CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service, really friendly, and knowledgeable guides!
I came to Rwanda looking for adventure and a once in a lifetime experience. After doing a lot of research of different providers, I met up with Frank at their Kigali tour office. It was a Saturday and I was leaving the following Friday, Frank asked me what I wanted to see and put together a custom trip for me at the last minute that looked fantastic. The next day, I met up with my guide Jean Claude, who took me to the Volcanos National Park. On the first day, we went to see the gorillas, this was a surreal experience! The second day we went back up into the park to see the Golden Monkeys, the trek in is great and there were hundreds of monkeys!
We drove back to Kigali and headed East to Akagera National Park, there was so much of the beautiful country to see along the way. We did a short game drive where we saw a lot of the animals in the park. In the morning we left for an all day game drive, this was an excellent experience as well!
The last day we headed back to Kigali and did a tour of the Kigali Genocide Memorial, something that allows you to understand the history of Rwanda.
I was headed out the next day and they gave me a ride to the airport!
I'd highly recommend Golden Rwanda Safaris to anyone looking for a great adventure with experienced, knowledgeable, kind people! If you're traveling solo (male or female) and wondering about safety, the people of Rwanda are probably the nicest, welcoming people I've ever met.
This was supposed to be a once in a lifetime trip, but I'll definitely be back for another trip!
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very positive experience- Definitely recommend
I decided quite late to try and book a trip to Akagera, and started comparing prices on Thursday for a tour on Saturday. Frank responded with a quote within an hour from my request. He was very professional and laid out the different options. As there were no groups going out that day, he suggested a private tour. Everything was organized within a day, he was very responsive via phone, and I must say it was excellent value for money. Hotel pick up, water, breakfast, packed lunch, park fees, vehicle and tour guide, everything was included in the $350 fee and I did not have to worry about a thing. The guide, Claude, was absolutely amazing. He was knowledgeable about the animals, was communicating with others in order to identify where they had been spotted, and was just overall a pleasure to hang out with. We were not lucky enough to see lions, but we saw a family of elephants, plus hippos, giraffes, zebras, warthogs, antelopes, monkeys, baboons, crocodiles and a huge variety of birds. The breakfast was a pleasant surprise too, on the terrace of a lodge with a stunning view over the lakes in the park. Only aspect that could be improved: It was not communicated to me that I needed a negative COVID test to enter the park, so when I found out I had to scramble to get one on Friday afternoon. Would be good to mention that in the exchanges next time around, but all turned out fine.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and Trustworthy
The moment I contacted Golden Rwanda Safaris I knew I would be in good hands. Even though there was a significant time difference Frank replied to my emails almost immediately. He was able to fully customize my trip the day I inquired. He was able to include all my desired activities and others I hadn't even considered (thanks for Mount Bisoke - I made it to the top!) Frank was more than helpful and patient as we sorted out the payment process and kept in contact with me the entire time via his personal WhatsApp. I've never had such great communication from a tour company. As a solo female traveller I was comforted to know I would have a female guide with me for my 10 day trip. Joana was an incredible guide, she took care of me the entire trip and I trusted her completely. From scheduling bathroom stops, packed lunches and day tours she organized everything behind the scenes without me having to worry about anything. She was always prompt and had a wealth of information to share about Rwanda, which she is very passionate about. I cannot recommend this tour company more highly.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Inforgettable experience!
I cannot say enough good things about Golden Safaris. The service was Impeccable, their staff extremely kind and accommodating. We got to see most animals, and the driver knew exactly how to spot them. It was really excellent!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!
Had the best time from organising the trip with Frank to the safari itself! I was a solo female traveler so my mind was put at ease with the quick responses to all my questions. My guide muhamed was 10/10, I had so much fun, felt safe and a life long memories were made!
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kind and responsive to our request
For all of us was the first safari ever and we're more than excited now. Taufique was a wonderful and very kind guide! He showed us the wonders of Akagera Park, stopping each time we asked him in the perfect spots to look at the animals!
The experience was amazing even though it rained at certain times, in fact, thanks to the opening jeep roof we spotted lots of animals: giraffes, elephants, antelopes, baboons, hippos, and thanks to the funny and immersive boat trip option even a crocodile in the lake!
We had just some troubles with the pickup time, cause the jeep broke a few minutes before and the guide was a little bit late, but we forgot immediately this little problem thanks to the amazing and unique experience that Taufique gave us live!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great game drive!
This tour was very professional! Frank was a great guide and I had so much fun learning about the animals and driving around to find them. The service was great, on time and everything was advertised perfectly. The communication was great and easy to coordinate! Highly recommend!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Most Trustworthy, Sincere, and Wonderful Company/Guides to Travel with!
My mom and I booked through Golden Rwanda safaris with Frank. From the moment we booked, to the very end of our trip, everything was seamless. Frank responded to all our emails and questions we had before we got to Rwanda. The price for our trip was the best we had seen anywhere for our length of stay and the activities we wanted to do.
We were warmly welcomed by Frank upon arrival with drinks and taken to our hotel, where everything was taken care of for us. We stayed at some incredible accommodations throughout our 14-night stay. Frank was so flexible in adding things we requested to our itinerary—we were able to add 2 nights in Uganda for gorilla trekking there and community visits and more time in Akagera. We also went to Volcanoes national park for gorilla and golden monkey trekking, spent 3 nights in Nyungwe Forest for chimpanzee trekking and the canopy walk, and 2 nights at Akagera big 5 game park, 2 nights at Lake Kivu, and a few nights in Kigali. Everyplace we stayed and all the activities we did were ready and prepared for us, and Frank provided us with everything we needed. The experiences were incredible- from the gorillas to our Big 5 game drives. Our guides were also very knowledgeable about the history, and the animals on our game drives and trekking activities.
Our guides always went out of their way to get us extra things for our convenience. We were in Rwanda on Christmas and Frank arranged and treated us to an incredible 7-course Christmas dinner at One&Only (super luxury resort) with dancing and performances- it was such a special night! (This was something that was not even in our itinerary). This is just one of the many examples of our guides going above and beyond what was promised!
Frank is such a wonderful host and represents everything good about Rwanda, he truly values providing the best service and experience to his clients, who become like family.
For the Uganda portion of our trip, Frank was not available but provided us with another guide, Isaac, who was also wonderful and tended to our every need. He walked around the village with us all day, for as long as we wanted and ran back to the hotel to get the car when it rained on us. I know I can trust him to provide the best guides.
The vehicles we traveled in were very comfortable and have air conditioning, a fridge for drinks, and lots of room. He also provided us a free WiFi hotspot whenever we asked, and tended to our every request. This experience truly exceeded ALL our expectations!
I would recommend Golden Rwanda Safaris to anyone wanting to visit Rwanda, Uganda, and/or DRC. We will definitely return to book our DRC trip with them!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Violah was really helpful to us in selecting our destination. She was very proactive in booking
Communication is excellent and timely. It lived up to my expectations and the booking was smooth.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and service oriented
The whole experience was very professional, and they made an excellent effort to make sure that we were comfortable and had a good experience at all times. Our guide was very friendly and had a lot knowledge that he shared with us. The experience was in other words very good, and I will recommend Golden Safaris when traveling to Rwanda.