Kosupa Travel

If you think of Kenya or Tanzania’s national parks when it comes to safari in Africa, you’re absolutely right! But you’ve probably been surprised to find that “Safaris in Kenya and Tanzania’s national parks are incredibly expensive!” while researching your travel plans.

While participating in large group tours or package tours can reduce costs somewhat, the real charm of a safari lies in experiencing it in a small group with a private feel, doesn’t it?

Did you know that instead of going on a safari in popular countries like Kenya or Tanzania, you can significantly reduce costs by choosing a slightly off-the-beaten-path destination like Rwanda?

In this article, we’ll introduce you to the hidden gem of Rwanda’s safari, covering prices, a general outline of the day’s activities, and an on-site report!

Enjoy a day trip for around $200 at Rwanda’s “Akagera National Park”

Today, we’re introducing Akagera National Park (Akagera National Park), located on Rwanda’s eastern border. With vast lands mainly consisting of savanna and wetlands, Akagera National Park is Rwanda’s premier wildlife treasury. From the so-called “Big 5” led by elephants and lions, to giraffes, zebras, hyenas, impalas, hippos, rhinos, buffaloes, and a diverse range of monkeys and crowned cranes, various wild animals inhabit the park.

While there aren’t any animals unique to Akagera National Park, in other words, it can be said that it’s a well-balanced national park that doesn’t fall behind other national parks.

The biggest feature of Akagera National Park is that it’s affordable! Normally, if you want to go on a famous safari in Kenya or Tanzania with a safari guide for a single person or small group, it costs 50,000 to 100,000 yen per person (even for group tours, the average is over 40,000 yen). However, in the case of Akagera Park safari, you can use it for around $200 per person. In fact, when I arranged this game drive with a local company as a solo backpacker, I was able to use it for 200 dollars, including car rental, gas, guide fee, and park entrance fee for round trips. If you use it as a couple, family, or multiple people, you can further reduce the cost.

Also, because Kenya and Tanzania have vast territories, the distance from major airports or urban areas to national parks is very long, requiring you to spend 7-8 hours in a shuttle van or sometimes needing to drive yourself to the national park by rental car. Akagera National Park is only about 2-3 hours by car from Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Even if you’re not confident about driving abroad, you can enjoy a cheap and safe day trip.

The flow of booking for Akagera National Park Safari (Game Drive)

Now, let’s explain the specific booking process. While various businesses such as tour companies and local guides provide safari services in Rwanda, we recommend using a car rental company’s service. Tour companies need to make a good profit through tours due to their business model, so the price tends to be correspondingly high. However, car rental companies often provide safari game drive guide services as a side business alongside their car rental business, and because it’s not as profit-driven, the price tends to be considerably lower.

Despite being a side business, basically all car rental companies have experienced staff with safari knowledge of animal ecology and sightseeing spots that are not at all inferior to tour companies. Also, unlike tour companies, their system assigns one guide (driver) per group rather than group tours, making it easier to get along with the guide and have a very rich experience.

By the way, when I recently went on a safari to Akagera National Park, I used the service of a car rental company called Kigali Car Rentals.

kigalicarrentals.comUsually, these Rwandan car rental company websites don’t have online booking forms for safaris, so you need to contact them via email or WhatsApp (an overseas SNS) and ask for a price quote in writing. Considering schedule adjustments with the other party, it’s best to make contact and secure a date at least one month before your planned date.

This time, after negotiating with the other party, we were able to use the service for a total of 200 US dollars, with a service fee of 150 dollars and a national park entrance fee of 50 dollars (a fee that must be paid to the park regardless of the service provider when entering the national park).

※ By the way, in Rwanda, US dollars are widely circulated in addition to their own currency (Rwandan franc). Make sure to confirm the payment currency in advance, whether it’s in dollars or francs.

I paid the fee in cash when I was picked up at my local hotel.

Once the plan is decided, adjust the meeting place in advance. If it’s in Kigali city, they can pick you up at your hotel, so give them the address in advance. By the way, the meeting on the day is usually at 5:00 AM, depending on the location and conditions. Make sure to go to bed early the night before and get plenty of rest.

As an aside, I stayed at the “Hotel des Mille Collines” in Kigali city. This is the hotel that was the subject of the movie “Hotel Rwanda”, and it’s no exaggeration to say it’s the most famous hotel in Africa. You can not only stay overnight but also just use the lunch buffet, so please take this opportunity to visit.

The flow of the safari day

On the day, dress in comfortable clothes and get picked up by your guide at the predetermined meeting place. It’s a 2-3 hour drive to the entrance of Akagera Park, so use this time to get to know your guide well. It will make your later game drive more enjoyable!

Akagera National Park is long from north to south, with routes entering from the north and south. Depending on the weather conditions, if you want to experience a more dramatic safari, we recommend entering from the south and exiting from the north gate (conversely, if you enter from the north, you’ll enjoy the main highlights at the beginning). Consult with your guide!

Once the entrance procedures and preparations are complete, it’s time to enter the national park! The animals will welcome you right away.

If you get stuck

While you can do a game drive in Akagera National Park with a regular car, there’s a risk of getting stuck in mud (stuck) compared to a 4WD (four-wheel drive vehicle). But don’t worry. If you get stuck, wait for another car to pass by and ask for help to escape the mud.

The main highlight: Savanna plains near the North Gate

As the half-day safari is nearing its end, the main highlight spot appears. It’s the vast savanna plains near the North Gate! Feel the African land in the middle of a 360-degree savanna plain.

It’s good to spend more time here, get out of the car, breathe in plenty of fresh air, and spend time with the animals. While it’s better to refrain from directly touching the animals, if you’re lucky, you might be able to get quite close.

The time I spent sitting on the grass for about an hour surrounded by zebras and giraffes, with my packed lunch, was very impressive.

By the way, unfortunately on this day we only encountered herbivores, but if conditions are right, you can see all of the so-called Big 5 in Akagera National Park, including lions, leopards, elephants, and rhinos. It might be worth visiting a few times on days with different weather conditions!

How was it?

In this article, we introduced the hidden gem of Rwanda’s safari, covering prices, a general outline of the day’s activities, and an on-site report. If you find that famous safaris in Kenya and Tanzania are too expensive to afford, please consider a game drive in Akagera National Park!