We went to Uganda with Volcanoes Safaris in November. It was great. Not sure of the cost because we also went to Tanzania and other things. I loved Uganda but I've never been to Rwanda.

I went gorilla trekking with Volcanoes Safaris to both Rwanda and Uganda. I second that recommendation.

I'm going to Rwanda in June with R&N Xplorer. They're a budget operator; a bunch of people who post here have used them. R&N subcontracts to Mercator in Rwanda, not sure about Uganda. I believe Volcanoes is quite expensive though they are a very reputable company.

Maybe I'll see you there!

We used R&N Xplorer in September of 2008. They were fantastic and a lot cheaper than other companies, although I wouldn't say they're 'budget'. The guide/driver that picked us up at Kigali Airport was the same gentleman we had for the entire trip. We stayed at the Gorilla's Nest, did two gorilla treks and one trek to Dian Fossey's camp and then spent a night at Lake Kivu on our way back to Kigali.

Is your $3500 budget per person? Because if it is then you're on the right track. It also depends how many treks you want to do. The Rwanda portion of our trip was $7000 (including $2000 for permits) which was for five days. If you're going to go in June your biggest worry will be if permits are available. R&N was able to find permits for us when no one else could.

The only thing about R&N that I didn't like was that you have to wire transfer the money, they don't accept credit cards.

loru, who was your driver/guide? I'm looking for names to request.

Info for the OP re: budget: I'm staying at Kinigi Guesthouse (the budget option), traveling solo and paying around $2800 for 5 days, of which $1100 or $1200 is for 2 gorilla trek permits and a golden monkey trek permit. This itinerary would have been about $500 less expensive pp for two people.

I've seen Amahoro Tours mentioned a lot too; they're in the Bradt guide and have lots of options.

Volcanoes is not so expensive if you stay at Kinigi Guesthouse, as Leely is doing and as I did. If you use Volcanoe's very lovely top notch Virunga Lodge with beautiful views, then the cost shoots up. But you get a free massage there I think.

Back to Kinigi--If you want to save money, stay within a stone's throw of the ranger station where you leave for the gorilla visits, and birdwatch, then this was a great place. My guide was a big birder and hung around to bird watch.

I also used Primates. Heard some nice things about Access Rwanda.

I can't remember his name, and I don't know what I did with his business card. He was very good but the only complaint I would have is that he wasn't 'aggressive' enough when the guides and rangers got together to sort out which tourists would visit which gorilla groups. While you could tell some guides were in there fighting for the groups they wanted, ours seemed to just take whatever was left over, which meant we missed out on seeing one of the groups we wanted to see.

My husband and I used R&N in Nov 2008 for Kigali and gorilla trekking. Everything went very smoothly and when we did price comparison, R&N was significantly less expensive than other operators. We spent three nite at Sabyino Lodge and did two treks. It was incredible!

This may be a little late but I used Great LaKes based in Kampala, Uganda in 2007. The service was good on a private safari and resonable priced. I'm using Baobab this June for a 12 day private safari with 5 treks and evrything is going smoothly so far. 3 - 4 thousand sounds a little low if you want the gorilla permits included. Be sure to stay at the Travelers Rest hotel in Kisoro.