If you only want to visit Rwanda for gorillas, then you can get in and out in as little as 3 to 5 nights. However, it is usually best to spend at least four nights in the Virunga Mountains area and do two gorilla treks, to ensure good sightings.

3-5 nights 

Most people undertaking a trip of this duration visit the gorillas and then fly across Lake Victoria to the Serengeti region of Tanzania, but stay in Rwanda for the chimpanzee area of Nyungwe Forest and the savanna reserve of Akagera.

6-10 nights

It is extremely unusual to spend this long in Rwanda, so whichever combination of places you choose, you will most likely be combining with other countries, most notably Serengeti in Tanzania, Okavango in Botswana or Kruger in South Africa.

11-15 nights

Our safari experts have incredible 
first-hand knowledge and an average
of 12 years experience building great 
trips.

Expertise and experience

Since 1999, we have created over a million sample  trips and helped over 120,000 guests fall in love with  safari Africa.

A proud history

Over the years we have polished our operation to be super-reliable. Arranging your trip should be almost as much fun  as going on safari. 

Seamless and fun

Your trip should cost no more than if 
you had booked all the components directly. You effectively get our services for free.

Delivering value

Every single trip that we build is unique. Your trip will be precisely tailored to meet the exact requirements of everyone in your group.

Supremely tailor-made

The first safari company on the internet, we helped to shape the modern safari and we continue to be the prime innovators in our field.

Original innovators

Tell us your whatever you know about your ideal trip. Whether you're drawn to specific wildlife, particular regions, or have preferences about the style of accommodation, the more we understand, the better we can help you to craft the perfect experience.

Share your ideas

Your dedicated safari specialist will work with you to build a selection of sample trips. We'll discuss seasonality, wildlife movements, logistics, lodge options, activity levels, whatever is necessary. And we will keep on refining until we are all confident that we have reached the perfect trip.

Crafting your trip

Everything is arranged. All you need to do is turn up. You probably won’t even need to show your paperwork, you will simply glide from one group of friendly and efficient local hosts to the next. And our support team remains on hand throughout, leaving you free to focus entirely on the extraordinary experiences ahead.

Travel with confidence

Many of us here at ATR have travelled extensively with our own kids, so we know for a fact that safari is great for families.

This is the kind of trip that guarantees to generate memories that you will share for the rest of your lives.

However, there are significant health issues to consider in most safari areas, so we need to proceed with caution.

Most dry season safari is ideal for kids of 12 years and older, eminently feasible for kids 8-11 years and potentially viable from 6-7 years old. If your kids are 0-5 years, then it’s probably best to stick to the non-malarial areas of the Cape, then progressing up into Namibia as they get older.

Family safari 

Safari is an inherently romantic experience that can be endlessly tailored to suit you.

We have been helping guests to build awesome honeymoons for many years. We have intimate knowledge of some of the wildest and most romantic places in the world.

Perhaps the most important piece of advice is to be yourselves. Please don’t feel it is necessary to fit into the usual romantic tropes if they’re not for you. Just focus on having a great trip.

We very much understand the importance of these trips, we know that your honeymoon needs to really hit the heights and be a truly life-punctuating experience.

Honeymoon safari 

On safari, luxury means different things to different people.

The most conventional meaning is that the accommodations are extremely comfortable, with elevated levels of hospitality. This is relatively easy to deliver, there are lots of luxury lodges.

However, simply inserting more luxurious lodges into your trip is no guarantee of a better safari. In fact, the opposite can be true.

For us, the hallmarks of a truly high quality safari are a suitably slow pace, wonderful remote locations, superb safari guiding, exclusive and intense wildlife interaction, precisely tailored experiences and considered attention to detail. We can do that.

Luxury safari 

Safari in Virunga ranges from very pricey to excruciating. There are too many costly structural elements that cannot be avoided, like accommodation, gorilla permits, internal flights and private vehicles. You can expect to spend USD 2000 to 4000 per person per night

We are more than happy to work across this range of prices. The only important thing is that we help you find the very best safari to suit your budget.

The two dominant price factors are the specific lodges that you choose to include in your trip. Deploying more time in town locations can bring the total cost down dramatically.

If you have a higher budget, we will help you determine which lodges do actually deliver elevated levels of service and experience. We will also highlight other subtle ways in which your trip can be raised to another level, including the use of whole camp bookings, private guides and vehicles etc.

If you have a medium budget, the best ways to keep a lid on costs are to keep your trip short, to deploy nights in Entebbe and to carefully choose lower-cost lodges. We will help you understand where to trim and where to splash in order to achieve the best overall experience.

If you have a lower budget, then we can always look at other fundamentally less pricey safari countries, although this would inherently mean scrapping the gorilla experience.

"We just returned from a weeks safari organized  organized   organized by ATR and have nothing but positive reviews!"

Nyungwe Forest

Set in the southwest of Rwanda, Nyungwe is an important and scenic tropical forest reserve, the best location in the country for viewing chimpanzees.

Akagera

Set in the northeast of Rwanda, Akagera is a savanna safari reserve, with an unusual diversity of scenery, with mountains, forests, lakes and small open grasslands.

Kigali

Set in the centre of Rwanda, Kigali is the capital city and main transport hub for the country. Set across a series of prominent hills, the city centre is a reasonably pleasant place to explore.

The mountain scenery of the Virunga Mountains is very impressive, dominated by scenic upland farmlands, dotted with dense forested peaks, many of which are classic volcanic cones. It really can feel like ‘the land that time forgot’.

Mountain scenery

Virunga Mountains is one of two locations (the other being Bwindi Forest in Uganda) to offer intense up-close encounters with mountain gorillas. This area specialises in very-high-end lodges, but the core forest experience remains authentic and heart-pumping.

Mountain gorillas

In recent years, Virunga has specifically targeted the ultra-high-end safari market, with the development of a handful of extremely elegant and incredibly expensive properties. The cost of gorilla permits for all visitors has risen to double that of Uganda.

Luxury lodges

Historically, the Virunga Mountains area has been accessed by means of a 4-6 hour road journey from the capital Kigali. With the move upmarket, helicopter services were introduced and are now the primary way guests at the top lodges move around the country. 

Heli access

June to September is the main dry season and the most reliable time for gorilla tracking in the Virunga Mountains. Trails are firmer, trekking is more predictable, and gorilla families are generally found at accessible elevations, though visitor numbers are high and permits must be booked well in advance.

Jun–Sep

October to November is a short rainy season. Trails can become softer and trekking more variable, but visitor numbers drop and the forest is lush, misty and highly atmospheric, rewarding those willing to accept more challenging conditions.

Oct–Nov

December to February is the short dry season, offering good trekking conditions with slightly fewer visitors than mid-year. Trails are generally manageable, mornings are cool, and photography conditions are excellent. Late December is popular and requires early booking.

Dec–Feb

March to May is the main rainy season and the most demanding period for gorilla tracking. Trails are often muddy and slippery, treks can be longer and more strenuous, but visitor numbers are low and the scenery is dramatic and intensely green.

Mar–May

Serengeti

Serengeti is the mother of all safari reserves, a most extraordinary place, best known for its enormous wildebeest and zebra migration, but with prolific wildlife year round.

Maasai Mara

Maasai Mara is one of Africa’s best known wildlife reserves. A part of the greater Serengeti ecosystem, the Mara is renowned for hosting the migration herds Jun-Oct.

Zanzibar

If you are looking for tropical beaches, then Zanzibar Island has loads of choice of lodges, whilst the islands of Pemba and Mafia are much less-visited backwaters with a cool Swahili vibe.