11 Days Rwanda and Congo Safari

11 Days Rwanda and Congo Safari – Akagera national park, Kahuzi beiga national park, virunga national park, and Mount Nyiragongo

11 Days Rwanda and Congo Safari is an amazing safari package that takes you to different destinations in Rwanda and Congo as you explore wildlife in national parks like Akagera National Park, Kahuzi Biega National Park and also hiking tour to Mount Nyiragongo.

Highlights of the 11 Days Rwanda and Congo Safari

Day 1: Arrival in Kigali – Rwanda
Day 2: Transfer to Bukavu- DR Congo
Day 3: Lowland Gorilla tracking tour in KahuziBiega – DR Congo
Day 4: Transfer to Goma
Day 5: Transfer to Virunga National Park
Day 6: Mountains Gorilla trekking
Day 7: Nyiragongo Hike
Day 8: Descend Nyiragongo & Proceed to Gisenyi
Day 9: Transfer to Kigali
Day 10: Transfer to Akagera national park and Ihema Boat Cruise.
Day 11: Early morning game drive and transfer back to Kigali.

Detailed Safari Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Kigali – Rwanda

Arrival and City tour: On arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be transfered to your hotel where you will spend the night in Kigali City. Depending on the time of arrival, you can decide to go for a brief city tour where you will visit places like Kimironko Market, genocide memorial grounds and other areas around the City of Kigali. Later in the evening you will return to your lodge for dinner and have a goodnight’s rest as you prepare for the next day.

Day 2: Transfer to Bukavu- DR Congo

Transfer to Bukavu: After Breakfast, you will be picked by our amazing driver guide who will transfer you towards the Cyangugu border as you go approach Bukavu in DR Congo. On your way, you will stopover in Butare to visit Rwanda’s National Museum and also in Nyanza where you will visit the Kings Palace and the Rwanda genocide memorial site. In Nyanza, you will have lunch after which you will proceed to Bukavu passing through Nyungwe National Park and enjoying vies of the amazing Lake Kivu. On arrival in Bukavu, you will have Dinner and stay at Hotel Elizabeth for the night.

Day 3: Lowland Gorilla tracking tour in KahuziBiega – DR Congo

Lowland Gorilla Trekking: Wake up early and have breakfast and then later transfer to Kahuzi Biega National Park for the amazing Lowland gorilla trekking activity. Gorillas in Africa are categorized into lowland gorillas and the mountain gorillas. Kahuzi Biega National Park is the home for these lowland gorillas and this activity of lowland gorilla trekking is the same as the mountain gorilla trekking. Thes gorillas live in bigger gorilla families and are many in number compared to the mountain gorillas. Once you meet the gorillas you will be given one hour to observe their behaviors and how they live as you take photos. After one hour, you will return to the lodge and spend the night at Hotel Elizabeth.

Day 4: Transfer to Goma

Transfer to Goma: Wake up early morning and have breakfast before you embark on your journey to Goma. From Bukavu to Goma you will take a speed boat which will take about 3-4hours. When you reach Goma, you will transfer to your hotel and refresh, have dinner and have a goodnight’s sleep at Hotel Linda. If time allows, you might have a small Goma city tour. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Linda

Day 5: Transfer to Virunga National Park

Transfer to Virunga National Park: In the morning you will be picked up from your hotel and transfered to Virunga National Park. On arrival, you will be taken to Kibumba Tented Camp where you will stay for the night. In the afternoon you will spend the time at leisure with a community tour, bird watching and a nature walk. Dinner and overnight at Kibumba Tented Camp.

Day 6: Mountains Gorilla trekking

Gorilla Trekking Experience: After an early breakfast at Kibumba Tented Camp, you will be taken to the starting point where you will meet the Virunga Ranger guides who will take you through a short briefing about the activity. The gorilla trekking takes usually about 1-3 hours before you meet the gorillas in their habitat. On meeting th gorillas you will be allowed 1 hour to spend in their presence as you observe, take pictures and enjoy your time in their habitat. Later you will leave the forest and transfer to the camp where you will get late lunch. Spend the rest of the day at leisure and later have dinner and sleep.

Day 7: Nyiragongo Hike

Nyiragongo Hike: On day 7 of the 11 Days Rwanda and Congo Safari, wake up early, have breakfast and later transfer to Kibati Ranger post which acts as the starting point for the Mount Nyiragongo Hike. You will be briefed and you will later start the hike to Mount Nyiragongo. The Nyiragongo Hike will take about 6 hours and the trekkers will spend the night at the Nyiragongo summit Shelters.

Day 8: Descend Nyiragongo & Proceed to Gisenyi

Descend from the summit and connect to Kigali: On the final day of the 12 Days Kahuzi Biega & Virunga Classic Package, you will wake up early and descend from the Crater Rim back to Kibati Ranger Post. The descending will take about 4 hours. After arriving at the Kibati post at the bottom, you will meet your driver guide who will transfer to Gisenyi Rwanda where you the evening at leisure. Enjoy dinner at overnight at Paradise Malahide.

Day 9: Transfer to Kigali

Transfer to Kigali: Wake up early, and have breakfast before you transfer to Kigali City. On arrival in Kigali, you will do a city tour where you will visit different places like the Kigali Genocide Memorial Grounds, Kaplaki Crafts Village, Kimironko Market, and other areas before you connect to your hotel for lunch. Later you will be able to spend the evening at leisure and then have dinner and a goodnight’s rest at City Blue Hotel.

Day 10: Transfer to Akagera National park and Ihema Boat Cruise

Transfer to Akagera National park and Ihema Boat Cruise: After early morning breakfast, you will meet the driver guide and transfer to Akagera National Park the only savannah grassland national park in Rwanda. Akagera National Park is one of the best Rwanda wildlife destinations where you can find the Big 5 animals and other wildlife species like Zebras, giraffes, topis, antelopes e.t.c. On arrival at Akagera National Park, you will have lunch as you prepare or the afternoon boat cruise.
Boat Cruise: Boat cruise in Akagera National Park is done on Lake Ihema where one can be able to see wildlife species on the banks of the Lake and many bird species. You will have dinner and have an overnights sleep at Akagera Game Lodge.

Day 11: Early morning game drive and transfer back to Kigali.

Game Drive: Wake up early on the final day of the 11 Days Rwanda and Congo Safari, have breakfast and head out for the Game Drive in Akagera National Park. On your morning game drive, you will be able to view different wildlife species like the Lions, antelopes, elephants, Leopards, topis, buffaloes, and many other wildlife species.

Return to Kigali: After the game drive, you will return to the lodge and freshen up before you travel back to Kigali. On arrival to Kigali, you will be dropped off at your hotel at Kigali international airport.

End of the 11 Days Rwanda and Congo Safari

Note that your Rwanda VISA expires immediately you cross into Congo so you will have to reapply for another while at the border and find it ready after the tour.

Quotation Includes;

Gorilla trekking permit
Hiking fees
Park entrance fees
Congo Visa fee
Vehicle entrance fees
Park entrance
Boat cruise
all accommodation as per itinerary
4X4 safari vehicle & Fuel
Full-time English/ French speaking driver/ guide
Bottled mineral water while on safari

Excludes;

Tips
Rwanda VISA fees
Air tickets
All items of personal nature like laundry, porterage, phone calls, beer, e.t.c
Anything else not included in the itinerary