Reviews of trips to Lake Kivu

"This was a special trip to celebrate some special birthdays and it was brilliant from start to finish. It completely exceeded our expectations.

The primate trekking throughout was phenomenal and brilliantly organised and to see gorillas in their natural habitat was awesome. Thank you Ellie for advising us to go twice, it was amazing! Expert Africa were professional and knowledgeable in their organisation and booking of the trip. I'd have absolutely no reservations in recommending you to friends and family. Our guide in Rwanda, Alex, was fantastic.

Thank you for making our trip so memorable and we're telling everyone about it!

A true holiday of a lifetime!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Rwanda safari

"Our trip to Rwanda was a dream come true.

We were really glad to have gone to the expense to book 3 gorilla treks -- an extraordinary experience I will never forget." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Rwanda safari

"With hindsight we would have changed just one thing - we would have reduced our stay at Mountain Gorilla Lodge to three nights, leaving after lunch after our second gorilla trek, so that we could have spent two nights on Lake Kivu." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 11 on a Rwanda safari

"Tanzania safari company is excellent and will use them again.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
You were kind enough to send us the Bradt guide on Northern Tanzania book to read. This was very much appreciated and not expected. But since we booked a safari for 12 days in Rwanda, it would have been nice for you to include the Bradt guide to Rwanda also. We purchased it on our own." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"I absolutely loved Rwanda and couldn't recommend it highly enough.

I am a very experienced safari-goer, and seeing mountain gorillas - spending a full half-hour with a mother and her two-month-old and getting close to the magnificent silverbacks - ranks among any top sightings. But Rwanda is about much more than just gorillas: it's an extraordinary country, stunningly lush and beautiful, and with a dignified people that makes it even harder to comprehend the horror of the genocide. It needs tourist dollars, and that $750 gorilla permit is worth every penny if you can afford it. I urge everyone to consider it for an alternative trip to Africa. (Note: for safari lovers, there are game parks in the south and east that we, unfortunately, did not have time to visit.)" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 6 on a Rwanda safari

"A wonderful life changing experience to see the gorillas in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda.

I was impressed with how smoothly everything was organised from the moment we arrived at the airport. Our stay at Sabyinyo Lodge was a true highlight.

We organised a private guide for these travellers, who commented:

Our guide Patrick - Overall experience: Excellent

Patrick was a wonderful guide for our trip in Rwanda. Smart, funny, he kept us constantly entertained with stories about Rwanda and its people.

We threw a few challenges his way (such as an injury during gorilla trekking) and he managed everything beautifully. We knew we were always in good hands.

He also recommended a fantastic restaurant for dinner and made sure the chef came out to greet us personally." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 6 on a Rwanda safari

"This trip far exceeded my expectations for all the reasons mentioned previously.

It was designed specifically for my requirements by Ellie Walkingshaw who I owe a debt of gratitude to. It is a pleasure dealing with knowledgable people who have got the T-shirts ! Thank you.


As usual in Rwanda, Expert Africa arranged a private guide for this traveller. He commented:

I have been fortunate in my travels to have experienced some of the best guides in the world - underwater as well as on the land !! NAYEBARE SAM is without doubt in that elite band. He recognised early on that I had a real passion for the natural world and the desire to record that with my cameras. Sam worked tirelessly to make sure that I obtained everything that I wanted as far as is humanly possible.

He is clearly well known and respected by others and that is used to the benefit of his clients in many ways.

He is passionate about his country and that was an inspiration to me.

In summary I am so pleased to call him friend. Thank you Sam - you will never be forgotten.


Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

This is the second time I have used Expert Africa - keep doing what you are doing !" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Rwanda safari

"We had a great trip. Everything went smoothly. The driver/guide, Sam, from Primate Safaris was excellent. He was a really nice person with a good sense of humour and was able to tell us lots about Rwanda and answer any questions we had. He was a big help in buying books in Kigali for donating to two schools in Musanze. A visit to the Deaf School and to the pre-school at the Faith Foundation were highlights of our visit in that area (as well as the gorillas of course) He was also able to work with the Park Rangers to have us assigned to a gorilla family that didn't require too much trekking, due to my husband's bad knee.

I would like to suggest that Expert Africa promote the School for the Deaf and also the pre-school run by the Faith Foundation, both in Musanze, if any guests want to take school supplies, children's clothing or sports & games equipment for the local village. A visit to one or both of these places is very rewarding.

Pack for a Purpose is a website that also provides information on what type of things to bring. I find it much more useful than Stuff your Rucksack." Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 15 on a Rwanda safari

"We had a complicated itinerary lasting just over a month and taking in everything from mountain gorillas in Rwanda to desert rhinos in Namibia.

Expert Africa lived up to their name and advised on the best itinerary, booked everything including most of the more important treks and tours, the guide in Rwanda and the self-drive 4x4 in Namibia and of course flights. We started with a thick book of vouchers with a lot of scope for things not to work. In the event every single booking worked perfectly, the itinerary was reasonably easy to keep to and we had an absolutely wonderful and memorable trip staying without exception at interesting and comfortable hotels and lodges.

Thanks again Tracy for organising it for us!.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Just keep up the good work! We will be back!

It would be good to have more transparency on the costs of the trip - i.e. a breakdown of how the trip was costed so we knew the relative costs of different hotels and lodges. When reporting on the different places we stayed we were uncertain as to how their costs compared and clearly it is not reasonable to expect as much from low cost places as from the most expensive ones.

Lastly a small criticism of this feedback form is that there is no obvious way to navigate back to the beginning other than to click """"back to previous page"""" over and over again. The tabs on the left side bar don't seem to do anything. When two people are filling this in, as in our case, we needed to go backwards and forewords a few times. Otherwise it is a nice form to fill in." Read full review: 32 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"We were looking for an economic hiking holiday to see primates. We were disappointed that we could not go hiking through farmland without a guide after our primate hike was short. We were disappointed that 2 of our 5 primate visits were very short hikes although we are aware that it depends on where the animals are in the forests. We loved the friendly contacts with the locals when we did escape our guide. Rwandan tourism is very tightly managed with little freedom for the traveler. It obviously works as it is very expensive and the country looks affluent.

We asked for a long hike for our second gorilla trek and were persuaded we should have a medium one. It turned out to be short and slow due to one visitor being disabled. We sympathized with the family but it did not meet our objective which was to incorporate hiking with an experience. We were very impressed at how readily the Rwandans make it possible to carry people up in a litter and enable them to enjoy the gorilla experience. A lesson to me on humanity and how selfish I and the Western world can be.

It was not clear beforehand that we would be expected to tip absolutely everyone and the numbers involved. For one Gorilla trek - dancers, 2x guides, 3x trackers, 4x guards plus porters if engaged. We had to try to change dollars into small denominations and avoid any drinks not included in the price due to this tipping as we did not have the money. They say it is voluntary BUT it is made VERY clear that everyone expects a tip as '' otherwise they will go back to poaching''. After the huge cost of the holiday and permits we did not expect this. Whilst Rwanda is lovely and we have no regrets we cannot recommend it to friends. it cost me a years salary after tax for the two of us! We are not in the targeted wealth bracket but it was fun to experience that sort of life for a short period. Primate safaris were excellent.

There must be a cheaper option for hikers and backpackers.
Visiting the north east of the country would have been better instead of Serena Kivu
I loved the Nile Congo route and am glad to have done it before the new road.
Expected to ask and tip people if one takes a photo of them.

Thanks for a memorable and great very special holiday. No complaints - just feedback as requested." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Rwanda safari