I am planning to go on a gorilla trek in Rwanda and the operator I am looking at (Access Rwanda Safaris) has indicated that the trip I want starts at 4AM in Kigali, we drive to the park, see the gorillas, eat lunch, drive back to my hotel, and arrive back at 5:30PM. I suppose that this is fine, but is this a bad company that is trying to herd me through, or is this a standard trip for a one day trip for other companies?

Thank you in advance for any help that is given. These boards are so helpful in planning our trip.

I've never read about anyone starting in Kigali the morning of their gorilla trek -- has anyone here ever done that? This sounds pretty dicey to me, or at least stress-provoking. When we did our gorilla trek people were getting to the office to get their gorilla group assignments early in the morning, so if there was any problem with the road and/or vehicle on the way from Kigali, you could be in trouble. Also, there's no way to know for certain where the gorilla families are going to be each day, so some of the treks last all day, and other only take 3 hours or so. You might want to see if they could arrange a place for you to stay closer to the trek the night before, so you can get a good night's rest beforehand. We stayed at the Kinigi Guest House, which is about as close as you can get to the trekking office, and not too expensive/luxurious.

Maybe somebody else has done it all in one day and will disgree with me..?

we always have our clients arrive at the park the afternoon beforehand. we use accomadtions ranging from gorillas nest to sabinyo in price. i would not attempt to drive from kigali the morning of the trek.

craig beal

I also overnighted near the park the night before. Its such a nice, tranquil area, and I don't know why you'd want to spend a couple of hours in the car the morning of your trek. There are plenty of nearby hotels, at all sorts of prices.

If you have only one day, then this itinerary is what you need to do. I did not do it, but I don't think this is a bad company forcing something unacceptable on you. Access Rwanda is mentioned in Lonely Planet.

The early morning departure from Kigali is typical and done daily. I arranged to arrive a day before and will do so again in August. But if you are trying to save time, this is a standard option.

Enjoy the gorillas!

Thanks for setting the record straight, Lynn. It sounds like this is do-able for somebody who only has one day... and I certainly wouldn't want to discourage anyone from seeing the gorillas in whatever way they can! Although this chat board is a great resource, sometimes it's easy to forget that the "Fodor's way" is not the only way to do things (and I should know better, from my own personal experience!)