Intare Safaris is a Rwandan tour operator based in Kigali, planning and running tailor-made safaris across Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Intare is Kinyarwanda for lion. We are licensed by the Rwanda Development Board, members of the Rwanda Tours and Travel Association, and we have been arranging journeys through the Virungas, Nyungwe and Akagera since 2007.
We are a small planning team rather than a booking engine. Every itinerary on this site was routed by someone who has driven it, and every enquiry is answered by a person who can tell you what the road is like in April, which gorilla family involves the longer walk, and which lodge is worth the money in a given season. That is the whole proposition. If you want a faster way to buy a fixed package, there are larger companies that do it well. If you want the trip built around you, keep reading.
Licensed, accredited and working with
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Licensed tour operator, registered with the RDB Tourism & Conservation department.
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Member of RTTA, the national body for Rwandan tour operators.
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Working under the Visit Rwanda destination brand.
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Conservation partner supporting gorilla research at Karisoke.
What we actually do, and where
Rwanda is our home ground and the bulk of what we run. Volcanoes National Park for mountain gorilla and golden monkey trekking, plus the Bisoke and Karisimbi hikes and the trail up to Dian Fossey’s tomb. Nyungwe Forest for chimpanzee tracking, the canopy walkway and one of the richest Albertine Rift birding lists in the region. Akagera for Big Five game drives and boat trips on Lake Ihema, now a genuine savannah park again after a decade of restoration. Gishwati-Mukura, the country’s youngest and least-visited park, for those who want the forest to themselves.
Beyond Rwanda we plan and operate cross-border routes: Bwindi, Kibale, Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and Kidepo in Uganda; the Masai Mara, Amboseli and Lake Nakuru in Kenya; the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Lake Manyara in Tanzania. Those combinations are where a planner earns their keep, because a badly sequenced border crossing can cost you a full day of a ten-day trip.
Who you actually deal with
There is no call centre and no anonymous reservations inbox. Enquiries are read by the planner who will build your itinerary, and that same person stays with the trip through to the day you fly home.
Your safari plannerKigali officeReads your enquiry, drafts the route, prices it honestly and rewrites it as many times as it takes. They will tell you when an idea does not work — a three-night gorilla stopover with a Serengeti add-on, for example — rather than quietly selling it to you anyway.
Your driver-guideField teamRDB-trained, English- and French-speaking, and known to us personally rather than hired from a pool for the week. They handle park formalities, know which lodges serve breakfast early enough for a Kinigi briefing, and carry the local knowledge that separates a good sighting from a missed one.
OperationsKigali officePermits, park bookings, lodge confirmations, vehicle checks and the WhatsApp line that stays open while you are in the country. If a flight shifts or a road closes, this is who is already re-planning your day before you have noticed.
Permits, and why we say the boring part out loud
A Rwanda mountain gorilla permit is USD 1,500 per person per trek, set by the Rwanda Development Board, and it is the single largest line in most itineraries. Permits are limited to eight visitors per habituated family per day, they sell out for June to September and December well in advance, and they are non-refundable once issued. We do not mark them up and we show them as a separate line on every quote, so you can see exactly what is going to the park and what is going to us.
If an operator quotes you a Rwanda gorilla safari that does not itemise the permit, ask them to. The permit price is public and fixed. Anything that hides it is hiding something else too.
How we plan a safari
The process is the same whether you are booking a three-day trek or a twelve-day, four-park route.
1. You tell us the shape of itRough dates, how many nights you can spare, who is travelling and what you would hate to miss. Not a fixed plan — the raw material.
2. We check what is actually availablePermits first, because they set the skeleton of the trip. Then lodges, then the drive times between them.
3. You get a draft and a real priceA day-by-day route with what is included and what is not, itemised. Free, and with no obligation.
4. We rewrite itMost itineraries go through two or three versions. Swapping a lodge, adding a rest day, cutting a park that was one too many.
5. You confirm and we secureA deposit releases the permits and lodge bookings. The balance falls due before departure, per our booking terms.
6. We are there while you travelVouchers, briefings and a phone that answers. Someone in Kigali is awake for your whole trip.
What we promise you
- Honest routing. If your dates and your wish list do not fit together, we will say so before you pay, not after.
- Transparent pricing. Permits, park fees, accommodation, transport and our planning fee are shown separately. No hidden supplements appearing at the end.
- No pressure. A draft itinerary costs you nothing and commits you to nothing. We do not chase, and we do not invent expiring offers.
- A real person on the ground. Every guest gets a WhatsApp line to the Kigali office that is monitored throughout their trip, not just in office hours.
- Written terms. Deposits, balances, cancellation and what happens if something goes wrong are all set out in our booking terms and conditions before you commit a cent.
- Your data stays yours. We use your details to answer your enquiry and run your trip. We do not sell them, and one line to us deletes them.
Conservation is not a marketing line here
Rwanda channels 10% of national park revenue directly into the communities living around the parks, funding schools, clinics and water projects through the revenue-sharing scheme the Rwanda Development Board administers. Your permit is part of that. Akagera’s recovery — lions returned in 2015, black rhino in 2017 — happened because that money kept flowing and because African Parks co-manages the reserve with the RDB.
We work alongside The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, whose researchers have monitored the Virunga gorillas from Karisoke since 1967 and whose daily tracking is the reason habituated families can be found at all. Where a guest wants to see that work rather than just benefit from it, we can build a visit to the Ellen DeGeneres Campus in Musanze into the itinerary.
The gorillas are not an attraction that happens to need protecting. They are protected, and that is why you can go.
How to check us before you pay us
You are about to send a deposit to a company on the other side of the world. Verify it. That is not cynicism, it is sense, and any operator worth booking will tell you the same.
- Confirm our licence with the Rwanda Development Board, which registers and licenses every legal tour operator in the country.
- Check our membership with the Rwanda Tours and Travel Association, the national trade body.
- Ask us for references from guests who travelled a route like yours. We will put you in touch.
- Read the booking terms in full, including the cancellation table, before you transfer anything.
Frequently asked questions about us
Are you a Rwandan company or an overseas agent?
Rwandan, based in Kigali, licensed by the Rwanda Development Board. We operate our own vehicles and guides in Rwanda and work with vetted partner operators for the Kenyan and Tanzanian legs of cross-border routes. You always deal with us, not with a chain of intermediaries.
Do you only sell the packages listed on this site?
No. The listed safaris are worked examples showing what a given number of days can realistically cover. Most of what we run is built from scratch around a set of dates and a wish list, and the price moves with the choices you make.
Can you book gorilla permits for me without the rest of the trip?
We can, but it is rarely a good idea. A permit is tied to a date and is non-refundable, so it should be secured after the lodges and transport that have to fit around it, not before. Talk to us first.
What languages does your team work in?
English, French, Kinyarwanda and Swahili. Guides in other languages can be arranged with notice.
How quickly do you reply?
Enquiries sent through the site are answered within one working day, usually sooner. Rwanda is on Central Africa Time, UTC+2.
Talk to a planner
Tell us roughly when you want to travel and what you would hate to miss, and you will get a real itinerary back with a real price. There is no charge for that and nothing is confirmed until you say so.