Rwanda Travel Tips – Advice and safari activities to do

For Rwanda tours, any traveler needs to have planned properly with all relevant Rwanda travel tips. To plan any kind of safari to Rwanda, here are some tips to help you be better prepared and enjoy the trip;

For trekking activities, wear long trousers and sleeve shirts to protect yourself from bites. Wear repellent to keep safe from tsetse flies.
Sleep under a treated mosquito net while at your hotel. Wear mosquito repellent when outside in the evening to protect from bites that could cause malaria.
When visiting Lake Kivu, only swim in the designated areas as other areas could be dangerous.
Plastic bags are not allowed in Rwanda
The minimum age for gorilla trekking is 15 years of age.
Avoid getting involved in political demonstrations while in Rwanda. Keep with your tour group all through the trip till you depart.
To ensure that all travelers are safe, each individual is required to adhere to the health guidelines issued by the Rwanda Ministry of Health. Some of the set guidelines as stated by the RwandAir CEO Yvonne Makolo include;
- Social distancing measures during boarding
- Deeply clean the planes after each flight
- Every passenger is only allowed to take one piece of cabin luggage on board to avoid congestion and too much physical contact between passengers and luggage.
- Precautionary measures have been implemented throughout the Kigali International Airport (main airport) to maintain the safety of customers and staff.
- Using protective plexiglass at check-in and immigration counter, thermal and temperature screening, social distancing markers, and increased levels of sanitization in compliance with international standards set out by the relevant authorities.
- The government guidelines for arrivals require all those arriving to have tested negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours before departure and receive a second test upon entry into the country.

Rwanda Tour Activities/what to do – Rwanda Travel Tips

Rwanda is endowed with bounties of beauty in one of the most scenic locations in Africa. However, there are 5 Rwanda tour packages or activities that are the major drawcard for tourism in the country.

Rwanda may not be the ultimate African safari destination as it does not host much wildlife like the neighboring East African countries of Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. However, it is a top primate tracking destination with mountain gorillas and chimpanzees.

It is such a unique and memory-lasting experience to have a walk through the lush jungles of the country dubbed the land of a thousand hills.

For any first-time traveler, wondering what activities they can undertake when they choose to visit Rwanda, here are the best 5 tour packages and activities to choose from.

Mountain Gorilla Trekking – Volcanoes National Park

Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park is one of the habitats with Mountain gorillas that live only in three countries the two others being Uganda and Congo. Rwanda gorilla tours are a major drawcard for tourism in Rwanda.

To have an amazing encounter with one of the 10 gorilla families in the park, a person must be 15 years and above. A gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda costs US$ 1500 for each trek.

80 permits are available each day to enable 8 tourists to trek a single family of the 10 habituated gorilla families in the park.

Some of the top Rwanda gorilla tour packages include the 3 Days Volcanoes Park Rwanda gorilla trekking safari and 6 Day Rwanda wildlife safari

Chimpanzee trekking – Nyungwe National Park

Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe Forest National Park is one of the popular Rwanda safari activities carried out in the area known as Cyamudongo within the park.

Nyungwe Forest National Park is a highly dense rainforest in southern Rwanda on the border with Burundi.

Nyungwe forest has a wide diversity of animal species which makes it a priority for conservation in Africa.

The forest has about 500 chimpanzee individuals and two troops have been habituated for chimpanzee trekking.

One troop of habituated chimpanzees is within the main Nyungwe forest and the other is in Cyamudongo which is a small patch of the forest in the eastern part of Nyungwe National Park.

Our 3 days Rwanda primate tracking tour, is affordable for a chimpanzee trekking experience in Nyungwe.

Chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe Forest National Park

Wildlife Game Drives – Rwanda Travel Tips

Akagera National Park is home to the big five wildlife African game which are the Buffaloes, Rhinos, Leopards, Lions, and Elephants.

Akagera is a much preferable East African destination since it is one of the closest wildlife parks to the country’s national Airport-Kigali International Airport.

It is just about a 3-hour drive to the park from the Airport. You also spot other wild animals like giraffes, zebras, and hippos.

Some of the recommended short and long Rwanda wildlife tour packages include;

Bird watching or birding – Rwanda Travel Tips

Rwanda has 703 bird species recorded within her boundaries, 510 species known to be resident and 183 being seasonal and migrant birds.

The best spots for birding in Rwanda are Nyungwe Forest National Park, Akagera National Park, Volcanoes National Park, and several other spots outside the parks. With a much-vegetated large area, Rwanda arguably offers the best montane birding experiences in Africa.

Other factors that make birding in Rwanda much more relevant are, that the country hosts 29 Albertine Rift bird species, there’s a very good road network, and good security.

Canopy walk

The canopy walk is in the ancient Nyungwe Forest on a suspension bridge rising 70m high and covering 60m long.

A canopy walk is one of a kind as you see the forest from above while sighting several bird and primate species. The walk starts from any of the three trailheads where you will walk from the Uwinka visitor center.

If you need a unique safari activity then the canopy walk is a preferable option with experiences like no other.