We are trying to decide whether to travel to Dubai for a 3 day stopover on the way to Europe shortly. With the current problems, we just want to know are tours still running into the desert, is it possible to go up the tall buildings, to the Malls, on the Big Bus etc. Are there many tourists around????

This post is as a result of a question I asked on Thorn Tree of the possibility of organising independent travel to the Simien Mountains and specifically arranging treks from Debark. It seemed there was a lack of up to date information on the matter, and when we visited Ethiopia in late November 2019, there seemed to be few, if any, independent travellers heading to the mountains on their own. Most seemed to be on tours.

We had wanted to visit independently and arrange the details when we reached Ethiopia. Our plan was to go to Debark by local bus then spend two or three days at a hotel there and do day hikes in the mountains from there. Sounded simple…until we arrived in Gondar.

There we were approached on every street corner by fixers and hustlers offering trips to the mountains. Basically these are young men acting as unofficial agents for the tour companies who run trips to the mountains.
All these companies seem to offer the same. Either a one day trip from Gondar, or a multi day trip which involves camping.
Given that the journey from Gondar to the park is at least three hours we didn't feel that a day of 6 hours in a car and a few in the mountains sounded much fun.We also didn't want to camp. It had rained every night we were in Ethiopia to that point (late November) and was chilly at night. We spoke to some Israelis who had done a 4 night camping trek the week before and they described it as very tough. Sub zero temperatures at night and everyone wrapped up in double sleeping bags at 6pm.
We therefore explained that we would prefer to make our own way to Debark and arrange transport from there. 'Impossible' – we were told by everyone we asked. Debark is a very small town and no one there has transport to the park. You have to arrange a trip from Gondar.
I therefore emailed Ras Dejen hotel in Debark where we intended to stay, and asked if they had a contact who could drive us to and within the park. They sent me a number (+251 91 873 1570). I never got the person's name but they quoted me 125 dollars per day for the vehicle. I replied that this seemed hugely expensive especially if we only travelled to Buyit Ras which is only about 20 km from Debark. They replied and said they could do Buyit Ras for 70 dollars but any further would be 125 USD. On top of that we'd need to pay park fees and fees for a scout.
I'd put out feelers amongst a few tour guides and fixers and eventually was contacted by Gismu who runs Simiens Trek. (Number +251 93 548 0330). He also told me that it would be very difficult to arrange transport in Debark. However, he gave us another option besides the one day trip or multi day camping.
For 300 dollars, he would provide transport from Gondar to Debark then 4x4 vehicle for two days hiking in the park and we could stay in a hotel as planned. The price would include park fees, guide and scout. We could either travel back to Gondar with the car after the 2nd day walk or stay another night and get the bus back. Given the uncertainty about the situation in Debark we decided to take this option.
The trip itself was fine. The driver was safe, the mountains spectacular and we were happy with the level of hikes we did. The guide didn't speak great English but I guess Gismu had to arrange this literally the day before, so maybe we didn't get his 'A' team. Bear in mind that guide, driver and scout all need tipping so estimate adding 10% to the quoted trip cost. Overall we were very happy with the experience for the price paid, though it was a lot more than we anticipated.
With regards possibilities to organise hiking in the SMNP yourself in Debark-
First of all, Debark isn't the small village the touts in Gondar would have you believe. It’s a busy, sizeable mountain town of 48,000 people.
It IS possible to arrange transport in Debark. With little effort I met a man at the National Park office in town and he offered a vehicle for around $100 per day as far as Sankaber and $150 if going further. To that cost, as a minimum you would need to also pay a scout and park entrance fees. His name was Bogale Abebe. Bogale.stefan@yahoo.com +251 918 23 52 04
Having seen the road into the park, I would say a normal car would be okay as far as Buyit Ras but after that you would definitely need a 4x4. I guess that goes some way to explaining those cost though it does still seem hugely expensive for Ethiopia.
Other options? You can walk from Debark to the park entrance in around 4 hours cross country (scout needed from town to show the way). However, that only gets you to the gate, it's another 6km to Simien Lodge where you start to get to the mountains proper. Therefore walking from Debark and back in a day isn't really feasible without putting in a lot of miles.
You could take a bajaj/ tuk tuk from town. It's about 15 km by road to the park gate, so not sure how much they would charge. Tuk tuks can go further into the park but the road would be very rough after the gate. I'm told it takes two hours to Simien Lodge. I also had conflicting info on whether the park would allow tourists in via tuk tuk. My guess is they would as long as you had a scout with you.
Trucks and local buses also travel through the park. I'm told it's unlikely a foreigner would be allowed on one of the buses though. Trucks may be more likely but it would be a case of hiding in the crowd on the back and jumping off somewhere in the park. You would then have no scout or guide, so would have to find your own way completely. Personally not something I'd risk.
In summary. It is feasible to travel to Debark independently , stay in a hotel there and do day hikes. However, the cost of renting a vehicle there seems roughly the same as in Gondar. Adding in the cost of guides and scouts, you will probably find that using a tour company in Gondar is about the same price and saves the hassle of using local buses to get to Debark. Unfortunately, most of the companies in Gondar will try to persuade you that their day trips or camping treks are the only options. Tell them you already have a hotel booked in Debark and they may then offer you an alternative, as happened with us.
For a contact in Debark who isn’t associated to any travel company and who is from a village in the mountains, so understands the area, contact Adlew +251 933 181780. He speaks excellent English and can maybe help to research further info on the above points closer to the time you travel, as the situation can always change.
Hope this helps future travellers as I found accurate info very hard to come by.

We are planning to travel to Morocco for 7-10 days beginning June 28. This will be during Ramadan, and I'm wondering if that will be a bad time to travel in Morrocco.

We were planning to start in either Marrakech or Fes and take a desert tour to travel from one city to the other. Is it better at this time of year just to take a 1-2 day tour into the desert from Marrakech and do the trip between Marrakech and Fes by train or car?

If the desert tour is feasible, should we book in advance from Europe or wait until we arrive and book through our hotel or a local agency?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Hi
I'm soon (early Feb.) to embark on a 10 wk trip to Morocco. I have a rough plan for the first 6 wks which takes me south and loops back, over the mountains and into Marrakesh. For the remaining 4 wks my plan is head up to the Mediterranean and then back down to Casablanca to fly home. Aside from the obvious places ( Fes, Chefchaouen) I'm looking for places where I can stay for 3-4 days and do a day trip or 2 from. Less touristy is better. I'm also using
public transportation. Any thoughts on hitch hiking?
Thanks for any ideas you can send my way. Evan