14 days Rwanda safari: Very Affordable Rwanda Safaris
This 14 days Rwanda safari is a guide and exposure to several amazing attractions in the three main parks of Rwanda. Participating in the different activities in the national parks and their close environment provides a memorable Rwanda safari. From the bustling and towering experience of Kigali city tour, move to the dense rain forests in Nyungwe to meet the playful chimps and other primates. A taste of Rwandan tea and other cultural interactions make the trip wonderful. From here relax on the fresh waters of Lake Kivu and proceed to Volcanoes National Park to meet the gentle giant apes and golden monkeys. Learn about Dian Fossey the great primatologist whose legacy still stands after fighting tirelessly to protect the mountain gorillas and their natural habitat. Finalise your trip in the home of the big five animals in the wilderness- Akagera National Park– with scenic game drives and refreshing boat cruise on Lake Ihema. By the end of the 14 days safari in Rwanda you will realize and quote Rwanda as one of the wonderful places where every traveler would visit once in a lifetime.
Tour highlights of 14 days Rwanda safari
- Day 1:Arrival and transfer to the hotel
- Day 2:Kigali city tour
- Day 3:Transfer to Nyungwe National Park
- Day 4:Chimpanzee trekking and Canopy Walk
- Day 5:Gisakura Tea planation visit
- Day 6:Transfer to Kibuye- boat cruise on Lake Kivu
- Day 7:Transfer to Volcanoes -Ib’yiwachu cultural visit
- Day 8: Gorilla trekking
- Day 9:Golden monkey trekking – twin lakes
- Day 10:Dian Fossey tomb hike and Ellen DeGeneres Campus
- Day 11:Transfer to Kigali and then to Akagera National Park
- Day 12:Full day game drive
- Day 13:Nature walk – boat cruise on Lake Ihema
- Day 14:Transfer to Kigali and departure
Detailed Itinerary of 14 days Rwanda safari
Day 1: Arrival and transfer to the hotel
Upon arrival at Kigali International airport, you will be welcomed and greeted by our guide who will take you through a simple briefing of the whole trip and later transfer you to the hotel for relaxation . dinner and over night .
Mille Collines hotel(mid-range), and Five to five Hotel Kigali (budget)
Day 2: Kigali city tour
After an early morning breakfast, the guide will pick you from the hotel and drive out for the Kigali city tour. Visit the Gisozi Genocide memorial site where bodies of over 250.000 innocent victims were laid to rest after the 1994 Rwanda genocide. From here you can proceed to Kimironko bustling market where you will interact with the locals. You can return to the lodge for lunch or get food from one of the best eateries in the city. later drive to Nyamirambo Women Center for further immersion into culture and from here you can buy some of their hand -made crafts. Enjoy a relaxed evening at the Kigali Convention Centre and later return to the accommodation for dinner and overnight as above.
Day 3:Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park
After a yummy breakfast, check out of the hotel and set on the voyage to Nyungwe Forest National Park (5–6-hour drive with no stopovers). Enjoy the magnificent looks of the cultivated countryside slopes, have a stopover at King’s Palace Nyanza and the Ethnographic Museum for more about Rwandan culture and tradition. If you didn’t move with a packed lunch, you will have lunch in Butare. Proceed to the park and arrival will be in the late afternoon, go directly to the lodge for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel (mid-range), Chimpanzee Lodge (budget)
Day 4: Chimpanzee Tracking and Canopy Walk
Have an early morning breakfast, then report to the park center for a briefing about Chimpanzee tracking. you are advised to come along with packed lunch and drinking water as the time taken while on the trek depends on where the chimpanzees spent the previous night or how deep they have moved into the forest to search for food. this park has rich botanical diversity and is home to over 13 primate species, birds, and other animals.
After the trek return to the accommodation for a simple rest and in the late afternoon hours move out for the canopy walk that lasts for two hours. This an activity where you will enjoy the park on a suspended bridge 50 meters from the ground, enjoy the park at an aerial view together with the birds and other wildlife that spend most of their time in the top-most branches of trees. Before dawn, return to the lodge for dinner and overnight as above in day 3.
Day 5: Gisakura tea plantation visit
Another amazing morning in Nyungwe, wake up for the morning breakfast then set out for a day’s visit to Gisakura tea plantation. This is a place to discover how one can make a perfect cup of tea. You will learn how tea is produced right from the seedling to consumption.
At this place, a local site guide will verbally take you through tea production, after which you can join the locals in picking tea leaves, learn from them, and then do it on your own.
You may decide to have lunch with the locals at the plantation as you enjoy the taste of local Rwandan cuisine. Since there’s no demonstration would be complete without taste, in the evening hours, share a cup of tea with the locals and even buy some finished product for take home. Dinner and overnight as in day 4.
Day 6: Transfer to Kibuye – boat cruise on Lake Kivu.
Have a relaxed breakfast, check out of the hotel, and transfer to Kibuye a prominent relaxation town on the shores of Lake Kivu. As you travel, enjoy the rolling hills at the country side. The journey will take 2-3 hours. Arrival will be during lunchtime, so move directly to the accommodation for lunch.
In the afternoon, move out for a scenic boat cruise on the freshwater lake, you may decide to visit any of the islands, or explore the lake by boat, optional activities can be kayaking, sport fishing, swimming, or relaxing on sand beaches. Go for an activity that makes you feel relaxed as you enjoy your adventure safari.
