Your exciting 9 days safari in Rwanda holiday trip is 8 nights/9 days Rwanda safari, starting and ending in Kigali. The trip offers you a wide selection of activities including mountain gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking, wildlife viewing, Lake Kivu boat tour and relaxation, Dian Fossey tomb hike, cultural tours, Musanze Cave exploration, and more – all at an affordable price!
You will begin your safari in Akagera National Park. Your time here will be spent on game drives and a boat cruise that will give you the chance to see Africa’s “big five” animals, many flora, and fauna. Then travel to Nyungwe Forest, home to one of the largest remaining populations of wild chimpanzees and endangered monkeys.
After your time in Nyungwe, take a beach break on beautiful Lake Kivu. Bring your 9 days safari in Rwanda holiday trip to a thrilling close with a life-changing gorilla trekking adventure in Volcanoes National Park. This park is also the location where the famous gorilla researcher Dian Fossey spent 18 years studying and protecting these endangered, gentle giants from extinction.
You can book this trip or customize it to suit your special Rwanda safari tour interests and desires.
Day 1 & 2: Akagera National Park
Day 3, 4, & 5: Nyungwe National Park, Ethnographic Museum & King’s Palace
Day 6: Lake Kivu beach – Gisenyi
Day 7 & 8: Volcanoes National Park & Musanze Caves.
Day 9: Kigali – Depart
Day 1: Arrive at Kigali International Airport & transfer to Akagera National Park.
Day 2: Enjoy a morning game drive & afternoon boat ride in Akagera National Park.
Day 3: Travel to Nyungwe Forest. Visit Ethnographic Museum & King’s Palace.
Day 4: Morning Chimpanzee trekking & afternoon canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest.
Day 5: Morning Colobus Monkey tracking and afternoon Tea estate tour.
Day 6: Transfer to Lake Kivu – Gisenyi beach for relaxation.
Day 7: Boat ride on Lake Kivu. Travel to Volcanoes National Park & Explore Musanze Caves on arrival.
Day 8: Do a gorilla trekking adventure and relax at the lodge.
Day 9: Hike Dian Fossey’s grave & transfer back to Kigali City.
At Kigali International Airport, you will be welcomed courteously by your tour driver guide, giving you a briefing about Rwanda and this 9 days safari in Rwanda holiday trip in particular.
After that, he will take you on a scenic 2 ½ hour drive east to Akagera National Park. Akagera is the last refuge for Savannah-adapted species in Rwanda. Spreading over 1122km2, this Rwanda’s biggest national park is filled with Savannah plains, woodlands, lakes, acacia forests, and wetlands.
Hippos and Crocodiles wallow in the park’s watery basins and predators prowl through its acacia groves, while elephants, zebras, giraffes, buffaloes, antelopes, and other animals roam across its grassy plains. The park boasts almost 500 bird species. You’ll arrive, check-in at the accommodation, and relax. If interested and time allows, you can enjoy a sunset boat cruise or night game drive in the park.
Highlight of the Day: – Scenic drive from Kigali to Akagera
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Ruzizi Tented Lodge/Magashi Camp
Midrange: – Akagera Game Lodge
Budget: – Dereva Hotel
Meal Plan: – Lunch & Dinner
Drive distance & time: – Approx. 135km/2 ½ hours
Activities & Services:-
Optional Activities:-
Day two of your 9 days safari in Rwanda holiday trip commences with a breakfast at the lodge. At 6.30 am, embark on a 4-hour game drive in the Savannah of Akagera as the sun comes up. It’s the best time of day to see predators in action and the sun rising over the plains is a sight you’ll never forget.
You look out for the big five (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo, and Rhino), as well as Zebras, Giraffes, Warthogs, Hyenas, Baboons, Topi, Impalas, Waterbucks, Elands, Bushbucks, and more on large open plains. Return to the lodge for a great lunch and some free time to relax.
