Day Trip Safari - Akagera National Park with Optional Lake Ihema Boat Safari
4.4
25 Ratings
Kigali
Embark on a thrilling day trip safari to Akagera National Park, an off-the-beaten-path Big Five destination in East Africa. Explore the park's diverse wildlife and enjoy an optional boat safari at Lake Ihema.
Duration:
10 hours, 12 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Kigali - Depart from your accommodation at 5:00 AM for a scenic drive through Rwanda’s picturesque, terraced hills, arriving at Akagera National Park by 8:00 AM.
- Lake Ihema - Opt for a Boat Safari on Lake Ihema, where you can gently cruise past the forest-lined waters, observing hippos lounging and Nile crocodiles on the hunt for their morning meal. The lake is a haven for bird enthusiasts, boasting a diversity of over 450 species.
- Akagera National Park - Dedicate a full day to exploring Akagera, a stunning sequence of rolling grassy hills that descend into a vast savannah landscape, bordered by an expansive network of wetlands that includes numerous lakes and vast papyrus swamps.
Embark on a quest to spot Lions, Rhinos, buffalos, elephants, Maasai giraffes, Burchell’s zebras, warthogs, olive baboons, vervet monkeys, various antelopes, and more to fulfill your wildlife watching desires.
What's Included
- Customized safari vehicle with pop-up roof for game viewing
- Convenient pick-up and drop-off in Kigali
- Complimentary bottled water per person
What's Not Included
- Akagera Park Entrance Fee 100 USD Per Person
- Optional Lake Ihema 1 Hour Boat Safari 35 USD Per Person
- Lunch 5 - 20 USD - Kindly Discuss/Request guide for Options
- Items and Services of Personal Nature
Additional Information
Join us on a tour to Akagera National Park, a rising star amongst Big Five locations and a hidden gem for Safari Parks. Its untouched beauty, free from overwhelming tourist crowds, distinguishes it from other East African attractions. Additionally, the opportunity to opt for a boat Safari on Lake Ihema heightens its uniqueness.
Accompanied by a seasoned guide, well-versed not only about the park but also possessing extensive knowledge on a wide range of Rwandan topics.
Location
Kigali
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.4
(25 Ratings)
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Cjdamico
Aug 14, 2023
Day trip Safari - Both our tour operator (Simon), and our tour guide/driver (Bosco) were fantastic and very enthusiastic in helping us enjoy this day experience. I recommend this tour highly!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maureen_g
Jul 26, 2023
Wild Animals in their natural habitat - unbeatable! - We most enjoyed our tour guide, Erath (Ilat? sp), who was extremely knowledgeable every part of the trip. He was a good driver on the extremely bumpy roads and we had a lot of laughs. We would like to extend to him our appreciation (we were with him on Monday, the 24th Maureen Gosling and Maxine Downs, and he picked us up at the Marriot Hotel and dropped us at our airbnb in the evening. We saw a wide variety of animals, though not usually in big numbers - but it might have been the hour of the day or this dry season.
Review provided by Viator
Carol_c
Jul 24, 2023
The best way to spend a day! - We saw 3 of the big 5. Our guide Issa was amazing!
This day trip surpassed our expectations, thank you!!
Antelope, Giraffe, Rhino, Zebra, Buffalo, Monkey, Hippo, Baboon, Elephant, and many birds including the African Fish Eagle!
Review provided by Viator
Crys
Jul 10, 2023
Awesome time! - This was an awesome experience with a great tour guide. We were able to see the majority of the animals on our list. The lions were hiding out the day we went to the park. My 12 and 4 year old had a great time watching the animals in their natural habitat. I would highly recommend this tour for families. Might be a bit overwhelming for children under 4. Bring snacks and cold water!
Review provided by Viator
Wei_q
May 8, 2023
Fantastic Trip - I had a fantastic trip to this park. I saw a lot of animals there. We booked a 7-adult ticket. The car is a land cruiser, which is very big and cosy. The driver is very polite and patient. I really like talking with Rwanda people as they are polite and nice. I would like to have a second trip to this park. Sea you again in Rwanda.
Review provided by Viator
706yd
May 5, 2023
Very fantastic trip! - Very fantastic trip! Guide Jean is very friendly and professional. Had a really pleasant trip -- witnessed a lot of special animals that were never able to see in wild!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
V857exsophied
May 5, 2023
Highlight of our week - We had an absolutely wonderful time exploring Akagera national park with our guide/driver Vincent. We had a great time chatting with him throughout the ride and he was incredibly knowledgeable about the history of the area and the wildlife in the park. It’s hard to predict which animals you’ll see on the trek, but Vincent worked hard to maximize the amount that we did see. We were able to see zebra, rhinos, hippos, water buck, elephants, crocodiles, baboons, giraffes, water buffalo, several kinds of antelope, and many kinds of birds in the park, as well as what life is like in the more rural areas of Rwanda. I’d highly recommend doing the additional boat tour, as you get to see much more than you would only doing the park trek.
Overall, we’d highly recommend taking this tour and I’d say it was the highlight of our trip!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aidan_h
Apr 9, 2023
Great Day Trip - We saw so many animals and Emilie was so such a good driver and guide. Seriously he could not have been better at looking after us and really went the extra mile to ensure a good time. Akagera itself was very pretty and the car was very comfortable.
Review provided by Viator
632yaeln
Mar 2, 2024
Worst experience in the boat ride! - The boat was over loaded with people, we had 20 people on our boat. The ride is moving very fast, you barely have a chance to take pictures.
We left w 2 boats ( overloaded with people one guided) and when we got to the island with wild animals like crocodiles the other boat stuck underground. We tried to rescued them but it was impossible to move the boat specially when it overloaded with people and only one guide un knowledge in the boat. All the passengers tried to help and even Ofer to get out and push the boat, but it was too risky. My husband is license’s captain and suggested to bring back the passengers safely to shore and go back to rescued the other boat. My suggestion are:
1. Don’t overload the boat with passengers, instead provide 2 guides in the boat.
2. Provide more often the boat ride
3. Make sure you have the proper robe or line in the boat.
I didn’t feel safe in the boat, and I set in the first row in the front and my camera got wet, in the first 10 minutes of the ride. Make sure to have water proof to your camera.
I know everybody recommended Sunrise ride
But I’m my opinion it’s more darker for the pictures and in tropical weather, most likely it will rain.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
S
Jul 23, 2023
Guide never showed up - The guide “Issa” never showed up, we had a local person call him on his local line since he never answered via WhatsApp. He was asleep, said the tour operator never sent him money for gas and asked US to pay his fuel. This is the most unprofessional experience we have ever had with trip advisor and this ruined our trip. Today was the last possible day to do this since we are flying out and now we missed out on this safari experience. Expedition happy hour was the trip advisor operator and the guide’s company is “magazine tours”. I would recommend against ever using either one.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
