Rwanda: reviews from our travellers

"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.


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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 an amazing trip that we will never forget!

It was a trip of a lifetime and we greatly appreciated all of Liz's help in making it happen! Liz was very professional and gave great advice." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 4 on a Tanzania safari

"It was a thrilling adventure. Ellie and Expert Africa were very helpful in planning this trip for our group so we had a good idea of what to expect.

We were picked up at the Kigali airport by a representative of Primate Safari who went over everything with us and then introduced us to Bernard who was our driver and Rwanda guide. He was fabulous!! We all got along fabulously. He took very good care of us!! His english was perfect and he was very, very knowledgable of Rwanda and had much to tell us about his country. When I told him my stomach was queazy and had not been able to find any ginger around, he had the kitchen come up with some for me which helped a little. After trekking he took some of the group up to the twin lakes one day, another day found where my son could rent a bike and on the next to last day made arrangements for my son and another to get a guide so they could hike up one of the volcanos. One of our group had been to Kigali before and previously visited a young girl in an orphanage and wanted to find her. Bernard was able to find her new stepfather so we spent the last afternoon visiting with her, taking her shopping and then took her to lunch at the hotel in Kigali.. Bernard helped organize this whole afternoon. He was fabulous!

It was enjoyable to experience the mountains and then Kigali. The first night it seems the lodge had double booked and our accommodations were not available so we were put up in another lodge which inconvenienced us somewhat but we made the best of it. Gorilla Mountain View Lodge was perfect for what we needed and after that everything went smoothly.

The whole gorilla experience was handled very efficiently by all involved. It was thrilling to see the Golden Monkeys and then the Mountain Gorillas. On the second day to visit the gorillas I stayed behind because my back and knee were bothering me. I only wish I could have been able to get my money back for not using my permit. $750 is a lot to give up! All in all, a wonderful experience." Read full review: 5 nights in Africa; 5 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

"It was excellent, brilliantly organised and managed.

In retrospect we should have chosen Sabyinyo in Rwanda, Ngorongoro Crater in the Crater. I would have preferred to stay at the Hyatt in Dar - or an alternative to the Serena - it was a shocker.

I had concerns about Little Kwara before I went and these were confirmed. I would not stay with a Kwando facility on a return to Africa." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania 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!.

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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

"This was an amazing holiday incorporating 2 long held dreams of seeing the Gorillas in Rwanda and visiting the Selous in Tanzania.

Absolutely everything went according to plan (unbelievable for Africa!) and apart from the problems we raised about the hotel in Dar we couldn't have asked for better.

Fantastic, thank you!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"A wonderful time in Cape Town blessed with beautiful weather and England not losing a test match!

This was surpassed by my time in Rwanda - a fascinating, visually stunning country.

Seeing the Gorillas in Volcanoes National Park was an amazing experience and is definitely one I would like to repeat.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Nothing comes to mind - my holiday was organized perfectly." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a South Africa trip

"Words cannot express how wonderful we found our six day trip to Rwanda to see the Mountain Gorillas. It was the experience of a lifetime. Rwanda is an amazing country. It is stunningly beautiful and the people are so genuinely welcoming and friendly. There are no language problems as English is now their second language. The climate (in January) is very pleasant indeed.

To spend time with the Golden Monkeys and Mountain Gorillas in their natural habitat was both humbling and a privilege.
The visit to the Cultural Village was most impressive. It was a joy to share in their cultural activities

Before we went our visit was superbly organised and tailor made for us by Expert Africa. In Rwanda, Primate Safaris were brilliant. So organised and helpful.

We came away from Rwanda wanting to go back. If you can, go there and have a lifetime experience knowing that your money is not only helping the conservation of the animals but is supporting the Rwandan people.

Thank you Expert Africa we will definitely use you again!" Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 5 on a Rwanda safari

"It was absolutely a fabulous trip. We are seasoned off-the-beaten-track travellers and I absolutely marvel that everything, everything, worked exactly as it was supposed to. Here we were, in the middle of central Tanzania, waiting for a 10:05 flight. Guess what? At 10:03, there was the plane, buzzing animals off the grass runway, then touching down to pick us up. It happened every time.

How do they manage to have tonic, gin, lime, glasses, ice, and potato chips in Katavi? It must be a logistical nightmare--but there was my gin and tonic, always perfectly served. Dazzling!

We felt safe, treated so well by enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and genuinely caring staff throughout..... And then there were the animals. We never saw a rhine, because they have been poached to virtual extinction in East Africa, but we saw most everything else, and up close and personal. Having a leopard on your tent porch is not something I will soon forget.

A word of caution: Mother Nature can be entirely unsentimental. We watched two lionesses kill a baby giraffe as the helpless adult giraffes watched. This was not easy...... but it is what happens out there. This is not Disneyland." Read full review: 31 nights in Africa; 25 on a Tanzania safari