International Airline Travel
Visitors to Virunga National Park usually fly into Kigali international airport and take the 3+ hour taxi ride to the border crossing at Gisenyi, Rwanda/Goma, DRC. International flights often arrive in the late afternoon or evening. For such arrivals, we recommend spending the night in Kigali and leaving for Virunga the following morning. Most Kigali hotels will arrange an airport pick up for a small additional charge. Ethiopian Airlines and domestic DRC airlines fly into Goma, but the airport is not up to international standards.
Taxi Service
Taxis typically charge $100 from Kigali to the DRC border. Hotels can arrange a taxi for you. Virunga National Park staff and many visitors use Dieudonné Nkongori’s taxi service ($100). Reservations can be made by emailing him at dnkongori
Disclaimer: Virunga National Park is not affiliated with, and receives no financial or other benefit from, any taxi or other transportation service. Virunga National Park therefore is not liable or responsible for any act or omission of any taxi operator, taxi business or other transportation service, whether or not recommended by Virunga National Park.
Transportation to and from Virunga National Park once in the DRC
Virunga National Park is offering one-way and round-trip transportation for the following locations. You can also find transportation options specific to the various lodging and activities from within their booking pages. All pricing reflects per seat booking.
The Grand Barrière border crossing is open to Virunga visitors from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm daily. One can cross the border at 8:00 am for a same day volcano trek. If you book park transport for the volcano (Goma to Kibati), the driver will pick you up at the border at 8:30 am. Same day gorilla treks are NOT possible because park transport leaves Goma for Bukima at 6:30 am.
Please note: Visitors departing from Goma are not permitted to leave past 15:30. When leaving Mikeno Lodge or Bukima Tented camp, visitors are not permitted to leave past 15:30.