Getting in and visas for Rwanda

A passport is required to enter Rwanda and a certificate of vaccination for yellow fever is normally required to return back to the country of origin. A 90 day visa is issued on arrival free of charge for nationals of the US, UK, Canada, Congo (Dem Rep), Germany, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, and Uganda. If arriving by air, citizens of many other European countries may get an 8 day single entry visa on arrival for USD$60, which can be extended by the immigration office in Kigali, although this process is sometimes tedious. Generally Rwandan embassy and consulates can issue 3 month tourist visas for around the same price without much hassle. Contact your nearest embassy or consulate for more information.

By plane

Map of Rwanda There are direct international flights into Kigali from Brussels (twice per week). There are also daily flights from Entebbe airport in Uganda, Johannesburg and Addis Ababa. Additionally there are connections twice a day from Nairobi, and several flights a week to Bujumbura. Note that the Rwandan capital is also easily accessible (3hrs by road) from Goma airstrip in DRC.

By car

By bus

• Uganda several bus companies make the 8 hour journey from Kampala in Uganda to Kigali. The bus costs 15,000 or 20,000 /= (roughly US$7.50-10) depending on the time you chose to travel, early morning being cheaper.

• Tanzania has one open border with Rwanda, but this is a far more difficult way to enter Rwanda due to the remoteness and lack of roads in western Tanzania. A bus runs from Mwanza to Benako (both Tanzania) and from Benako buses run onto Kigali. Another town to consider on this route is Ngara (Tanzania).

• Burundi there are two ways to enter from Rwanda, and security in the border areas varies. For the intrepid there is a daily direct service from Kigali to Bujumbura operated by Yahoo Car, and since 2007, a new "luxury" service operated by Belvedere Lines.

• Democratic Republic of the Congo much of the country remains off limits to many tourists due to instability, though Goma and Bukavu can be visited easily from Rwanda.