Your guide will meet you at Kigali International Airport or collect you from your hotel in Kigali. The tour departs for Akagera on Day 1 morning, so we recommend arriving in Kigali the evening before your safari begins.

After breakfast in Kigali, depart east along the well-paved highway through Rwanda's green hills and market towns. The drive to Akagera's southern gate takes approximately 2.5–3 hours — a scenic introduction to Rwanda's countryside that feels worlds away from the volcanic forests of the west.

After a park briefing and check-in at your lodge, your afternoon game drive begins. The park's southern sector is excellent elephant territory, and the golden afternoon light is ideal for photography. Keep your eyes open for buffalo, zebra, waterbuck, topi, and the resident giraffe herds that roam the open savannah.

Return to your lodge at dusk for dinner and a well-earned rest — or opt for a night game drive (available at select lodges) to track lions, leopards, and other nocturnal wildlife under a spectacular sky.

• Luxury: Magashi Camp, Ruzizi Tented Lodge
• Mid-range: Akagera Game Lodge, Karenge Bush Camp

Rise before dawn and head out for Akagera's signature early morning game drive, when predators are most active and the savannah is bathed in golden light. Lions, leopards, and spotted hyenas are all possible sightings, along with the park's impressive elephant herds and the black rhinos that patrol the northern grasslands.

After breakfast back at the lodge, board a boat for a 2–3 hour safari on Lake Ihema — one of the series of lakes strung along the park's eastern edge. This is some of the finest boat-based wildlife viewing in East Africa: hippo pods wallowing in the shallows, massive Nile crocodiles basking on sandbanks, and a spectacular abundance of waterbirds including the elusive shoebill stork, African fish eagle, saddle-billed stork, and grey crowned crane.

Return for lunch at the lodge and a midday rest, then set out again for an afternoon game drive through Akagera's woodland corridors — ideal for buffalo, giraffe, impala, and the park's more secretive wildlife. End the day with sundowners as the sky turns amber over the savannah.

One last early morning game drive before the long journey ends — savour those final views across the misty savannah as the sun rises over Tanzania in the east. Elephant, buffalo, and zebra are frequently spotted on Day 3 morning drives as animals move to water.

After breakfast, check out and begin the 3-hour drive back to Kigali, arriving in the early afternoon. Depending on your flight time, there may be opportunity to stop for lunch in Kayonza or explore a local market en route.

Your guide will drop you at Kigali International Airport or your hotel, completing a safari that shows a side of Rwanda that most visitors never see.

Yes — Akagera is home to all five of Africa's Big Five: lion, elephant, black rhino, leopard, and buffalo. Lions were successfully reintroduced in 2015 and rhinos in 2017 as part of a landmark rewilding programme managed by African Parks and the Rwanda Development Board. Elephants, buffalo, and leopard were always resident. Sightings of all five on a single trip are possible, though the rhino population is still growing and sightings require some luck.

Akagera is smaller and more intimate than Kenya's Maasai Mara or Tanzania's Serengeti, which means far fewer vehicles and a more private safari experience. It combines open savannah with an extensive wetland and lake system, making the combination of game drive and boat safari particularly special. It also has the advantage of being just 3 hours from Kigali — easy to combine with a gorilla trek without extra flights.

The dry seasons — June to September and December to February — offer the best game viewing, as animals concentrate around water sources and vegetation is lower, improving visibility. The wet seasons (March–May and October–November) see lush green landscapes and excellent birdwatching as migratory species arrive. Game viewing is possible year-round; the park remains open throughout.

Absolutely — and it makes for one of the best possible Rwanda itineraries. The two parks offer entirely different experiences: forest primates in the northwest versus open savannah wildlife in the east. Both are accessible from Kigali, so there's no need for domestic flights. We can build a 10-day Rwanda itinerary combining our 7-Day Gorilla & Chimpanzee Safari with this 3-day Akagera extension — contact us for a tailored quote.

Yes — unlike gorilla trekking, this safari has no minimum age requirement or fitness demand. Game drives are conducted from comfortable 4x4 vehicles and the boat safari on Lake Ihema is calm and accessible for all ages. It's an ideal family safari, and a brilliant introduction to African wildlife for children. Please inform us of any mobility requirements when booking so we can ensure your vehicle and lodge arrangements are suitable.