight leading the way. Oddly enough, between the stars, moonlight, and lots of climber’s lights, it never really feels dark. That plus we have strategically positioned the summit night so it is aligned with a full moon on the lunar calendar. It does not get any better than this!

The idea is to leave camp at midnight, so we reach Stella Point in time for sunrise and hot ginger tea. It worked perfectly for us in 2025. We even managed to fit in an 18,000 foot dance party, and gaze in awe of the stream of light debuting above the horizon. It’s enough to make a grown person shed tears of joy.

When the sun comes up, it’s clearer than ever – YOU ARE GETTING TO THE TOP! WE ARE ALL GETTING TO THE TOP! What was once a dream is about to become reality. One step at a time, and we’ll be at the tippy top, all corralled around the sign, with the Summit2Adventure flag, rejoicing in what has been the most exhilarating experience of our lives!

What comes up, must come down. After a glorious photo shoot, hugs, and high fives, it will start to set in that this surreal week has never been so real. Based on the time of year, and us choosing the dry season for Summit2Adventure Kilimanjaro, the idea is you can see for miles and miles. It’s so hard to describe – you’ve just got to see it yourself.

After taking it all in, it’s time for the longest day of your life to continue. The first part of your descent is 4000 feet and it is straight down, back to Barafu Camp. The good news is your tent has not been taken down, and you were not asked to pack up before your ascent to the top. What does this mean? It means nap-time + lunch-time before we continue our way down. It’s a much-needed break from all the going up, going down, and emotions that come with it.

After lunch, it’s time for the final push of another 6000 feet down. Your legs will be put to the test as we descend to our final camp, back down to the rainforest zone of the mountain. Temps will warm up and you’ll be surrounded by lush green forests before you know it. It’s important to note – the entire descent on this day is the longest one you will have ever accomplished in your lifetime.

Per usual, all of the porters will have passed you along the trail, and per usual, the tent you just napped in and the dining tent you just ate lunch in, will be all set up and waiting for you at our final tent-stay – Camp Mweka.

This final push to our buses pales in comparison to the days before. YOU DID IT! YOU’RE A TOTAL ROCKSTAR! Your mind will be racing. You’ll never have felt so accomplished. You’ll check out of the park and these beautiful certificates will be printed that are undoubtedly frame-worthy. We are beyond excited for you to have this ultimate feeling of accomplishment.

This afternoon we will celebrate at the hotel with a huge luncheon, with singing from our guides and porters greeting us, and finally the “tipping ceremony” for your team. See the registration page and Q&A page for more information on how and what to tip. The love you will feel for your guides, chefs, and porters is immeasurable. They are the wind in your sails from start to finish on this summit. Get ready for that forever-thankful feeling as we celebrate alongside them today.

That big bag of yours will likely be sealed up, never to be opened until it’s inches from your washer/dryer at home. Pro tip + smart strategy – Leave a nice dry bag of clothes back at the hotel on Day 1 so you can complete your adventure comfortably.

Understandably, for a number of you, it’s time to go home. For those that have budgeted even more time in Tanzania (or beyond), a Serengeti Safari is only a 4-hour drive away and Zanzibar is only a 1-hour flight away. So maybe it’s time to jump in a Jeep and see tons of animals, or melt into a beach chair, and experience Africa’s version of the Caribbean. It’s entirely up to you.

Is this the one and only Summit2Adventure? Heck no! Is this replacing Race2Adventure? Heck no! We have so much in store for you in the coming years. We can’t wait to keep exploring this beautiful planet with you, whether it’s running through it, or sloooooowly walking up it.