Fabulous Feb. 2016 Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya Trip
Mar 19th, 2016, 10:08 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 254
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Fabulous Feb. 2016 Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya Trip
We've been back almost a month, and I wanted finally to report on this wonderful trip.
Four of us (two couples from west coast US, ages 57-61) had a great trip to Tanzania and Rwanda in February (with a stop in Nairobi for one couple), Feb 5-Feb 23. For two of us, this was our third safari, having been to Tanzania in dry season previously. This February trip may have been even better, although there were some variations.
Rather than give a detailed day by day report, I’ll summarize the three locations. First, getting there:
From West Coast, getting to East Africa is a pain. And there aren’t a lot of options, nor are many of them convenient. For example, from SFO, the KLM flight to AMS doesn’t connect same day to the JRO flight, and the BA flight to LHR misses the NBO flight. I decided we were not going to connect east coast US in winter. We also (a) wanted to be in business class and (b) wanted to use miles. Now, it did seem easier to find award tickets in the February period than the summer period, and as is typical, easier to fly mid week than weekends. I didn’t have enough Delta (or Alaska) miles to use KLM in both directions (and there were never business tickets to JRO), so we ended up doing the following routing:
Outbound OAK-SEA-LHR-NBO on British in business class (well, coach on AL to SEA), using AA miles, 75k pp (plus “taxes” at about $700 pp).
Return, we booked our flights using Delta miles and got KGL-AMS-SFO all in business at 80k pp plus minor taxes. Then KLM changed the schedule—instead of KGL-AMS, it became KGL-EBB-AMS. Well, at least they kept us in business class.
First stop, Nairobi.
DH and I spent three nights in Nairobi before heading to Tanzania to meet up with our friends in Arusha to get over jet lag (11 hour time difference). We partly did this because it was possible to get business class award tickets to NBO, but also, seemed a place to get over jet lag with a bit more to do than Arusha.
Got our visas on line (“e-visa”), but still had to stand in a line behind some that seemed to be paying for their visas at the time. The arrivals hall is still the converted parking garage since the fire at the airport. ADS had a vehicle take us from the plane to immigration, so we got through faster than most from our flight. From landing to hotel was about an hour and a quarter, I think, maybe a bit longer.
We did the standard tourist circuit with a guide, including the Sheldrick Orphanage. We stayed at Palacina, which doesn’t get much write up here, but we really liked it. Small hotel, around 20 rooms. Wasn’t as far from the airport for our 9 p.m. arrival as some other hotels (about 30 minutes, I think), the room was huge (two bathrooms, plus a living room, dining area and two balconies) and quite comfortable for our time adjustment. Note, no elevator, and we were on the top floor. Also had dinner at the Thai restaurant, Soi, in Dusit2 hotel, which we thought was pretty good, and a change from standard “international” hotel/lodge cuisine. The hotel’s driver took us there and back, no charge (note, Uber was just starting up in Nairobi).
All in all, very good hotel. I’d recommend it.
To be continued..
Four of us (two couples from west coast US, ages 57-61) had a great trip to Tanzania and Rwanda in February (with a stop in Nairobi for one couple), Feb 5-Feb 23. For two of us, this was our third safari, having been to Tanzania in dry season previously. This February trip may have been even better, although there were some variations.
Rather than give a detailed day by day report, I’ll summarize the three locations. First, getting there:
From West Coast, getting to East Africa is a pain. And there aren’t a lot of options, nor are many of them convenient. For example, from SFO, the KLM flight to AMS doesn’t connect same day to the JRO flight, and the BA flight to LHR misses the NBO flight. I decided we were not going to connect east coast US in winter. We also (a) wanted to be in business class and (b) wanted to use miles. Now, it did seem easier to find award tickets in the February period than the summer period, and as is typical, easier to fly mid week than weekends. I didn’t have enough Delta (or Alaska) miles to use KLM in both directions (and there were never business tickets to JRO), so we ended up doing the following routing:
Outbound OAK-SEA-LHR-NBO on British in business class (well, coach on AL to SEA), using AA miles, 75k pp (plus “taxes” at about $700 pp).
Return, we booked our flights using Delta miles and got KGL-AMS-SFO all in business at 80k pp plus minor taxes. Then KLM changed the schedule—instead of KGL-AMS, it became KGL-EBB-AMS. Well, at least they kept us in business class.
First stop, Nairobi.
DH and I spent three nights in Nairobi before heading to Tanzania to meet up with our friends in Arusha to get over jet lag (11 hour time difference). We partly did this because it was possible to get business class award tickets to NBO, but also, seemed a place to get over jet lag with a bit more to do than Arusha.
