Getting Around Rwanda

Distances in Rwanda are short and the roads are better than the region's reputation suggests. What shapes a day here is gradient, rain and one recurring morning when almost nothing is open.

Umuganda stops the country for a morning

On the last Saturday of each month Rwanda holds Umuganda, a national day of community service. Most normal services close from 7am to 11am. Kigali also has a car free morning from 7am to 10am on the first and third Sunday of the month, and other cities hold their own, at their own times.

A visitor who books an early transfer on the last Saturday of the month, or plans a morning of errands, will find the day does not work. Build around it: it is one of the few genuinely predictable things about a travel schedule here.

Roads between towns are good, and then they are not

Roads from Kigali to all major towns are in good condition. What degrades them is weather: landslides during the rainy season are the normal cause of a road being closed or damaged, on terrain this steep.

After dark, many roads outside the larger urban centers are unlit and driving standards are poor. The sensible rule, as in much of the region, is to do your long driving in daylight and to treat an unplanned night drive as a reason to stop instead.

Motorbike taxis, and the honest thing about them

Shared minivan taxis and motorbike taxis are the most common public transport in Rwanda, and the FCDO records plainly that they are very vulnerable to accidents. The motos are also the fastest and cheapest way across Kigali, they are metered by app in the capital, and helmets are provided.

Both things are true at once. Plenty of visitors use motos without incident and they are part of how the city works. The point is to choose knowingly rather than to discover the risk afterwards, and to be more cautious about them for long distances, at night and in the rain than for a short daytime hop.

Driving yourself

If you intend to drive you need both the 1949 version of the international driving permit and your own license with you in the car. The 1949 convention permit is a specific document and not the more common 1968 one, and you cannot buy it once you have left home. After a year of driving in Rwanda you must obtain a Rwandan license.