Northern circuit questions

Gidday, I would fly axum to bahir Dar, minibus to gondar. from here you have access to the simiens.
One of the best drives in the country is between debark to Axum.
the bus takes a full day Gondar to Shire which is just short of Axum. You may be lucky to get a lift to Axum but dont count on it.
from Axum you can fly to Lalibela and it will take another 2 days drive to Addis.

If you travel budget then these hotels are good and cheap.
Addis----baro hotel. Its good.
bahir Dar------Ghion very good.
Gondar----Circle O.K.
Axum-------Africa hotel very good.
lalibela---couldn't find a decent one.

if you are travelling by public transport, make sure you bring a small alarm clock for early morning bus starts.
Ethiopia is quite easy to get around as there are regular scheduled buses and you will always save heaps of $$$ by doing things yourself.

Cheers.

If you fly you will miss the most amazing landscapes.
You can do the whole circuit by bus. Not very confortable but not impossible.
Note that bus leaves very early in the morning. And, if you wish to chose a good seat (ex. the only seats with enogh room for long legs are the two just beside the front door) you must go at the bus station before they open the gates.
When they see you are a western tourist they will open the gate and allow you to find the bus and chose your seat beafore the local people are allowed in. This is a gret help. Unfortunatly it doesn't happen in southern Ethiopia and there you should run at the gate opening, along with hundreds of fitter ethiopians to reache the bus.... good luck!)
In Lalibela Asheton Hotel is quite good, single or double romm is 100 bir (try to bargain if you are alone. I payed 80 bir)
and it is quite close to the bus station. Note that in Lalibela there are many budget hotels but two kilometres down the hill from the bus station and then, when you leave you must climb two kilometers vcarrying your backpack. No taxis in lalibela, only jeeps to visist churches around. Dont miss Ymrehanna Kristos, maybe the most beautiful church in all Ethiopia - 400 bir (but jepp can host up to 6 people).
From Lalibela to Axum is a long way because there are no bus on the direct road. 6 hours from Lalibela to Wolodia, then & hours to Mekekle (north of Mekele Tigrai churches and wonderful landscpe. If you like frescos dont miss Chelekot Selassie Church (17 Km from Mekele, you must hire a minibus by yourself. 200 bir).
From Mekele you can go stright to Axum about 6 hours.
Axum (for me a bit disappointing) Africa Hotel is very good, also restaurant.
From Axum to Gondar the landscape is amazing. A long day journey by jeep or by bus (note that the bus leaves at 6 AM from Sire so you must go to Sire the afternoon before and sleep there.
In Gondar stay in Pension Belaguez, Excellent. Also very good food.
From Gondar, if you like architecture and frescoes (best old ones!) dont miss Debre Sina Church in Gorgora (a day trip from Gondar).
From Gondar to Bahar Dar is a short journey by bus.
In Bahar Dar, Bahar Dar hotel is quite good . They have the best restaurant in town; very good fish. Lonely Planet says it is noisy but it is OK because after 10 PM it is very quite.
From Bahar Dar there is a whole day bus journey to Addis Abeba.
In Addis Abeba Taitu Hotel in piazza is the best budget and good atmosphere (is the oldest hotel in AA, built by Empress Taitu; expensive double rooms in the historical building around 160 bir, cheap rooms with share bathroom behind, single 63 bir double 88.)
Exchange rate i 14 bir for 1 €. In the souvenir shops in Churchil Avenue (not far from Piazza) slight better exchange rate.
Enjoy it.

Bus from Bahir Dar to Gondar is easy enough and well worth doing. I think it is a good idea to fly from Addis Ababa to the north, and back again, which will cut out about 2 days travel each way. Also, flying from Gondar to Lalibela is a good idea as the flight is relatively cheap but the bus takes over a day.

The Taitu hotel in Addis Ababa is a great place to stay. I spent 3 weeks there over this (Australian) summer, and I would highly recommend it. They have a variety of rooms at different prices.

You can usually get through from Gondar to Axum by bus in one day. The bus leaves Gondar at dawn and gets into Shire mid- to late-afternoon, where you catch a smaller bus that takes you to Axum. There is a chance that you will get stuck for the night in Shire, although I managed to catch a bus from Shire to Axum last year that left Shire at 5:30pm (and arrived in Axum well past dusk). You cannot do the trip in one day travelling in the reverse direction from Axum to Gondar. The scenery along the road is spectacular.

The buses are the usual ancient beat-up dusty beasts that run throughout Ethiopia.

There's no chance of getting between Axum and Lalibela by land in one day. By bus, you are looking at 3 days.

It's definitely cheaper to travel by yourselves rather than take a tour.

Hope this helps.

Hi - I will be doing this same route in the first two weeks of June with a friend (we're two American women) - if you're interested in meeting up or sharing information...?

thanks for all the info!