DAY 1
Kigali
Your adventure begins in one of Africa’s most surprising cities, where clean hillside streets, a thriving art scene, and an unhurried energy make Kigali unlike anywhere else on the continent. Settle into your hotel, and the first order of business is doing very little at all. The Maisha Spa, a Moroccan-style sanctuary tucked within the hotel’s tropical grounds, is the perfect antidote to a long flight. We recommend the Serena Kubaho, a signature Rwandese relaxing massage combined with a stimulating coffee scrub and grape seed facial, a deeply local treatment that draws on East African ingredients and traditions. After an afternoon by the landscaped pool, the evening is yours to begin exploring a city that rewards curiosity.
DAYS 2 – 4
Lake Kivu
The road west from Kigali rises through terraced hillsides and tea country before the vast blue expanse of Lake Kivu appears on the horizon, one of Africa’s largest and most beautiful lakes. Lace up and head into Nyungwe National Park for the canopy walk, a 300-foot suspended bridge sitting 230 feet above the ancient forest floor with panoramic views stretching across the rainforest canopy. The following two days are given over to some of the finest primate encounters in East Africa. An early morning start brings you face to face with wild chimpanzees in their natural habitat, the trek lasting two to three hours depending on where the chimps have moved overnight. The second morning is given to the Rwenzori colobus monkeys, large supergroups of black and white colobus feeding and grooming high in the canopy, a quieter and less strenuous experience but no less extraordinary. Afternoons are yours, with the lake and its private beach always close at hand.
DAYS 5 – 7
Volcanoes National Park
The expedition reaches a magnificent pinnacle as you travel by road to Volcanoes National Park. Situated in the foothills of the dramatic Virunga volcanic range, your premier eco-lodge offers a front-row seat to one of the planet’s most life-changing wildlife encounters. The headline event features an unforgettable mountain gorilla trekking excursion. Accompanied by an expert guide and a dedicated team of track scouts, journey into the lush bamboo forests to find one of the ten habituated gorilla families roaming the park, observing them in their natural habitat. It is a once in a lifetime experience, only possible here, in one of the last places on earth where mountain gorillas still roam wild. The adventure continues the next day with a delightful golden monkey trekking excursion, where you can watch these playful and brilliantly colored primates leap through the misty forest canopy.
DAYS 8 – 10
Akagera National Park
The drive from Volcanoes National Park to Akagera takes the better part of a day, winding east across Rwanda’s green interior before the landscape opens into something altogether different: open savannah, acacia woodland, and glittering wetlands. Over the following days, twice-daily game drives will take you in search of elephants, buffalo, Masai giraffes, zebras, lions, and leopards. Akagera is also home to both the critically endangered Eastern black rhino and white rhino, a conservation story as remarkable as any in Africa. On Lake Rwanyakazinga, a boating safari offers a completely different perspective, drifting past hippo pods and massive crocodiles. Catch and release fishing is there for those who want it. And because your camp sits within its own private concession, the park’s six o’clock curfew does not apply here. Night drives push out into the darkness with spotlights searching for leopards, genets, civets, and bushbabies, the park revealing an entirely different character once the sun goes down.
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY
“With over a million air miles in my lifetime, I can definitely say the vacation WAC Travel planned for our 50th wedding anniversary was the best trip we have ever experienced. My wife and I have both traveled extensively during our careers, but this trip was expertly planned and executed. The hotels were beautiful, well appointed and extensively maintained. The service was five star and the meals were exceptional. Each hotel, driver and guide personally knew our travel advisor at WAC Travel and they ensured we had a once in a lifetime experience.”
“We have used WAC twice now – once for our honeymoon, and again for a special trip to celebrate an important milestone. Each time was absolutely fantastic! The WAC team’s attention to detail cannot be found elsewhere. Use them for your most important (and most special) vacations!”
-
Private transfers -
VIP meet and greet service
-
Daily breakfast (in Kigali)
-
Daily gourmet breakfast, lunch, and dinner (at lodges)
-
Canopy walk, plus gorilla, colobus monkey, golden monkey, and chimpanzee trekking
-
Twice-daily scheduled game activities in Akagera
-
Flying Doctor evacuation service
International flights are not included.
WHY TRAVEL WITH US
The details that make the difference
We’ve been there.
Every hotel, tour, and experience we recommend has been personally vetted by our team. We don’t send you somewhere we wouldn’t go ourselves.
Our connections are yours.
Years of relationships with exceptional guides, trusted drivers, and the right people on the ground across Europe and Africa.
Nothing gets left to chance.
Before you travel, we reconfirm every booking, every transfer, and every detail to make sure the pieces fit together exactly as planned. You’ll also receive your full itinerary, hotel confirmations, guide contacts, and emergency support loaded into your personal travel app before departure.
Someone picks up the phone.
While you’re away, we’re available. If something shifts, we handle it so you don’t have to.
Your time is the point.
We’ve been arranging travel across Europe and Africa for 20 years, and more than 92% of our clients come back or refer a friend.