Got our visas on line (“e-visa”), but still had to stand in a line behind some that seemed to be paying for their visas at the time. The arrivals hall is still the converted parking garage since the fire at the airport. ADS had a vehicle take us from the plane to immigration, so we got through faster than most from our flight. From landing to hotel was about an hour and a quarter, I think, maybe a bit longer.
We did the standard tourist circuit with a guide, including the Sheldrick Orphanage. We stayed at Palacina, which doesn’t get much write up here, but we really liked it. Small hotel, around 20 rooms. Wasn’t as far from the airport for our 9 p.m. arrival as some other hotels (about 30 minutes, I think), the room was huge (two bathrooms, plus a living room, dining area and two balconies) and quite comfortable for our time adjustment. Note, no elevator, and we were on the top floor. Also had dinner at the Thai restaurant, Soi, in Dusit2 hotel, which we thought was pretty good, and a change from standard “international” hotel/lodge cuisine. The hotel’s driver took us there and back, no charge (note, Uber was just starting up in Nairobi).
All in all, very good hotel. I’d recommend it.
To be continued..
Mar 19th, 2016, 10:13 AM
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 254
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Tanzania
“Just Another Lion”
Tanzania “green season” was fantastic. This was our second trip booked with Africa Dream Safaris, and again, we were very happy with them from working with Michael Wishner at the California office to plan the trip, to the meet and greet staff in Arusha and our guide, Ellison. Everything top notch. They booked our flights on Coastal Aviation from Tanzania to Kigali where we met up with the Governors guide for Rwanda.
We took a flight from Wilson in Nairobi to JRO, arrived mid afternoon. Immigration was crowded, and our visa on arrival took at least 20 minutes, even with the ADS “VIP” expediter. They did check our yellow fever certs. Traffic to our Arusha hotel at that time of day was dreadful. Glad we weren’t just arriving from US.
We started with a day trip to Arusha National Park (which was a good intro for our friends, saw lots of monkeys, including colobus), then flew to South Serengeti, starting at Kusini Camp and then moving to Ndutu area, Gol Kopjes, Hidden Valley, etc. The migration was a bit early, and after two days around Kusini, our guide told us we had seen 75% of the herds. We must have seen the rest the next two+ days. The wildies were starting to give birth before mid Feb. in the Serengeti (we were able to watch one full birth, very close to our vehicle, with a group of zebras standing guard until the baby was up and walking). We had one mostly cloudy day, a morning of on and off light rain, but other than that bright sun, warm but not hot.
As stated above, the herds were so large and the babies so many, the lions were all very well fed, with fat bellies, and quite happy. I lost count of lions, but we saw at least 80, and perhaps close to 100! We got to the point we wouldn’t stop unless there were cubs or they were in trees. Did well with cheetah too, including a mom and two cubs with a kill. We had better predators sightings in green season than dry, but we did not get a leopard this time, however. Also didn’t see many elephants (mostly bulls) until Manyara. We did not go to Tarangire due to time constraints, so no idea what would have been there this time of year.
We did only one drive in the Crater, having found it too crowded on our July trip several years ago. We liked it better this time, not sure if due to being green, or that it seemed a bit less crowded to us. The wildebeests in the Crater had already all given birth, so almost every single female had a baby with it. Other Crater highlights were lots of flamingos, two serval cats, juvenile buffalos, black rhino (at a distance) and eland that actually didn’t run away.
Ended with one game drive in Lake Manyara---lots of baboon, monkeys and a large elephant herd that surrounded our vehicle with a fairly new infant. Our guide was a bit nervous, because the herds are very protective of them when so young.
The accommodations were all good, and we especially liked Kusini Camp and the Manor at Ngorongoro. Service was top notch and food quite good at both. Had wifi just about everywhere, although not always speedy.
End of the day, except for fewer elephants, we concluded we preferred the February period to July for Tanzania and the migration.
“Just Another Lion”
Tanzania “green season” was fantastic. This was our second trip booked with Africa Dream Safaris, and again, we were very happy with them from working with Michael Wishner at the California office to plan the trip, to the meet and greet staff in Arusha and our guide, Ellison. Everything top notch. They booked our flights on Coastal Aviation from Tanzania to Kigali where we met up with the Governors guide for Rwanda.
