Handpicked safari lodges & camps across Africa

Kigali

Kigali Serena Hotel is a large city hotel on KN 3 Avenue in central Kigali, about five minutes from the business district and 20 minutes from Kigali International Airport. Rooms and suites range up to a presidential suite. Dining is at the poolside Sokoni restaurant and the Milima restaurant overlooking the courtyard pool, with an executive lounge for some guests. The Maisha Spa and health club has a gym, sauna and steam room, and the hotel has a ballroom and auditorium for conferences.

Modern rooms with air conditioning and Wi-Fi

Kigali

Hôtel des Mille Collines is a city hotel in central Kigali, opened in 1973 as Rwanda's first grand hotel. During the 1994 genocide more than 1,200 people sheltered inside, a story later told in the film Hotel Rwanda. Today it has standard rooms and suites, a large swimming pool set in gardens, a restaurant and bar, a spa and meeting and event spaces. Its location within walking distance of the city centre makes it a convenient first or last night in Kigali.

Modern rooms with air conditioning and Wi-Fi

Kigali

City Hotel is a premier hotel in the heart of Africa's most spectacular wildlife regions. A well-appointed hotel providing modern amenities, restaurant, and leisure facilities. Ideal as a base for city stays, airport transfers, or pre/post-safari comfort.

Modern rooms with air conditioning and Wi-Fi

Butare

Butare Resort is a premier hotel in the heart of Africa's most spectacular wildlife regions. A well-appointed hotel providing modern amenities, restaurant, and leisure facilities. Ideal as a base for city stays, airport transfers, or pre/post-safari comfort.

Modern rooms with air conditioning and Wi-Fi

Volcanoes National Park

Wilderness Bisate Lodge sits on the rim of an eroded volcanic cone just outside Volcanoes National Park in northern Rwanda, facing Mount Bisoke with Karisimbi and Mikeno beyond. It has six forest villas, circular and raised, with design drawn from the Rwandan royal palace and each with a fireplace and freestanding bath. The main area holds a restaurant, bar, wine cellar and library, and there is a spa. Since opening in 2017 the lodge has planted more than 120,000 indigenous trees on former farmland, and guests can help plant them.

Spacious rooms with en-suite bathrooms and private veranda

Virunga

Virunga Lodge is a small lodge run by Volcanoes Safaris, set on a ridge in northern Rwanda with views over the Virunga volcanoes and the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo. Opened in 2004, it has stone bandas with private terraces and fireplaces. The Dian Fossey Map Room, the main lounge and a small spa sit in terraced gardens, and stays include butler service and drinks. It is a base for gorilla trekking and golden monkey tracking in Volcanoes National Park, though it is a longer drive to park headquarters than lodges in Kinigi.

Spacious rooms with en-suite bathrooms and private veranda

Lake Kivu

Emeraude Kivu Resort is a lakeside hotel in Rusizi District (Cyangugu) at the southern end of Lake Kivu, in western Rwanda. Rooms range from standard rooms to apartments, suites and family rooms, with views over the lake. Facilities include restaurants, a bar, a spa with sauna, a gym, a conference room and a craft shop, and airport transfers can be arranged. It is a useful base for combining Lake Kivu with Nyungwe National Park to the east.

Modern rooms with air conditioning and Wi-Fi

Akagera National Park

Akagera Lodge is a premier safari lodge in the heart of Africa's most spectacular wildlife regions. A safari lodge offering comfortable rooms with en-suite facilities, restaurant, and lounge areas. Located in prime wildlife viewing areas with easy access to game drives and guided excursions.

Spacious rooms with en-suite bathrooms and private veranda

Akagera National Park

Ruzizi Tented Lodge is a small eco-lodge on the shore of Lake Ihema in southern Akagera National Park, Rwanda, about 6 km inside the main gate. It has nine tents set along a boardwalk: seven classic en-suite tents, a tree-top honeymoon tent and a family tent. The lodge runs entirely on solar power and was built and is operated by the park, managed by African Parks, with profits going to Akagera's conservation work. Game drives, night drives, birding and boat trips on Lake Ihema are offered.

Authentic canvas tents with comfortable beds and en-suite facilities

Lake Kivu

Moriah Hill Resort is a small, family-run hotel on the shore of Lake Kivu at Kibuye (Karongi) in western Rwanda. The three-storey building is simple, and the rooms face the lake from private balconies, looking out to the many small islands off Kibuye. There is a restaurant with a lakeside terrace, a bar, a small sauna, a conference hall and a small beach for swimming. Kayaking, boat trips and lakeside walks can be arranged. Kibuye is a quieter stop on Lake Kivu than Gisenyi.

