Hello,
I'm a young solo female traveler, and I'll be flying in from Nairobi to Kigali around midnight on a monday night. I was wondering what people's experiences with safety were at that hour? And any thoughts on whether any taxis are available and how safe are they? Thanks!
Ruchi
Kiglai is one of the (in not the) safest cities in Africa so you should be OK on that count. Don't know about taxis though - sorry.
There should be a couple of metered taxis at Kigali airport - very safe. The other thing you can do is ask your hotel to meet you.
One more vote of confidence for solo female travel in Rwanda. I've gone solo on trip there.
On our first night in Kigali upon arriving in Africa, my wife and I managed to get ourselves totally lost walking back to the hotel from the restaurant. We must have wandered around mostly deserted streets for at least an hour, without encountering anyone who seemed remotely menacing. A series of taxis did stop, but we felt safe enough to let them go. During my subsequet two months in Kigali I never thought twice about being out late at night. In Kigali, as anywhere, I'd find out from the hotel in advance what the taxi fare from the airport should be, and then agree on this before getting into the cab.
You could also take a motorbike--it's cheap (less than 2 dollars). . Rwanda in general is remarkably safe, but petty crime is rampant, so if you go out at night, keep an eye on your phone and camera. :-)
Hi there. I'm a single female who has lived in Kigali for two years. You can trust the taxis here. Most taxis in town are unmarked private vehicles, but not once have I ever had a bad experience with them - nor have I heard of anyone else having troubles. Only the special airport taxis are at the airport. The drivers will be at the door when you walk out the building. With them there are standard prices depending on where in the city you're heading to - slightly higher than other taxis but they really are set prices - they're not ripping you off! I live in Kimihurura, which is a bit before town center, and the price there is 7000 RWF.
On a more general note, there is also one metered taxi service available in town... again this is reliable but I never take it because it's far more expensive than other options.
I was going to start a new topic, but came across this discussion. A young female friend of mine is planning on arriving in Kigali around 2:00 a.m. next week. I see that most of the posters here state that it is generally safe in Kigali. But in terms of taxis from the airport to the guest house which is in town, does anyone know whether it's easy to take a taxi from the airport at that time? And how much it would cost, roughly?