As we plan a trip somewhere the first concern usually is the plane tickets. There are plenty websites that we can use to get the lowest priced plane ticket. I personally use chepoair.com it goes to every flight possible and gives you the lower price. Also, it gives you the cheapest deals on different days if you can fly on these alternative days. The other thing is buying your tickets in advance to get a good price. Specially if you are traveling during the peak season buying the tickets in advance helps a lot. Like for an example I am traveling to Ethiopia during the peak season (May – September) but I bought my tickets 3 to 4 months in advance and I saved about $300. Besides that checking for deals online is a go to.
All of my blogs lead to this topic “How to plan a trip to Ethiopia?”. The very first thing we do when we are planning a trip is to see if the place really interests us. One might be interested in natural landscapes, wild life or beaches and others might be interested in urban life style. Therefore, we need to make sure that Ethiopia is the best destination based on our interest. Then we start making our itinerary to decide how long we want to stay there and it also helps us estimate the cost. Here we need a lot of research to use our time effectively and to make sure that we visited every place possible.
As I mention it before the time that we planned our trip to be on is really important since there are a lot of national and religious holidays that we might want to attend. Other than creating or itinerary, we should also need to know what things are a necessity for our trip beforehand. This really saves us from a last minute shopping and rush. The most obvious thing that we need for every trip is our passport and maybe be a visa from the country. We probably might have our passport but we have to make sure that it’s not expired and it it is we have to calculate the time that it’s gonna take us to get it renewed before buying our plane tickets. Visas might not be a big issue since most countries don’t require it for a U.S. citizens but some countries actually require visa. And we have to make sure where to get it and how much it costs us prior to our flight.
Last but not least, make sure that the areas that you are visiting are safe. Do some researches in advance, check the U.S. embassy notifications regarding safety before you decide. Try to avoid borders since those are the places with less stability. Generally, do all precautions in advance for a save and remarkable trip.
As I am planning my trip to Ethiopia this summer strangely shopping has been my favorite part by far. Depending on your stay you might need more or less stuff to take with you. For me, since I’m staying for almost 3 months I need to take everything I need and I have to make sure that I have enough. This doesn’t mean you can’t find anything there but it surely saves you from worrying about where to get the stuff specially if it’s your first time there. Knowing about the weather (seasons too since there is a vast difference weather in Africa ) can help you choose what kinds of clothes/shoes you need to bring. In my case, I’m taking boots and jackets with me since it’s going to be rainy and a little bit colder during summer (which is the coldest season in Ethiopia). As I said the weather is completely different and it is very important to do some research on it.
Travel essentials can be different depending on the person (sex obviously matters) so try to look up different travel essentials online so you know you have everything you need. Personally I like writing down what I think I need on my trip so I won’t forget when I start shopping. After listing out everything that you need on your trip make sure that you don’t over pack. Because there is a limit on baggage and you don’t want the inconvenience at the airport.
In general, make sure you got all you need for your trip and you have enough amount of it incase you could not find it there. Try to do shopping in advance to avoid the frustration as your flight days comes closer.
Whenever we are planing to travel we usually think about the fun part of it. What we are about to see, what we are going to experience, the adventures and all the cool things about it. But it is also useful to consider safety as a major part of the trip. As much fun as it can be our trip can be our worst experience if we do not do our researches prior to the trip.
Since we are traveling to new places we might not have enough knowledge about what’s going on. Doing some research about the countries’ current situation in advance can help us pick the safest place to travel to. Also it saves us from the frustration that comes with safety issues.
There are a lot of blogs about travel safety and this one is the one that I think best. Generally, being aware of the situations and safety issues beforehand is key. Also, checking the state.travel.gov website can give us detail informations on safety.
There are a hundreds of blogs about travel tips on the internet but I’m going to give you the best tips on how to travel Ethiopia.
Every foreigner (except Kenyans) need a visa. So get your visa beforehand or be prepared to get it upon arrival at the bole international airport Addis Abeba for $70. Visit the Ethiopian embassy for more information http://www.ethiopianembassy.org/.
Make sure you picked the right time to visit. As I said in my earlier blog posts, make sure that you are going on the right time to attend the cultural/national holidays.
Bring enough cash with you since it might be impossible or very hard to use checks, credit and debit cards. But you don’t need to worry about the currency exchange that much because 1 US dollar is worth up to 35 Ethiopian birr.
Last but not least be advised about safety before traveling. Try to avoid any areas with unstable safety conditions.
Most of the times our fears limit us from the best experiences in life. A lot of people want to travel around the world and they might have all they need for the trip but they change their mind because of the fear of not speaking the language. So what we do not know the language? Though it might be frustrating to think about traveling without knowing the language, it can also be a great opportunity to learn something new. From my personal experience I can say that learning the language is the best part of learning the culture. I went to Belgium 3 years ago for a study abroad. I don’t have the slightest knowledge about french but that didn’t freak me out. Instead I had fun trying to order food in french and learning basic words from the locals.
