Rwanda
Rwanda is known as Le Pays des Mille Collines (Land of a Thousand Hills). It is a beautiful and safe country to visit. From budget options to high-end luxury stays, you can have it all here. We visited Rwanda in July 2022 and I already want to return. There is so much to do here, from spending a weekend in Kigali and visiting the Volcanoes National Park for the gorillas and Golden monkeys, to Lake Kivu boat rides and coffee plantation visits.
Rwanda is relatively small. You could spend a week in Kigali with several day trips around the country or visit a new town every night. Tourism is a massive part of Rwanda’s economy and there are well-versed tour guides and operators for almost anything you want to do. That said, it’s also easy to do things yourself as we did!
The Ultimate 10-Day Rwanda Itinerary
Getting to Rwanda
Visa
Check this list to see if your nationality doesn’t need a visa. All other countries can get a visa on arrival. A single-entry tourist visa costs USD 50. It is best to bring dollars as a backup but there is a card machine that works to collect money. Have your Rwandan address and phone number of the lodge/Airbnb host handy to tell the officer.
Kigali Airport Logistics
Getting a sim card
WOW. I have never waited in line so long for a sim card. It takes around 20 minutes for a person to get registered in the MTN system. This is the only mobile network operator offering sim cards at the airport. Although it’s a wait to get a card if there are many people ahead of you, data is very cheap so it may be worth it for your trip to keep connected. I got a sim card for RWF 5,000 with 7 GB of data. A 16 GB package was only RWF 7,000.
Transportation
There are official taxis waiting to take you to your accommodation. You will likely pay RWF 25,000.
There are no ubers in Rwanda.
ATMs and Cash
There are two ATMs at Kigali airport, located after you exit towards the car park. However, both were not working when we arrived. Instead, we exchanged dollars for local currency at an amazing rate at the money transfer place right next to MTN. You won’t get a receipt though. You can also use the official ForEex which is located to the right as you exit the airport hall into the crowd of meet and greeters.
The biggest banknote in Rwanda is RWF 5,000, which is just about USD 5. You’ll be carrying around a lot of bank notes. Most activities and restaurants only accepted cash or didn’t have signal on their card machines. I suggest taking out USD 400 in one go for all your food and transport and then budgeting how much you need to take out for your activities.
ATMs are easy to find in towns and cities but not once you head out into the villages (or even 5km away from a city).
Transportation
Most of the larger cities and towns have good roads and are easy to get to with public transportation. If you visit the Nyungwe Forest National Park area, you will likely need to rent your own car or organize transportation with a tour guide.
We used RITCO for all our city bus transfers. These buses were bigger and usually more comfortable than the minibusses. Call it luck, but we arrived within 10 minutes of a bus transfer each time we traveled and so never had to wait long. Ask around for what bus is leaving the soonest; several bus operators will come to encourage you to use their service. Cash only here.
Within cities and towns, motos are the best way to get around. Ladies, wear a flowy dress or pants. It’s not as easy to find a taxi on the side of the street as it is to find a moto. It’s “required” you wear a scarf over your head before putting on the moto helmet (which totally makes sense) but I didn’t have anything and went without. Wilhelm wore a cap under the helmet.
When to visit Rwanda
You’ll find the best weather from June through August and mid-December through mid-March. It barely rains and the weather hovers around 22° C. If you’re set on seeing the baby gorilla, visit during September. April through May can be rainy but that may mean you can more easily obtain a permit to visit the gorillas.
