2 Days Akagera Big Five Safari
Overview
This 2 Days Akagera Big Five Safari gives you a full day and two game drives in Rwanda’s only Big Five park, one of Africa’s great conservation comeback stories after lions and rhinos were reintroduced following their local extinction.
An overnight stay inside the park means an early morning game drive when predator activity is highest, something a single-day trip from Kigali cannot offer.
Safari Highlights
- Full day of game drives
- Lake Ihema boat safari
- Overnight inside the park
- Chance to see lions, elephants and rhinos
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Transfer to Akagera and Afternoon Game Drive
Depart Kigali for Akagera National Park, arriving in time for lunch and an afternoon game drive across the Kasenyi-style savannah plains in search of lions, elephants and buffaloes.
Accommodation Options
Budget: Ruzizi Tented Lodge
Mid-range: Akagera Game Lodge
Luxury: Magashi Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 2: Morning Game Drive and Lake Ihema Boat Safari
An early game drive for the best predator activity, followed by a boat safari on Lake Ihema to see hippos, crocodiles and water birds, before the drive back to Kigali.
Accommodation
As above, then return to Kigali
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
Optional Activities
Akagera
- Rhino tracking with anti-poaching rangers
- Night game drive
Best Time to Go
The dry seasons, June to September and December to February, offer the most reliable wildlife concentrations, though Akagera rewards visitors in any season with its resident Big Five population.
What to Pack
- Neutral-coloured clothing
- A warm layer for the early morning game drive
- Sun protection
- Binoculars and a camera with reasonable zoom
Conservation Impact
Every night’s stay and park fee contributes to Akagera’s revenue-sharing programme with bordering communities, part of the model credited with turning the park from a poaching-depleted reserve into Rwanda’s only Big Five destination within a decade.
Why an Overnight Stay Changes the Experience
Predator activity peaks in the very early morning, a window a single-day visitor from Kigali simply cannot reach. Staying inside the park means your second game drive starts before sunrise, when lions and other predators are most likely still active from the night before.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why choose two days over a single-day trip?
An overnight stay lets you catch an early morning game drive, when predators are most active, rather than arriving mid-morning after a two-hour drive from Kigali.
Is Akagera as good as Kenya or Tanzania for Big Five viewing?
Akagera is smaller in scale, but its recovery story, seeing lions and rhinos that were locally extinct within the last two decades, gives every sighting a different weight.
Can this be combined with gorilla trekking?
Yes, this is commonly combined with a Volcanoes National Park gorilla trek either before or after, both reachable from Kigali.
What currency should I bring?
US dollars printed after 2009 are widely accepted for park fees and lodge bills, while Rwandan francs are more practical for tips and smaller purchases.
Can I extend this into a longer Rwanda trip?
Yes, this itinerary pairs naturally with a Volcanoes National Park gorilla trek either before or after, both reachable from Kigali within a few hours.
What wildlife am I most likely to see?
Elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras and a wide range of antelope species are reliably seen on most game drives, while lion and rhino sightings, though increasingly common since reintroduction, are never guaranteed on any single visit.
Is there phone or internet signal in the park?
Coverage is patchy inside Akagera itself but generally available at the lodges, useful to know if you need to stay reachable during your stay.
Do I need any special fitness for this trip?
No, since the entire itinerary is vehicle and boat-based with no trekking required, making it accessible to travellers of most ages and fitness levels.
Planning Notes
This itinerary works well as a standalone short break from Kigali or as an add-on before or after a longer Rwanda safari. Travellers combining it with gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park should note the two parks sit on opposite sides of Kigali, roughly two hours apart, so routing this trip either at the very start or very end of a longer itinerary avoids unnecessary backtracking across the capital.
Why Travel With All in Africa Safaris
We personally vet every Akagera lodge we recommend, from budget tented camps to Magashi Camp’s luxury tents on Lake Rwanyakazinga, and adjust this itinerary’s pace to your interests before you book.
Tour Includes
- Travel in a 4x4 car
- Professional guide
- Park fees
- Accommodation
- Meals as listed
- All Activities In Itinerary
Tour Excludes
- Alcoholic drinks
- Laundry
- Tips
- Shopping
- Insurance
- Anything not included per itinerary
Get Your Tailored Rwanda Safari
Two Full Days of Game Viewing
This itinerary gives Akagera genuine time rather than a rushed day trip, with a full second day allowing for both an early morning and a late afternoon game drive, the two periods when wildlife activity is typically highest across the park’s savannah and wetland habitats.
An overnight stay inside or near the park also means avoiding the return drive to Kigali on the same day as your activities, giving a noticeably more relaxed pace than the single-day version of this trip.
