Ethiopia Travel Forum

Greetings everyone!
i wish to be in Ethiopia during June 09 for a month.
i would appreciate to hear from anyone who has experience in travelling all over ethiopia or a.a. in particular. many thanks.

-what are the modes of transport available in a.a., and also to travel to scenic
places of the country.

-food safety : types of food avaible, cleanliness and drinking water resources.
economical eating places.

-i heard credit cards are uselss in the country. Is this true, then what are
the best options?
is there a black market in the country one can get better rate of exchange to
the US.Dollar? what are the suitable currencies to carry, rules for carrying
foreign currency into the country.

-budget accomodation for single person : safe, clean and convenient in a.a.
with bed n breakfast.

-option for homestay with decent locals.

regards.

Transport in A-A is easy, taxi & bus, car hire is cheap 4x4 w\driver. Food is OK, all kind of food, western to Ethiopian, drinking bottled water cheap. Do not count on credit cards, cash in Euro or USD, take with you, no black market? Budget hotels are all over 7-10 USD\night, Taitu Hotel in A\A, no home-stay in A\A, but in south at village's. Budget tour operator www.south-expedition.com
Lee

Please visit my Addis and Ethiopia page. The best way to go to the historical cities is by Ethiopian Airlines - who do take credit cards. Best exchange rates are always with US dollars, but if you are from the Euro zone, take Euros. There are cash machines in 2 hotels in Addis (Sheraton and Hilton). Overall the instances of robbery against a tourist is virtually unknown. Overcharging, sure, but not robbery.

Do not stay at Taitu in Addis, they can be real trouble. There are plenty of hotels to stay in across the city.

Have a great time,

DAO

TRAVEL FORUM GUIDELINES:

4. Do not post commercial messages, advertising, surveys, or touting for websites of any kind. Do NOT post classified style listings selling, renting, or trading anything.
These will be deleted. If you wish to advertise, take a look at our advertising section.

The offending poster has had his post and profile removed now folks....

...had a long and interesting friends list though....

It is possible to get cash at ATMs of Dashen Bank in Addis with Master, Visa and Maestro cards (do not know if Cirrus also works). Although it is not indicated on the ATMs, we got money out with all of the mentioned cards.
Dashen Bank is also located in other large towns of Ethiopia, so I expect it to work there also, but better check before.

In most of the historical cities you will find banks happy to exchange, for a small fee, American Express Travellers Cheques in US dollars. Most have not ATM's. These include:
Bahr Dar
Gonder
Axsum
Harar

The big exception is Lalibela. No banks at all! Have to take cash. Outside of bag thieves/pickpockets in crowded Addis areas, there is not much crime.

Sorry to correct you, DAO, but Lalibela has a bank now (and an internet cafe, but that was very slow last year).
So getting Birr for cash and traveller cheques should be no problem at the main tourist locations plus ATNs definately in Addis.

Please do correct me. You have been there since and Lalibela needed a bank. I hope you built a tip on it!

Always good to update info on here unless they close another Restaurant I like!