Whether you are traveling as a couple for the first time, taking your children on a special family holiday, or treating yourself to an adventurous getaway, we have Self-drive Kigali has got you our bespoke safaris that can be tailored made to suit your every interest. From the moment you land, to your last African sunset, they anticipate you every step and need on our fleet of cars.
Rwanda is safe for self-drive safaris bit solo or family safaris. Self-drive safaris give you a chance to explore Rwanda at your own pace. They have a fleet of cars to offer on your road trip in Rwanda. So don’t hesitate to hire a car if you intend to go on a self-drive safari in Rwanda.
One of the greatest things you will ever do is seeing mountain gorillas in the wild which is amazing. We were a group of five people, high up in the mountains, surrounded by about 10 gorillas. Just unbelievable! Everyone was moved. It is costly, but the money you spend goes into conservation, the guides are super knowledgeable and seeing the gorillas is just worth every penny.
We went twice and both visits were absolutely fantastic. But be aware: Depending on your fitness level it makes sense to think about how long of a track you feel capable of doing (rather than which gorilla group you want to see) and letting the guides know before you get selected into a group. Some tracks are an easy hour walk, others are a tough 5 hour walk in thin air and steep up through the jungle.
We wanted to do one of the latter walks and really enjoyed it, but two people in our group just asked to see this particular gorilla group, unaware that they are high up the mountain and completely underestimated the situation. They had to be carried down on a stretcher, which they had to pay a few hundred dollars for. So, reflect on your fitness level and ask for a hike that suits your abilities. Then, you’ll be sure to have an experience of a lifetime.
The guides, trackers and porters are brilliant and so helpful. Everything is very well organized and welcoming. The trek is reasonable if you have a reasonable amount of fitness. The guides stop about every 15 minutes for a rest and allow everyone to catch up and then suddenly you’re with the gorillas.
They allow a strict one hour with family of gorillas and manage the interaction very well. Everyone gets a chance to be as close as the rules allow and take photos. The gorillas are very placid and did not seem at all bothered by us. A once in a lifetime visit on a self-drive safari in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.
Next, we also had a chance to visit the Nyungwe National Park for chimpanzee tracking on our self-drive safari in Rwanda. At least 500 chimps roam this vast forest, but the main trekking site is Cyamudongo, an isolated forest annex whose community of 30 chimps is well habituated to tourists. These human like apes share almost 99% of our DNA, and trekking through the jungle of Nyungwe to look for them is one of many magical experiences on offer in this underrated park.
Nyungwe has swamps and bamboo forests, but it’s the jungles that will capture your heart and imagination. Here, you will have the opportunity to track and spend time with habituated chimpanzees, and you’ll also encounter numerous other primates including the charismatic Colobus and the chubby-faced L’Hoest’s monkeys.
I’m not much of a birder, but I had an amazing time there on a dedicated guided bird walk and found dozens of different species, including the vociferous great blue turaco (they sound like they are laughing at you).
In Akagera we were able to see leopards, elephants, rhinos, water buffalo, hippos, giraffes, zebras, and lots more animals. We hired a park ranger in the park and he was great at spotting animals all around the park it was easy for us to take pictures and see them well. If we plan to go back to Rwanda or self-drive tour, I definitely will hook myself up with self-drive Kigali.
