A Note About Current Events
Visiting Rwanda by myself in August was the most nervous I’ve been for a trip in a very long time. Kigali is touted as one of the safest cities in all of Africa, but Rwanda was in the news a couple of weeks before my trip and the stories weren’t positive. The Rwanda government is accused of backing a rebel group called M23 in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. M23 is a militia in the DRC that claims to protect Tutsis from Hutu-led militias. The history is long and complicated but has some roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which 800,000 Tutsis were murdered by extremist Hutus in the government, military, and regular civilians. The genocide had ripple effects in the surrounding countries and it seems most active still in the DRC. In July 2025, M23 was accused of murdering 150 civilian Hutus in the DRC (some news reports say more than 400 people were killed), including women and children in villages near the Rwanda border. Tensions are ongoing.
Planning My Trip
It was in this environment that I visited in late August, without my expert planner and voice of caution and wisdom, Andrew. (He wasn’t interested in the trip in the first place, and once we saw how expensive it would be, there was no way to justify the cost.) I applied for my holiday visa ahead of time, although I could also have applied on arrival. It cost USD 70 for a single-entry visa, which was valid for 90 days. The online application and payment process was straightforward and quick; I received approval within a few hours of submitting the application. I later visited a shipping store in Cape Town to print my visa approval, just to be safe.
I worked with Safari.com to book the trip, and they arranged my guide/driver, accommodations, meals, gorilla trek permit, park fees, and associated logistics. The total cost for 5 days was USD 5,000 and it included my trek permit. To protect the gorillas and their habit, a limited number of permits are sold for each day and cost USD 1,500 each. (I’m embarrassed by how much this whole trip cost, but I want to be transparent for anyone planning their own trip.)
The tour company did not handle my flights, and finding flights was more difficult than I expected. Most of the ones I found from Cape Town went through Nairobi, Kenya, or Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and had too short of layovers or overnight layovers. Everything was also much more expensive than I expected. I finally booked 2 separate round-trip flights on different airlines: Cape Town to Johannesburg on South Africa Airways, and Johannesburg to Kigali on Rwandair. Combined, the flights cost USD 1,245.
Flights and Arrival
The Rwandair app was terrible, and I couldn’t check into their flights ahead of time, so I anticipated needing time and patience to check in when I landed in Johannesburg. I didn’t check a bag, so that helped with the stress, and when we landed in Johannesburg, everyone with international connections was routed through the main departures hall anyway. It was almost a relief to start the check-in process fresh because I had plenty of time. (My layovers were 3.5-4 hours.) All my flights served food and had tons of overhead bin space. My flights on Rwandair were both half to one-third full.
We landed in Kigali at 8:30 pm, so I couldn’t see the city but I could tell it was hilly from the lights dotted all around as we descended. The runway looked like it was on top of a hill with steep drops on either side. It was a beautiful and dramatic landing. Because the flight was so empty and I walked faster than most of my fellow passengers, I was one of the first people in my passport-control line. There were lines for Rwandans, for people from a special block of East African countries, and for everyone else. I handed the official my passport and printed visa confirmation; he asked where I was staying and how long I would be in Rwanda, stamped my passport, and welcomed me. It took fewer than 5 minutes.
Where’s the ATM?
I didn’t have bags to pick up or anything to declare to customs, so I was in the arrivals hall in no time. There’s not much in the actual building, aside from a few rental car desks, but when I walked outside I was met with all the people holding signs with names on them. There were rows of foldable chairs set up behind a rope barrier where friends and family were sitting and waiting for loved ones to come out. My guide was late, but it gave me time to locate the ATMs outside, across the driveway, in little vestibules. That’s also where the cash exchange booths are. I took out 150,000 Rwandan francs, which equals about USD 103. The ATM gave me bills in 5,000 denominations, which was a huge wad but turned out to be great for tipping. People in Rwanda also accept tips in US dollars, so I brought some with me, but I wanted to have local currency as well.
I rejoined the crowd and my guide arrived shortly afterward. He took me to my hotel about 20 minutes away, and I went to bed excited for tomorrow and happy with how smooth the travel had been so far.
Sidenote About Visiting Rwanda
As I mentioned, the Rwandan government is accused of helping M23 commit human rights violations in the DRC. I was conflicted about visiting the country because of this, and I understand if people are upset with my decision. I decided to go ahead with the trip because visiting endangered mountain gorillas is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I don’t know when I’ll be back on the African continent again to take the trip. The gorillas live in the Virunga Mountains, a range that spans parts of Rwanda, the DRC, and Uganda. Visiting the DRC was not an option. I could have booked a gorilla trek in Uganda, but I have even more concerns about supporting that government than I do about giving Rwanda money. Please let me know if you want to talk about this more.
