Travel

The trip from Kigali to Gisenyi is an absolute must if you’re ever in Rwanda

There is no point stressing it after my last post, that if you are ever in Rwanda, Giseyin is an absolute must. Chances are if you are heading to Rwanda, Kigali would most likely be your entry point but I totally feel you should give Gisenyi a try based on a lot of positive reviews and If I am ever in Rwanda again, I would definitely head out to Gisenyi. If you have decided to, below is how to get to travel from Kigali to Gisenyi.

Akagera National Park

1. Kigali to Gisenyi Flight

As at the time of writing this post, I found that even though there is actually an airport in Gisenyi, Rwanda, there are no flights are operating the Kigali to Gisenyi Route.  RwandAir suspended flights from Kigali to Gisenyi sometimes in 2013 for reasons I have no privy to.

Diusor who made the trip from Kigali to Gisenyi has  gracefully accepted  to share her Kigali to Gisenyi bus experience to help someone who might be heading there.

2. Kigali to Gisenyi Bus

A lot of people travel from Kigali to Gisenyi either through a public bus or by rented car. Since I was in Kigali on a budget and I also needed more ways to interact the locals, I took a public bus from Kigali to Gisenyi. My main reason for visiting Gisenyi was to see Lake Kivu which is Rwanda’s largest lake and the 6th largest Lake in Africa.

kigali to Gisenyi

There are several buses companies that ply the Kigali to Gisenyi bus route, Virunga Express, Kigali Coach, Fidelity etc. However, I had read about Ritco. I used them and they were quite impressive. The bus was very comfortable, had enough leg room and also had charging ports that worked  perfectly! I totally recommend them.

Kigali to Gisenyi

From my Airbnb Apartment, I took a moto (motorcycle) to the Nyabugogo Bus Park. At the park, I encountered a bit of language barrier issue but luckily for me one of the attendant at the Park helped me out. I bought my ticket from Ritco Limited which costed me 3, 300 Rwandan Francs and was soon on my way. The bus stopped thrice to drop off passengers, for passengers to buy things and to pick up more passengers.

The trip took about 4hours including stops. I alighted before the bus got to the station in Gisenyi because my hotel Kivu Peace Hotel was on the route. The hotel was pretty basic and if you are on a budget, it is not a bad idea for 20,000RWF. If you however have more to spend on accommodation, Inzu Lodge is not a bad idea. This oversees the lake.

Kigli to Gisenyi

lake kivu hotels

I got up to a number of things during my time in Rwanda and if you need an itinerary you should checkout my posts here and here.

Found this useful ? Do let me know in the comment section.

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14 Comments

  • Reply Ayo January 26, 2019 at 11:56 pm

    Very enlightening, heading to Kigali by the first quarter of this year, dreaming already of such an amazing experience it is going to be.
    Thumbs up!!!

    • AE
      Reply AE January 27, 2019 at 8:02 pm

      It will definitely be. Thanks for dropping this.

  • Reply Uk January 28, 2019 at 5:16 am

    Impressed.beautiful.

    • AE
      Reply AE January 28, 2019 at 11:34 am

      Thanks Uche

  • Reply Oghenetega April 24, 2019 at 7:11 pm

    This was useful. I’m currently in Rwanda

    • AE
      Reply AE April 25, 2019 at 3:03 pm

      Glad you found it useful…Save travels Oghenetega!

  • Reply oo_kiitan May 1, 2019 at 11:57 am

    Haa ok, going back sometime. Let’s go say hi to the people of Gisenyi

    • AE
      Reply AE May 1, 2019 at 2:20 pm

      I Know right, it’s definitely on my to do list.

  • Reply Roni July 27, 2019 at 6:00 am

    Absolutely! I am planning my trip to Rwanda and this ha been helpful!

    • AE
      Reply AE July 29, 2019 at 3:25 pm

      Hi Rony, Glad you found it useful.

  • Reply Regis July 4, 2022 at 12:52 pm

    Thank you very much, I will try that tomorrow.

    • AE
      Reply AE July 4, 2022 at 2:27 pm

      I hope you enjoy it. Cheers!

  • Reply RainbowWarrior January 13, 2023 at 10:29 pm

    Thanks so much, finally some precise information. Unbelievable that there is still no app nor usefull website for public transport in Rwanda.

    • AE
      Reply AE February 11, 2023 at 5:12 pm

      Hi Rico, I’m glad you found it useful

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