3.15/5
87 reviews
Photo by Reagan M. via Unsplash

Kigali

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safe

pretty

internet

restaurants

money

night

spent

north

potential

care

hospital

coffee

service

taxi

person

expensive

rural

virunga

good

Kigali offers a pleasant, green environment with friendly locals and excellent coffee. The city is easy to navigate with moto taxis, and newer restaurants provide better options. However, many find the food disappointing and the overall atmosphere quiet. The culture tends to be conservative and reserved. Getting around requires transport as it's not very walkable. Shopping options are limited, and service can be slow. Some visitors mention locals staring or asking for money. The city works well as a base for exploring Rwanda's landscapes and wildlife, though some areas require guided tours.

AI-generated summary of reviews
23 days ago

Super safe. Best coffee in the world (strong for the unacquainted). Several cafes now with Starlink internet. Newer restaurants have much better service and quality than historically. Huge wealth disparity so there are sometimes people on the streets asking for money. Very accessible via moto taxi. You need to get an MTN sim card to pay people with mobile money but after that you can pay 99% of people and shops. I'm not a night life person but it seems lively. Things are more expensive in Kigali given the country's location and size vs in Kampala or Nairobi.

24 days ago

Spent 2 months in Kigali and criss-crossed the country from there as my base. Pros: friendly people in the city (not so much in the far North rural areas of Rwanda if you travel on your own near Virunga). Clean air. A few good restaurants. Safe in the city (Kigali), even at night. Amazing wildlife and scenery/landscapes if you get a place with a good view and some nature around. Government entities have their sh*t straight more than many other nations. Average internet. Stable power grid. Cons: dangerous near Virunga unless you go on a guided tour, water is unpotable and unsafe from the tap unless boiled even in Kigali, locals stare at you without interruption (not in a frightening way but it's uncomfortable), dangerous to navigate the traffic unless you're used to complete road chaos, slow/poor service in restaurants, everyone asks you for money even the children in rural villages where tourists don’t go, need a car/motorcycle to do anything (not a walkable city), very poor selection of anything in terms of shopping needs and expensive. There's a lot of potential here and I'd gladly come back overall, just watch your safety (health, road, and up North).

4 years ago

I've spent a total of ~2 months in Kigali. Pros: very safe, pretty affordable, very pretty, hospitable people, great coffee. Cons: a bit dull, culture is very insular (respectful but quite conservative), food is bad, police state vibes are kind of weird. A certain kind of person who doesn't care about nightlife at all, is open to experiencing a foreign culture that's more inward-oriented, and wants to live a really chill lifestyle in a green, pleasant city would really like it. I personally need some more action and didn't vibe with the reservedness of the people there, lovely as they are.

4 years ago

Spent 1 month here with my girlfriend. The place has potential, but is not quite there yet. Pollution can be pretty bad. Otherwise it's very pretty and the people are helpful. You can find workable Internet, but not everywhere. Try Nyarutarama, which has a lot of embassies. Not extremely cheap, but affordable. Definitely take a trip to Lake Kivu and Volcanoes National Park in the North. Food isn't that great. The most common and cheapest way of getting around is by mototaxi, but beware, they can be very careless - we had an accident on day 1 that required medical attention. You need to haggle with taxi drivers, otherwise they'll rip you off. Car rentals could be cheaper for what you get. Malaria is not that much of an issue in the capital. Otherwise, Kigali is very safe for an African capital, you are mostly free to walk around at night. Very hilly, so be prepared for that. Hospital care was OK, although lacking - needed to go to a different hospital for an X-Ray machine that worked, but the doctors were very professional and care was cheap ($10 for an X-Ray at King Faizal hospital, rebandaging and wound cleaning between $8 to $12 each time).

All in all, I'm happy we went and will probably be back at some point - lots of growth potential.

