Roaming Rwanda: 9-Day Rwanda Safari with Gorillas, Chimps & Akagera

🛏 Overnight: Kigali Serena Hotel (Bed & Breakfast)

Land at Kigali International Airport, for example on a RwandAir flight (not included), where our safari team greets you and takes you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free, with lunch and dinner at your own arrangement.

About Kigali Serena Hotel: A five-star hotel on one of Kigali’s most charming boulevards, built around a polished granite atrium showcasing Rwandan cultural art. It has 148 rooms and suites, an Executive Lounge and Bar opening onto a sundeck, a swimming pool, the all-day Milima Restaurant and the relaxed poolside Sokoni Café.

🛏 Overnight: Mantis Kivu Marina Bay (Deluxe Room) · Full Board

Head south to Butare (Huye), Rwanda’s cultural capital and university town. Tour the former Mwami (King’s) Palace and the National Museum, whose ethnographic collection of traditional clothing, maps, photographs and artefacts brings Rwanda’s history to life.

After lunch in Butare, your 9-day Rwanda safari continues to Nyungwe Forest National Park, a mountain rainforest between 1,600 and 2,950 metres, with more than 260 species of trees and shrubs, over 100 types of orchid, giant lobelias and sweeping views.

🛏 Overnight: Mantis Kivu Marina Bay (Deluxe Room) · Full Board

An early start: transfer to the park offices at 04:30 and begin your trek at 05:00, when the chimpanzees are most active. These endangered great apes are among our closest living relatives, and you’ll likely see troops of other primates in the forest too. Return to the lodge for lunch and a free afternoon.

🌳 Optional (permit quoted separately): Nyungwe canopy walk. A guided walk of about two hours on a suspended walkway, around 160 metres long, high above the forest canopy.

🛏 Overnight: Lake Kivu Serena Hotel · Full Board

With a picnic lunch packed, follow the shores of Lake Kivu north to Gisenyi, a lakeside town on the border with the DRC, nicknamed the “Martha’s Vineyard of Rwanda” for its shoreline and colonial-style hotels. Rwanda’s largest lake sits in the Albertine Rift, with a palm-fringed inland beach framed by terraced green hills. The afternoon is yours to explore.

🛏 Overnight: The Bishop’s House (Deluxe Room) · Full Board

Enjoy a slow morning by the lake and lunch at the hotel, then drive through Rwanda’s terraced hillsides to Volcanoes National Park, at the foot of the Virunga volcanoes.

🛏 Overnight: The Bishop’s House (Deluxe Room) · Full Board

Today is the highlight of your 9-day Rwanda safari. Leave at 06:30 for the Volcanoes National Park headquarters, where at 07:00 rangers register you and assign you to a gorilla family based on where each group was last seen. No more than eight trekkers visit any one group.

After a briefing on trekking rules and gorilla etiquette, drive to the trailhead. Hiring a porter to carry your bag costs a small fee, and we recommend it, as it supports local communities.

Treks last from two to six hours or more, depending on how far the gorillas have moved, with regular stops to rest and take photos. Afterwards, return to your lodge for lunch.

🛏 Overnight: Ruzizi Tented Lodge · Full Board

Set off with a packed lunch and drive via Kigali to Akagera National Park, enjoying an afternoon game drive on your way to the lodge.

About Akagera National Park: Rwanda’s only savannah park lies at low altitude on the border with Tanzania, shaped by a maze of swamps and lakes along the winding Akagera River. It’s home to the Big Five, including reintroduced lions and rhinos.

🛏 Overnight: Ruzizi Tented Lodge · Full Board

Spend the day exploring Akagera on morning and afternoon game drives, looking for lions, rhinos, elephants, buffalo, giraffes and zebras. End the day with a sunset boat ride on the lake, a peaceful way to see hippos, crocodiles and waterbirds.

Take an early-morning game drive, then return to the lodge for breakfast. Check out and drive back to Kigali for your transfer to Kigali International Airport and your onward flight (booked through your preferred travel agent).

End of your 9-day Rwanda safari.

All three of Rwanda’s main national parks: Nyungwe Forest for chimpanzees, Volcanoes for mountain gorillas, and Akagera for the Big Five on the savannah, plus Butare and Lake Kivu.

1 night in Kigali, 2 nights near Nyungwe Forest, 1 night at Lake Kivu, 2 nights near Volcanoes National Park and 2 nights in Akagera National Park: 8 nights in total.

No. Gorilla, chimpanzee and canopy walk permits are quoted separately when you book, as their prices are set by the Rwanda Development Board.

Yes, in Akagera National Park, Rwanda’s only savannah park, where lions and rhinos have been reintroduced. This safari includes two nights there, with game drives and a sunset boat ride.

The dry seasons, December to February and June to September, when forest trails are easier and game viewing in Akagera is at its best. Trekking is possible all year round.