Rwanda With Kids

Rwanda is an easier country to bring children to than most people assume. Distances are short, roads are good, medical care in Kigali is reasonable, and there is no long internal flight to endure.

There is one hard constraint, and it is worth getting out of the way first.

The gorilla age limit

Rwanda applies a minimum age for gorilla trekking, and it is enforced at the briefing rather than treated as a guideline. Chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe has a limit too.

These are set by the Rwanda Development Board and can change, so we confirm the current rules for your family in writing before anything is booked. What we will not do is put you in a position where a child is turned away at Kinigi at seven in the morning.

If your children are under the limit, families usually split the trek across two days so both parents get to go, and build the rest of the trip around things everyone can do.

What works brilliantly with children

• Akagera game drives. No age limit, and a giraffe at ten metres does not need explaining to anyone.
• The boat safari on Lake Ihema. Hippos at water level, and only an hour or two, which suits shorter attention spans.
• Lake Kivu. Safe swimming, no crocodiles or hippos, boats, and nothing scheduled.
• Golden monkey trekking, which has a lower age limit than gorillas and is a much easier walk.
• The Nyungwe canopy walkway. Children frequently enjoy this more than the adults do.
• Community and craft visits, where children are usually the ones who break the ice fastest.

What to think twice about

• Chimpanzee tracking. A five in the morning start, hard walking, and no guarantee of a sighting is a difficult combination for younger children.
• The Kigali Genocide Memorial. The content is harrowing. Parents know their own children; many find it appropriate for teenagers and not for younger ones.
• Long transfer days. Akagera to Musanze is five to six hours. Break it, or reorder the trip to avoid it.
• Volcano climbs. Bisoke is a hard day for an adult.

Practical things

• Most lodges have family rooms or adjoining rooms; some of the smaller ones have age restrictions of their own.
• Bring child-appropriate insect repellent and sun cream; equatorial sun at altitude is strong.
• Malaria prophylaxis for children is a conversation for a travel clinic, well before you go.
• Car seats are not standard and should be requested in advance.
• Rwandans are, as a rule, warm with children. Expect your kids to be greeted everywhere.

A shape that works

For a family with younger children, we would usually suggest Kigali for a day, Akagera for two or three nights with game drives and the boat, and Lake Kivu for two or three to swim. That avoids the age-restricted activities entirely and is a genuinely good week.

For families with teenagers old enough to trek, the standard seven- or ten-day routes work as they stand.