Cheapest Way to See Gorillas in Rwanda at Volcanoes National Park
The cheapest way to see gorillas in Rwanda is Join a group trip or do short safaris to Volcanoes National Park. A group gorilla tour always involves cost sharing on transportation and discounts on accommodation. You are advised to join scheduled group tours or mobilize your friends or family to join you on a gorilla trip. Short safaris like for one or two days are always cheaper and budget friendly than longer tours.
Gorilla trekking is undeniably a costly adventure, however, know there is a Cheapest Way to See Gorillas in Rwanda or Uganda and still attain the fantastic experience?
Find out our 5 tips for cost-friendly gorilla tracking experience in Rwanda ranging from inexpensive permits to cheaper accommodation and transport among others and make your dream escapade a reality without harassing your pocket.
To visit and see gorillas in Rwanda, one should do gorilla trekking, an adventure activity involving hiking or walking across the dark and rugged woodlands of Volcanoes National Park accompanied by experienced rangers and guides.
The reason seeing gorillas is an expensive activity is the mixture of conservation efforts for mountain gorillas, costly permits, transportation expenses, accommodations as well as the safari duration. Below are some of the major 7 guidelines or tips to follow in order to see gorillas cheaply in Rwanda or even in Uganda and Congo.
Travel to Visit Gorillas during Low Season
Choosing to travel to Rwanda during the low season is among the less costly or cheapest way to see gorillas in the wild. Travelling on a safari has two seasons including the highly/peak or low season. The peak season runs every year from June to September and then December to February. Whereas the low season/green season starts from March to May and October to November. Whereas you can travel to Rwanda throughout the year to meet mountain gorillas in the wild, we recommend that you visit during the low season to enjoy minimum spending. Good thing with low season is that there is usually less crowding in the parks and most services like accommodations give low-season discounts which are rare or non-existent in peak seasons when the rates highly competitive.
Use Budget Lodges and Hotels
In Rwanda, the cost of a gorilla permit is at USD 1500 per person per day. After booking a permit, you can still use low cost accommodation facilities to ensure that your gorilla trekking safari is less expensive. Sleeping in budget-friendly lodges or hotels with minimum basic services and close to the park is recommended.
Because the purpose of the safari is to meet the gorillas in the jungles, staying at relatively cheap accommodation facility should not be something to worry any visitor. Saving money on sleeping is among the confirmed options for seeing gorillas at low cost. Around the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, the following are some of the recommended nice budget accommodation facilities:-
- Muhabura Hotel.
- Kinigi Guest House.
- Villa Gorilla.
- Urugano Virunga Palace.
- La Palme Hotel-Musanze
Other gorilla parks including Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda plus the Virunga National Park in Congo have accommodation alternatives for all types of travelers like budget, midrange and luxury. For purpose of cutting gorilla trekking costs, asking for budget lodge facilities will largely help.
Join a group of Travelers
Joining and travelling by a group of tourists from different countries is undoubtedly among the cheapest ways to see gorillas in Rwanda. You may either join scheduled group tours or move with people you don’t know or mobilize friends or family to build a gorilla safari group.
Joining a group of holidaymakers obviously means that there is going to be cost sharing on accommodation, transport plus other services in the tour. Cost sharing in this group case means saving money.
Book Shorter Gorilla Tour Package
To minimize the cost of gorilla trekking in Rwanda, book for shorter tour packages. This is because, the shorter the trip duration, the lower the rates/prices of items including accommodations, meals, and transportation, activities. In case of more days, the cost will be higher. A traveler can see gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park by booking trips as short as one or two days. If the target is to meet gorillas in the forest, you may choose not to add any other activity on the itinerary and that way, you would have seen the primates cheaply. Examples of shorter Gorilla Tours in Rwanda to consider include:-
- 1 Day Gorilla Trekking Rwanda
- 2 Days Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Tour
- 3 Days Rwanda Gorilla Tour
Book Gorilla Permits in advance
In order not to strain your pocket, you may book for a gorilla trekking permit some good time in advance. For instance, you may secure a permit one or two years to the trekking date. This may be both cheaper and convenient.
Look for cheaper air tickets
As you plan your trip, check with your airlines and see when the air tickets are at their lowest. After confirming a low cost ticket, then you can book for a gorilla permit and the rest of the trip. At the end, you will realize that you save money.
Use of Public Transport
Though not recommended, use of public transportation is one of the cheapest ways to see gorillas in Rwanda.
In conclusion, the cheapest ways to trek gorillas in Rwanda are given above and following them can offer the best tour experience. Any traveler can apply the same options and be able to see gorillas in Uganda on budget. Read about the cheapest way to see gorillas in Uganda and you will appreciate how amazing the tour are. Gorilla trekking in Rwanda or Uganda is an incredible activity that one should not miss in a lifetime because of budget, opt for cheaper alternatives.