Day 1: Arrive Kigali — The City on the Hills
Arrive Kigali. Afternoon: visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial — the essential starting point for understanding modern Rwanda. Evening: dinner at a hillside restaurant overlooking the city’s lights. Overnight Kigali.
Day 2: Kigali to Akagera — Into the Savannah
Morning: Kigali markets — Kimironko for fabrics, produce, and daily life; Caplaki Craft Village for souvenirs. Late morning drive east to Akagera National Park (2.5 hours). Check into your lodge on the edge of Lake Ihema. Afternoon game drive: the park’s road network winds through acacia savannah, woodland, and along lake shores. Elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffalo, hippos, and with some luck, lions in the grasslands. The birdlife is extraordinary — fish eagles, kingfishers, and the prehistoric-looking shoebill stork. Sunset over the savannah. Overnight Akagera.
Day 3: Akagera Safari & Journey West
Dawn game drive — the golden hour, with the best chance to see predators. Lions often patrol the roads in the cool morning. Mid-morning: exit the park and drive west across Rwanda. The journey is scenic — the landscape transitions from savannah to the terraced hillsides of central Rwanda. Stop at a coffee cooperative along the way. Arrive at Lake Kivu in the late afternoon. Overnight Gisenyi.
Day 4: Lake Kivu — Islands, Beaches & Tea
Full day on Lake Kivu. Morning boat to Napoleon Island for the fruit bat colony and birding. Swim in the lake’s clear, safe waters. Visit a fishing village to meet the singing fishermen. Afternoon: explore a tea plantation, walking the rows with the pickers. Sunset on the lake with views of the DRC’s mountains across the water. Overnight Gisenyi.
Day 5: Return to Kigali & Departure
Morning drive back to Kigali (3 hours). Visit the Inema Arts Centre for last-minute art purchases. Transfer to airport for departure.
