Essential Trip Information
Plan your trip
When to go –The best time to visit this part of Ethiopia is from September — mid of June.
Climate –This trip will see quite a variation in temperatures between, the Danakil Depression — one of the hottest places on Earth, and the Highlands of Ethiopia. We have chosen this time of year as it is the cooler time to be visiting the Danakil, but this can still mean daytime temperatures in the 40s (Centigrade). Night time temperatures in the Danakil are in the 20s and rainfall is very rare. In the Highland of Ethiopia, the weather is fairly consistent all year round, at least in terms of the heat. The only real change is in rainfall. As our trips go between the end of the long rains (Sep) and the beginning of the short ones (May) this should not be a problem. During the day the temperature hovers around the mid 20’s, falling to an overnight low of 6/8 degrees. However when higher at altitude, the evenings will be a bit colder.
Visas — upon request we arrange visas for our travellers, or if an invitation letter is necessary then we will arrange this for you.
Accommodation – On this particular trip we will be in a combination of hotels and remote camping, where the facilities will be very basic. You will be sleeping in 2 men tents (you can share or have a tent to yourself) and the crew will erect and take down your tent each day (as well as carrying your gear to the next camp-site).
Transport: on this tour includes 4WD vehicles, camel and on foot when trekking.
Food: – Hotel meals are generally good and full of variety. Local dishes tend to be very good if you like hot, spicy food although milder versions can be requested.
Food-wise you will have a private cook for your trek who will provide breakfast, packed lunch, tea and dinner each day. The food is great and delicious with full of variety. Expect bread and pancakes / eggs for breakfast, filling sandwiches for lunch, herbal teas, fantastic coffee and popcorn at the end of a long days trekking and then a massive meal to end the day with soup starter and a hearty main with plenty of veg to finish.
Luggage and packing – The first rule of packing is not to bring too much. There will be plenty of occasions where you’ll need to carry your luggage yourself and so you should be able to do this without help. Most people are surprised at how little they actually need to bring, and it’s normally possible to get laundry done along the way. It doesn’t matter whether you bring a suitcase, rucksack or holdall, but please dont bring more than 20kg of luggage as this may be difficult to accommodate in the vehicles we use. You’ll also need a day pack. You’ll be walking around a number of sites and villages, as well as walking up Erta Ale, so do consider this when selecting shoes or boots.
Fitness – You don’t need to be especially fit to join the trips , but there will be stairs to climb, hills to walk and sites to explore, so you’ll enjoy it more if you have a reasonable level of fitness. The walk up Erta Ale takes around 4-5 hours and your luggage will be transported by camels .
Small Group Size: On our this tour, we believe it is imperative to keep the group sizes small. Most trips are limited to an average maximum of 13 travellers, thus giving you more access to fragile cultures, better opportunities to interact with local people, and the knowledge you are making less of an impact while there.
Private groups: –The adventures featured in our itinerary are just a starting point for many of our private group travellers. Working closely with our Groups Department we can organize custom designed itineraries for groups of friends, clubs, charity’s, schools or even work colleagues. Our team will assist you with all aspects of your private group adventure from itinerary design to group flights. For group traveller pledge considerable discount.
Customized tours: On request, this tour can be customized for small groups.
Proceeding / additional days: It’s no problem to add days before or after the expedition and we’ll book these for you. If you bring more time, you could do day trips from Addis or take an extension tour
Group booking discount: If at least 5 people together book this trip, 6% discount is given.
Tipping :-If you’re happy with the services of your guide and driver then we would recommend leaving a tip for them at the end of your trip. The amount is entirely up to you, but a reasonable amount for a group to tip would be between £80-120 to both the driver and guide — however it is not obligatory and if you do not wish to tip then this is up to you.
Please remember that all See Ethiopia tour prices mean NO hidden extras, NO local payments.
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