Essential Information
Plan your trip
Getting around Ethiopia: -Because of the state of the roads, the distances involved and the quality of the alternative (flying) most short term visitors use internal flights in Ethiopia. There are reliable daily flights between most of the stops on the Northern Circuit (Addis, Gondar, Lalibella, Axum, Bahir Dar).
If you have more time, or delight in the joys of overland travel, we can provide you vehicles (4WD, minibus and coaster bus)
When to go —All year round
Climate :- This trip visits many different environments and has a range of weather conditions. At lower elevations, for example Langano it is hot during the day and cooler in the nights. The dry season is from Sept – June and there is a small chance of late rains in September and October. When we are at higher elevations, in the Bale Mountains, there is a higher chance of rain. During the dry season day time temperatures can be vey high, reaching 36 degC. Due to the altitude nights are cold and the temperature can fall below 5 degC at night.
Guided Group :-This is a small group adult holiday. The group is usually between 1 and 20 in size, with an average of 10 like-minded clients booking individually, in a couple or as friends together.
Activity level
You are reasonably fit, enjoy the outdoors and are looking for some exercise. Some previous experience is preferable for activity based trips.
Transport: We will be using a Coaster buses , mini buses or 4WD Toyota land cruiser depending on the condition of the road and the size of the group. The distance covered are fairly large.
Foods :
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. Local food is traditionally eaten with the hands. The sour bread known as injera is used as a scoop for the casserole dishes known as wat.
Hotels: You will spend 5 nights in confortable hotels and 8 nights in beautiful lodges with en-suite rooms.
Room price :Our prices are typically based on twin- share accommodation but single supplements are not compulsory. If you prefer not to pay a single supplement we’ll pair you with someone else of the same sex for you to share with throughout the trip.
On this trip, if you do choose to pay for a single supplement then please note that it will cover you for all nights of the tour including all camping nights.
Please remember that all See Ethiopia tour prices mean NO hidden extras, NO local payments and NO compulsory single supplements
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.
Vaccinations and Visa
All nationalities require a visa for Ethiopia which can be obtained before departure at a cost of USD50 – be prepared to queue for a while.
Vaccination: –There are no mandatory vaccination requirement for this trip. Recommended vaccinations are: Polio, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Typhoid, Hepatitis A, Yellow Fever.
Holiday style :There are some long drives on this trip (detailed in the itinerary) – Nearlly all roads are asphalted. Your reward will be seeing areas almost untouched by tourism, rare and beautiful wildlife and the warmth of the Ethiopian people. This trip goes to altitude. The highest point is the in the Bale Mountains when we visit the Sanetti Plateau which is 4000 metres above sea level.
If you are ready to forego some home comforts and bring along a sense of Adventure then the rewards will not disappoint!
a typical day
Being relatively close to the equator, Ethiopia has almost twelve hours of constant daylight no matter what time of year you visit. With the sun rising at 6:30am and setting at 6:45pm, most of our days start early so as to be at our hotel by sunset.
Tipping – Local Crew : Although entirely voluntary, tipping is a recognized part of life in Ethiopia . Some local staff will look to members of the group for personal recognition of particular services provided. In order to make things easier for you, your Guide may organise a group’s tips kitty and if this is the case, they will account for it throughout the tour.–Accordingly, you should allow US$50 for tipping of local drivers, guides, boat crew and for any miscellaneous tipping of hotel staff.