Can I book a gorilla trekking safari holiday in Rwanda from Australia?

Can I book a gorilla trekking safari holiday in Rwanda from Australia? Volcanoes national park is one of the parks in Africa where mountain gorilla trekking is done. Volcanoes national park is situated in the northwestern part of Rwanda bordering Mgahinga national park and Virunga national park all protecting endangered mountain gorillas. Volcanoes national park is open for tourism at any time of the year for mountain gorilla trekking, hiking, golden monkey trekking, and birding safaris. The most done activity in volcanoes national park is gorilla trekking which is done in over 10 habituated gorilla families at any time of the year. Gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park is done by people with valid gorilla permits and above 15 years of age.

Are you planning to go gorilla trekking in Rwanda but you are in Australia? In this article, we are going to show you how to book your gorilla trekking safari from Australia. Rwanda has really tried so much to market its gorilla tourism and for this reason, it’s the most visited country despite the high gorilla trekking prices. Volcanoes national park is one of the national parks in the world harboring the remaining species of mountain gorillas on the slopes of Virunga volcanoes- Bisoke, Karisimbi, Gahinga, Sabyinyo, and Muhabura.

How to book a gorilla trekking safari from Australia

People in Australia have several ways on how they can book a gorilla trekking safari to Rwanda and this is by using local tour operators, or by themselves

Hiring a local tour operator

There are so many tour operators in East Africa who can help you on booking a gorilla trekking safari to volcanoes national park Rwanda from people coming from Australia. By using a tour operator, it means that you have saved time and money in searching for the service providers online. There are so many tour operators in East Africa but we recommend you to use a licensed tour operator by the Rwanda Development Board or the Uganda Tourism Board. Africa adventure vacations are fully licensed by the Uganda Tourism Board and have been approved by the Rwanda Development Board to operate in Rwanda. We shall ask you for the travel dates and then check for the availability of gorilla trekking permits with the Rwanda Development Board. After finding dates available we shall then send you our bank details for payments and then proof of payments after which we shall take the photos and scan the gorilla permit as confirmation that we have got it on your behalf and send it to you. Africa Adventure Vacations will further book for your accommodation and transport to use during your gorilla trekking safari.

Booking a gorilla trekking safari from Australia by yourself

So many people have succeeded in booking themselves gorilla trekking safaris to Rwanda online by using emails and calls to communicate to the service providers. Gorilla trekking permits for volcanoes national park can be booked directly online Rwanda Development Board, accommodation owners can be contacted directly from their websites the same applies to people who offer transport services. Most of the people who do online bookings by themselves want to avoid middlemen and any charges from tour operators. Some of the disadvantages of booking yourself a gorilla trekking safari in Rwanda is that the service providers might steal your money if they are scammers or others might delay responding.

Booking your Rwanda gorilla trekking permit with a local tour operator.

When planning a gorilla trekking safari to volcanoes national park Rwanda what comes first in your mind is a gorilla trekking permit. This is so because the trekking activity is done with only people having gorilla trekking permits. The gorilla trekking permit can be booked directly from the Rwanda Development Board but this might take you longer to get the response. The best way is to use a trusted tour operator to do everything for you from accommodation to transport to permits.

If you use Africa Adventure Vacations as the tour operator, all we shall ask you are the travel dates then check for availability of the permits. if the permits are available for your suggested dates we shall ask you to send us the money, proof of payment, and once we have received the money, we shall then secure you a permit. After securing the permit we shall send you a scanned copy for your records.

How much can I pay for a gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda?

A gorilla trekking permit in volcanoes national park Rwanda costs $1500 and the permit fees come with a ranger guide fee, park entrance fee, and a gorilla trekking certificate. The gorilla trekking permit allows you to stay around mountain gorillas for a maximum of 1 hour as you learn about their behaviors and take photos. Paying a permit in volcanoes national park means that you have directly paid for the conservation of these endangered apes in their natural habitats. 10% of the money goes to the local communities to help them in improving their lives, another money is paid to the rangers, trackers, conservationists, and other people in sectors of the Rwanda development board.

Lodges and Hotels in and around volcanoes national park

After securing yourself a gorilla trekking permit, next is where to sleep during the safari and then accommodation. Well, local tour operators do book for you accommodation facilities of your choice or those suiting your budget. After gorilla trekking in the park, there are several accommodation options where one can stay before or after gorilla trekking activity depending on their travel budget and these include Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, Bisate Lodge, Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel, Volcano House, Volcano Village Lodge, Ruzizi Tented Camp, Virunga Lodge, Singita Kwitonda Lodge, One $ Only Gorilla’s Nest Lodge, Volcano Inn, Lokahi Lodge, Villa Gorilla, Volcano Rainforest Retreat, Le Bamboo Gorilla Lodge, Lake Kivu Serena, and Gorilla Volcanoes Hotel among others.

How can I reach out to Volcanoes national park headquarters?

From Kigali International Airport you can have your stay in Kigali city for the first and last days of the Rwanda gorilla trekking safari. The guides can pick you from the airport or hotels and drive you to volcanoes national park in Musanze district taking you only 2 hours. The safari guides are well trained and for this, they will drive you along the way giving you all the information you want about the country, smiling people, rolling hills, and countryside.

What is the best time to book a gorilla trekking safari in Rwanda from Australia?

Thousands of tourists visit Rwanda every year mainly to trek mountain gorillas. Mountain gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park is done in 10 habituated gorilla families meaning there are 80 gorilla trekking permits in volcanoes national park. the 80 permits per day in volcanoes national park are not enough for the people who want to trek so this implies that you need to book your trekking permit in advance of 3-4 months in order to avoid disappointments most especially if you want to trek in the dry season.

Gorilla trekking age limit in Rwanda

A lot of travelers don’t like leaving their children behind on safaris as they want them to be part of the tourism activities together with them. One of the gorilla trekking rules in Rwanda state that mountain gorilla trekking is done by persons ages 15 and above. To make sure that properly done, Rwanda Development Board asks for different documents such as passport details just to confirm if the persons are ages 15 and above. This means that if you are planning to travel with your children you must know that children below the age of 15 years will not be allowed to trek. You can travel with your children but when it’s time for trekking the children will be given other activities to do or play around with.