7 Oct

Ethiopia Travel Guide

Travelling is wonderful, but doing a bunch of research prior to the trip isn’t so we figured we’d help make the process a little easier for you with some tips on how to get the most out of your trip to Ethiopia while stay in our 4 star hotel ( your home away from home)

WHEN TO VISIT

High Season in Ethiopia starts from mid October to January, when the rainy season end but the countryside is still luscious and green. This is the peak tourist season, so hotels and sites of interest tend to be busier than usual. It is well worth aiming to be in Lalibela or Gondar for Timkat (Ethiopian Epiphany), a wonderfully colourful celebration held on 19 January (except on leap years).

The late dry season, from February to May, is also a great time to visit, though the scenery tends to become dryer towards the end of this period, except in the far south where the first rains often fall as early as April.

The late rainy season, from September through to early October, is a lovely time of year. There’s a significant drop in precipitation over this period, but the countryside is very green, and punctuated by yellow meskel wild flowers. On 27 September (a day later in leap years), Ethiopia erupts into festival mode to celebrate Meskel, which commemorates the finding of the True Cross more than 1600 years ago.

Low Season which is the also the rainy season starts around July and August in the central and northern highlands. Highland towns such as Gondar, Lalibela and Addis Ababa can be very damp and cool during the rains. The countryside is also very green and scenic during the rains, and you’ll encounter fewer tourists at popular sites such as Lalibela.

WHERE TO STAY

The Mosaic hotel is located in the heart of Addis Ababa just a few km from the Airport. Warm and friendly service, a comfortable bed, good food and entertainment, all at an affordable price! We love being a part of our guests’ memories (and their insta feeds). Why don’t you come and try us for yourself?

GETTING AROUND

By Air

Ethiopian Airlines has a comprehensive domestic service and if you fly Ethiopian into the country, you can get some excellent discounts on your domestic flights. Scheduled flights include all destinations on the historical route — Axum, Bahr Dar, Gondar, and LALIBELA. You can fly in between these destinations rather than heading back to Addis Ababa for a connection. {p] Most other domestic flights originate from Addis Ababa and include the following destinations: Arba Minch, GAMBELA, DIRE DAWA, JIGIGA, MEKELE, and DEBRE MARKOS. For more information, destinations and to book flights see the Ethiopian Airlines website.

By Bus

There are many bus companies in Ethiopia and between them; they cover all the major towns. All the long-distance buses will leave early in the morning. Plan to get to the bus station by 6am. You can book your tickets in advance on most of the longer journeys. Otherwise, you can get your tickets on the day of departure, but beware of touts selling at inflated prices. Our concierge or front desk staff will be more than glad to help you plan your trip.

By Minibuses, Taxis, and Garis

Minibuses and taxis basically cover your transport within the bigger cities and towns, or for short distances between towns. You can recognize minibus taxis by their blue and white coloring scheme. Because minibuses ply a fixed route, the fare should be set. The conductor (woyola) will shout out the final destination. Minibuses are the cheapest way to get around Addis.

Taxis are not metered and you’ll have to bargain for the right fare. Ask the concierge or front desk at the Mosaic hotel what a reasonable fare should be before you set off. In addition, there is a new taxi hailing company similar to UBER called RIDE. Ask the concierge or front desk at the Mosaic hotel to assist you with this service.

Garis are horse-drawn carriages which are a great way to travel in the bigger towns and cities. The ride is cheap, but you’ll have to master the local language to get to where you want to go. A Gari typically holds two passengers.

By Train

Addis Ababa Light Rail is a light rail transportation system .It is the first light rail and rapid transit system in eastern and sub-Saharan Africa. Of the two line rail lines, the east-west line extends stretching from AYAT Village to TORHILOCH, and passing through Megenagna, Meskel Square, Legehar and Mexico Square. The north-south line, passes through Menelik II Square, Merkato, Lideta, Legehar, Meskel Square, Gotera and Kaliti. Trains on the north south line are blue and white, whilst on the east west line they are green and white. The Fares cost 2-6 BIRR. Tickets are bought at orange coloured kiosks next to each station. You can visit the website for maps & details (http://www.erc.gov.et/AddisAbaba-LRT)

The Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway

The railway begins at the Sebeta Central Station. The city is served by two stations in the outskirts, at Furi-Labu and Indode. The line then runs southeast to Modjo and Adama, both towns located in the Ethiopian Great Rift Valley

At Adama, the railway turns northeast towards Dire Dawa, where it turns and heads directly for Djibouti.

