Reviews of trips to Lake Kivu

"Amanda who organised this for us was wonderful, and created the trip of a lifetime. All of the difficult things I had asked for were arranged to perfection, and were the highlights of our trip.

Have recommended Expert Africa to all travellers we met en route.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

One minor point. Can you add the date (or vesion number) to the text of each version of the paperwork. This is nomal office practice and avoids confusion with multiple updated documents when printed.

We will certainly come to Expert Africa again, but only on condition that I don't have to fill in 200 different reviews online again!" Read full review: 26 nights in Africa; 13 on a Zambia safari

"All went very smoothly.

The meet and greet at Kigali was spot on and the Primate Safari rep was there with my name easily visible on a prominent sign and waiting for me. he introduced me to Sula who would be my guide for the rest of my 12 days in Rwanda.

The whole trip worked extremely well without any hitches." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Rwanda safari

"This was an incredible trip that is even more amazing given the limited time Amanda had to prepare.

Everything I could have thought of from Rwanda was included. I would love to go on another safari prepared by Expert Africa, and I will be recommending them to anyone who asks for my opinion.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Maybe just a little more detail regarding information about the lodges and accommodations.

Hard to find something to improve on such a great experience!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Rwanda safari

"Exceeded expectations.

Fascinating country and whist it sounds a little misplaced to say it the opportunity to confront the Genocide added a thought provoking additional dimension to a brilliant wildlife experience. Compared to our other Africa experiences the two stand out features were the opportunity to be more active (moving about on foot etc.) and the feeling of safety and a warm welcome from a people who still have next to nothing in spite of the relative success of rebuilding the country.

All of our accommodations were up to standard even if they are way below the better lodges in other parts of Africa in terms of pure lodge experience.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

At the planning stage perhaps make suggestions for alternatives and give advice to make choices.

For example, in Nyungwe it would have been good to have been offered tjhe forest treks and also a visit to the tea plantation (our guide tried to get us in but it was closed on a Sunday). As related in this form, our guide was quite resourceful in adapting our itinerary when the first day's sites were unavailable and in fact we are glad to have seen a couple of the alternatives that we may have missed otherwise. These could have been suggested in planning maybe.

These remarks really are intended as pointers to improve what is already an outstanding service that we have now used three times (Namibia, Tanzania and Rwanda) and will use again." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Rwanda safari

"This is the second trip that my husband and I have used Expert Africa for after travelling to Namibia last year, and our experience this time as previous was exceptional.

Rwanda exceeded all of our expectations, obviously gorilla trekking was a highlight but all other aspects equally as enjoyable.

Rwanda especially was so green, agricultural, wildlife, stunning scenery, clean with kind and gentle people and on the surface full of progress and opportunity after a period of sad history.

It would be our pleasure to return to explore further.

The concept of the East African visa for multiple entry travel to Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya available on arrival in Kigali for a fee of US $100 to holders of a British passport among others is excellent and very convenient.

The service of Primate Safari's and Sura our guide/driver were without fault, from being greeted at the airport on arrival to being dropped off at departure.

Sabina last year and Amanda this year went out of their way to offer their suggestions, experiences and recommendations and tailor itineraries as needed.
It is their personal involvement, enthusiasm and experience which enable them to offer a superior product.

Africa can be a challenging and expensive Continent to travel in but the knowledge and cohesiveness of the Expert Africa team and their local vendors makes the entire experience so special and worthwhile.

They are a credit to their organisation and we have no hesitation in using them repeatedly or recommending to other people.

Many thanks for another superb and memorable trip! We wish you continued success.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

At present nothing that we can think of... a pleasure to deal with." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 4 on a Rwanda safari

"The biggest issue with comfort for the trip was that we were given an older vehicle which is quite uncomfortable from the beginning of the trip until we reached Kivu lake. At Kivu Lake, three days into the Rwanda part, I let Expert Africa know about my concerns regarding the possible safety issues of the vehicle as well as the comfort issues. I had an almost immediate reply from Expert Africa who contacted the tour organizer, Primate Safaris in Rwanda. They met us the next day with a new vehicle for the rest of the trip.

The entire planning of the trip took multiple conversations and emails with the Expert Africa team. They were extremely helpful and worked with us until we found a trip that we thought would meet our desired experience. I believe we had seven iterations before finally choosing the last one.

I would have mixed feelings about going during rainy season again. It was less crowded, which was quite nice. A few plans did get rained out or had to be changed.

The few hotels we stayed at in between various parts of the trip were used only for several hours and simpler, less expensive accommodations would probably have sufficed quite well.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We did not seek other quotes for the trip.

Our previous trip to Zambia with Expert Africa impressed us so much, that we only used them to arrange this tour for us. It was a good decision." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 8 on a Rwanda safari

"We thoroughly enjoyed the trip it met all of our specifications in terms of culture, history and wildlife.

The visit to Kigali was very moving and a trip to Rwanda couldn't be done without visiting the Genocide Museum to see what the people of Rwanda have been through.

Our visit up to the Volcanoes National Park was everything and more ... the hike up to the golden monkeys was well worth it and was a great prelude to the hike to see the Gorilla's the next day. The Gorilla experience was amazing and the time flew by so quickly it was over in a flash.

To end our wonderful trip we spent a few days on Lake Kivu which again incorporated a trip into the town passing the church where more than 36000 Tutsi's were massacred, as well as the bird life in the gardens of the lodge and on the water's edge.

We found all the staff in the hotels, the guides and all the Rwandan people were really friendly and welcoming throughout our stay." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 6 on a Rwanda safari

"Thank you for helping us have a memorable trip!" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Rwanda safari

"This was a special trip to celebrate some special birthdays and it was brilliant from start to finish. It completely exceeded our expectations.

The primate trekking throughout was phenomenal and brilliantly organised and to see gorillas in their natural habitat was awesome. Thank you Ellie for advising us to go twice, it was amazing! Expert Africa were professional and knowledgeable in their organisation and booking of the trip. I'd have absolutely no reservations in recommending you to friends and family. Our guide in Rwanda, Alex, was fantastic.

Thank you for making our trip so memorable and we're telling everyone about it!

A true holiday of a lifetime!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Rwanda safari

"Our trip to Rwanda was a dream come true.

We were really glad to have gone to the expense to book 3 gorilla treks -- an extraordinary experience I will never forget." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Rwanda safari