7 years ago

✅ Friendly people

✅ Great coffee

✅ Clean air

✅ Good restaurants

✅ Easy to get around with moto taxis

✅ Pretty safe

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Perfect humidity now

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Easy to do business

✅ Very safe for women

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ Not a lot of alcohol abuse

❌ Food is bad

❌ Dull atmosphere

❌ Conservative culture

❌ Need a car or motorcycle

❌ Poor shopping selection

❌ Poor restaurant service

❌ Locals staring

❌ People asking for money

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ No democracy

❌ Very slow internet

❌ Not much to do

❌ Quality of education is low

❌ Hospitals are not that great

❌ Roads can be dangerous

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

2272°
mild

2373°
mild

2272°
mild

2170°
mild

2272°
mild

2373°
mild

2272°
mild

2170°
mild

Real (median)

2272°
mild

2373°
mild

2272°
mild

2170°
mild

2272°
mild

2374°
warm

2373°
mild

2272°
mild

2271°
mild

2170°
mild

Humidity

nice
77%

nice
78%

nice
81%

nice
85%

nice
84%

nice
71%

nice
58%

nice
59%

nice
69%

nice
75%

nice
81%

nice
82%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

rainy
85mm

rainy
90mm

rainy
115mm

rainy
149mm

rainy
92mm

dry
19mm

dry
5mm

dry
27mm

rainy
65mm

rainy
125mm

rainy
146mm

rainy
101mm

Cloud

cloudy
76%

cloudy
81%

cloudy
85%

cloudy
75%

cloudy
65%

cloudy
63%

cloudy
68%

cloudy
78%

cloudy
80%

cloudy
81%

cloudy
83%

Sun

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

Remote workers

933 people

1,000 people

700 people

960 people

800 people

1,067 people

1,200 people

771 people

1,050 people

800 people

750 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Current weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

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Kampala

Uganda

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

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☀️ Feels 28° 82° 26° 79° 🥵 AQI 62 😷

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Kisangani

DR Congo

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💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

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👮 Safety bad

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☀️ Feels 40° 104° 31° 88° 🥵

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Nairobi

Kenya

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety very bad

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☀️ Feels 26° 79° 25° 78° AQI 48

✈️1h

$1,718 / mo

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Juba

South Sudan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety very bad

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☀️ Feels 40° 104° 35° 96° 🥵

✈️1h

$3,912 / mo

3 Mbps

Mbuji-Mayi

DR Congo

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety very bad

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☀️ Feels 38° 100° 32° 89° 🥵

✈️1h

$1,296 / mo

2 Mbps

Kananga

DR Congo

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 42° 108° 32° 90° 🥵

✈️1h

$1,169 / mo

2 Mbps

Mombasa

Kenya

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety very bad

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☀️ Feels 35° 95° 29° 85° 🥵 AQI 53 😷

✈️1h

$1,417 / mo

10 Mbps

Lubumbashi

DR Congo

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

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☀️ Feels 25° 77° 25° 77°

✈️1h

$2,395 / mo

3 Mbps

Dar es Salaam

Tanzania

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

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☀️ Feels 31° 88° 28° 82° 🥵 AQI 14

✈️2h

$1,739 / mo

1 Mbps

Lilongwe

Malawi

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

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🌧 Feels 21° 70° 21° 70°

✈️2h

$2,595 / mo

3 Mbps

Bangui

Central African Republic

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety very bad

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🌥 Feels 36° 97° 29° 84° 🥵

✈️2h

$3,234 / mo

2 Mbps

Lusaka

Zambia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 23° 73° 23° 74°

✈️2h

$2,231 / mo

8 Mbps

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 25° 77° 25° 76° AQI 29

✈️8h

$4,877 / mo

101 Mbps

Vancouver

Canada

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 17° 63° 17° 63° AQI 27

✈️19h

$5,612 / mo

25 Mbps

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 21° 70° 21° 71° AQI 24

✈️16h

$4,437 / mo

25 Mbps

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 19° 66° 18° 65° AQI 38

✈️9h

$8,221 / mo

23 Mbps

Boston, MA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 20° 68° 19° 67° AQI 53 😷

✈️15h

$8,103 / mo

32 Mbps

Dallas, TX

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 24° 75° 24° 75° AQI 25

✈️18h

$5,087 / mo

80 Mbps

Nairobi

Kenya

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety very bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 26° 79° 25° 78° AQI 48