We took a flight from Wilson in Nairobi to JRO, arrived mid afternoon. Immigration was crowded, and our visa on arrival took at least 20 minutes, even with the ADS “VIP” expediter. They did check our yellow fever certs. Traffic to our Arusha hotel at that time of day was dreadful. Glad we weren’t just arriving from US.
We started with a day trip to Arusha National Park (which was a good intro for our friends, saw lots of monkeys, including colobus), then flew to South Serengeti, starting at Kusini Camp and then moving to Ndutu area, Gol Kopjes, Hidden Valley, etc. The migration was a bit early, and after two days around Kusini, our guide told us we had seen 75% of the herds. We must have seen the rest the next two+ days. The wildies were starting to give birth before mid Feb. in the Serengeti (we were able to watch one full birth, very close to our vehicle, with a group of zebras standing guard until the baby was up and walking). We had one mostly cloudy day, a morning of on and off light rain, but other than that bright sun, warm but not hot.
As stated above, the herds were so large and the babies so many, the lions were all very well fed, with fat bellies, and quite happy. I lost count of lions, but we saw at least 80, and perhaps close to 100! We got to the point we wouldn’t stop unless there were cubs or they were in trees. Did well with cheetah too, including a mom and two cubs with a kill. We had better predators sightings in green season than dry, but we did not get a leopard this time, however. Also didn’t see many elephants (mostly bulls) until Manyara. We did not go to Tarangire due to time constraints, so no idea what would have been there this time of year.
We did only one drive in the Crater, having found it too crowded on our July trip several years ago. We liked it better this time, not sure if due to being green, or that it seemed a bit less crowded to us. The wildebeests in the Crater had already all given birth, so almost every single female had a baby with it. Other Crater highlights were lots of flamingos, two serval cats, juvenile buffalos, black rhino (at a distance) and eland that actually didn’t run away.
Ended with one game drive in Lake Manyara---lots of baboon, monkeys and a large elephant herd that surrounded our vehicle with a fairly new infant. Our guide was a bit nervous, because the herds are very protective of them when so young.
The accommodations were all good, and we especially liked Kusini Camp and the Manor at Ngorongoro. Service was top notch and food quite good at both. Had wifi just about everywhere, although not always speedy.
End of the day, except for fewer elephants, we concluded we preferred the February period to July for Tanzania and the migration.
Mar 19th, 2016, 10:18 AM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 254
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Last part, Rwanda:
“Oh My God”.
These three words seemed to be the only ones I could utter during our two gorilla visits. It was simply amazing to interact with these creatures. We booked the Rwanda part of the trip directly with Governors Safaris who run Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge. I have to say that everything was perfect. Lodge was very comfortable, service was fantastic, food was good, etc. I think the lodge staff and managers all went out of their way to make sure everything was as smooth and effortless as possible for the guests, and as always seem to be the case in Africa, the people were just lovely. The lodge had little touches such as crocs type shoes to borrow while your trekking shoes were being cleaned, hot water bottles, fires in the fireplace in your room, etc.
They had several other activities on offer besides the gorilla and golden monkey treks. One we did that was great was the village walk to the local village sponsored by the lodge. This was not a “tourist village”. We enjoyed it quite a bit and felt it was not a “show” put on for tourists. They use the funds from tourists to provide clothes and school supplies to the children, as well as other “luxuries” like mattresses to the families. We also had the musical group (same one at the park headquarters) come to the lodge one afternoon, and that was really special, on the terrace with the volcanoes in the backdrop, without a crowd. That was $70 and a bargain to us. I’ll never forget the sound of their voices getting louder as they sang up the path to the lodge, nor their beautiful smiles that never stopped the whole time.
Now, the highlight: others have posted how the gorilla trek works, with the guides all meeting at park headquarters to negotiate which family their guests will visit, and then after a short orientation, you drive to the start of your trek. Two of us had injuries not long before the trip, so we emphasized to our guide, Fidel, that although we may not be the oldest trekkers, we weren’t up to the longer treks or probably even the medium ones. He came through beyond our hopes (and the other four in our group were even older than us!).
The first trek was to the Sabyinyo family, the one with the oldest and biggest silverback. The trek was about 30 minutes to the gorillas, and they came running through our midst while we were dropping our packs and getting the last instructions. This group moved around quite a bit, and was some work to follow (there were nettles and very thick bamboo, vines, etc. underfoot). However, the big silverback took pity on us and found a clearing where he posed for photos for about ten minutes. This family had about 15 members, but the mother with the baby never came out from very thick bushes, and I think we really only saw 9 or 10 of them, including the only known bald gorilla. It was so easy we were back to the lodge (even after a shopping stop) by noon. Others returned to the lodge from longer treks anywhere from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.!
