4 Days Akagera & Lake Kivu Safari

4 Days Akagera National Park & Lake Kivu Safari

Rwanda doesn’t rush you and in just 4 days, you will understand why. This safari starts where the wild runs free—among elephants and lion prints—and ends where the water holds you like a breath—slow, warm, and wide.

In Akagera, you’ll follow the rhythms of hooves and paws. On Lake Kivu, you’ll follow no rhythm at all because Lake Kivu is precisely for relaxation.

This is a journey of opposites that fit: fire and stillness, open plains and open hearts. And it’s carefully designed by Friendly Gorillas Safaris to be felt.

Itinerary Overview

Day 1 – Kigali to Akagera, evening wildlife encounter
Day 2 – Big 5 safari & boat ride on Lake Ihema
Day 3 – Scenic transfer to Lake Kivu
Day 4 – Lake Kivu exploration & return to Kigali

Safari Summary – Day by Day

Day 1: Into the Quiet Wild – Kigali to Akagera

Upon your arrival in Kigali, you shall be picked by your Friendly Gorillas safari guide who welcomes you like an old friend and leads you eastward—past banana groves, busy markets, and hills that fold like stories.

Depending on your time of arrival, you may go for a free Kigali city tour where you get to explore the ancient Genocide memorial museum, the local market before a transfer to Akagera.

By afternoon, you enter Akagera National Park. The sky feels wider here. Giraffes stretch above the acacia trees. Impalas dart across the tracks. The day slows down, and the animals appear like memories returning.

As the sun sinks, you may take a short game drive to greet the dusk—and perhaps catch sight of a lion’s silhouette against the savannah sky.

Accommodation in Akagera:

• Budget: Akagera Rhino Lodge
• Standard: Ruzizi Tented Lodge
• Luxury: Magashi Camp
  Meals: Lunch & Dinner included

Day 2: Big 5 Morning & a Lake That Remembers

Wake with the sun—the same way the herds do and keep in mind today’s game drive takes you deep into Akagera’s shifting heart. Buffalo stare through the dust. Elephants move in stately silence. Somewhere, a leopard watches unseen.

Your guide reads tracks like scripture. Your eyes grow sharper, your breath steadier. In the quiet moments, you realize: you’re not just seeing wildlife. You’re joining the rhythm.

In the afternoon, you glide across Lake Ihema as you observe Hippos snort in the shallows. Kingfishers dart across the mirrored surface. The water carries stories. You just have to float in the incredible boat to hear and sightsee them.

Accommodation:

• Budget: Akagera Rhino Lodge
• Standard: Ruzizi Tented Lodge
• Luxury: Magashi Camp
  Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included

Day 3: From Savannah to Shoreline – Transfer to Lake Kivu

After a gentle breakfast, you leave the golden plains behind. The road curves westward. Hills climb higher. The air cools. You pass tea fields and banana groves, children waving from red-earthed paths.

And then—Lake Kivu. It doesn’t announce itself. It arrives like a secret you were always meant to find. You check in at a lodge that faces the water. Maybe you swim. Maybe you don’t. Maybe you just sit and watch the horizon blur into sky.

Accommodation in Lake Kivu (Karongi or Gisenyi):

• Budget: Inzu Lodge
• Standard: Cormoran Lodge
• Luxury: Lake Kivu Serena Hotel
  Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included

Day 4: The Gentle Goodbye – Lake Kivu to Kigali

Today is slow. It should be. You rise when the lake does—softly. You walk along the shore. Maybe take a boat ride to explore quiet islands. Or visit a coffee plantation tucked into the hills.

There’s no rush. Rwanda never asks for one. Eventually, you begin the return to Kigali, full not of noise—but of quiet things: lion eyes, water light, a bird’s shadow on a fisherman’s sail.

Your safari ends in Kigali, but something about you has changed. That’s what happens when you let both land and water speak.

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch included

A Journey of Two Heartbeats

This safari doesn’t race. It listens. It gives you the golden fire of Akagera and the silver hush of Kivu. One moment you’re tracking elephants across open plains. The next, you’re watching the sun dissolve into lake water.

And through it all, Friendly Gorillas Safaris is there—not leading, but walking beside you. Adjusting the pace. Reading your silences. Making sure Rwanda meets you in your rhythm.

Because real safaris aren’t loud. They’re the ones that stay in your bones long after the ticket fades.