Rwanda Safari Tours

USD 1,500 per person per trek, set by the Rwanda Development Board and identical whoever sells it to you. It covers park entry, the ranger and tracker team and one hour with a habituated family. It does not cover transport, the porter you will probably want, or tips. Once a permit has been issued it is non-refundable, which is why we confirm your dates in writing before we buy it.

Only eight visitors may go to each habituated gorilla family per day, so the daily ceiling is small and fixed no matter how much demand there is. June to September and mid-December to February usually sell out six to twelve months ahead. April, May and November can often still be booked a month or two out.

Three days covers one gorilla trek from Kigali without rushing. Six adds Nyungwe for chimpanzees. Eight covers Volcanoes, Nyungwe and Akagera with a rest day built in. Driving times are short by East African standards, which is why Rwanda suits travellers who only have a week.

Yes. You must be 15 on the day of the trek, for both gorillas and chimpanzees, and it is not waived. Families travelling with younger children normally put the adults on a single trek day and build the rest of the trip around Akagera game drives, Lake Kivu and Kigali.

June to mid-September and mid-December to February are the drier months, when forest trails are firmer and the volcanoes clear more often. Rwanda is trekked all year, and the long rains from March to May bring lower lodge rates and greener photographs. Take a rain shell whatever the month says.

Rwanda issues a visa on arrival to every nationality; the standard tourist visa is USD 50 for 30 days, and citizens of African Union, Commonwealth and Francophonie member states pay nothing. If Kenya and Uganda are also on the trip, the East Africa Tourist Visa costs USD 100, covers all three countries for 90 days and must be applied for through the country you enter first. A yellow fever certificate is required if you are arriving from or transiting a country where the disease occurs.

Fit enough to walk uphill on wet, uneven ground for anywhere between one and four hours at around 2,500 metres. Families are allocated on the morning of the trek, so tell the ranger honestly what you can manage and ask to be put with a closer group. Porters wait at the trailhead and are worth hiring whether or not you need the hand.

The permits first, then the lodges. Permits are fixed by the park and cannot be discounted by anyone. Above that it is accommodation tier, vehicle and the number of nights. We quote the permit at cost on its own line so the difference between the two is visible.