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I would like to spend a week or ten days in Ethiopia...probably in a year or two. Ideally, I would want to go near Easter or Christmas but any time is OK. I suspect there are climate seasons that might be better or worse. A small tour group would be OK. There is a lot to see and a tour might be able to manage logistics.
Has anyone made this trip? What experiences?
Our friends went last year and they are extremely experienced travellers. Even they opted for a group tour. They enjoyed it and it seems there are a lot of museums and places of worship to see.
Don't forget that most of the country follows the Orthodox calendar, so Christmas isn't "Christmas". It's January 7.
We did Ethiopia last summer (16) with myself, my wife, our 9yo, my mother and stepfather. My Stepfather is Ethiopian/Eritrean, so we had the benefit of language skills.
We did 10 days and hit a lot. Bahir Dar, Gondar, Lalibela, Axum, Addis. We flew everywhere, as it's quite affordable if you get the ticket once you're in-country. The only over-road trip was Bahir Dar to Gondar, as the flight would be back to Addis and then out again, and the car ride is only a couple hours.
Highlights would have to be Lalibela and Bahir Dar. Axum was neat to try and live your inner Indiana Jones and steal the Ark. We went in June and found it is about perfect climate wise. Not crazy hot, and it's not quite the rainy season.
All the hotels were booked online before we left, and only the one in Axum was a disappointment, but we found alternatives immediately. The people are fantastic, open and friendly. We had an amazing time. It's certainly no European vacation, however if you're used to travelling in Africa, it was pretty seamless.
Our friends went last year and they are extremely experienced travellers. Even they opted for a group tour.
Out of curiosity, do you know what tour company your friends used? Ethiopia is a destination I'm considering for future trips, but like your friends, I don't think I'd want to do it completely on my own.
The attractions that an Ethiopia visitor is likely to want to see are pretty scattered around a big country. Unless you are a seasoned traveler, it might be a good idea to review your options with a travel agent familiar with the country. Most visitors fly to a couple of the more distant localities.
Historical route of Ethiopia
you can see many sights and attend cultural and religious events in 10 days. if you especially schedule your trip in January to attend Christmas in Lalibela(jan 07) or Epiphany (timkat) jan 19 in Gonder and almost in all of northern cities. Recently Ethiopia opens all of its doors to foreign tourists by developing sight infrastructures to let them accessible. It becomes one of the top European tourist destination in Africa. You may visit Bahir dar and its old monasteries with ancient religious paintings, castles of Gonder, Semien national park( my favorite sight to hike as a tour guide), Aksum with its amazing archeological sites, the danakil depression( active and colorful volcanos as well as salt exploitation with caravans of camel) and of course Lalibela which is the image of the country with its stunning medieval rock hewn churches. All of this sights are connected with domestic flights(except the Danakil depression) or asphalted roads. I may help you to develop the itinerary or with the date of religious events.
Addis Ababa is cold. You will need a light jacket at any time of year. Addis never gives a sense of an urban metropolis, it is traffic-jam-free, you can get around quickly and cheaply by taxi, mostly old Russian Ladas driven by helpful friendly drivers. The only other place I went was Dire Dawa, once the second largest city but now just a sleepy bush town, so I can't really address any other tourism issues.
For an authentic and gritty look at Addis and Ethiopian life and culture, go to youyube and watch a couple of episodes of ketezegaw dose, a crime reenactnent series from Ethiopian tv.
Last edited by cebuan; 12-01-2018 at 06:17 PM..
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