Ethiopia

Hello,
Has anyone visited Erta Ale during May? I have been told that crossing from Hamed Ela to Erta Ale is not possible at this time of year due to dust and I am trying to find out whether this is true or not.
Thanks for your help.

Hi,
we (a couple) are travelling to Ethiopia in April for 25 days. We still haven´t planed the exact route just some places which we would like to see. Some of them are little out of our budget. Our plans are to be changed according to circumstances and possible travel partners... So if anyone would like to go e.g. to Nechisar or Bale NP, Danakil or some driving around the villages near Harar or do the TESFA trek or whatever unusual in that time we would be happy to share the costs.
You can email…

Hello all! I'm in a bit of a pickle, and thought you might be able to help...

Recently, I traveled from Ethiopia to India. I'm an inexperienced international traveler, and so I had a lot of excess birr ($132 USD), and thought, "Well, I'll just change it to rupees once I get to the Mumbai airport." I thought that exchange counters buy all world currencies, especially ones used in countries from which their airport services flights. But of course, this was not the case.

Bottom line is, I'm stuck…

Hello there.

Thinking of a trip to Egypt (Luxor specifically) and Ethiopia, hopefully very soon. Is there any way of getting to Addis Ababa from Egypt without flying? Obviously don't fancy driving through Sudan, is the Nile an option or am I being incredibly thick?

Also, I have been listening to the Ethiopiques series of CDs recently and have become slightly obsessed with them. Do any of these artists (Mulatu Atsake, Mahmood Ahmed, etc) still play live in Ethiopia?

Also, if you've travelled…

Any suggestions, as per the subject? I shall need to leave some luggage somewhere while I travel around, and would prefer to be able to collect it in good condition when I get back to the capital. As a bonus, I would prefer a location that is convenient for getting a minibus to Bahir Dar and/or Gonder. Budget flexible: I would be happy with somewhere clean but very basic, but could also pay up to about 50 dollars if necessary.

Can anyone help with resources in finding drivers/cars to hire in Laliebella, Bahar Dar and Dir Dire (Harar)?

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Cross-posted to 'meet-up' board:

Hi, I am keen to travel with someone to share costs and good times.

I have a job interview in Addis on 6 March, and then plan to head straight for Bahir Dar and visit the islands of Lake Tana. I am particularly keen to share the costs of boat hire. I then plan to move on to Gondar for a while before returning to Addis (my flight out is early on 15 March) and would enjoy trekking if people were heading off within my time-frame.

If you are going my way, please…

The information given in Lonely Plant guide books and on the web site is that there are no ATMs in Ethiopia that accept foreign cards. However, the visa global ATM locator lists a number of machines in Addis, including one at the Hilton hotel. I emailed Hilton to ask whether foreign visitors can use their cards in its ATM: here is their response

The ATM machine will accept an international VISA card,
but you will get your money in local currency not the foreign, the charge will be 2%

Has…

I have found that air fares quoted on-line (eg from the Ethiopian Airlines website) are dramatically higher than those given in the current LP guidebook. Does this mean that fares have increased a lot recently? Or can I get affordable fares by paying cash locally?

I must say, the on-line fare of a hundred British pounds for a one-way flight from Addis to Bahar Dar sounds more than reasonable.

I have posted before on this issue but I don't seem to get consistent responses. I will try once more.
Is there anyone among you faithful TT posters who has travelled in the Omo valley during July/August. If so, could you tell me whether:
1. there were bull jumping ceremonies during that time
2. it rained a lot
3. there were flashfloods which made roads impassable
4. there were a lot of tourists.

Thanks.