Addis Ababa Flights

My first visit to the country, and arrival could not have been better. No waiting at all at immigration. You're supposed to complete a landing card, but I didn't know. The friendly immigration officer let me complete it at her desk (more or less, she was quite happy to skip most of the details) and away I went.

My bags were there 5 minutes later. The Hilton desk is right opposite the arrival gate, so 5 minutes after that I was on my way to the shuttle bus.

If you haven´t got a visum yet, obtaining one on arrival is no problem. It is issued for a fee of 20$ - just as much as if you´d go for it at the next Ethiopian embassy.. when you come down the escalator from the arrival flight you will see a visum on arrival sign leading to a room where you can get your visum - it is easily overlooked unless other people are already queuing, so do not immideately proceed to the immigration counters. The whole procedure is usually very swift and efficient

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Arriving at Bole Intl. airport is convenient. It's a new small airport, and it's easy to find what you are looking for. Shortly after you enter the building you find the "visa on arrival" counter. Just line up in queue, and 4-5 officers will issue the tourist visas quickly. Make sure to have your passport and 20 USD ready. For a single entry visa you don't need photos and you don't need to write anything. The visa is valid for 3 months.

20 meters away from here you find 2 different exchange bureau (Dashen and Ethiopian Bank). The exchange rate here is the same as it is in the city. Change only USD/Euro to Ethiopian Birr. Other currencies gives a terrible bad rate. Make sure to keep the receipt because you need it when you shall change back the Birr when leaving Ethiopia. ( I found only 1 ATM in the city, inside Sheraton Hotel).

Shortly after that you line up in the queue for the immigration police. Have your passport and the immigration card ready. If the police ask for the visa receipt, just show him that. They have a webcam for photo.

Then turn right and walk 30 meters to pick up your checked baggage at the baggage belt.

The custom officers are in the same hall as the baggage belts. There are no green and red entrance, so the custom officers will ask what you have in the bags. In most case they just smile and let you trough. I guess they are checking the Ethiopians more carefully to find any items to be declared and paid tax for.

You are now entering the last door and will come into a hall full of people. But it's safe and well organized. Many dealers will ask you for transport to the city. Just look after dealers with registration ID card walking around. Take your time and bargain the price. Normal price is 80-100 Birr. Then follow that person out of the terminal and walk 200 meters to the parking area. The taxis and matatus are waiting here. There are no taxis waiting right outside the terminal as there is in other airports. The airport is 8 km from the city centre.

A nice airport with a few shops and bars.

Most shops and banks close at night, so no good if you have an early morning flight.

Very expensive bars once through departure security, so stay land side as long as possible for more Ethiopian prices.

When you arrive from the UK, $20 visa must be purchased.

When leaving, there is no longer any departure tax to pay.

Expect to pay about 40-50 Birr from Addis to get here (10 min journey), a little more at night.

From the airport, head to the right, to catch the official yellow cabs. They have set prices (Approx 60 Birr to Addis).

Ethiopian are one of the best airlines in Africa, safe and reliable. Not the cheapest option to fly there from Europe. But if you plan to take internal flights (only available with Ethiopian) they offer good discounts if you already booked with them the international flight.
So ask your local handler about the prices of combined flights (TO Ethiopia and AROUND the country). I booked only a Lalibela-Addis flight from Spain and it happened to be the same price when I asked about prices in Addis, so you better book in advance if you wanna take internal flight, some might be full.
Once there is easy to change dates (no charge) or even cancel the flights.

The Bole international Airport has a national flights building too. It is a rather modern medium size airport.
Tourist visas are available at arrival. You must have a 20 USD NOTE ready for the visa payment. They don't accept another currency, but you can go to the nearest bank to change if you need to.
To go to the city centre you can take a blue taxi (about 40-50 birr, 4-5 USD) or take a minibus (about 15Birr, 1,5 USD). To take the minibuses, go out of the airport, avoid the taxi drivers and look for the samll blue vans. Ask the driver if they go to PIAZZA or MESKEL square, the 2 main destinations. If you are not really sure, take a taxi.
There are no minibuses in the national arrivals building, so if you come from an ethiopian city and want to take a minibus go first to the international arrivals building.

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Ethiopian Airlines provides service to domestic airports in Ethiopia and its the only airline to do so. From Addis you can fly to aksum, Arba Minch, Dire Dawa, Bahar Dar, Gonder and Lalibela. Prices for foreign national are higher than for the locals but if u have a Ethiopian residence permit than you pay price as a local.

Arrange, and pay for, a taxi before you leave the airport, after customs. The price is generally fixed, but you can ask around different companies. They are safe, fast and reliable, even in the middle of the night, to my uncertain knowledge