Gorilla Safaris in Rwanda

***OUR SA RESIDENT SPECIAL HAS BEEN EXTENDED AGAIN TILL 31 DEC 2025!!***

SAVE US$1,000 pp ON YOUR GORILLA PERMIT!!

Valid to African citizens & SA residents (with residency permits of 6 months and older).


Join us on this 'once in a lifetime' Group Safari.  Visit the Genocide Memorial in Kigali.  Lunch in Kigali at the famous Hotel Rwanda.  Scenic drives through Rwanda, known as the Land of a Thousand Hills, with its beautiful rolling landscapes dotted with tea plantations, rugged mountains & towering Volcanoes.  On your Rwanda gorilla holiday, come face to face with Mountain Gorillas in Volcanoes National Park.


Our group safaris offer the opportunity to explore Rwanda while enjoying the company of an intimate group of like-minded safari enthusiasts on a fixed itinerary.

If you are not a group safari person - speak to us, and we can design a once-in-a-lifetime trip specifically with your needs in mind. We love what we do, have loads of knowledge, and have been lucky to visit and experience our destinations. Therefore, we can custom-design safaris with the greatest attention to detail.


Itinerary

  • Dag 0: Johannesburg

    Meet a representative of eXplore Plus Travel & Tours at OR Tambo Airport at the RwandAir check-in counter 3 hours before the scheduled departure time as your flight to Rwanda departs after midnight.

  • Day 1: Johannesburg / Kigali Airport / Kigali

    The package includes return economy airfare with RwandAir from Johannesburg to Kigali Airport (departing at 03h10, and arriving at 06h20). When you exit the airport our friendly safari team will welcome you. Transfer to Park Inn by Radisson Blue to enjoy breakfast (included), drop your bags and refresh. As you drive through the city you will notice why the motto of Kigali is "Cleanliness and Security".   

    The second stop will be at the Genocide Memorial Centre, regarded as one of the best museums in Africa! Learn about Rwanda’s history from the pre-colonial era to the 1994 genocide war that shocked the world. You cannot appreciate this beautiful country and its friendly people without visiting this memorial centre.  

    After visiting the museum, we will stop for lunch at Repub Lounge (included) where you can taste some of Rwanda’s local food and enjoy stunning views of the city.

    Check-in at the hotel with the afternoon at leisure, or you can visit the Kimironko Market. Here you will find handicrafts and souvenirs, colourful baskets, vibrant kitenge fabrics and seamstresses ready to make you a dress, fresh vegetables and fruits, household goods, and a meat and fish market.

    Stay: The Park Inn by Radisson Blue (standard room)

    Meals: Breakfast on arrival, dinner & breakfast the next morning

  • Day 2: Kigali / Volcanoes National Park

    Enjoy a leisurely breakfast before check-out and travel to Volcanoes National Park, driving through the stunning scenery of flourishing green hills and valleys. Enjoy an en-route stop for lunch at the  Sooko Café (included), before your visit to the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Fossey Fund.  A beautiful campus built for gorilla conservation (opened on 1 February 2022). Visit the Cindy Broder Conservation Gallery with an immersive public exhibit designed to tell the story of mountain gorilla research and conservation from Dian Fossey’s time to today. The gallery includes never before seen artifacts from Dian Fossey’s almost two decades living with the gorillas, an engaging visual experience, including virtual and augmented reality, and a 360-degree immersive theatre. To complete the experience at the Ellen Campus, there is a café and gift shop with inviting areas to sit and enjoy the biodiversity of the campus.

    Stay: Mountain View Gorilla Lodge (Cottage)

    Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 3: Volcanoes National Park - GORILLA TREKKING

    Early morning departure from the lodge to the Volcanoes National Park headquarters in Kinigi for your MOUNTAIN GORILLA TREKKING experience. After the briefing, you will drive to the starting point closest to the gorilla family you trek. This is your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come face-to-face with a silverback gorilla! You can stay with the gorillas for a maximum of one hour. You'll be privileged to come within mere meters of a gorilla to observe them foraging, playing, teasing each other, and eating.  Afterward, you will return to the base where your driver will be waiting to transfer you to the lodge. 

    Stay: Mountain View Gorilla Lodge (Cottage)

    Meals: Lunch, dinner & breakfast

  • Day 4: Volcanoes National Park / Kigali / Johannesburg

    Enjoy a morning at leisure with lunch at the lodge (included) or enjoy the opportunity to engage in another activity in the Volcanoes area (for your account). You can visit the nearby ex-poacher’s village. As part of overall conservation endeavors, former poachers renounced their old ways and became conservation activists. 

