Complete 9 Days Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda Spending Breakdown

Between May 31, to June 9, 2019, I spent about 9-10 days travelling between Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda. In this blog post you’ll see exactly how much my Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda spending breakdown is so you can get an idea how much money to save up before travelling to these amazing African countries.

2 Days Uganda spending breakdown

• VISA to Uganda – $61.13 CAD ($51.50 USD or 190,019.37 USh)
• Gorilla trekking booking with African Adventure Travellers – $917.69 CAD ($704 USD or 1,992,694.40 USh)
• Kings Hotel Kabale – $41.11 CAD (28 EUR or $31.54 USD or 89,274.97 USh)
• African Adventure Traveller driver tip – $9.22 CAD ($7.07 USD or 20,000 USh)
• Gorilla trekking guide and tracker tips – $9.22 CAD ($7.07 USD or 20,000 USh)
• Gorilla tracking porters tip –  $26.07 CAD ($20 USD or 56,610.64 USh)
• Gloves for gorilla trekking – $6.52 CAD ($5 USD or 14,152.66 USh)
• Ugandan cultural dance donations – $6.45 CAD ($4.95 USD or 14,000 USh)
• Food and water – $9.67 CAD ($7.42 USD or 21,000 USh)

Grand total:

Total Uganda spending: $1093.08 CAD ($838.55 USD or 2,373,542.45 USh)

Average daily Uganda spending: $546,54 CAD ($419.28 USD or 1,186,771.20 USh)

Looking at how expensive gorilla trekking in Uganda is makes my eyes bleed. But, I have no regrets, it was an amazing once in a life time experience! Ugandan food was actually really cheap and quite delicious also. I highly recommend eating the breakfast street food called “Rolex” which is basically omelette wrapped in chapati (the cost for this is 10,000 USh).

7 Days Rwanda spending breakdown

• VISA to Burundi (VISACenter Review)- $222.48 CAD ($170.67 USD or 155,777.66 RWF)
• 1 night at Yambi hostel – $137.69 CAD ($105.63 USD or 96,412.92 RWF)
• 1 night in Akagera Game Lodge – $218.99 CAD ($168 USD or 149,688 RWF)
• 9 days car rental and driver – $321.97 CAD ($247 USD for my share of the cost but the actual cost is $740 USD) (225,447.24 RWF)
• 1 night in Rhino Lodge – $175.50 CAD ($134.63 USD or 122,882.44 RWF)
• Gas (my share, 3 of us split the cost) – $66.69 CAD ($51.16 USD or 46,700 RWF)
• Emmanuel’s tip (3 of us tipped him separately – he’s our driver in Rwanda) – $32.59 CAD ($25 USD or 22,818.55 RWF)
• Souvenirs – $7.14 CAD ($5.48 USD or 5,000 RWF)
• Food and water – $66.78 CAD ($51.23 USD or 46,759.77 RWF)
• 1 night in Kivu Peaceview Hotel (3 of us split the cost of this accommodation) – $28.56 CAD ($21.91 USD) (20,000 RWF for my share but actual cost is 60,000 RWF)
• Genocide Museum audio tour – $32.59 CAD ($25 USD or 22,818.55 RWF)
• Akagera National Park entrance fee – $65.18 CAD ($50 USD or 45,637.09 RWF)
• Akagera National Park safari guide – $18.25 CAD ($14 USD or 12,778.39 RWF) ($40 USD for the entire car is the actual price)
• Akagera National Park night game drive – $52.14 CAD ($40 USD or 36,509.68 RWF)
• Parliament Museum entrance fee – $5.71 CAD ($4.38 USD or 4,000 RWF)
• Hotel laundry service tip – $1.33 CAD ($1 USD or 912.74 RWF)
• Aeroplan flight redemption to Rwanda from Vancouver – $324.31 CAD ($248.79 USD or 227,081.05 RWF)

Grand total:

Total Rwanda spending: $1,777.90 CAD ($1,363.91 USD or 1,244,897.77 RWF)

Total Rwanda spending without flights: $1,453.59 CAD ($1,115.11 USD or 1,017,807.59 RWF)

Average daily Rwanda spending: $253.99 CAD ($207.66 USD or 145,401.07 RWF)

Average daily Rwanda spending without flights: $207.66 CAD ($159.30 USD or 145,401.08 RWF)

Points and Miles spent: 150,000 Aeroplan Miles (including my flight to Vietnam and Romania), 32,000 Marriott Points for 2 night stay at the Kigali Marriott

Oh my god, after tabulating the cost of my trip to Rwanda, it’s a shocking $1,777.90 CAD to travel there for one week! All the sight seeing definitely added up. And accommodation in Rwanda is definitely not cheap. No regrets of course, but this is significantly more expensive than what I usually pay for backpacking trips. I guess this is typical of what you would pay for a normal vacation.

2 Days Democratic Republic of Congo spending breakdown

• VISA to Democratic Republic of Congo – $136.87 CAD ($105 USD or 173,163.03 CDF)
• Mount Nyiragongo Volcano Trek – $617.58 CAD ($456 USD or 752,022.30 CDF)
• Porter – $33.50 CAD ($25 USD or 41,229.29 CDF)
• Porter’s tip – $26.80 CAD ($20 USD or 32,983.43 CDF)
• Cook’s tip – $6.70 CAD ($5 USD or 8,245.86 CDF)

Total Democratic Republic of Congo spending: $821.45 CAD ($611 USD or 1,007,655.50 CDF)

Average daily Democratic Republic of Congo spending: $410.73 CAD ($305.50 USD or 503,827.75 CDF)

Well, this was to be expected since we joined a tour to climb the active volcano Mount Nyiragongo in Democratic Republic of Congo. No regrets here despite the hefty price. This is one of my most memorable experience in my entire life!

Conclusion

My group was extremely shocked that we spent $3,692.43 for our trip to Africa! This is hands down the most expensive vacation we’ve ever taken in our entire life. At the same time, it’s also the most epic adventure and memorable experience we’ve ever had. So while we have no regrets, the price tag is definitely huge and hard to comprehend for budget travellers like us.

On the bright side, I got to tick off Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of Congo in my quest to visit all 193 UN recognized countries in the world. And this was hands down one of my favourite vacations yet! Despite the insane price tag, I highly recommend travelling to these countries to everyone!

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