The couch section is divided into regular and VIP sections with regular couch rooms accommodating triple bunk beds namely the upper, middle and lower bunks each with varying fares.Accordingly, a regular seat from Addis Ababa to Adama will cost 68 birr while travelers to Dire Dawa, Elsabeh and Negad will have to pay 308 birr, 459 birr and 503 birr, respectively. Booking the upper bunk bed, one has to pay 91 birr to go to Adama, 410 birr to Dire Dawa, 612 birr to Elsabeh and 671 birr to Negad. For the same distance, commuters have to pay 125 birr, 564 birr, 841 birr and 922 birr to travel to Adama, Dire Dawa, Elsabeh and Negad, respectively, if they decide to book the middle bunk bed. The lower bunks are relatively pricy with 137 birr, 616 birr, 918 birr and 1,006 birr for Adama, Dire Dawa, Elsabeh and Negad, respectively.

With regard to the VIP couch services, with each room accommodating two bunk beds, one has to pay 171 birr, 769 birr, 1,147 birr and 1,258 birr, correspondingly, to travel to Adama, Dire Dawa, Elsabeh and Negad in the upper bunk beds. The lower bunk beds as well cost 182 birr, 821 birr, 1,224 birr and 1,341 birr, respectively, for each of the above mentioned destinations.

Our team at the Mosaic hotel will be more than happy to provide assistance to plan your trip across Ethiopia.

By Car

Touring Ethiopia by car eliminates the lengthy bus journeys somewhat and allows you to see the beautiful scenery which you miss when you fly. Our team at the Mosaic hotel will be more than happy to provide assist you find the right car rental option.

MONEY

The national currency of Ethiopia is the Ethiopian Birr (ETB), with an exchange of 28 to the US$ (October 2018). We advise you to bring most of your funds in cash. US Dollars, Sterling or Euros are all accepted. Visitors may import an unlimited amount of foreign currency but they need to declare amounts exceeding 10 000 USD at the customs upon arrival. At the airport it can be very slow to exchange money but the various banks in Addis Ababa are good options. US Dollars, Sterling or Euros should be clean and free from rips or marks. Travelers cheques issued either by Thomas Cook or American Express can also be changed at the airport, but they can be difficult to cash anywhere else. Outside of Addis Ababa, credit cards are not accepted in most establishments, so it’s better to carry enough cash to last for a few days.

The Mosaic Hotel accepts major credit cards like visa, master card, union pay.

EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS

Police
Emergency 911
Federal police +251.11 5512744
Addis Ababa police +251.11 1559122
Traffic Police +251.11 5528222
Police 991

Information
997 International 998

Addis Ababa Ambulance Service
Municipality +251.11 1115348
Red Cross society 907

USEFUL Amharic WORDS

እንኳን ደህና መጣህ። (ənkwan dähna mäṭṭah) male Welcome

እንኳን ደህና መጣሽ። (ənkwan dähna mäṭṭaš) female Welcome

ሰላም። (sälam) Hello

እንደምን አለህ(Endemn Aleh) for Male How are you?

እንደምን አለሽ(Endemn Alesh) for Female How are you

ስምህ ማን ነው፧ (səməh man näw?) What’s your name

ስምሽ ማን ነው፧ (səməš man näw?) what’s your name

የኔ ስም… ነው (yäne səm … näw) My Name is –

ከየት ነህ፧ (käyät näh?) where are you from?

እኔ ከ … ነኝ። (əne kä … näň) I am from

እንደምን አደርክ? (əndämən addärk?)Good Morning

እንደምን ዋልክ? (i’ndemin walik?) Good Afternoon

አንደምን አመሸህ? (indämən amäššäh?) Good Evening

ደህና እደር (dähna där) Good Night

ቻው (chaw) Good Bye

ብላ (bəla) Have a nice meal

ገባኝ (gäbbaň) I understand

አልገባኝም (algäbbaňem) I don’t understand

አላውቅም (alawqəm) I don’t know

እባክህ ቀስ ብለህ ተናገር (əbakəh qässə bəlläh tänagär) Please speak slowly

እባክህ (əbakəh) Please

አመሰግናለሁ (amäsäggänallähw) Thank you

ሽንት ቤት የት ነው? (šəntə bet yätə näw) where is the toilets

ከኔ ጋር መደነስ ትፈልጋለህ። (käne gar mädänäs təfälləgalläh?) would you like a dance with me?

አፈቅርሻለሁ። (əfäqrəšallähw) I love you

ቁም! (qum) stop

መኪና (mäkina) “Car“

ከረሜላ (kärämela) “Sweets“

አናናስ (ananas) “Pineapple

ቢራ (bira) “Beer“,

ቤት (bet) The word for “House

ደቂቃ (däk’ik’a) “Minute

ሰዓት (sä’at) “Hour“, “Watch

ሐሙስ (hamus) “Thursday“

እሑድ (ïhud) “Sunday

አንተ (antä) “You“ (masculine

ቅርብ (k’ïrb) “Near“,

Hopefully you now feel a little less stressed and a lot more excited about your trip to ADDIS!

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