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As a cash strapped landlocked country costs of imported goods are high and import duties and VAT considerable.
Foreigners often complain that wine, olive oil, breakfast cereals, kettle chips and other mundane foodstuffs cost a fortune, so beware.
Costs can be lowered considerably by buying Rwandan or East African Community goods - Kenya in particular produces a wide range of produce that often cost half the imported European equivalent.
Outside of supermarkets and restaurants most venders are used to a bit of haggling (even over fruit and veg) although as always keep things in perspective - but don't let storekeepers charge you double what you think you should be paying.
When changing money at a forex bureau or on the street, be aware that only US dollar bills dated Series 2009 or newer will be accepted.
What to buy
Rwandan coffee is generally very good (although stay away from the cheapest stuff, which will be the sweepings from the grinding factory floor).
Expect to pay around Rwf 4,000 per 500g.
Rwandan honey is great, especially the Nyungwe Highlands type.
Around Rwf 1,750 per 500g.
Rwandan tea (both black and green) is also pretty good.
Rwandan handicrafts and kitenge products can be found almost everywhere, but Tubahumurize Association is a unique spot that uses the profits from their sales to fuel their trauma counselling, vocational training, micro-credit loans, sewing school and cooperative programs.
The prices are affordable and you'll find everything from yoga bags and circle scarves to agaseke baskets and gorgeous quilts.
Local markets are stocked with Rwandan handicrafts, clothing, fabulous colourful fabric from West Africa and just about anything else.
The large market in Kimironko is a good place for fruit, veg, rice and other basic foodstuffs - and it can be good fun looking through the secondhand clothes section.
Kimironko is organised with food up front - with butchers and fishmongers lining much of the outer edge, and on the inside square, there's eggs and nuts, followed by fruits and vegetables, and then grains and flours.
After food, the outer edge shops change to luggage, phone accessory, and housewares shops.
The inside square changes to hardware (hammers, nails, picture frames, buckets) to shoes, then tourist / souvenir items, and then finally fabric stalls where you can have clothes, bags, or shoes custom made.
Kimironko is smaller than it looks and often involves squeezing tightly through spaces.
The shops are all 'booths' so you can pass from one to the other.
If you are visibly foreign, expect to be called after and followed for business, but if you give a firm no - you're more easily left alone than in some other markets.
As always, everything is a negotiation and they'll often high-ball you on prices with an expectation to negotiate down, especially if you're buying a lot.
You're expected to negotiate but don't be too ruthless if you can - if you can afford to pay some of the 'foreigner tax' on products, a lot of these resellers are making pennies on the margin - for most travellers, a couple hundred francs is negligible but makes a big difference to them.
For the woven baskets, as of 2021, you can probably expect to pay pretty fairly pay around 4,000 - 5,000 Rwf for large ones, 2,000 Rwf for the smaller ones.
Amahoro baskets (famous from Rwanda and a national symbol) usually come in 'nesting' sets of 5 - and will usually go for around 8,000 - 10,000 Rwf depending on quality.
Gorilla staffs will usually be around 17,000 - 22,000 Rwf.
Custom clothing often won't be the most careful stitch-work but if you offer a bit of a tip upfront, you'll usually get a better product.
A custom dress usually runs around 45,000 Rwf for a rather simple design.
Cash machines / ATMs- More and more bank ATMs are starting to accept Visa cards, including the Bank of Kigali and Ecobank.
Ecobank's headquarters are located in the center of town next to CNLS and near UTC / Nakumatt.
There is a Visa ATM at the airport too.
There are banks in Kigali with counter service for withdrawals (and Ecobank can do MasterCard withdrawals at a price).
Note that most shops are closed on Sundays.
By any standards Kigali is an excellent city in which to dine.
A combination of Belgian culinary influence, plenty of cows, plenty of freshwater fish, and plenty of fresh vegetables equates to some of the best eating in the region.
And it's all pretty affordable.
Note that Kigali restaurants and bars go in and out of fashion, not to mention close down, quite frequently.
Check for the latest once you are in town and be aware that some places mentioned in some print guidebooks no longer exist.
The oft-mentioned Turtle Cafe has been closed since 2003!
Finally note that as with the rest of the region restaurants take their time - with a usual 45 minutes to 1 hour wait between ordering and your food arriving, especially for dinner.