In the afternoon, take a leisurely boat ride on the tranquil waters of Lake Ihema to see many hippos and large crocodiles. Observe elephants, buffaloes, and antelopes, as they gather at the lakeshore to drink water. Also, keep an eye out for an abundance of waterbirds, including shoebills, herons, fish eagles, kingfishers, etc.
Retire for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Highlight of the Day: – Morning game drive
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Ruzizi Tented Lodge/Magashi Camp
Midrange: – Akagera Game Lodge
Budget: – Dereva Hotel
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Activities & Services:-
Optional Activities:-
Your day three of 9 days safari in Rwanda holiday trip begins with an early breakfast at 7 am at the lodge. Then check out, say farewell to the great staff in the Akagera, and embark on a drive towards Nyungwe Forest National Park. It’s a 5 to 6-hour drive through rolling hills and beautiful scenery en route.
You’ll make a stop in Butare for a cultural heritage tour of the Ethnographic Museum, which houses one of Africa’s finest ethnographic collections. Continue to Nyanza and visit the traditional king’s palace to learn about the royal style, the smartness, and the authority of pre-colonial Rwanda Kings. Meet the royal cows on the site and the herder who sings to them.
After the palace visit, complete your scenic drive to Nyungwe. This ancient, biodiverse forest is home to 1068 plant species, but the stars of the show are the 13 primate species – including Chimpanzees, Baboons, Mangabeys, Red-tail monkeys, Colobus monkey, Owl-faced monkey, Blue Monkey, and L’Hoest’s Monkey.
Highlight of the Day: – Exploring Rwanda’s rich cultural heritage
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – One & Only Nyungwe House/Nyungwe Forest Lodge
Midrange: – Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel
Budget: – Gisakura Guesthouse
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Drive Distance & Time: – Approx. 320km /5-6 hours
Activities & Services:-
On the fourth day of your 9 days safari in Rwanda holiday trip, you’ll have an early breakfast and transfer to the park’s visitor center at 5 am to meet your local guide. After a briefing, you’ll go on a 2-6 hour trek through the dark forest to see a community of Chimpanzees – our closes living relatives.
Along the way, you’ll enjoy looking for other primates, birds, and animals. Your guide will teach you about tracking the chimpanzees, pointing out signs they’ve left as you head through the forest. Upon reaching them, spend one hour with these human-like creatures. You’ll view them playing and interacting in their natural habitat – an incredible sight. Return to the lodge for lunch and relaxation.
In the afternoon, take a 2-hour walk via a treetop canopy walkway in Nyungwe. Test your balance resilience as you walk on the 200m extended and shaking bridge suspended 70m over the forest floor. Enjoy incredible endless views of the green forest and wildlife that live in tree canopies such as monkeys and birds.
Highlight of the Day: – Trekking the fascinating Chimpanzees
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Nyungwe Forest Lodge/One & Only Nyungwe House
Midrange: – Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel
Budget: – Gisakura Guesthouse
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Activities & Services:-
The fifth day of your 9 days safari in Rwanda holiday trip begins with breakfast at 7 am. Then, you go to the Park’s Visitor Center for yet another amazing adventure: tracking colobus monkeys.
These attractive old-world monkeys tend to form “super-groups” comprising almost 500 members, a phenomenon that has been observed to happen only among the colobus monkeys in Nyungwe. The trek is not tiresome and takes you past lush tea plantations and rolling hills to an isolated forest patch where you can see these striking monkeys jumping through the trees.
You spend an hour with them before returning to the lodge for relaxation and lunch. In the afternoon, you tour a beautiful, working tea plantation to interact with the local people who work there. Discover how tea is grown and harvested, and visit a factory to observe how it is processed. End your experience with a cup of tea.
