I figured I would put together this small guide to visiting Burundi – a tiny country in East Africa that doesn’t attract many tourists. When I visited Burundi basically all the travel warnings told you not to go there due to the unpredictable security situation, potential for violent civil unrest, threat of terrorism and violent crime. Also, most of the people in Tanzania were doubting my travel plans, but I had already decided the countries I wanted to visit in Africa months or even years in advance, so a few travel warnings on the way were not going to stop me. I’m visiting every country in the world after all. And I’m so happy that I visited Burundi because it turned out to be a really cool and underrated place!
Getting the Visa
When it comes to getting the visa, you will need a lot of patience. I based myself in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania where I spent more than three weeks waiting for the visa. For a one-month tourist visa, you’ll need two passport photos, $90 and an invitation letter. I booked a stay at Roca Golf Hotel, and they kindly sent me the invitation letter via email. I had heard some rumors that you could get a cheaper transit visa but when I asked about it, there was no such option. Be patient when waiting for the visa, it will take at least two weeks!
Crossing the Border
I started my journey to Burundi in Kigoma, Tanzania. Hamza Transit has a direct minibus from Kigoma to Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi. The journey was nice and smooth when we were still on Tanzanian side. At the border, I had some issues because the officer was clearly surprised seeing a mzungu (white person) girl traveling alone to Burundi. The officer also didn’t speak any English, and our options for communicating were French and Swahili. I was so happy I took Swahili lessons in Tanzania because my French is terrible!
After the border crossing, we got stopped by police who spent nearly an hour going through every single piece of an item in the car. These police checkpoints continued all the way to Bujumbura, and although the rest of them didn’t take that long, the journey still felt painfully long.
The people on the bus were very helpful and hospitable (like most of the locals in Africa), and they helped me to find a taxi to my hotel when we arrived in Bujumbura.
First Impressions of Burundi
I was pleasantly surprised how nice and clean Burundi was and how friendly the people were. I had no problems walking around and traveling overland as a solo female traveler. I think all the travel warnings and people’s reactions when I was telling them about my plans to travel overland to Burundi, were the reason I had this image in my head that Burundi is going to be very miserable and unsafe.
Safety
I still wasn’t underestimating the risks, and before visiting, I was reading the news and checking the latest travel warnings. I got a green light from the embassy in Dar es Salaam, and they assured me that it’s safe to visit. I think the most accurate travel warning is found on UK government site because they have a map where you can check the areas you shouldn’t travel to. The map being only red and orange at the time of writing, I avoided all the red areas.
Don’t walk outside after dark if possible. If I was somewhere late, I always took a taxi back and preferably had a number of a reliable taxi driver. I’ve heard some people getting mugged and robbed when walking outside at night, so be careful.
There were a lot of armed guards/police officers on the streets so I assume they were prepared if things were about to escalate. So walking in the city center, you’ll feel very safe because of the police presence. Overall, I would say that Burundi is a safe place for foreign visitors.
Roca Golf Hotel
Roca Golf Hotel is definitely the most luxurious hotel in whole Burundi and it was a much-needed break for me after rough overland traveling through Tanzania and staying in cheap guesthouses for the past weeks. My room had a lovely view of the golf course, air condition, wifi, and hot water.
The facilities include everything you need from swimming pool to gym and restaurant. The location was perfect because it’s between the Lake Tanganyika and city center. I usually walked to city center but took a taxi if I needed to go somewhere further.
Check more photos and latest availability on HotelsCombined or Booking.com.
Things to do in Bujumbura:
Eating out
I always like to try different vegan dishes when I’m traveling. There are many restaurant options in the city center, and my favorite restaurant was actually the closest one to my hotel. The place is called Snack la Fantasia and they offer a lunch buffet including dessert (fruit salad, so it’s vegan!) for the price of 10k. Usually, everything was vegan except for one meat dish. They had options like rice, beans, grilled bananas, vegetables, potatoes. Simple food but so good and the food was tastier than in Tanzania where I definitely ate a lot of rice and beans!
Lake Tanganyika
You can’t visit Burundi and not go to the lake. I had already seen Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania, but of course, I still wanted to enjoy it in Burundian side.
Bora Bora Beach Club
A nice place to check out is Bora Bora Beach Club. They have a restaurant, bar, swimming pool, wifi, private beach and it’s a great spot if you want to relax and enjoy the lake view.
Nightlife
I’m definitely not a person who goes out a lot, but I just need to share another hidden gem in Bujumbura. There are a lot of bars and clubs, but my favorite was Arena Club. They also have a swimming pool, and it’s an upscale bar with both food and drinks, different events, and live music. If you fancy going out, this is your best bet in Bujumbura!
Traveling to Rwanda
There used to be buses going to Rwanda but they had stopped running because of the safety reasons I guess, so my only option was a shared taxi. Ask a taxi driver to help you because it can be challenging to find the place where shared taxis leave. I ended up sharing a car with three lovely Burundian ladies who were on their way to Rwanda for a funeral. The trip to Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, went smoothly and I could enjoy some beautiful scenery on the way.