Modern rooms with air conditioning and Wi-Fi

Volcanoes National Park

Mountain Gorilla View Lodge is a lodge on the lower slopes of Mount Sabyinyo at Kinigi, close to the Volcanoes National Park headquarters where gorilla treks start. Guests stay in stone and thatch cottages with en-suite bathrooms and fireplaces. The main building has a restaurant, bar and lounge, with a veranda and firepit outside, and the gardens look out to the volcanoes. Each evening a local group performs traditional Intore dancing on the lawn. It is a practical, good-value base for gorilla and golden monkey trekking.

Spacious rooms with en-suite bathrooms and private veranda

Nyungwe Forest National Park

Gisakura Guest House is a simple, budget guest house beside the Gisakura tea estate, about 2 km from the western edge of Nyungwe National Park in south-west Rwanda. Rooms come as singles, doubles and triples, built from local materials, with verandas looking towards the forest. There is a restaurant, a bar and an evening campfire, with Wi-Fi in the main building. It is a convenient low-cost base for chimpanzee trekking, the canopy walkway and forest trails.

Spacious rooms with en-suite bathrooms and private veranda

Lake Kivu

Lake Kivu Serena Hotel is a beach hotel on the shore of Lake Kivu at Gisenyi (Rubavu) in western Rwanda. It has 66 rooms and suites, including family rooms and an accessible room, many with balconies facing the lake. Guests have a private sandy beach, an 18-metre pool, tennis courts, a gym and spa treatments, plus jet skis, kayaks and boat trips on the lake. Restaurants include the lakefront Kiyaga. The Virunga volcanoes rise behind the town, and the hotel can arrange excursions to Volcanoes National Park.

Modern rooms with air conditioning and Wi-Fi

Volcanoes National Park

Bishops Lodge is a premier safari lodge in the heart of Africa's most spectacular wildlife regions. A safari lodge offering comfortable rooms with en-suite facilities, restaurant, and lounge areas. Located in prime wildlife viewing areas with easy access to game drives and guided excursions.

Spacious rooms with en-suite bathrooms and private veranda

Kigali

La Palme Hotel is a three-star hotel in Musanze town in northern Rwanda, about 10 km from Volcanoes National Park. Rooms are en-suite and come as singles, twins and suites. The hotel is best known for its restaurant, which serves international and French dishes alongside local food, and it has a bar and conference halls. Free parking, Wi-Fi and breakfast are included. It suits travellers who want a town base with good food before an early drive to Kinigi for gorilla or golden monkey trekking.

Modern rooms with air conditioning and Wi-Fi

Nyungwe Forest National Park

One&Only Nyungwe House is a lodge set within the working Gisakura tea plantation on the western edge of Nyungwe National Park in south-west Rwanda. It opened in 2010 as Nyungwe Forest Lodge and took its current name in 2017. Its 23 rooms and suites have log burners, private terraces facing the rainforest and showers with forest views. There is a One&Only Spa, a gym, a yoga deck and a restaurant and bar, and guests can join tea-picking and tasting. Chimpanzee trekking and the canopy walkway are nearby.

Spacious rooms with en-suite bathrooms and private veranda

Kigali

Hotel Le Garni is a small, family-run hotel in central Kigali, set in a quiet area a short walk from the city centre. Rooms come as standard, deluxe and studio or suite categories, and each has a balcony looking over the garden and swimming pool, along with a safe, minibar and satellite TV. Facilities include free Wi-Fi, secure parking, laundry and a buffet breakfast. With its garden and pool, it offers a calmer stay than the large city hotels for a night or two in Kigali.

Modern rooms with air conditioning and Wi-Fi

Akagera National Park

Akagera Game Lodge, managed by The Mantis Collection since 2018, is a hotel-style lodge on a ridge above Lake Ihema in the south of Akagera National Park, Rwanda's only savannah park. It has 60 rooms and suites, including cottages, all with en-suite bathrooms and pan-African decor. A large circular pool and the Elephant Bar terrace look out over the lake, and there are tennis courts, a children's pool and playground, and a massage area. Game drives, boat trips on Lake Ihema and birding are arranged at the lodge.

Spacious rooms with en-suite bathrooms and private veranda