Last fall, I took advantage of a Delta fare mistake to buy a roundtrip ticket from LAX to Nairboi (NBO) for €328.21, all in. I decided to get an East Africa Tourist Visa which allows multiple entries to Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda for 90 days and costs $100. A single entry Visa to Kenya costs $50 and a multiple entry costs $100, so the East Africa Tourist Visa is a good deal. In order to make my way to Rwanda and Uganda, I bought a rountrip ticket from NBO to Kigali (KGL) on Rwandair, then traveled over land into Uganda.
I stayed at an AirBnB near NBO for a night after my KLM flight from Amsterdam, then headed back to the airport the next morning for my flight to KGL. Below is the arrival road into NBO. Long before you get near the terminal there is a security checkpoint where every car is stopped and searched. Typically they just peek in the back seat and ask the driver to pop the trunk.
This is what most of the older part of NBO looks like inside. There's a newer terminal, but Rwandair operates out of the older part.
The entrance to our gate. The gates at NBO have a boarding pass check, and usually extra security check, before you enter the waiting area.
The waiting area for my flight. Nothing spectacular, but there was plenty of room to stretch out. The TV had a Bollywood movie playing.
View of our CRJ-900 as we stepped outside to make our way to the aircraft.
We walked down this giant ramp to the tarmac, then straight over to the plane and up the staircase. No bus necessary, which was nice.
Larger seats in the forward cabin.
Settling into my seat. The flight was not even half full and it was easy to change seats if one wanted to.
A few random scenes as we taxied out to the runway.
Takeoff video (not as interesting as the landing video).
Most of the flight was pretty cloudy, especially when we crossed Lake Victoria, but I managed to snap a few pics of the landscape before we lost visibility.
The surprisingly good in-flight meal. Not bad for a 90 minute flight. Classic Rwandan beef brochette and banana bread for dessert. They also served complimentary alcohol, though I went with orange juice this time.
Rwandan countryside seen as we descend towards KGL.
Approach and landing in KGL.
Disembarking in KGL. No jetways here.
Rwandair 737 on the tarmac, seen as we disembarked and headed towards the terminal.
Baggage claim in the arrivals area of KGL.
The sleek exterior of KGL. I actually snapped these pics when I arrived for my return flight a few days later as I was busy figuring out the taxi situation when I first exited the airport after arrival.
The taxi situation is actually great at KGL. After exiting the terminal, you turn right and walk towards the parking lot where there's a small depot of official looking blue taxis. There are no touts in sight and everything is very organized by African standards. The taxis have a flat rate of 7,000 RWF (exactly $10 at the time) to anywhere in the city. I snapped the picture below from the front seat of the taxi while sitting in traffic on the way to my AirBnB in the Kimihurura neighborhood.
This is the last photo from the airport/flight portion of the report. Keep reading for a brief tourism bonus of my journey into Uganda.
In order to get to Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda, I took the advice of my AirBnB host and headed to the bus terminal to try and find a car that would take me either all the way to Kabale (the closest town to the lake) or to Gatuna (the border town).
I expected to be mobbed by touts in the bus terminal, which is what happened in my only previous experience at a large African bus terminal in Lusaka, Zambia. However, no one paid much attention to me. I went into the disorganized ticket office of one of the bus companies and realized I should have planned this better. But as I was waiting, a tout asked me where I was headed and after I explained, he took me around the corner to meet the driver of this car that makes runs all the way to Kabale, exactly what I wanted. At this point, the driver had found only one other passenger and they won't leave until they get a full load. A full load means someone in the front seat, four people in the back seat, and three in the third row seat. So, including the driver, that's nine people in this car. As you can tell from the sign strapped to the top of the car, this driver posted his rates to the border town (Gatuna) and all the way to Kabale. The 3,000 RWF fare to Kabale is per passenger and equaled $4.29 at the time.
