Visas for Africa

Kenya: http://www.kenyaembassyireland.net

Rwanda: no embassy in Ireland: EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF RWANDA
120-122 Seymour Place, London W1H 1NR
Tel: 004420 7224 9832. Fax: 004420 7724 8642.
E-mail: uk@ambarwanda.org.uk
Web page: www.ambarwanda.org.uk

Uganda: no embassy in Ireland: EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA
Uganda House, 58-59 Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DX
Tel: 004420 7839 5783. Fax: 004420 7839 8925.
E-Mail: info@ugandahighcommission.co.uk
Web page: ugandahighcommission.co.uk

Good luck!

Mike
 
Kenya: fill in form on Kenya Airways website ahead of time (for convenience), get visa at entry point.

Uganda: no visa required for Irish passport.

Rwanda: Fill in form on Rwanda government website ahead of time, get confirmation back, buy visa at entry point (at Kigali airport anyway).

This all worked in May this year.
 
Agree with mnowlan except for Rwanda - in my recent experience no need to fill a form up in advance. .. just $50 (?) on arrival and you fill the form up then (This was at the land crossing from Uganda)

Also the purchase of the Visa at Nairobi airport when you arrive can be awfully time consuming ... especially if arriving in the early morning when most European flights arrive .. not much you can do about it but it's a shockingly inefficient way of collecting $50 off everyone ... prepare for long lines .. no need to worry about filling in the form in advance .. you'll have a lot of time to do it when you're queuing !

So you don't need any visas in advance for short tourist stays, and for Uganda you don't need any at all as an Irish Passport holder

Wonderful countries - enjoy .. any other questions just ask.
 
I'm planning a trip to Rwanda and on to Botswana next year. Can any of the above posters give their feedback on Rwanda (a country I have been fascinated with for years)?
Also, I am planning on bringing the three oldest kids. Any feedback on that?
 
Main thing to do in Rwanda from a Tourist perspective is the Gorilla tracking .. which is in the Volcanoes National Park ... close to the border with Congo & Uganda

This is expensive, but amazing .. not to be missed - You need to book this in advance

Rwanda in general is a very neat and ordered country .. much cleaner than most African countries (they have some form of compulsory community service which keeps the streets etc. very clean)

Kigali isn't an unpleasant city (again quite neat and ordered), but apart from the Genocide memorial not much to see there really

The country is quite small and very hilly- so while it's small roads aren't that fast so getting around takes a bit of time.

The Bradt Guide is the best book on the country

Note though that Rwanda and Botswana on one holiday would be quite awkward to combine.. they're not very close to eachother and transport links not great .. you'd probably have to fly via both Nairobi and Jo'burg. If you're going to Botswana for Safari.. maybe consider Tanzania or Kenya instead .. both much more accessible from Rwanda.

Rwanda itself isn't much good for Safari ... very little wildlife left in the country ... it's very densely populated, so not much space for large parks and the recent history of the country hasn't helped of course.
 
EvilDoctorK said:
Main thing to do in Rwanda from a Tourist perspective is the Gorilla tracking .. which is in the Volcanoes National Park ... close to the border with Congo & Uganda

This is expensive, but amazing .. not to be missed - You need to book this in advance

Rwanda in general is a very neat and ordered country .. much cleaner than most African countries (they have some form of compulsory community service which keeps the streets etc. very clean)

Kigali isn't an unpleasant city (again quite neat and ordered), but apart from the Genocide memorial not much to see there really

The country is quite small and very hilly- so while it's small roads aren't that fast so getting around takes a bit of time.

The Bradt Guide is the best book on the country

Note though that Rwanda and Botswana on one holiday would be quite awkward to combine.. they're not very close to eachother and transport links not great .. you'd probably have to fly via both Nairobi and Jo'burg. If you're going to Botswana for Safari.. maybe consider Tanzania or Kenya instead .. both much more accessible from Rwanda.

Rwanda itself isn't much good for Safari ... very little wildlife left in the country ... it's very densely populated, so not much space for large parks and the recent history of the country hasn't helped of course.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.

I am aware of the communal/community labour in Rwanda (dating back to pre-colonial times), incidentally the interahamwa militia referred to the killing of Tutsis as the same thing.

I am interested in visiting Volcanoes National Park but I am more interested in getting a general feel of the country (without doing anything stupid). Also, Paul Kagame fascinates me. I am a huge admirer of his for many reasons from his military brilliance (he has to be in the top 10 best practitioners of manoeuvre warfare in the last 100 years), his vision for his country and the massive advances that Rwanda has made since 1994.

I have been to Kenya and Tanzania a number of times and found the game parks in Kenya massively overcrowded with tourist vans and jeeps (it was like Disney World the last time I was there).

I love Tanzania; both the people and the scenery; Ngorangora Crater is probably the most impressive place I have ever visited and the wildlife is as good as or better than Kenya without the droves of tourists.

One of the reasons I want to visit Botswana is its political stability (stable and democratic since independence) and the virtual economic miracle that they have performed over the last 20 years interests me. For the rest of the family an up-market and isolated safari trip is the big attraction.

I am aware of the logistical problem; we may have to go through both Nairobi and Johannesburg but the flights are short (under 10 hours for the lot).
 
I don't think there's that much tourist infrastructure (for a family holiday at least) away from Kigali, Ruhengeri / Volcanoes NP ..... country has developed a lot, but tourism is I think still pretty limited outisde of these areas - I think there's a bit up around Lake Kivu and in the Akagera NP near the Ugandan border.

I'd advise getting the Bradt Guide to Rwanda which is pretty comprehensive (much better than any Lonely Planet or Rough Guide coverage for the country)

Kigali - Gabarone in one day would I think be a challenge ... connections are unlikely to work that well and flights from Kigali are limited and at awkward times ... when I flew out of Kigali my flight was at 5.00am
 
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