18 Days Rwanda classic safari
This is a 18 Days Rwanda classic safari to all the 4 national park of Rwanda. This trip will give you the opportunity to tour all the national parks in Rwanda and engage in a variety of activities that the parks have to offer.
Safari highlights
Day 1 : Pick up from Kigali airport and transfer to a hotel in Kigali
Day 2 : Visit to Kigali genocide memorial and Rwanda art museum
Day 3 : Transfer to Nyungwe National Park for a nature walk
Day 4 : Chimpanzee trekking and a canopy walk
Day 5 : Birding
Day 6 : Transfer to Gishwati Mukura national park for a nature walk
Day 7 : Chimpanzee trekking
Day 8 : Trekking to the top of gishwati mukura peak
Day 9 : Transfer to Akagera National Park for a boat cruise at lake Ihema
Day 10 : Bird watching and an evening game drive
Day 11 : Morning game drive and cultural tour
Day 12 : Transfer to lake kivu for a boat cruise
Day 13 : Coffee tour and transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 14 : Gorilla trekking
Day 15 : Hike to Dian Fossey Tomb
Day 16 : Golden monkey trekking
Day 17 : Hike to Mount Bisoke
Day 18 : Transfer to Kigali airport
Detailed itinerary
Day 1 : Pick up from Kigali airport and transfer to a hotel in Kigali
A guide on day 1 will pick you from the airport and take you for a city tour to inema arts center, kandt house museum and you will head to a hotel in Kigali for lunch. After lunch, you will visit Kimironko market and see a variety if things that the locals in this market sell. You will purchase some of your interest and then you will check into a hotel in the evening. At the hotel, you will be served dinner and you retire to bed.
Accommodations in Kigali city
- Kigali Serena hotel
- Silver hotel
- Park Inn by Radisson
Day 2 : Visit to Kigali genocide memorial and Rwanda art museum
You will wake up for an early morning breakfast and you will leave the hotel and you have a visit to Kigali genocide memorial for the essence of learning about the history of the 1994 Rwanda genocide. You will see the remains of the people that participated in the 1994 genocide and you will then head for lunch at the hotel.
You will after lunch head for a visit to Rwanda art museum to see the amazing art of the Rwandese artists that is kept at this place which showcases the history and culture of Rwanda. You will then retire to the lodge and have dinner. You will later head to bed.
Day 3 : Transfer to Nyungwe National Park for a nature walk
On day 3, you will have breakfast and check out of the lodge. The guide will transfer you to Nyungwe National Park with an enroute lunch at a hotel. You will arrive at Nyungwe National Park in the afternoon and you head for a nature walk after briefing and this nature walk will expose you to a number of bird species and animals species as you trek around the park. You will have a glance at the wildlife at a close range as you trek and after the nature walk, you will head to the park headquarters and you check into a lodge. You will have a bath, have dinner and retire to bed.
Accommodation options at Nyungwe National Park
Luxury : One and only Nyungwe house
Midrange : Nyungwe top view hill hotel
Budget : Gisakura guest house
Day 4 : Chimpanzee trekking and a canopy walk
In the morning at Nyungwe National Park, you will have a breakfast meal and you head to the park headquarters for briefing. You will be given a guide and you head to Nyungwe forest for a chimpanzee trek that will take about 2 to 6 hours depending on the location of the chimpanzees in the park and you will have one hour with the chimpanzees and later retire to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch, you will be transferred to the park headquarters for briefing in the afternoon and you head for a canopy walk at the suspended bridge that will reward you with views of the park from above. You will then head to the lodge after this 2 hour experience and you wait for dinner. After dinner, you will retire to bed.
Day 5 : Birding
On day 5, you will conduct a bird watching activity at Nyungwe National Park. You will begin with an early morning breakfast at the lodge and then you head to the park headquarters for briefing. You will see a number of bird species at Nyungwe National Park in the various birding trails that a guide will accompany you to. Some of these birding trails include the kamiranzonvu trail, bigugu trail, karambi trail among others. For the bird lovers, this entire day will be spent carrying out bird watching. You will head to the lodge after this experience and have lunch. The remaining time of the day will be spent at the lodge as you prepare yourself for dinner. After your meal, you will retire to bed.
Day 6 : Transfer to Gishwati Mukura national park for a nature walk
You will check out of the lodge at Nyungwe National Park on day 6 of the safari after having breakfast. A guide will transfer you to Gishwati Mukura national park with a visit to Butare national museum. At thus museum you will learn about the history and culture of Rwanda. You will have lunch at a hotel and you proceed to Gishwati mukura national park. You will reach Gishwati mukura national park and check into a lodge and there will be an optional nature walk. After the nature walk, dinner will be served and you retire to bed.
Accommodation options at Gishwati mukura national park
Luxury : Gishwati lodge
Budget : Sawa Sawa hotel
Midrange : Cormoran lodge
Day 7 : Chimpanzee trekking
On day 7 of the safari, you will have your breakfast and head for briefing with the guide to the park headquarters. After briefing, you will head for a chimpanzee trek that is about 2 to 6 hours. You will have only one hour with these chimpanzees. After the chimpanzee trek, you will head with the guide to the lodge and you have lunch. You will have some rest at the lodge till dinner time and after dinner you will retire to bed.
Day 8 : Trekking to the top of gishwati mukura peak
You will have breakfast at the lodge and then a guide will transfer you to the park headquarters for briefing. After briefing, you will head for a trek to the top of gishwati mukura peak and you will have encounters with numerous wildlife species ad you trek through the trails which include waterfall trail, Umushwati trail among others. You will after head to the lodge for lunch and rest from the trek. You will in the evening have dinner and then retire to bed.
