Mist Rwanda Safaris tailored an itinerary for us
We approached Mist Rwanda Safaris with details of what we did and did not want to do in a 3-day period in Rwanda. They sent back three possible itineraries, each of which matched our requirements. We chose the first itinerary and they made it all happen.
We chose to have a private driver and they suggested Ingagi Park View Lodge. We were extremely happy with both.
Our driver was Sibo, who was reliable, informative and flexible. His driving was great: swift and secure despite some oddities in the traffic around us. Occasionally I found it hard to understand his accent but my hearing is not great so that contributed as well; it was rare and absolutely no problem though. He was thoughtful and attentive. He would think ahead to ensure we would reach everywhere we needed to be on time. He offered to stop at various points of interest along the way and described each thing accurately to help us decide if we wanted to do it. He never pushed us to do anything we weren't interested in, which we really appreciated.
The room at Ingagi Park View Lodge felt very pampering. For example, the nights were mildly chilly and they brought hot water bottles to our room and put them in the beds. We asked for extra fresh milk in the room for our cups of tea and they obliged. The bed, bathroom and shower space were enormous. The gardens were lush, colourful and full of interesting birds. The meals were very substantial and generally had a homemade, healthy vibe. At most meals, there was an option to select a local dish, which featured a lot of beans and potatoes or yams. The rest of the meals were western style and also very tasty. We ate more than we normally would! At the end of each meal, we selected our choices for the following meal. This made dining very efficient, which was good because we could maximise time relaxing or on the national park tours.
We chose hikes in the Volcanoes National Park to see gorillas and golden monkeys, but we ended up experiencing much more: chameleon, viper, buck. We got plenty of time up close with the gorillas and monkeys. We saw locals farming on the walk from the road to the jungle.
I guess things like choosing a private driver and swanky accommodation made it more expensive, but it was still cheaper than other companies who only offered fixed itineraries. Brian was our contact for choosing and booking everything, which we did quite late. Some other companies weren't sure whether they would be able to get us gorilla permits for the days we wanted but Mist said it was no problem and they delivered.