Highlight of The Day: – Trekking for the beautiful colobus monkeys
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Nyungwe Forest Lodge/One & Only Nyungwe House
Midrange: – Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel
Budget: – Gisakura Guesthouse
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Activities & Services:-
Optional Activities: – Waterfall Hike
Today, after a leisurely breakfast at the lodge, set off northwards. You’re slowly heading for Lake Kivu, but you have some serious sightseeing en route. The drive takes about 7 hours and the rolling hills that characterize Rwanda’s landscape become much more dramatic and cliff-like as you drive on.
Pass small farming villages and banana plantations before descending into the valley to Gisenyi, the town at the north of Lake Kivu. Your driver will take you straight to your hotel for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Highlight of the Day: – Relaxation on the shores of lovely Lake Kivu
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Lake Kivu Serena Hotel
Midrange: – Paradise Kivu Resort/Hotel Gorillas Lake Kivu
Budget: – Hotel Paradis Malahide
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Drive distance & time: – 294km/7- 8 hours
Activities & Services:-
Day 7 of this 9 days safari in Rwanda holiday trip begins a breakfast, followed by a 3-hour boat cruise on Lake Kivu.
Explore the scenic shores and take in the spectacular views across the lake. Visit some islands and learn about their fascinating history and traditional folklore. The boat ride also offers some excellent birding opportunities with lots of water birds to be spotted. Return to your lodge for relaxation and lunch.
In the afternoon, embark on a 2-3 hour drive to Volcanoes in the north. This stunning park of 160km2 of prime rain forest encompasses 5 of the 8 Virunga volcanoes. It is a mystical backdrop for immersive mountain gorilla trekking experiences in Rwanda. It’s a well-protected and monitored reserve full of monkeys (Golden monkeys) and forest birds.
Highlight of the Day: – Lake Kivu boat ride
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Mountain Gorilla View Lodge/Bisate Lodge/Virunga Lodge
Midrange: – Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge
Budget: – Muhabura Hotel
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Drive distance & time: – 110km/2 hours
Activities & Services:-
Optional Activities at Lake Kivu:-
Wake up early today and enjoy a delightful breakfast. Then transfer to the park headquarters at 7 am to meet your local guides for a briefing. At 8 am, embark on an unforgettable trek in search of the shy and gentle apes of Volcanoes.
Although you should be prepared for muddy, humid, and perhaps challenging conditions, a gorilla trek through the thick rain forest is possible for all reasonably fit and healthy trekkers. The trek can be anything between 30 minutes and 7 hours.
Expert guides will lead you to one of the forest’s 10 habituated mountain gorilla families and you’ll be able to spend a maximum of one hour observing gorillas as they feed, forage, play or interact in serene silence.
You then return to your lodge and enjoy a delicious late lunch while reflecting on your magical wildlife experience. Spend the rest of the day at leisure.
Highlight of the Day: – Trekking Gorillas in the wild
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Mountain Gorilla View Lodge/Bisate Lodge/Virunga Lodge
Midrange: – Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge
Budget: – Muhabura Hotel
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Activities & Services: –
Optional Activity: –
Today, enjoy an early breakfast and go for the hike to the Dian Fossey’s Grave in Volcanoes NP. The trek takes around 3-4 hours, and on the journey your guide will be able to give you plenty of information on Dian Fossey, an American primatologist who dedicated 18 years of her life to the Virungas, studying and protecting the critically endangered Mountain Gorillas from 1967 up to her murder in 1985.
On the hike, Forest hogs, buffalo, golden monkeys, and even gorillas can be encountered. Once you get to the Karisoke Research Camp you will be able to see the ruins of her house and pay a visit to her grave. Lying next to her is the grave of her favorite gorilla, Digit, along with several other gorillas killed by poachers.
After spending time at her grave, hike back down the mountain to meet your safari guide. Embark on a 2-3 hours drive to back Kigali to mark the end of this unforgettable 9 days safari in Rwanda holiday trip.
Highlight of the Day: – Dian Fossey Tomb hike
Meal Plan: – Breakfast & Lunch
Drive Distance & Time: – 116km/2-3 hours
Activities & Services:-
Optional Activities:-
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