The second day was, if anything better, and was the one where I simply couldn’t speak from amazement. This family was Kwitonda Group, which had over 23 members (I think it is higher than reported on the park website, since they had two small infants). We reached this group in 40 minutes. When we stopped to go over the stone wall into the park, two of them came over the wall to greet us! This family was in more open forest and were easier to photograph. There were two babies, one two months old and one only 4 days old! So we saw both the oldest and youngest gorillas in the park. In addition to the silverbacks and nursing mothers, there were many playful youngsters, one of whom darted back and forth amongst us, knocking into six of the eight trekkers! The tourists aren’t to touch the gorillas, but no such rule can be enforced against the gorillas. This trek had no nettles. On this day, we returned to the lodge by 11:45 a.m.
The monkey trek was even easier still, about 20 minutes to the monkeys. The group was larger, but the same set up with the two guides, armed guard and 3 trackers. And porters, of course. We each hired a porter for every trek, whether we needed one or not. And none of the other trekkers knew how much to tip, so we found ourselves advising all the others based on the vague info we gathered from the internet. Hope we had it right.
Our lodge provided gaiters and had gloves to borrow (although I had brought some rubber tipped gardening gloves that I donated to their supply). They also had rain slickers and backpacks, but we all used our own. It did not rain on our treks (others the same days did have some rain), but I found that I wore my rain pants anyway, since that allowed me to basically sit or kneel anywhere without worrying about nettles, etc. Laundry was returned by the evening so you could have clean clothes for the next day’s trek (in addition to having your shoes made cleaner than new). The vehicle we had was brand new, clean and comfortable, and the guide was great, from airport pick up to airport drop off.
The entry into Rwanda was pretty easy—visa on arrival for US citizens. Since we had a flight with only six total passengers, very quick. No idea about timing if you arrive on a larger flight, but they did seem to be set up with several agents so it might not be too bad.
All in all, this was an absolutely fantastic experience, and I would highly recommend this lodge and Governors Safaris. They booked us into the Kigali Serena for one night, and that was a perfectly nice hotel with a pool, etc.
In summary, if you can do the gorilla treks in Rwanda you will absolutely love it, and unforgettable experience.
Thanks for reading. I'd be happy to answer any questions.
“Oh My God”.
These three words seemed to be the only ones I could utter during our two gorilla visits. It was simply amazing to interact with these creatures. We booked the Rwanda part of the trip directly with Governors Safaris who run Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge. I have to say that everything was perfect. Lodge was very comfortable, service was fantastic, food was good, etc. I think the lodge staff and managers all went out of their way to make sure everything was as smooth and effortless as possible for the guests, and as always seem to be the case in Africa, the people were just lovely. The lodge had little touches such as crocs type shoes to borrow while your trekking shoes were being cleaned, hot water bottles, fires in the fireplace in your room, etc.
They had several other activities on offer besides the gorilla and golden monkey treks. One we did that was great was the village walk to the local village sponsored by the lodge. This was not a “tourist village”. We enjoyed it quite a bit and felt it was not a “show” put on for tourists. They use the funds from tourists to provide clothes and school supplies to the children, as well as other “luxuries” like mattresses to the families. We also had the musical group (same one at the park headquarters) come to the lodge one afternoon, and that was really special, on the terrace with the volcanoes in the backdrop, without a crowd. That was $70 and a bargain to us. I’ll never forget the sound of their voices getting louder as they sang up the path to the lodge, nor their beautiful smiles that never stopped the whole time.
Now, the highlight: others have posted how the gorilla trek works, with the guides all meeting at park headquarters to negotiate which family their guests will visit, and then after a short orientation, you drive to the start of your trek. Two of us had injuries not long before the trip, so we emphasized to our guide, Fidel, that although we may not be the oldest trekkers, we weren’t up to the longer treks or probably even the medium ones. He came through beyond our hopes (and the other four in our group were even older than us!).
The first trek was to the Sabyinyo family, the one with the oldest and biggest silverback. The trek was about 30 minutes to the gorillas, and they came running through our midst while we were dropping our packs and getting the last instructions. This group moved around quite a bit, and was some work to follow (there were nettles and very thick bamboo, vines, etc. underfoot). However, the big silverback took pity on us and found a clearing where he posed for photos for about ten minutes. This family had about 15 members, but the mother with the baby never came out from very thick bushes, and I think we really only saw 9 or 10 of them, including the only known bald gorilla. It was so easy we were back to the lodge (even after a shopping stop) by noon. Others returned to the lodge from longer treks anywhere from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.!