If you are after a quick eat at lunchtime there are several 'African buffets' dotted around where you pile your plate high and are out the door in 30 minutes.
As Kigali is quite a sprawling city eateries are organised by suburb.
The local corner cafes serve decent quality food at excellent prices.
Bottled water is recommended for foreign visitors.
Accommodation in Kigali is noticeably more expensive than neighboring capitals like Kampala and Nairobi.
Kigali has three international class hotels.
English/French language broadcasts are available from BBC World Service in Kigali on 93.
Kigali is relatively safe and friendly as far as African capitals go.
Keep your eyes open and your wallet out of the reach of pickpockets, especially in crowded areas.
Avoid walking after dark if possible, especially alone.
Take extra precaution in the area between New Cadilac Nightclub and Carwash bar.
Police officers are generally helpful if you're in a bind, but don't expect speedy results.
Fun outdoor activitiesFurther along the wayTo Uganda
As of Jan 2019 it was possible to get a VOA into Uganda for $50.
To get from Kigali to Uganda is very easy.
There are many buses to Ruhengeri for around 5000rwf, 3+hours.
From there take a Moto or matatu (500rwf) to Cyanika.
Cross at the Cyanika border, take another Moto (4000USH) or Matatu to Kisoro.
In Kisoro, change for other buses onto the country.
The Visa requirements for Tanzania are a little fuzzy (January 2019).
Online the embassy says that some nationalities can get visas at some ports of entry, but it is strongly advised to get a Visa in advance, especially if doing a land crossing.
At the Embassy/High Commission for Tanzania in Kigali, their exact words were Is possible, but things could go wrong and they could run out of visas.
So best to be safe and get one ahead of time.
$50 for most countries, $100 for US residents; good for 90 days.
The Tanzanian High Commission is open for visa applications M-F from 8am-12pm.
Pick up the following day between 2:30-3:30pm.
No appointment needed.
They only accept USD.
To get to Tanzania from Kigali, there are buses to the border town of Rusumo, or directly to Nyakanazi (which leave at 4am).
Koyonza is a city in Eastern Rwanda.
Northern Rwanda is most famous for being the home to Rwanda's mountain gorillas.
Most sites in the region are within a few hours drive of Kigali, and can be visited on day trips if time is limited.
Nyungwe National Park is in Western Rwanda.
Nyungwe rainforest is in southwestern Rwanda bordering Burundi along the south with Lake Kivu and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west.
It is probably the best preserved rainforest in the mountains throughout Central Africa.
It is located in the watershed between the basin of the river Congo to the west and the basin of the river Nile to the east.
From the east side of the Nyungwe forest is one of the sources of the Nile.
The National Park was established in 2004 and covers an area of approximately 970 km2 of rainforest, bamboo, grassland, swamps, and bogs.
The nearest town is Cyangugu, 54 km to the west.
Mount Bigugu is located within the park boundaries.
Important to Rwanda and the world for its biodiversity, beauty, and natural resources, today Nyungwe is officially recognized as a protected area.
Nyungwe forest is hundreds of thousands of years old.
People's presence in Nyungwe dates back at least 50,000 years.
1903 Colonial Crown Land
Nyungwe is declared a forest reserve, first by the German colonial government then by the Belgians, with restrictions on clearing.
Protection is not consistently enforced.
Nyungwe is reduced by over 150 km2 due to fires, woodcutting, hunting of animals, and small-scale agriculture.
Nearby Gishwati and Virunga forests are cut in half at this time.
Elephants still number in the hundreds in Nyungwe.
The last buffalo is killed in Nyungwe by hunters.
Nyungwe is divided into areas that allow for sustainable use and harvesting of timber.
The Government of Rwanda develops a plan for a buffer zone that can still be seen today.
1984 Wildlife Revealed
Biodiversity surveys conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) with RDB document colobus in groups of up to 400 members--an unheard of phenomenon.
Trail system begins to be formed at Uwinka.
1994 War and Genocide
War and genocide devastate the country and destroy many of the research and tourist facilities in Uwinka.
Most senior staff are forced to flee, but many junior staff members at Nyungwe stay on to protect the park.
The park begins to rebuild, but security and stability are still uncertain.
The last elephant in Nyungwe is killed in the swamp by poachers.