Comran Lodge(midrange), Paradise Malahide (Budget)
Day 7: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park – Ib’yiwachu Cultural visit
Wake up in the cool breeze of Lake Kivu, have breakfast check out of the accommodation, and set off for Volcanoes National Park in Ruhengeri. Enjoy the different sights of winding roads in the land of a thousand hills. You will have opportunities to have stopovers for photos, then proceed to the accommodation. Arrival will be during lunch hours, have lunch and prepare to visit the gorilla guardian’s village.
Use the afternoon to visit the gorilla guardian’s village(Ib’yiwachu Cultural Center) where you will learn more about the Rwandan culture. Become a King or Queen for a day, get involved in knitting, learn how to use a bow and arrow see the herbal medicine man and involve in the wonderful entertainment by the Instore dance group.
Accommodation at Sambora Kinigi Lodge ( Mid-range), Muhabura guest house (Budget)
Day 8:Gorilla tracking
Meet the mountain gorillas in the dense jungles of the Virunga ranges. The trek to the gorillas starts with a briefing at the park headquarters in Kinigi where you are assigned a ranger and a gorilla family to trek. After briefing, your ranger guide leads you to the starting point of the trek. You will need to drive to the starting point of the trek.
The trek through the habitat of these amazing primates is an unforgettable experience that many people look to undertake. The trek can last from a few minutes to several hours depending on where the gorillas nested the previous night. On sighting them, use one hour to observe their behaviour, take photos and short videos for memory of your expedition. Later return to the accommodation for relaxation, dinner and over night stay.
Sambora Kinigi Lodge (Midrange), Muhabura Guest House (Budget)
Day 9: Golden Monkey tracking
Just like the previous day, your driver guide will transfer you to the park headquarters for briefing before you can start the Golden Monkey trek. Golden monkeys are generally more active than gorillas and will require you to move as you follow them as they search for food. Once you locate them, you are only allowed to stay with them for 1 hour and later return to the lodge for lunch.
In the late afternoon hours, you can visit Musanze caves which are just 1.25 miles from volcanoes national park. you will walk through the caves as you discover more of Rwanda’s hidden treasures. Alternatively, you can take a city walk around Ruhengeri as you interact with the locals. Return to the accommodation for dinner and night stay .
Sambora Kinigi Lodge (Mid-range) , Muhabura guest house (Budget)
Day 10:Dian Fossey tomb hike and Ellen DeGeneres Campus
Its yet another day in the Volcanoes National Park, arise in the morning, enjoy heavy breakfast , with a packed lunch, and meet your driver to transfer you to the park center for the briefing about hiking to Dian Fossey’s grave site. You will hire porters to carry your bag and start traversing through the different vegetation zones where you will luckily spot some wildlife like gorillas, monkeys and elephants. You will be allowed to briefly watch them but no taking photos.
You will finally reach the graveyard of the great primatologist and researcher who was killed by poachers when trying to advocate for the protection of the gorillas. Visit the Karisoke research center, have lunch at the grave site, and later descend the trek.
In the late afternoon hours, take a brief visit to Ellen DeGeneres Campus, a place that exhibits all the background, good deeds, and efforts of Dian Fossey to protect the mountain gorillas and their habitat. This place is also for education and research about gorillas and the conservation of other wildlife. dinner and overnight at the accommodation.
Sambora Kinigi lodge (Mid-range), Muhabura Hotel (Budget)
Day 11:Transfer to Kigali, and then to Akagera National Park
After breakfast, check out of the lodge and travel to Kigali. You can have stopovers at coffee shops or small market stalls at the roadside to interact with the locals. Lunch will be in Kigali. After lunch continue to Akagera as you enjoy the beautiful, phenomenal landscape. Upon arrival go to the accommodation for relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Akagera Game Lodge( Midrange), Akagera Transit lodge ( Budget)
Day 12:Full day game drive
After breakfast, with a packed picnic lunch and enough drinking water, head out for a full-day game drive in the park. Explore the northern sector of the park which is rich in wildlife. In this area, expect to spot herds of zebras, reedbucks, waterbucks, buffalos, rhinos, elephants, lions buffalos, and many other animals. Find a fine place for your picnic lunch, relax a bit in your vehicle then continue driving as you search for more wildlife creatures. later in the evening, drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Akagera Game lodge (Midrange), Akagera Transit Lodge (Budget)
Day 13:Nature walk and boat cruise on Lake Ihema.
Early morning after breakfast, join a local tour guide to walk in the outskirts of the park. you will follow one of the many trails in the park where you will spot several birds and plant species. on a lucky day you will see some small animals that live in thick bushes like mongoose, squirrels, wild cats, and others cannot be spotted on a game drive.
Alternatively, you can visit the neighboring community and share knowledge about their day-to-day activities like cultivation, housework, craft work, and raising children.
After lunch at the lodge, go for an afternoon boat cruise on Lake Ihema where you will luckily spot hippos , crocodiles, fish and more bird species. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 14: Transfer to Kigali and departure.
On the last day of your 14 days Rwanda safari , wake up at your leisure, have breakfast and bid farewell to Akagera National Park, and travel to Kigali. Depending on your flight schedule, advise the driver on where to drop you off.
End of safari.
14 days Rwanda safari Tour inclusions
- Full-time 4×4 safari vehicle with fuel for the entire safari
- Full-time driver guide from Active African Vacations LTD
- Fees for all permits and activities included in the itinerary
- Packaged mineral drinking water
- Pick up and drop off charges
- Full board accommodation for 13 nights.
- All en-route meals
14 days Rwanda safari Tour Excludes
- International flights
- Visas and tickets
- Personal Insurance
- Laundry
- Luxurious drinks outside the itinerary such as spirits and wines
- Tips to guides and porters