The driver estimated it would take about 40 minutes to find enough passengers to fill the car. The accumulation of new passengers was slow and I thought we'd be waiting for hours. After about half an hour of waiting, I was looking out over the rest of the bus terminal and one of the touts came up to me and said the car was about to leave, that we were going to be taking a tire instead of extra passengers. At first I thought I misunderstood him because it didn't really make sense, but lo and behold, when I got back to the car a group of guys were loading a giant tire into the back. Turns out that a bus from the Jaguar bus line (no relation to the car company) had gotten a flat on its trip north and our driver struck a deal to deliver the new tire to them. Our driver is the one in the short sleeve red checkered shirt on the opposite side of the tire. He was a really nice guy and charged me the same rate to Kabale as he charged the locals, 3,000 RWF. I don't think he had ever seen someone apply sunscreen before; as I was dabbing some one my nose before I got out of the car at the border crossing, he asked me if it was medicine. I happily explained that it was for protection from the sun.
After reaching Kabale, I had to find another car to take me to the lake. My driver from Kigali stopped in the part of town where all the cars and motos gather, which is where I snapped the photos below, so finding another driver to take me to the lake wasn't very difficult. I could have ridden on the back of a moto and saved a little money, but I opted for a car because I knew the ride was going to be pretty dusty and hilly.
The greatest Coke vendor stand I've ever seen.
I stayed at Byoona Amagara Island Retreat which, as the name suggests, sits on an island. My car from Kabale dropped me off at their dock on Lake Bunyonyi where I grabbed the transfer boat over to the island. For $26, I got a pretty big dwelling and incredible views. The thatched roof chalet on the right had a queen bed, second smaller bed, couch, coffee table, dresser, and table and chairs. The bathroom is the building on the lower left with a green roof. Just to the right of the bathroom is the separate shower structure. The shower had a solar hot water supply, so there was no hot water in the morning, but by late afternoon there was plenty. The water in Lake Bunyonyi is pretty cold, but I did take a short dip while I was there. If you're familiar with freshwater lakes in Africa, you know that Bilharzia parasites can be a concern. From what I read, the risk of Bilharzia in Lake Bunyonyi is low, but just to be safe I bought a dosage of Praziquantel when I got back to Nairobi.
The reverse trip back to Kigali was pretty similar, though my car from Kabale only took me as far as the border so I took a bus from the border back to Kigali. In the near future I'll post a flight report for my return flight from KGL to NBO and a Nairobi tourism bonus.
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Verdict
Rwandair
7.5/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew7.0
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering9.0
Nairobi - NBO
3.2/10
Efficiency4.0
Access3.5
Services3.0
Cleanliness2.5
Kigali - KGL
8.9/10
Efficiency8.5
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0
Conclusion
Rwandair offered the best in-flight economy experience I can remember. This is mostly due to the fact that the plane was less than half full and the aircraft was nearly brand new. The government of Rwanda owns 99% of the airline, so it's clearly staying afloat with government subsidies. My airfare was $254 roundtrip, all in. Not cheap for such a short flight, but I doubt it's enough for this route to be revenue positive if the loads are less than 50%. I hope Rwandair can hang on because they're a great link to this region of Africa. There are plans to build a new international airport in Bugesera, south of Kigali. I don't have all the information on cargo requirements and potential financing, but from a passenger perspective I don't see the need for it. The current airport has undergone renovations recently, feels nearly brand new, and wasn't anywhere near capacity when I was there.
As far as the destinations visited on this trip, Kigali and Lake Bunyonyi were both great. Kigali is a very easy city to navigate and extremely friendly. Widely available motos will take you anywhere you need to go and the fares are usually only $1 or $2. The trek to and from Lake Bunyonyi was probably my favorite part of the trip. Embarking on a cross-border journey in small car with a bunch of locals (and a bus tire) was a great adventure.
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I definitely encourage you to visit Rwanda! It has an exotic feel, but with highly developed infrastructure. I felt completely safe the whole time and everyone I met was very friendly.
