Fabulous forest park, beautiful scenery - I really enjoyed this nature vacation-adventure. I had been to Lake Kivu before so Olivier kindly helped me to customize this trip with an early-morning chimpanzee trek in Nyungwe Park. The ever-present views of Kivu and other lakes were soothing and refreshing, on the road and at the hotel, and I was happy to sample some tasty fish and local fares. The canopy walk was fascinating; and I was delighted to see several chimpanzees and baboons in their forest habitat. It is the Rainy Season so I went fully prepared with gear, but lucky for me, both trekking days turned out be pleasantly sunny. My driver/guide, John, was very friendly and helpful, with solid time-management and safety skills. Even the the long drives to and from Kigali were worthwhile, in offering beautiful scenery of green terraces, tea plantations, rolling hills and lush forests.

Fantastic scenery, great guides and genuine experience - This tour took us on a drive from Kigali to south-western Rwanda across the land which as its metaphor suggests, is indeed a land of thousands of hills. Nyungwe forest itself can be a hit or miss if you want to spot the elusive fauna. If animals are a must see, then you might be disappointed, but a short trek up and down through the mountainous tropical forest to the canopy has its own thrill. There are other longer trails in Nyungwe, but this tour does not cover them. Night fishing on Lake Kivu was for us the highlight of this tour. One gets to see the action right from the central fishing boat (of three boats). The locals are not pretending to fish for the benefit of tourists but simply going about earning their livelihood. Beware though that this part is subject to security approval by the naval marines, which fortunately we were granted at the last minute, or we wouldn't have known what we missed. The night accommodations might not be luxurious, but are adequate. We went in the rainy season, so a good jacket, umbrellas and shoes for trudging through clayey mud are recommended. Do keep your eyes open throughout the drive and witness the clean green Rwandan countryside, especially on the drive back to Kigali via winding roads or you will miss out on wonderful sights of the lake and misty mountains. Not quite sure how things will look like in the dry season. Our guides, Olivier and Bosco were very professional, friendly, punctual in their pickup from our hotel, pointed out interesting spots throughout the drive and generally made us feel safe. We really enjoyed their company. Did I mention a WiFi hotspot is present in the car should you want to stay connected? Keep it to a minimum though or you will miss out on the more important things. This two-day adventure has my recommendation.

Lake Kivu and chimps - I really enjoyed the tour with Olivier -- the degree of tailoring, friendliness, and strong interest in making this an enjoyable experience was impressive. The tour included several unexpected add-ons that brough strong value to the experience. I also really appreicated that the guides took great pictures of the tour, and sent us these photos after the tour, again unexpected but a great value-add. I would definitely recommend this tour.

Outstanding service that exceeds expectations - There are only positive things I can share based on my experience with Countryside tours and will highlight a few here: 1. Olivier is an excellent tour guide with immense knowledge of the country, tourist sites and tourism industry. He has great interpersonal skills, offers a professional service, and is dedicated to making our experience as rewarding as possible. We saw other tourists at various sites who did not have the breadth of experiences we were given because Olivier made a point of including additional activities and cultural experiences all throughout our tour. It really made the tour special, unique and outstanding. 2. Countryside tours was very accommodating. We asked for a modification to our itinerary and we faced no issues with the requested changes. Countryside tours was happy to accommodate our plans and made everything run smoothly. Clear information was always provided (i.e., schedules and itineraries) with the perfect amount of detail. 3. Olivier is very personable and became a friend along the way. I greatly appreciated our conversations and our laughs over meals together. He made the tour a special experience with the little things he did (i.e., taking photos and videos throughout and sharing his own photos with us - capturing things that I would not have been able to capture). I have travelled to more than 30 countries and consider Countryside tours to be the best tour guided experience I have had. I recommend this company very highly.