The second day was, if anything better, and was the one where I simply couldn’t speak from amazement. This family was Kwitonda Group, which had over 23 members (I think it is higher than reported on the park website, since they had two small infants). We reached this group in 40 minutes. When we stopped to go over the stone wall into the park, two of them came over the wall to greet us! This family was in more open forest and were easier to photograph. There were two babies, one two months old and one only 4 days old! So we saw both the oldest and youngest gorillas in the park. In addition to the silverbacks and nursing mothers, there were many playful youngsters, one of whom darted back and forth amongst us, knocking into six of the eight trekkers! The tourists aren’t to touch the gorillas, but no such rule can be enforced against the gorillas. This trek had no nettles. On this day, we returned to the lodge by 11:45 a.m.
The monkey trek was even easier still, about 20 minutes to the monkeys. The group was larger, but the same set up with the two guides, armed guard and 3 trackers. And porters, of course. We each hired a porter for every trek, whether we needed one or not. And none of the other trekkers knew how much to tip, so we found ourselves advising all the others based on the vague info we gathered from the internet. Hope we had it right.
Our lodge provided gaiters and had gloves to borrow (although I had brought some rubber tipped gardening gloves that I donated to their supply). They also had rain slickers and backpacks, but we all used our own. It did not rain on our treks (others the same days did have some rain), but I found that I wore my rain pants anyway, since that allowed me to basically sit or kneel anywhere without worrying about nettles, etc. Laundry was returned by the evening so you could have clean clothes for the next day’s trek (in addition to having your shoes made cleaner than new). The vehicle we had was brand new, clean and comfortable, and the guide was great, from airport pick up to airport drop off.
The entry into Rwanda was pretty easy—visa on arrival for US citizens. Since we had a flight with only six total passengers, very quick. No idea about timing if you arrive on a larger flight, but they did seem to be set up with several agents so it might not be too bad.
All in all, this was an absolutely fantastic experience, and I would highly recommend this lodge and Governors Safaris. They booked us into the Kigali Serena for one night, and that was a perfectly nice hotel with a pool, etc.
In summary, if you can do the gorilla treks in Rwanda you will absolutely love it, and unforgettable experience.
Thanks for reading. I'd be happy to answer any questions.
Apr 18th, 2016, 12:42 PM
#7
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 1,686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
thank you so much for posting. We did a safari in Tanzania around 8 years ago and it was wonderful, one the the absolute highlights of any where I have travelled.
We are planning on Rwanda in Feb and was very interested in your report. I will also do two treks, all that way for only one does not make sense to me.
Did you find the monkey trip very exciting? I am thinking that it may be a bit anti climatic. We will also do a safari in Uganda as well, and I have seen many monkeys in other parts of the world so not sure if I want to do this, but don't want to find out later that it was amazing.
Thanks.
We are planning on Rwanda in Feb and was very interested in your report. I will also do two treks, all that way for only one does not make sense to me.
Did you find the monkey trip very exciting? I am thinking that it may be a bit anti climatic. We will also do a safari in Uganda as well, and I have seen many monkeys in other parts of the world so not sure if I want to do this, but don't want to find out later that it was amazing.
Thanks.
Apr 18th, 2016, 01:49 PM
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 254
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
To answer questions:
Manor at Ngorongoro was built in about 2007, I think, but has a very historic (Cape Dutch) look. It is an Elewana property. Was definitely more luxurious than the Plantation Lodge that we stayed in last time. We really enjoyed it.
The golden monkey trip was still worth doing, even if not the "wow" of the gorillas. For one thing, I think it worked better for the day of departure, because you return earlier than the gorillas and don't have to worry that your trek will be too long, especially if you have a flight that evening. It did take a while before they really came down where they were easy to see, but they were very cute, and are actually more endangered than the gorillas. Only down side was that the group was larger (about 16 or 18 vs. 8 to trek to gorillas).
Photos are now posted here:
http://mwillia.users.sonic.net/Matts...a/Archive.html
Manor at Ngorongoro was built in about 2007, I think, but has a very historic (Cape Dutch) look. It is an Elewana property. Was definitely more luxurious than the Plantation Lodge that we stayed in last time. We really enjoyed it.
The golden monkey trip was still worth doing, even if not the "wow" of the gorillas. For one thing, I think it worked better for the day of departure, because you return earlier than the gorillas and don't have to worry that your trek will be too long, especially if you have a flight that evening. It did take a while before they really came down where they were easy to see, but they were very cute, and are actually more endangered than the gorillas. Only down side was that the group was larger (about 16 or 18 vs. 8 to trek to gorillas).