Another exotic report! Now I'm just gonna expect it, lol. If you ever do a domestic U.S. Report on a Southwest 737, I'll be disappointed, haha. J/K f course.
I've seen a few reports on Rwandair before, though not many, and your reports seems to confirm a high level of service. I mean, a full meal on an hour and a half flight, wow. But then again, I think those of us who live in the U.S. are all jaded because we're lucky if we get peanuts or a tiny bag of pretzels on a 6 hour transcon in Y. The high quality of Rwandair seems to reflect how far the country has come since the atrocities of the not-so-distant past. Everything I've heard about Rwanda is that it's become really modernized and has developed at a really fast pace. Also, that it's rather safe and tourist-friendly. And your report seems to confirm this. In comparison, as developed as South Africa is, there were many times that I didn't feel safe there.
Cool story about your adventures in the bus terminal. It was like an episode of the Amazing Race! haha.
Thanks again for another good report and an interesting and entertaining tourist bonus!
Everything you've heard about Rwanda is indeed correct, Kigali is very developed and the entire city felt safe to me. It's a completely different situation than South Africa, which unfortunately still has a significant crime problem. When I was in Pretoria, three guys attempted to rob me in broad daylight but I was able to get away by pushing one of them off of me and running into oncoming traffic. The sketchy feeling you get in certain neighborhoods in South Africa is usually warranted. However, I never got that feeling walking around Kigali, or even during my trip to Uganda. I highly recommend a visit to Rwanda for anyone considering it.
Thanks for reading the report and taking the time to comment!
three guys attempted to rob me in broad daylight - Yeah, that's not surprizing and is probably quite common in SA, unfortunately. It's a shame because Pretoria has some beautiful architecture, but I didn't feel totally safe in the touristy areas walking around. Also almost got robbed in Soweto in a bar while my guide had walked away for a minute. Luckily I was able to buy some time by acting confused and like I couldn't speak English and my guide, who was a big dude, got back in the Nick of time to chase him off. And then there are the hordes of people who come rushing at your car every time you're stopped at a robot -- I learned real quick to run red lights, LOL. And yet, i loved my experience in South Africa, it felt very authentic and eye opening. I definitely was to do a trip to East Africa one of these days and Kigali will most certainly be one of the stops.
Thank you very much for this beautiful flight report.
The bonus part is just incredible. Really loved it. The pictures are awesome and the way you got to and from the lake is just ... so african. Having lived and worked in Kenya for almost a year, I was surprised how easy you got your cars. In Kenya it is a different story ;)
Yeah I got pretty lucky with the car situation. All the drivers were great, charged me a fair price, and even gave me advice on the next leg of the journey when their destination was reached. Even getting on the bus from Gatuna to Kigali was fairly easy. I asked the guy collecting fares if the fare would be 2,000 RWF and he replied no, 1,400. He could've easily just said yes, pocketed the extra 600 RWF, and I would've never thought twice about losing out on the equivalent of 86 cents. Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!
Thanks for this nice TR, with beautiful pictures and a very interesting bonus
so the East Africa Tourist Visa is a good deal => yep since the Ugandan Visa rose up from usd50 to usd 100... just ridiculous The flight was not even half full => with up to 5 daily services between NBO-KGL ( same as Dar es Salaam) it's not surprising! Classic Rwandan beef brochette => to be genuinely classic, the meat should be goat ;-) I went into the disorganized ticket office of one of the bus companies => Most (if not all?) of them depart at 4,5 or 6 am!
There are plans to build a new international airport in Bugesera, south of Kigali => a few days before your trip, RCAA announced the beginning of the construction of the new taxiway... so i don't believe on the NBIA story anymore ;-)
I'll post a flight report for my return flight from KGL to NBO and a Nairobi tourism bonus. => I can not wait for that one too :-)
My only time outside of Kigali was when I made the trip to Lake Bunyonyi. So I was able to see the Rwandan countryside during the drive up, but I didn't stay anywhere overnight other than Kigali and the island on the lake.
