One of the most important stops on this trip was the Kigali Genocide Memorial. It's a solemn and humbling place — a museum that honors the memory of those who lost their lives in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, and one that also broadens its scope to other genocides around the world, treating remembrance as something universal rather than singular. Walking through it is not easy. But it is one of the most informative, moving, and frankly transformative experiences we've had while traveling, and it left a lasting impression that has stayed with us long after the trip ended.

What struck us just as much as the memorial itself was Rwanda today. This is a country that has, in just over two decades, rebuilt itself into one of the safest, cleanest, and most welcoming nations we've traveled to anywhere in the world. Kigali is calm, organized, and genuinely warm toward visitors. Rwanda hasn't hidden from its history — it has built a museum to honor it — but it also hasn't let that history define its present. That combination, grief held alongside genuine national renewal, is something every traveler should witness for themselves.

Where we stayed: Hôtel des Mille Collines

Many people know this hotel by its nickname — "Hotel Rwanda" — for the role it played sheltering refugees during the genocide. Today, you would never guess that history just from staying there. It's considered one of the finest hotels in the East African region: an excellent on-site chef and restaurant, a beautiful pool, and a handful of genuinely wonderful restaurants within easy walking distance if you want to explore. If you'd rather not walk, the hotel keeps a Mercedes and driver on hand to take you anywhere you need to go.

Staying there after visiting the memorial felt like the right way to experience Kigali fully — the history, honored and remembered, alongside the present, warm and thriving. It's exactly the kind of layered, meaningful stop we build into itineraries for clients who want their travel to be more than just beautiful scenery.