✈️1h

$1,718 / mo

7 Mbps

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 22° 72° 22° 71° AQI 31

✈️15h

$7,330 / mo

26 Mbps

Detroit, MI

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 14° 57° 15° 59° AQI 16

✈️16h

$4,939 / mo

103 Mbps

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 20° 68° 19° 67° AQI 54 😷

✈️8h

$7,010 / mo

40 Mbps

Los Angeles, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 36° 97° 36° 97° Has AC AQI 52 😷

✈️20h

$6,565 / mo

103 Mbps

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 17° 63° 17° 62° AQI 50

✈️8h

$5,135 / mo

32 Mbps

Nairobi

Kenya

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety very bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 26° 79° 25° 78° AQI 48

✈️1h

$1,718 / mo

🌇 Also went here49 people

Cape Town

South Africa

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety very bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 19° 66° 20° 67° AQI 64 😷

✈️5h

$3,611 / mo

🌇 Also went here35 people

Dubai

United Arab Emirates

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 48° 118° 36° 98° Has AC AQI 124 😷

✈️5h

$6,937 / mo

🌇 Also went here34 people

Istanbul

Turkey

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 18° 64° 18° 65° AQI 76 😷

✈️6h

$3,248 / mo

🌇 Also went here37 people

Rome

Italy

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 28° 82° 26° 79° Barely AC 🥵 AQI 53 😷

✈️7h

$5,669 / mo

🌇 Also went here27 people

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 22° 72° 22° 71° AQI 25

✈️7h

$6,426 / mo

🌇 Also went here28 people

Budapest

Hungary

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 20° 68° 20° 67° AQI 55 😷

✈️7h

$3,546 / mo

🌇 Also went here32 people

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 20° 68° 19° 67° AQI 54 😷

✈️8h

$7,010 / mo

🌇 Also went here38 people

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 17° 63° 17° 62° AQI 50

✈️8h

$5,135 / mo

🌇 Also went here28 people

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 19° 66° 18° 65° AQI 38

✈️9h

$8,221 / mo

🌇 Also went here39 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 40° 104° 31° 87° Has AC AQI 68 😷

✈️11h

$1,675 / mo

🌇 Also went here36 people

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 39° 102° 30° 86° Has AC AQI 90 😷

✈️11h

$1,839 / mo

🌇 Also went here28 people

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌫 Feels 36° 97° 29° 85° Has AC AQI 155 😷

✈️11h

$5,528 / mo

🌇 Also went here37 people

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 22° 72° 22° 71° AQI 31

✈️15h

$7,330 / mo

🌇 Also went here33 people

Los Angeles, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 36° 97° 36° 97° Has AC AQI 52 😷

✈️20h

$6,565 / mo

🌇 Also went here28 people

600 remote workers in Kigali now, of which 1+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.15/5 (Rank #483) 87 reviews
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $2,117 / mo
📡 Internet	🤬 Unusably slow: 3 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Hot: 28°C82°F (feels 29°C84°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 58%
👌 Safety	Okay
👩 Safe for women	Good
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Good
🤮 Food safety*	Okay
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🎓 Education level*	Low
⚡️ Power grid	Great
💰 Income level*	Very poor: $94 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Bad
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Bad
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Good
🖥 Places to work from	Great
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Africa
🚩 Country	Rwanda
🗓️ Average trip length	11 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	3 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌥 28°C 82°F + 😊 Comfy (58%) = feels 29°C 84°F
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10,000 RWF in USD	USD 6.77
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	RWF 100,000 = USD 68
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
💻 Best coworking space	The Office
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
🦷 Fluoride added	🚫 No fluoride added
♻️ Return rate	👍12% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	1,500,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$1,124 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 55% 👱‍♀️ 45%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 50% 👱‍♀️ 50%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 76% 👱‍♀️ 24%
⛪️ Religious government	Religious
🏠 Apartment listings	Living in Kigali
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Rwanda Air
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Emirates

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$2,117 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$1,273 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,728 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$780 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$2,187 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$2,161 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$667 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$102 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$71 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$156 / month
🍛 Dinner	$2
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$1
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$2
👩‍🏫 International school	$6,667 / year
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$7 / trip

Kigali

600 remote workers in Kigali now, of which 1+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who have been here

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