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20 comments
Thanks for sharing this ! So helpful for me since I’m considering going to Kigoma via Bujumbura from Rwanda. Your article mentions a lot of helpful info but I would like hearing how much time did you take to from one major city to another, like from Kigoma to Bujumbura for instance.
Thanks again
John
Hi John! Both of the journeys were pretty reasonable considering it’s Africa (and compared to some painfully long 3-day journeys I had). The minibus from Kigoma to Bujumbura took longer because of all the police stops, checks at the border etc. so it was 7+ hours. The shared taxi from Bujumbura to Kigali went smoothly, around 5 hours.
Great article Gabriela.
So detailed and informative.
Kudos !
Thank you!
Hello Gabriela. Thank you for a lovely informative post. I am planning to go to Rwanda shortly and wonder if you have any comments to help me cross into Burundi for a couple of days to stay at the hotel you mention. Can I get a visa upon arrival at the border (I am a UK national with a UK passport)? As I will only have a short time there,. I will spend this wandering around Bujumbura but are there any things I should see in my short time there apart from things you have mentioned? Any help or comments will be very much appreciated. Thank you. Best regards. Barry
Hi Barry! When I was traveling in the area, it wasn’t possible to get the visa on arrival, and I think the situation is still the same. It took three weeks for me to get the visa in Dar es Salaam, so I highly recommend you to get in the UK before you leave. I’ve heard people getting the visa in Rwanda without waiting that long so you could also try there. I would also suggest you to see the Drummers of Burundi and visit some national parks if you have time.
Hello! So great to see some current information on travel between Bujumbura and Kigali. Would you be able to break down the trip a little further for me? Did you have to change taxis at the border or did the taxi go directly to Kigali? In Kigali, did it drop you near the main bus station Nyabugogo or at a different shared taxi stand? And lastly, can you please tell me the approximate cost? Thank you so much! As fellow solo, female traveler I appreciate your site!
Hi Lara! No, I didn’t have to change taxis. The same one drove from Bujumbura to Kigali. It didn’t leave us at the main bus station. It was just a random place, maybe a smaller taxi rank but definitely not a bus station. I think the ladies in the same car had requested this stop. Sorry, can’t help you more! If you’re in Kigali, just ask around, and usually taxi drivers know where you can find a car driving to Burundi. I can’t remember the exact cost any more, but it was around 20€.
Thank you, Gabriela!
Thank u so much for the info.
I’m visiting Burundi in Oct ..now I know how I will spend my 6 weeks there..Orginally from there but never been there before.so excited about my vacation… I’m in the process of buying ticket but they are so expensive ,any idea on how I can save couple mula?
Thanks again
Hi! Flight tickets to Burundi are very expensive. If you have time, consider flying to for example Kigali and from there travel overland to Burundi.
Hi Gabriela, am based in Kenya and I would like to travel to Burundi for a week then later make my lifestyle in Burundi to stay there. Kindly break down for me in an easy way that I make it to that place.
Thanks.
The easiest way is flying to Bujumbura. Overland travel takes so much time as you would need to travel through Tanzania or Uganda to get there.
Hi Lucky, you’re most welcome to Burundi. Flying over will be faster (1h20′) and from Nairobi it’s easy to get a visas. But if you are a Kenyan you don’t need a visas. And if you want to do your life here it’s possible. Karibu
Hi Gabriela
Thank you for sharing your trip experience to Burundi with others, most importantly thank you for ignoring all the warnings that are politically motivated.
Hi Gabriela,
very beautiful informative.
I would also like to know, if I catch a flight from Kigali to Bujumbura, Can’t I get a Burundian visa upon arrival to Bujumbura airport?
Thanks
We are Burundi guides ,we are here for you. My name is sanctus ,i’m burundian. Those who plan to come in Burundi , you are welcome. We enjoy meeting people.
Hi,
First of all thank you for all the useful information!
I was wondering if you could give me an estimation of the price of the shared taxi from Buj to Kigali?
Also, if I m travelling from Kigali to Buj would you recommend taking a shared taxi directly in Kigali or to first take a bus to the border and then only hop on a shared taxi?
Thank you for the help,
Hi
I was in Burundi in March of this year (2019). I had to go overland from Kigali because the airline cost was way too high. It was ridiculously expensive, even though the Kenya Airways stopped in Bujumbura, It was far cheaper to fly into Rwanda.
You are correct, the visit took me a long time, two weeks, I’m Canadian.
Lots of police checks on the drive, and the capital city wasn’t too bad.
Having said that, you need to be much more careful than you would in other East African countries.l having said that, you need to be much more careful than you would in other East African countries (with the exception of South Sudan, Which can become very dangerous very quickly, but this time it seems to be OK).
Thank you very much for the article, I really enjoyed it.
Richard
Hi. Thanks a lot for your article. Please, my sister got an NGO job in Bujumbura. She is to receive $400 per month. Please, is that okay to live there?