A luxury safari in Rwanda

enter image description here Credit: One&Only Nyungwe House

Rwanda now offers good amenities to people seeking a luxury holiday. The three main national parks are al serviced by exclusive world-class lodges and/or tented camps comparable to the very best in the likes of Kenya and Tanzania. There are also rather luxurious hotels in the capital Kigali and the popular lake port of Rubavu. Distances between main points of interest are relatively short so there isn’t much in the way if a domestic flight network, but the roads are mostly very good, so the country can comfortable be explored by car or 4x4. Rwanda is not, however, a resorty kind of destination and it is best suited to mobile and outdoorsy travellers. No matter how luxurious your accommodation and transport, gorilla tracking and other activities in Volcanoes and Nyungwe National Park come with a high chance slipping on muddy footpaths, being caught in a tropical downpour, and/or having to clamber through dense or low vegetation.

Birding in Rwanda

Ruwenzori turaco | Credit: Rwanda Tourism Rwanda is one of Africa’s most alluring birding destinations, with in excess of 700 species recorded in an area half the size of Scotland. Birdwatching is rewarding everywhere in the country, and a well-planned two-week itinerary is likely to result in a trip list of 300-plus species. A notable feature of its diverse avifauna is the presence of 27 of the 37 forest and swamp-associated species regarded to be endemic to the the eastern and…

Budget safari in Rwanda

Options for budget travellers are limited. Rwanda has consciously implemented attract a low-volume, high-cost tourism strategy that reflects the scarcity value of its main attraction: mountain gorillas. Tracking gorillas in Rwanda costs more than twice as much as it does in neighbouring Uganda, and other activities in Volcanoes and Nyungwe National Parks are also relatively costly. Akagera National Park and Lake Kivu are better geared to travellers on a budget, as are the towns and…

Value-for-money safari in Rwanda

Credit: Beard and Curly Rwanda has a low-volume, high-cost tourism strategy, and tracking gorillas in particular can hardly be referred to as offering good value-for-money when it costs more than twice as much as it does in neighbouring Uganda. Other activities in Volcanoes and Nyungwe National Parks are somewhat more affordable: the hikes up the three main Virunga peaks represent far better value than a Kilimanjaro climb, for instance, and chimpanzee tracking is also quite…