Eastern Province · Akagera

Kayonza and Akagera in two days

Big Five savannah ninety minutes from the capital, with a boat full of hippos at four in the afternoon.

Savannah and a red road heading east from Kayonza

AkageraBig FiveBoat safariNight drive

Length: 2 days · 2 nights
Stops: 9 stops
Pace: Long game drives
From Kigali: 1.5h · 1,700–2,600 RWF

Kayonza city guide Ask Menya about Kayonza

WhatsApp X Facebook

On the map

Where Kayonza is

Map of Kayonza, Rwanda

The interactive Google Map loads on the live site.

What it costs

Kayonza day by day, priced in USD

Comfortable en-suite room, a mix of local and tourist restaurants, occasional private transfer.

Room: $90
Food: $35
Local transport: $25
Activities: $60
Per day: $210
Round-trip coach: $3.6

Trip total, per person

$424

2 days at mid-range, plus the coach both ways. Extras: Park entry USD 100 non-resident, boat USD 45, night drive USD 40.

Fares and room prices: RURA intercity tariff, in force 6 April 2026 · checked September 2026

The plan

Hour by hour in Kayonza

The turn-off for Akagera National Park, Rwanda's Big Five savannah on the Tanzanian border. The park is a 90-minute drive from Kigali, which makes a two-night safari genuinely easy to add to a city trip.

Savannah and a red road heading east from Kayonza — First game drive and the afternoon boat

Day 01

Southern gate to Lake Ihema

Leave Kigali at six and you are inside the park before the heat pushes the animals into the shade.

06:00
Kigali to the southern gate
Ninety minutes via Kayonza. A 4x4 is needed inside the park; the road there is tarmac.
Open in Maps
08:00
Morning game drive
Zebra, impala, giraffe and buffalo across the southern plains.
Open in Maps
12:30
Picnic lunch
Packed lunch at one of the marked picnic points — the park has no shops.
Open in Maps
16:00
Lake Ihema boat safari
Hippo pods, crocodiles and returning fish eagles. Book at reception on arrival.
Open in Maps
19:30
Night drive
Ranger-led, with a spotlight: bushbabies, genets and occasionally leopard.
Open in Maps

Day 02

North for lion and rhino

The northern plains hold the reintroduced lion and black rhino. Be at the gate for opening.

05:30
Sunrise loop
The best chance of lion is in the first ninety minutes of light.
Open in Maps
09:00
Rhino country
Eastern black rhino were reintroduced in 2017; rangers radio sightings between vehicles.
Open in Maps
12:00
Exit and lunch in Kayonza
Brochettes at the junction town before the run back west.
Open in Maps
15:00
Back in Kigali
Under two hours from the gate; easy to make a dinner reservation.
Open in Maps

Good to know

Don't miss: The Lake Ihema boat trip at 4pm for hippos, crocodiles and returning fish eagles.
When to go: June–September and December–February, when animals gather at the water.
Getting there: Ninety minutes from Kigali to the southern gate; self-drive is possible with a 4x4.
How long to stay: 2 nights

Other town itineraries

Musanze

Early starts, easy afternoons

Rubavu

Slow, lakeside

Karongi

Very slow

Rusizi

Long drives, big views

Want Kayonza quoted properly?

Send us your dates and we'll pass this itinerary to licensed Rwandan operators for a real quote.