Is it safe to travel to Rwanda? You might be wondering that if you plan on travelling to Africa. After all, this is the very place of the famous Rwandan Genocide where between 500,000-1,000,000 Rwandans died in roughly a 3 months period. Movies like Hotel Rwanda definitely paints a scary picture of what Rwanda is like during the Genocide period.
However, keep in mind, that is was during the Genocide period when that happened. The country has seen undergone a massive transformation.
Before travelling to Rwanda, many individuals who’s been there have told me that I will be surprised how developed the country is now. They even claim that Rwanda is trying to be the Singapore of Africa.
Is there any truth to that?
Is it safe to travel to Rwanda in 2019 and onward?
First impressions
Upon arriving in Rwanda, I was surprised how well developed Kigali is. Roads were paved, there was little pollution, and generally felt safe.
I spoke to the locals and they love bragging to me about how safe their country is and that you can walk at night and no one will bother you.
For the most part, the country is actually very safe. Of course, like any place in the world, there are bad neighborhoods and good ones. So obviously, you want to stay in the safe areas or within the tourist track.
Security presence
There is a massive amount of security presence in Rwanda. Entering the airport requires several check points outside the airport.
As you drive throughout the country, you will be greeted by police check points. When you go in major hotels, often times, they will thoroughly inspect your car to make sure you aren’t carrying any weapons or drugs.
What’s nice about the security check points in Rwanda is that unlike other African countries where it usually means the police is here to shake some bribe off you, the police here are not looking to extort money from you.
American presence
One of the biggest things you’ll notice when travelling in Rwanda is the sheer amount of American presence in the country. There are American tourist everywhere, walking on sidewalks, staying in hotels, or during touristy things.
Americans are known to be paranoid travellers so if there’s so many of them here, it’s probably a good indicator that it’s pretty safe.
I’ve even seen lots of Americans taking the motorcycle taxi within Kigali.
Conclusion
So is it safe to travel to Rwanda? I would definitely say that yes it is very safe in Rwanda! As a matter of fact, if you’ve never been to Africa before then I would definitely recommend Rwanda as your first African country to visit.
Despite other African countries like South Africa being more developed, Rwanda, in my opinion, is the safest country in the Sub-Sahara mainland!
It’s also close by to Uganda if you want to do some gorilla trekking and also neighbours Tanzania, Burundi, and Democratic Republic of Congo if you’re looking for adventure.
As far as development is concern, Rwanda is definitely very clean. Even plastic bags are banned in Rwanda. However, they do have frequent power outages in Kigali so they definitely still have ways to go before they become the Singapore of Africa. But they’re definitely on their way to achieving that goal!
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