Day 9 : Transfer to Akagera National Park for a boat cruise at lake Ihema
After having breakfast at Gishwati mukura national park, you will check out of the lodge and you be transferred by the guide to Akagera National Park. You will have a stopover for lunch before you reach Akagera National Park. When you reach Akagera National Park, you will be briefed at the park headquarters and you head with the guide for a boat cruise at lake Ihema that takes a approximately 1 hour. You will see the various ecosystems around this lake and then you go back to the headquarters. The guide will direct you to the lodge where you will have dinner and spend the night.
Accommodation options at Akagera National Park
Luxury : Akagera game lodge
Midrange : Magashi safari camp
Budget : Karenge bush camp
Day 10 : Bird watching and an evening game drive
You will have breakfast in the morning and you head to the park headquarters for briefing and then you go with the guide for bird watching. You will spot various bird species that reside in this park. After the birding experience, you will head for lunch at the lodge.
In the evening, you will be briefed at the headquarters of the park and you head for an evening game drive. This game drive takes about 3 hours and it rewards you with views of nocturnal animals like the civets, mongoose, lions, leopards, hyenas, serval cats among others. You will return to the lodge for dinner and you sleep.
Day 11 : Morning game drive and cultural tour
At Akagera National Park, you will have breakfast and then head to the park headquarters for briefing and then set of for a morning game drive with a ranger guide. You will spot numerous animals, birds and other attractions in the park on the game drive. This rakes approximately 5 hours. You will head to the lodge and have lunch after the game drive.
You will be transferred to the park headquarters after briefing and you head for a cultural tour at hemure refugee village. You will learn about the culture and traditions of these locals while at this village and other things like how they earn a living. You will then head to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 12 : Transfer to lake kivu for a boat cruise
You will have breakfast at the lodge and then you will be transferred to the headquarters after checking out of the lodge. You will set off from the park headquarters to lake kivu. You will have a lunch break at a hotel and then you head for a boat ride at lake kivu. You will have a drive at lake kivu for approximately 2 hours with the guide explaining to you details around this lake. You will then retire to the lodge of your choice and you have dinner and sleep.
Accommodation options at lake kivu
- Gorillas lake kivu hotel
- Lake Kivu Serena
- Mara villa kivu eco resort
Day 13 : Coffee tour and transfer to Volcanoes National Park
You will have breakfast at the hotel and get transferred for briefing and after you will set off from Gisenyi to Nyamirundi Island where you will conduct a coffee tour. You will be taught a lot about coffee by the locals of this island and then after you will be transferred to the hotel for lunch and after set off to Volcanoes National Park. At volcanoes, you will check into a lodge upon arrival, have dinner, freshen up and retire to bed.
Accommodation facilities at volcanoes national park
Luxury : One and only gorilla’s nest
Midrange : My hill eco lodge
Budget : Sambora kinigi lodge
Day 14 : Gorilla trekking
You will have breakfast in the morning and you will go for briefing at the Park headquarters at kinigi. After briefing, you will go with a guide for the gorilla trek. You will trek for several hours in search of the gorillas. You will only be given one hour to spend with the gorillas. You will after head back to the lodge and have lunch. You will in the evening have dinner and then retire to bed.
Day 15 : Hike to Dian Fossey Tomb
On day 15, you will have breakfast and you will be transferred by the guide from the lodge to the park headquarters where the park guides will brief you and avail you with hiking sticks before you head fir a hike to Dian Fossey Tomb. You will hike to Dian Fossey Tomb with the guide who will lead the way. You will be able to see the grave of Dian Fossey and learn about the mountain gorillas that were protected by Dian Fossey. You will also see other graves of gorillas that were buried near the tomb of Dian Fossey. You will then head back to lodge and have lunch. After lunch, you will spend time interacting with the guides at this park which will expose you to a lot of things conducted at this park. After, you will head for dinn6and retire to bed.
Day 16 : Golden monkey trekking
You will conduct a golden monkey trek at Volcanoes national park on day 16 and this activity will conducted with a ranger guide after you have received briefing at the park headquarters. You will trek in search of the golden monkeys for about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on the location of the golden monkeys and after spotting where they are, you will spend an hour with them and a guide will transfer you to the lodge for lunch. After lunch, you will stay at the lodge and you enjoy the views of the surroundings around the lodge. You will then in the evening have dinner and retire to bed.
Day 17 : Hike to Mount Bisoke
Early in the morning after breakfast, you will have a briefing at the park headquarters and then you head for a hike to Mount bisoke which is approximately 6 hours to and from. You will see a number of birds and animals and other attractions while on the hike including the neighboring mountains when you get to the summit. It takes 4 hours to get to the summit and 2 hours to descend depending on your level of fitness. You will then head to the lodge have your late lunch meal and rest. After refreshing yourself in the evening, you will have dinner and head to bed.
Day 18 : Transfer to Kigali airport
After breakfast at the lodge in Volcanoes national park, you will check out and the guide will transfer you to Kigali airport.
18 Days Rwanda classic safari includes
- Bottled drinking water
- Park entry fees
- English speaking driver guide
- 4WD safari vehicle
- Accommodation
- Meals
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Golden monkey trekking permit
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
18 Days Rwanda classic safari excludes
- Personal needs
- Visa fees
- Air fare
- Personal insurance
- Tips