Practical Notes
Rwanda requires a yellow fever certificate for entry if arriving from an at-risk country, and most nationalities can apply for a Rwanda e-visa online before travel. Travel insurance covering trekking or wildlife activities and medical evacuation is strongly recommended, and malaria prevention is worth discussing with a travel health clinic ahead of your trip.
US dollars printed after 2009 are widely accepted for park fees and lodge bills, while Rwandan francs are more practical for tips, markets and smaller day-to-day purchases along the route. Mobile network coverage is generally reliable at lodges and along main routes but becomes patchy inside the parks themselves.
Because permits and lodge availability are limited, particularly during the June to September and December to February peak seasons, we recommend booking this itinerary at least three to four months in advance for peak-season travel.
Tipping is customary though not compulsory. Rangers and trackers typically receive a tip at the end of any guided activity, generally scaled to group size, while your driver-guide is usually tipped separately at the end of the full trip.
A private 4×4 safari vehicle with an experienced English-speaking driver-guide accompanies you throughout this itinerary, suited to both park tracks and the connecting roads between destinations.
Where You’ll Stay
Accommodation on this itinerary ranges from Ruzizi Tented Lodge, a comfortable budget-friendly option within the park, to Akagera Game Lodge overlooking Lake Ihema, up to Magashi Camp, the park’s flagship luxury property on the shores of Lake Rwanyakazinga, giving flexibility across a range of comfort levels for this two-day stay.
Because permits and lodge space at Akagera are more limited than at Rwanda’s more visited parks, we recommend booking this itinerary a few months ahead of travel, particularly for peak season dates.
Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park
Volcanoes National Park protects the Rwandan side of the Virunga Massif, a chain of dormant and active volcanoes shared with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and is where Dian Fossey carried out much of the mountain gorilla research that first drew international attention to the species. Treks here tend to reach gorilla families faster on average than in Bwindi, since the park’s habituated groups generally range at somewhat lower altitudes on the volcanoes’ lower slopes, though the terrain is still often steep and can be muddy. A visit to the Dian Fossey Tomb and former research camp, reached by a moderately strenuous hike, is a popular add-on for travellers interested in the conservation history behind the park.
Big Five Safari at Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park, in Rwanda’s far east along the Tanzanian border, is the country’s only savannah park and, following a sustained reintroduction and anti-poaching programme, is once again a genuine Big Five destination — lions were reintroduced in 2015 and eastern black rhinos in 2017, joining the park’s existing elephant, buffalo and leopard populations. The park’s landscape of rolling savannah, papyrus swamp and a chain of lakes along its eastern edge supports one of the richest bird lists in Rwanda, alongside substantial herds of zebra, impala and topi. A boat cruise on Lake Ihema is one of the park’s highlights, bringing close sightings of hippo pods, crocodiles and fish eagles against a backdrop that feels markedly different from Rwanda’s mountainous west.
Conservation Fees and Community Impact
Park entry fees, gorilla and chimpanzee permits, and conservancy fees paid by visitors form a direct funding stream for anti-poaching patrols, habitat protection and, in many areas, a formal revenue-sharing arrangement with communities living along park boundaries. This model has been credited with turning former poachers into park employees and guides in several of the region’s protected areas, and with funding schools, clinics and water projects in communities that once had little direct incentive to protect neighbouring wildlife. Choosing a safari that keeps permit and park fees intact, rather than one built around discounted or informal access, is one of the more concrete ways a traveller supports this system.
Flights and Arrival Logistics
Most international itineraries route through one of the region’s main hub airports — Entebbe for Uganda, Kigali for Rwanda, Nairobi or Mombasa for Kenya, and Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar for Tanzania — with connecting flights or road transfers arranged from there to the specific parks on your itinerary. Visa requirements vary by nationality and by country, though several East African nations now offer e-visas processed online in advance, and Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda participate in an East Africa Tourist Visa that allows single-entry travel across all three countries on one visa, which is useful for itineraries that cross borders. Arrival airports typically operate best in daylight hours, so overnight arrivals are usually followed by a night near the airport before heading out to the parks the next morning.
Responsible and Sustainable Travel
Simple choices — maintaining a respectful distance from wildlife, following your guide’s instructions around habituated primates, avoiding single-use plastics where possible, and buying crafts and produce directly from local cooperatives rather than mass-produced souvenirs — add up across the volume of visitors this region receives each year. Many lodges now run their own conservation or community initiatives, from anti-poaching support to local employment quotas and school sponsorships, and asking about these programmes during your stay is both a way to learn more and a small signal to operators that travellers value this work. Respecting photography etiquette around local communities, including asking permission before photographing people, remains one of the more overlooked aspects of responsible travel in the region.
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