Well if it was goat meat, for sure you (your teeth) would have noticed it as most of the brochettes can be a workout for the jaw, more over you definitely need an entire box of toothpicks afterward... ;-) I forgot to mention that thanks to your landing video, the construction works of the taxiway are already delayed... lol the KGL-DOA happened during the ancient version of the terminal. The current one is somehow better but simple improvements could be done to enhance the passenger experience, thus i'm looking forward to discover your thoughts! Did you have time to go outside Kigali during your stay?
What a trip! I knew so little about what rwanda looks like and thanks to your report, i got a nice glimpse of it.
As for the flight, hats off to the airline for offering such a service on a short flight and furthermore, on such a small plane. While some airlines would simply treat passengers with 15g of salted nuts.....Rwandair help promote local cuisine, which by the way looks really appealing.
Thank you for sharing those nice trips around such countries like Uganda and Rwanda.
Thanks for the comments Cloud_rider! I was pleasantly surprised with such a legit meal on a short flight like this. Rwandair offers an excellent onboard product with very new planes and light load factors. I hope they can sustain themselves.
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22 reviews
15 Comments
I definitly want to visit Rwanda and your report is just giving me more motivation for it!
Nice catering for a 90 minutes flight! Such a good point!
And thank you for this bonus!
I've seen a few reports on Rwandair before, though not many, and your reports seems to confirm a high level of service. I mean, a full meal on an hour and a half flight, wow. But then again, I think those of us who live in the U.S. are all jaded because we're lucky if we get peanuts or a tiny bag of pretzels on a 6 hour transcon in Y. The high quality of Rwandair seems to reflect how far the country has come since the atrocities of the not-so-distant past. Everything I've heard about Rwanda is that it's become really modernized and has developed at a really fast pace. Also, that it's rather safe and tourist-friendly. And your report seems to confirm this. In comparison, as developed as South Africa is, there were many times that I didn't feel safe there.
Cool story about your adventures in the bus terminal. It was like an episode of the Amazing Race! haha.
Thanks again for another good report and an interesting and entertaining tourist bonus!
Thanks for reading the report and taking the time to comment!
The bonus part is just incredible. Really loved it. The pictures are awesome and the way you got to and from the lake is just ... so african. Having lived and worked in Kenya for almost a year, I was surprised how easy you got your cars. In Kenya it is a different story ;)
so the East Africa Tourist Visa is a good deal => yep since the Ugandan Visa rose up from usd50 to usd 100... just ridiculous
The flight was not even half full => with up to 5 daily services between NBO-KGL ( same as Dar es Salaam) it's not surprising!
Classic Rwandan beef brochette => to be genuinely classic, the meat should be goat ;-)
I went into the disorganized ticket office of one of the bus companies => Most (if not all?) of them depart at 4,5 or 6 am!
There are plans to build a new international airport in Bugesera, south of Kigali => a few days before your trip, RCAA announced the beginning of the construction of the new taxiway... so i don't believe on the NBIA story anymore ;-)
I'll post a flight report for my return flight from KGL to NBO and a Nairobi tourism bonus. => I can not wait for that one too :-)
I forgot to mention that thanks to your landing video, the construction works of the taxiway are already delayed... lol
the KGL-DOA happened during the ancient version of the terminal. The current one is somehow better but simple improvements could be done to enhance the passenger experience, thus i'm looking forward to discover your thoughts!
Did you have time to go outside Kigali during your stay?
The tourist bonus was awesome,
Thanks for sharing!
As for the flight, hats off to the airline for offering such a service on a short flight and furthermore, on such a small plane. While some airlines would simply treat passengers with 15g of salted nuts.....Rwandair help promote local cuisine, which by the way looks really appealing.
Thank you for sharing those nice trips around such countries like Uganda and Rwanda.
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