Motorcycle trip

Rwanda

We run one tour in Rwanda: The Land of a Thousand Hills, a 9-day Motorcycle Ramble with 7 riding days, starting and finishing in Kigali. In one week it links the country’s great landscapes: the Virunga volcanoes, the shores of Lake Kivu, Nyungwe Forest, the old royal palace of Nyanza and the Akagera savanna. For more dirt riding, see Tanzania; for an 11-day adventure tour, Madagascar.

$4,790 per rider and $4,190 per passenger for The Land of a Thousand Hills, 9 days on the ground. The price includes your Royal Enfield Classic 350 and its gas, the motorcycle guide, the support team, lodging, meals on riding days, park entrance fees and a 4×4 safari in Akagera National Park. On top, budget for your flights, drinks, the gorilla trek if it appeals to you and, on your first tour with us, a $41 registration fee.

During the dry seasons: January and February, then June through September. Our departures follow this calendar. The rains fall mainly from March to May and toward the end of the year, and make the red dirt tracks slippery; a shower remains possible in any season. Close to the equator but at altitude, Rwanda stays mild year-round: warm days, cool evenings in the hills and the forest. Dates are on the tour page.

An Intermediate level: you should ride regularly and be comfortable spending several days in a row in the saddle. The route mixes small paved roads winding endlessly through the hills with good dirt tracks, a few of them more technical. It is a great first taste of off-road riding in Africa, and passengers are welcome. For an easier first tour, Morocco has tours rated Accessible.

U.S. citizens need a visa, available on arrival at Kigali airport for about $50 and 30 days, according to our help center. Your passport should be valid at least six months after entry. Bring your U.S. motorcycle license; we recommend an International Driving Permit, issued by AAA. Rules can change: check the State Department page on Rwanda before you go. Other nationalities should check before booking. Details: Preparing your trip to Rwanda.

Fly to Kigali International Airport, usually with one or two connections, on flights you book yourself. Our team meets you there on day 1 and drives you to your hotel in the city; the tour loops back to Kigali and the airport transfer is included on the last day. There is no domestic flight: the capital, at about 4,900 feet, is both the start and the finish.

Yes, on a guided tour. Rwanda is known for being calm, clean and well organized, with little crime. The real risk is the road: curves through the hills, motorcycle taxis, pedestrians and heavily loaded bicycles, unlit roads outside Kigali. The guide sets the pace and the support vehicle follows the group. Before you go, check the U.S. Department of State page on Rwanda, including its latest alerts, and enroll in STEP, the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.

Yes, as a paid option. The mountain gorillas live in Volcanoes National Park, at the foot of the Virunga range, and you meet them on foot with a local guide, in a small group. Permits are issued in limited numbers each day: if the trek appeals to you, book it when you sign up. Those who skip it keep riding, and the whole group meets up again afterwards.