    You can also book a second gorilla trek (pre-book) or trek the golden monkeys.  Afternoon drive back to Kigali where we'll stop for a farewell dinner (included) before your transfer to the airport for your flight home, departing at 23h30 (Rwanda time), arriving 03h20 (South African time).

    End of service

  • Return economy airfares with RwandAir from Johannesburg to Kigali Airport
  • Including airport taxes
  • Airport transfers from Kigali Airport to the hotel
  • 1-night at Park Inn by Radisson Blue 
  • Breakfast at Hotel on arrival
  • Dinner & Breakfast  
  • Kigali activities included:
  • Genocide museum visit 
  • Lunch at the Repub Lounge
  • Kimironko Market 
  • Nyandungu Eco Park visit
  • 2 nights at Mountain Gorilla View lodge 
  • Lunch, Dinner & Breakfast
  • Volcanoes activities included:
  • Visit the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Fund
  • X1 Gorilla trekking permit per person in the Volcanoes National Park 
  • Farewell dinner in Kigali
  • Private 4x4 Safari vehicle
  • Bottled water in the vehicle
  • Services of your professional and knowledgeable Rwanda English-speaking driver guide. 
  • 24-hour support while you travel
  • Travel information pack

  • Entry visa to Rwanda (SA passport requires a visa for Rwanda– Free of charge)
  • Travel Insurance (Highly recommended)
  • Meals and drinks not specified  
  • Activities not specified
  • Laundry services
  • Gratuities to the driver/guide, trackers, hotel staff & porters – our recommendations:
  • Driver/guide – suggested at US$10 per person per day. 
  • Gorilla trekking:
  • Trekking guide: US$10 per client
  • Ass guide, trackers & security guards:  Between US$10 – US$15 per client
  • Porter – US$15 (if you need assistance on your hike)
  • Hotel staff – at your discretion
  • Porters carrying suitcase/s – recommend US$1 per suitcase.
  • All expenses of a personal nature

Dates & Prices

Dates:

SMALL GROUP DEPARTURE DATE:

This 04-Day Gorilla Trekking Group Safaris depart on the following set departure dates. 

28 - 31 May 2025

26 - 29 November 2025

10 - 13 December 2025

Rates:

SHARING: SINGLE:
R49,904 pps (SAVE R18,800 pp) R55,334 pps (SAVE R18,800 pp)
MORE SA Resident Specials


  • The exchange rate used (bank selling rate): R18.80 to US$1.00.
  • As your package is partly in US Dollars all prices are subject to exchange rate fluctuations and are subject to change without prior notice. The bank selling exchange rate on the date of final payment will be used to recalculate your package price.
  • The price quoted is based on an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) discounted price. For any other means of payment, contact us for an updated price.
  • The price quoted is per person sharing / single. 
  • The price quoted is VALID to African citizens & SA residents (with residency permits of 6 months and older).
  • Please note - African Passport Holders gorilla trekking permits are NOT valid between June and October 2025 – standard rate will apply of US$1500.00 per permit.
  • Price quoted is based on minimum of 6 persons travelling together on the same dates and itinerary. 
  • Flights quoted are current and subject to change due to availability and tax increases. We reserve the right to re-quote accordingly.
  • Children trekking restrictions: Gorilla trekking – No children younger than 15 years.

 

National Parks

Volcanoes National Park

Volcanoes National Park is part of the Virunga Mountains, which is a range of six extinct and three active volcanoes situated in Rwanda, Uganda and The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  In the heart of Africa, so high up that you shiver more than you sweat, are volcanoes (the Virungas) towering up in the air for almost 3,000m, virtually covered in rich, green rainforest. Situated in the far northwest of Rwanda, the Parc des Volcano’s protects the steep slopes of this magnificent mountain range - home of the rare mountain gorilla - and the rich mosaic of montane ecosystems, which embrace evergreen and bamboo forest, open grassland, swamp and heath.  An exciting trek through the cultivated foothills of the Virungas offers splendid views in all directions. This is the best location to track the rare and captivating mountain gorillas (Gorilla Beringei). The guides can generally find the gorillas within one to eight hours of starting, but this often involves a lot of strenuous effort scrambling through dense vegetation up steep muddy slopes. An encounter with a silverback male gorilla at close quarters can be a hair-raising experience; however, they are remarkably non-aggressive animals, entirely vegetarian, and usually quite safe to be around.