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make a visit to akagera national park, full of giraffs, antilops, zebras, baboons, hippos etc.the parkrangers are very helpful ...you can book over several rwandese travel-agents but my own was very good and superreliable:Name: INTERNATIONAL TOURS AND TRAVEL (ITT)Phone: (250) 74057Fax: (250) 75582ask for Joyce
Very well maintained tarmac sealed roads criss-cross the terrain. Minivans; share-taxis and local Buses traverse these routes. Punctual and safe; they stick to the schedule and speed limit as there are non-threatening, safety promoting army checks all along the way in every direction. Definitely cuts cost. Wish I had known!There are many minivan companies I used Okapi.
I took a bus from Kampala, Uganda to Kigali. It took almost 10 hours including like an hour at the border. It costed 20,000 Uganda Shillings. It was 15,000 for the local. Departed at 10am(though it said 9am in the ticket).The bus was OK. There was no air conditioning but the weather was good during that time so I never felt hot. One thing I didn't like about it is that the driver stopped at the gas station for us to go to the toilet too late. I think it should be like every 3 hours but it was like 5 hours so it was quite torturing because I usually drink a hell lot of water. He also stopped at a place where you can buy something to eat but I didn't try anything.
While the roads around Kigali are in fine condition, the situation changes pretty dramatically as you exit town and head out anywhere towards the countryside.You are likely to encounter no more than a dirt track for much of the route and the ride is naturally quite bumpy.The best way to go about things is to rent an SUV/ Off-roader. We had ours arranged by the NGO we were with, but there are many to be seen around, and i am sure its easy to arrange.On one of our trips out to shoot, our vehicle broke down and there was not much we could do except hitch a ride from a passing dumper, and leave our driver behind to figure out repairs.If you are with an NGO, your vehicle will usually have a radio to contact their base/ office, which can be much help at such times.
We flew Rwandair Express from Nairobi to Kigali and back.The flight was late in taking off from nairobi, but the service etc was fairly decent. I was somewhat puzzled to note that half the crew were Romanian...??
The Opaki bus line is the most up scale highway transport within Rwanda. There is a schedule, and one should purchase tickets in advance if possible. My wife and I traveled from the Congo border to Kigali. Since we had a lot of luggage, we purchased three seats. The trip was more comfortable that our outbound trip via private car. The Opaki driver was very familiar with the road.
Near Kibuye we saw this beach, where goods are shipped over from the congolese side. Not only the rebels use these pierogi to cross borders at nighttime; since it is used by fishers and small traders to ship their belongings.
This adventurous vehicle is used by the locals to transport all kinds of goods from persons to huge bags of potatoes/banana. They are called "tchookoo-doo" are nearly completely made of wood and get up to 60 km/h when driven down the hill. The driver is a master of balance and speed when risking his life on every ride.
The roads to the main destinations around the country are easily accessible by minibus on mostly tarmac roads in good condition. Just take care to take express buses if you travel between towns. They charge the same price as the -in East Africa at least- more usual unbelievably packed minibuses that don't leave until full and stop in every tiny little village.At least 2 companies are serving the expressmarket, Okapi and Actuel Punctuel (something like that). The departure is on fixed time no matter how many passengers. And they don't stop inbetween. They don't allow more passengers than seats available. Isn't that unique service? In towns you can use motorbike or ordinary bike taxis. Is cheap and creates many jobs.
I had real trouble with my travel agent - he had very little idea where the country was and no idea which airlines to fly so here is a list of airlines to try: South African, Kenya, Alliance and Sabena, EthiopianThe best (and cheapest) way around is a taxi bus. They are safer and less crowded than some of the other African countries. The country is very small and many roads of good quality, within a few hours you can get anywhere.Bicycles are probably not that safe.To hire a car (sedan) with a driver will set you back about US$100/day
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LAICO Umubano Hotel Kigali
3 Reviews and 14 Opinions I've stayed at the Umabano over a period of several months so feel well qualified to comment on it....
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