BootsnAll Travel Community

My wife and I will be in Africa for two months in April and May of this year and are thinking about visiting Ethiopia. I wanted to see if I could tap the experience of this forum for some advice on the country.

To help in your responses, we are two early 30's Americans who are generally adventurous and have travelled extensively (Asia, India, South America, etc). While no longer on pure backpacker budget, we still need to make our dollar stretch as far as possible, though we can now pay up for things like planes at times over buses.

Also, we're looking to spend about 2 weeks in Ethiopia.

A few questions:
1. Is April/ May a good time to travel in Ethiopia? I know it is the rainy season a bit further South, but not certain about in Ethiopia (the land of 13 months of sunshine).

2. In reading through the books, I think we are most interested in the Northern Historic route (eg, Axum, Gonder, Lalibela, etc.) Are there any places that we shouldn't miss that aren't listed in the guidebooks?

3. Air Travel: can you make advance reservations for domestic flights? I looked on Ethiopian Airlines' site and couldn't find a way to do it. Also, what city pairs does EA fly between?

4. Guided tour: we have contemplated using a tour agent to arrange a car and guide through the north. First, do you think this is necessary? Second, how much should a guided (private) tour cost through this area? Third, does anyone have any good recommendations on a company (I saw several listed in Lonely Planet -- Hess Tours, Village Ethiopia, Green Land Tours, Travel Ethiopia -- but haven't been able to find feedback on them anywhere)?

5. Local guides: Assuming one didn't use an agency to arrange the trip, how easy is it to find local guides at the key cities and sites?

6. Cash: from what I read everywhere, cash is king in Ethiopia and also ATMs are not available outside of Addis Ababa. A few questions: are US dollars preferred over Euros? Does the ATM in the Hilton give out US dollars or local currency? Is it easy to change travellers cheques?

Thanks so much in advance. I know it is a long list of qustions, but I figured better to get them all in at once!

Cheers,

BattleAxe

i'll tell you what i can from your list.

lailabela is not to be missed. i didnt much care for gonder, but the trekiking might have been worthwhile. bahir dar with the island monasteries is also a must see. if you have time, go to the walled muslim town east of addis. i hear it is pretty interesting, but we didnt have time to get there. dont know about axsum, but i hear it is also quite interesting.

domestic flights can be booked at the ticket office (one in each city). there is usually space available for flights a few days out. the offices are always crowded, expect to sit for 30 mins at least until an agent becomes available. there is no queueing system, you just have to remember who was there before you. it's quite an experience. it would be nice if the airlines could make online reservations a possibility, but in a country where the banks are still using typewriters and carbon paper to do forex, i wouldnt hold my breath.

we used dollars and TCs, and did the exchange at a bank for the local currency, which is probbaly preferred and actually, the only currency that is legal for transactions.

you want a local guide? unless you have one with you, the rest of the locals WILL NEVER leave you alone. we eventually learned that a lone foreigner in ethiopia is fair game for the rest of the locals to offer their services, which they CONSTANTLY do since unemployment is so high. you will NEVER walk alone in ethiopia. especially cities like lailabela, bahir dar etc.

have fun. ethiopia is fascinating (if somewhat frustrating at times)