Hi all,
Just a question on timings.
Is two weeks enough for part of Northern circuit (Gonder, Bahir dar, semien mountains) and then east to se Harar, Dir dawa, and Ive heard about some volcanoes and salt pans too over that way. I need to know if I should target one area or if we have enough time for both, we can be flexible! The post below says there are new better buses but a bus is only as good as the road its on right??!
Only if you fly. I had about 2 weeks (16 days) and did the northern circuit, 5 day trek with TESFA, and 3 days in Harar. I only had one day in Gondar but that was enough for me. Also only one day in Axum, which I regret--NOT because I liked Axum but because my last-minute decision to go there meant only 2 days in Lalibela instead of 3. Had 2 full days in Bahir Dar, 1.5 days in Addis--including a very late night New Year's Eve, going straight to the airport from the restaurant for a 3AM flight.
It's quick but it worked for me, as I definitely wouldn't have passed up the TESFA and Harar parts. But yeah, not cheap--round-trip flight to Dire Dawa, flight to Gondar, 4x4 from Gondar to Lalibela (booked through TESFA at 1/4 normal price due to car already being in Gondar and sharing with another trekker) flight to Axum, flight to Bahir Dar, flight back to Addis.
Check expedia.com for current prices. I'd paid for all of them in advance w/ credit card, except for the Axum flight which I hadn't planned on. Not sure if the prices have changed since I went.
Car from Gondar to Lalibela was 600 birr. (original price 2400, halved because car was already in Gondar, halved again because of sharing with someone). Buses to and from Harar only 15 birr, to and from Babile even cheaper.
Overall, my average costs once in the country, not counting souvenirs, was about 25USD per day. Baskets and coffee can be very cheap, jewelry and religious icons are cheap for the quality & style (the jewelry is spectacularly unique) but not dirt-cheap: start at 15USD for a small painted wooden diptych up to 50USD for an extremely elaborate silver necklace.
Naughastyle> I presume you mean buses from Harar to Diredawa being 15 birr, not Addis to Harar (those I heard were 50 birr with a mini bus and 150 with Sky bus which I only saw from the outside.)
Mid janiary this year Harar to DireDawa dropped to 11, 12 or 13 I paid 12 one way, 11 the other and some else paid 13 the day before my arrival, locals told me it was because the fuel price was dropping at the time.
Check prices for local flights on ethiopian airlines website and if you can book through them it's a bit cheaper than expedia.