Kibuye (Karongi)

We had two US friends passing through last weekend, and thought it a good time to visit Lake Kivu to the west of Kigali.  I have heard good things about Kivu, mostly about Gisenyi, the resort town to the north.  If we had more time, or access to our own car, we probably would have opted for Gisenyi.  However, Kibuye was much more our speed, a tiny little town with hills rolling straight into the lake.  There was hardly anyone or anything there, which was perfect, and it was only 3 hours from Kigali.

The buses from Kigali to Kibuye (now called Karongi) run frequently from Nyabugogo bus station for RWF2500-2600 per person.  Our taxi dropped us in front of Impala bus lines office and said that was the company that ran to Kibuye, and indeed they had buses every hour.  On the way back, we discovered that Capital bus also runs every 30 minutes - the service was equivalent, the buses are large and relatively comfortable, and they do not stop very often.  The drive is stunning, lots of hills, ups and downs, and switch backs.  I loved it, but on the way there, we had at least two passengers get sick. 

We had several folks recommend Home St. Jean to us for accommodations.  If you look online, the Lonely Planet blogs claim that the place has no electricity and no phone.  It has both, but the phone number is really hard to track down - 078-472-5107.  The rooms ($25(RWF15000)/double, with bathroom) were comfortable enough, very clean, and the view was amazing.  The breakfast was painfully slow and not that great and also not included in the price (dinner was rumoured to be better).  There is a place to swim, but its a path down a steep hill, a clearing of about 10 feet wide, a rocky shore, and an immediate drop to so deep that we could not touch.  Not kid friendly, or for folks who don't have good doggy paddling skills.  But completely empty, completely private, completely relaxing.

We went for dinner to Golf Hotel (078-642-8709), a 10 minute walk from Home St. Jean.  True to our friends' advice, they have amazing fish (Tilapia) brochettes.  The food here was great, the wait time decent (about 45 minutes for food), prices were reasonable and it was by far the best dinner view in Rwanda yet.  We didn't see the rooms, but they had a rooms from RWF15000-25000, breakfast included, and there was a hopping beach at the bottom of the hotel that would be better for mixed swimming skills.  We liked our first hotel, I think we will try this one next time because of the location, the beach, and the food.

On Sunday, we went to Peace (Amahoro) island for a few hours.  Boat prices vary wildly, but we tagged along with some nice folks who had negotiated for RWF15000 for the whole boat, both ways.  The island was a great escape - its tiny, but comfortable enough for the 15 or so folks who ended up there.  The place is very pretty, perfect for a few hour visit, but when we asked the prices to sleep there we about fell down - $200 for two rooms/night.  I suspect something might have been lost in translation, but who knows...

We will for sure be back, and will scout out other places in the area.  I am sure we will eventually make it to the resort town of Gisenyi, but for beautiful, quiet and relaxing, Kibuye is perfect!