When it comes to Amharic (the national language in Ethiopia) it can be a little difficult to master it in a very short time but you can definitely learn the basic words in a week if not less. As an example Selam is a very common word used in Ethiopia. You can use it whenever you approach a person and it means hi. Approaching people first using their language show them that you value their culture and that you wanna learn more. Generally, I would like to say take every advantages in life instead of letting the fear stop you.
The restaurant scene in Addis Ababa has become more vibrant over the past few years. Apart from the traditional Ethiopian dishes almost all of the restaurants offer internationally diverse dishes. There are many options for different kinds of tastes, from Italian to Chinese, Indian to French; you just have to pick your favorite. Or maybe you want to try the traditional dishes since it is the specialty indeed. In this case, there are places that do not only offer authentic Ethiopian dishes but also the cultural dances of different ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Yod Abyssinia, 2000 Habesha and Checheho restaurants are one of the traditional restaurants.
The other main thing is the vegetarian/vegan places. Most of the people in Ethiopia are vegans for religious purposes so obviously, there are a lot of vegan-friendly restaurants if not completely vegan. Also, almost every food places in Ethiopia are based locally and are supplied by the local farms which make the food completely organic and healthy. Price wise I would say every restaurant is affordable comparing to fine dining prices here in the states. Generally, variety, quality, and affordability come together in most of the restaurants in Ethiopia.
If you are looking to an adventurous and memorable trip you picked the perfect destination. Besides visiting ancient historical places there are a lot of cool things to do in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is one of the most diverse countries in Africa or I can say in the world. And in these diverse ethnic groups, there are different cultures that might interest you. As an example we can take the northern part of Ethiopia, it is known for having strong Christianity faith since the 4th century B.C. Up until now, the Christian faith has a higher value in society and they give a bigger place for holiday ceremonies. We can take Timket (Epiphany) and Meskel (The founding 0f the true cross), these two are the most celebrated holidays up in the north. Also, there are so many national holidays that sparks the society’s cultural identity very well. If you are a kind of tourist interested in knowing about the culture, participating in the celebrations are worth your time.
On the other hand, as I mentioned in my other blogs, there are a variety of fascinating natural landscapes in Ethiopia. I personally include different places on my bucket list for this coming summer. I am planning to do the three days hiking to the top of Ras Dashen mountain (Elevation: 14,928′First ascent: 1841Prominence: 13,114′). Below is a picture from the top of Ras Dashen mountain
Since there are a lot of things to do that I cannot mention all on this blog, it is better to put out itinerary together beforehand.
From one of the highest mountains in Africa to the very lowest place on the planet, wild life and culture, ancient civilization … you name it, if you are wondering if you can experience all of this in one place the answer is Ethiopia! Ethiopia is one of the most diverse countries in many ways from the people to geographical landscape, the culture to ethnic groups everything about Ethiopia is unique and fascinating. Depending on your interest you can plan your trip to Ethiopia. If you are interested in the geographical locations you might want to visit the Dankil depression in Afar region or the Semien mountains park in Gonder. If you are a wildlife person you might want to visit the Nechsar national park, Bale mountains national park or any one of the national parks. With all this interesting places in Ethiopia you might get confused and do not know which ones to put on your itinerary. Therefore, you have to decide which part of the country you want to visit based on the time that you are planning to stay there. I personally recommend reading articles about all tourist destinations in Ethiopia and pick those interest you the most.
Now a days we see people posting cool pictures of themselves traveling around the world and we wonder when will it be our turn to do so? As a student myself, I always dream of traveling the world but then I realize that I do not have a financial freedom to do whatever I want to do. Even though I’m not making enough money to afford a luxurious trips I believe that should not stop me from visiting places that I always dream of. I started googling stuff about “on budget traveling” and I have learned that I can actually see places without spending too much money. As a result, I planned out my trip to Ethiopia this summer. Though I am from Ethiopia and I know much stuff about the places I still needed to google to make my trip even cheaper. The first thing I do after deciding my trip was looking for the lowest airfare. Since I am going during the summer (peak travel season) I had to double check that I found the cheapest ticket. I bought my ticket from this online traveling agent for $970 which is not bad considering the season.
Since I still have family living in Ethiopia figuring out where to stay was not as issue at all but it can be a headache if you do not know where you’re staying in advance. So I recommend checking out the cheapest places (like hostels) beforehand. Generally, you can make the best trip of your life in Ethiopia for a very less amount of money compared to any other places in the World. Also, it is a go to place if you are an adventurous and fun loving type.
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