Photos are now posted here:
http://mwillia.users.sonic.net/Matts...a/Archive.html
Apr 18th, 2016, 07:25 PM
#9
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 1,686
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Wonderful pictures and blog. Another question. I have sjorgen's disease which means I need to drink water constantly. Are you saying that you can not bring your water bottle to watch the gorillas? Is is just for the hour you are with them? Or are your things taken away prior to that
Thank you
Thank you
Apr 19th, 2016, 07:12 AM
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 254
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You can take nothing for the hour you are with the gorillas except your camera. All water and other belongings stay with the porters. I suppose you could possibly cut your time short and return to your pack earlier if need be, but I'm not sure. You could probably get your questions answered by an experienced tour operator who should know what the park rules are. Good luck.
Apr 23rd, 2016, 03:03 PM
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 254
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
A person who has done both would give a better answer; I can just tell you what we decided.
We chose Rwanda for two primary reasons. First, it is a much shorter trip from the capital to the national park (under a three hour drive from Kigali to Volcanoes, I believe a full day to Bwindi in Uganda). Second, from reading it sounded like the treks had the possibility to be easier (and indeed they were easy). The third but less important reason was there was a direct flight from Serengeti to Kigali on Coastal Aviation, so no returning to Arusha/Kilimanjaro for our onward flight after safari (and we therefore only killed an afternoon in transit). The downsides to Rwanda were higher permit cost and slightly higher elevation (over 8,200 feet at the lodge).
I don't think you can go wrong with either. The gorillas are the same, and they are what make it a magical experience. If you are fit, do the one that has availability and otherwise works with your travels/connections.
We chose Rwanda for two primary reasons. First, it is a much shorter trip from the capital to the national park (under a three hour drive from Kigali to Volcanoes, I believe a full day to Bwindi in Uganda). Second, from reading it sounded like the treks had the possibility to be easier (and indeed they were easy). The third but less important reason was there was a direct flight from Serengeti to Kigali on Coastal Aviation, so no returning to Arusha/Kilimanjaro for our onward flight after safari (and we therefore only killed an afternoon in transit). The downsides to Rwanda were higher permit cost and slightly higher elevation (over 8,200 feet at the lodge).
I don't think you can go wrong with either. The gorillas are the same, and they are what make it a magical experience. If you are fit, do the one that has availability and otherwise works with your travels/connections.
Apr 23rd, 2016, 03:05 PM
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 254
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
A person who has done both would give a better answer; I can just tell you what we decided.
We chose Rwanda for two primary reasons. First, it is a much shorter trip from the capital to the national park (under a three hour drive from Kigali to Volcanoes, I believe a full day to Bwindi in Uganda). Second, from reading it sounded like the treks had the possibility to be easier (and indeed they were easy). The third but less important reason was there was a direct flight from Serengeti to Kigali on Coastal Aviation, so no returning to Arusha/Kilimanjaro for our onward flight after safari (and we therefore only killed an afternoon in transit). The downsides to Rwanda were higher permit cost and slightly higher elevation (over 8,200 feet at the lodge).
I don't think you can go wrong with either. The gorillas are the same, and they are what make it a magical experience. If you are fit, do the one that has availability and otherwise works with your travels/connections.
We chose Rwanda for two primary reasons. First, it is a much shorter trip from the capital to the national park (under a three hour drive from Kigali to Volcanoes, I believe a full day to Bwindi in Uganda). Second, from reading it sounded like the treks had the possibility to be easier (and indeed they were easy). The third but less important reason was there was a direct flight from Serengeti to Kigali on Coastal Aviation, so no returning to Arusha/Kilimanjaro for our onward flight after safari (and we therefore only killed an afternoon in transit). The downsides to Rwanda were higher permit cost and slightly higher elevation (over 8,200 feet at the lodge).
I don't think you can go wrong with either. The gorillas are the same, and they are what make it a magical experience. If you are fit, do the one that has availability and otherwise works with your travels/connections.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
melproffit
Africa & the Middle East
41
Nov 23rd, 2018 01:02 PM
travelling_greg2
Africa & the Middle East
12
Oct 22nd, 2018 07:41 PM
atravelynn
Africa & the Middle East
139
Mar 26th, 2011 01:26 PM
Jvigano
Africa & the Middle East
25
Oct 24th, 2009 12:05 PM
