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Traveller reviews

Travel reviews by Maria from Belgium

Review Distribution

Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Terrible

Total number of trips

1

Countries visited

1

Lodges stayed in

3

Excursions taken

6

My Jul 2024 trip

Rwanda between 2 Jul 2024 and 9 Jul 2024

Trip rating: Average
"The good points: great trek to Dian Fossey's grave, good gorilla trek in spite of the size of the group (8 visitors) and my free day at Gisenyi.
Also, nice car and driver.

The less good ones: too much spare time in the afternoons at Nyungwe House and at Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge. I suggest that Expert Africa recommends some optional visits for free afternoons, like a visit to a tea plantation in Gisakura (I only realised this might have been possible after I left) or a visit to the Dian Fossey Fund Campus (which I visited at my request after the golden monkey trek, as the Campus is well visible from the road, otherwise I would have missed it).

Some final details:
Cost: my itinerary included a villa in Nyungwe House and not a room in a 4-room small building."

Feedback response

We are very pleased that this traveller thought the private driver-guide and vehicle was good, and enjoyed the trekking and the time in Gisenyi.

Trekking group sizes are organised locally by the Rwanda Parks Authority - independent of both Expert Africa, and our Rwandan ground partners. Unfortunately we have no involvement in group size or allocation. There is however, a very strict maximum of 8 trekkers to a group. As there are only a limited number of permits available each day, and the trekking is a popular activity, it is common that there will be 8 people trekking together, especially in peak season.

Most tracking activities occur during the morning, and depending on the length of these, guests may have free time in the afternoon, which we do note in our documentation. Many people want to rest in the afternoon, but equally others prefer to head out again for another activity. Hence we do not generally pre-book any afternoon activities, to allow our travellers more freedom and flexibility. All of our Rwanda trips include a private driver-guide who is very happy to organise extra visits locally.

The 'standard room' type at Nyungwe House used to be referred to as a 'Villa' (suitable for a couple or solo traveller), while 'Family Villa' was used for the two-bedroom option. This traveller was allocated the correct room type as we booked, however we are very sorry that the language description of the room type was not clear. We have amended our documentation to make this clearer for future guests.

Arranged By Jessica Plumb


Nyungwe House

Nyungwe House

"Nyungwe House review"

2 nights Arrived 2 Jul 2024
"My itinerary included a villa and not a room but I had only a room (room 12) in a small block of four rooms"
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Good
Service
Good
Activities
Poor
Rooms
Average
Food
Good
Facilities
Good
King’s Palace & Museum Visit

King’s Palace & Museum Visit

"King’s Palace & Museum Visit review"

2 Jul 2024 • All-day excursion

No comments
Good
Colobus Trekking in Nyungwe

Colobus Trekking in Nyungwe

"Colobus Trekking in Nyungwe review"

3 Jul 2024 • All-day excursion

No comments
Canopy Walk in Nyungwe Forest

Canopy Walk in Nyungwe Forest

"Canopy Walk in Nyungwe Forest review"

3 Jul 2024 • All-day excursion

No comments
Good
Lake Kivu Serena Hotel

Lake Kivu Serena Hotel

"Lake Kivu Serena Hotel review"

2 nights Arrived 4 Jul 2024
"No comments"
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Good
Food
Good
Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge

Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge

"Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge review"

3 nights Arrived 6 Jul 2024
"Good lodge with two trails. As my itinerary did not include any afternoon activities these two trails helped making my afternoons less boring"
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Golden Monkey Trekking

Golden Monkey Trekking

"Golden Monkey Trekking review"

7 Jul 2024 • Morning excursion

The group of 15 people is too big, 8 people per visit would have been better
Average
Gorilla Trekking Safari

Gorilla Trekking Safari

"Gorilla Trekking Safari review"

8 Jul 2024 • Morning excursion

Good gorilla family but the fact that the visits are in groups of eight visitors makes for a less interesting experience.

This was my 6th gorilla trek and all the previous ones (Uganda, Gabon, Congo) were in groups of four. Four is a much better group size, especially as you are moving in a forest and have to move swiftly back if the gorillas decide to walk towards you.
Good
Trek to Dian Fossey’s Grave

Trek to Dian Fossey’s Grave

"Trek to Dian Fossey’s Grave review"

9 Jul 2024 • Morning excursion

Excellente trek with only two other tourists, very striking landscape, the graves are very moving.
Excellent

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