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Popular Transportation | Miscellaneous Transportation Tips | All Tips (51)
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 | Ethiopian Airlines |   |  |
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 |  on September 17, 2005 |
I love Ethiopian Airlines! I flew domestic from Gonder to Lalibela and to Axum then to Addis Ababa. Service was pretty good, no food on short flights but you can request for a snack or drink and they'll be very happy to provide. Ethiopian Airlines is Africa's oldest and most established airline, known for its great service and in-flight entertainment on its 767s. Bangkok, Beijing, Washington DC are just some of its international destinations... P.S. For the misinformed or uninitiated: YES YOU DO GET FOOD ON BOARD! AND ETHIOPIA IS NOT ALL ABOUT FAMINE!!! |
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| Buses "incidents" | | |
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 |  on August 22, 2006 |
Taking buses in Ethiopia is a memorable experience. Something to remember, not only for the neck and back pain, but also because there is always something unique on each ride: once you get stucked in the mud and have to push the bus out, the next a cow comes on the way and gets hit, the next a tyre is broken, or maybe the engine... Anyway, after all those hours and incidents you get to know your trip mates, in spite of the language barriers, and that makes the trip a real human experience. Warning: if you have back pains or claustrophobia, avoid the buses! |
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| Reserving a Seat |  | |
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| on November 1, 2006 |
It might be useful to pay a small kid ETB2 at most to reserve a seat for you on the buses as boarding can be a nightmare! You'll need to wrestle each other off, even women AREN'T spared! There was this elderly lady who was shoved and it was shocking for me to see that male chivalry isn't at all common... As kids are smaller in size, it's easier for them to squeeze between the shoving crowd... and they really SHOVE and WRESTLE HARD! This is recommended for the more popular routes originating in Addis Ababa e.g. Addis Ababa > Bahar Dar. BUT they might be picked on by the older boys, who are larger in size. I've seen this young kid practically yanked off the seat which he was reserving for another traveler... and thrown off the bus. It happens... |
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| Breaking up your journey | | |
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| on November 30, 2005 |
Buses in Ethiopia are regulated and the drivers are not allowed to run after dark, around 7-8pm and don't be surprised if you get dumped, along with other passengers, in a god-forsaken town with no decent accommodation... It happened to me, on my way from Addis Ababa to Bahar Dar, which would be a 10-11hr journey. We started in the morning, but due to several delays along the way, we ended up at 2hrs behind time. The driver pulled over at Dangala (a stopover town) and I put up in a bug-infested room for ETB12. And even though the driver said the bus will leave at 4am, i woke up at 4am only to find that i'm the only waiting in the freezing cold. The other passengers appeared 1.5hrs later... and the bus resumed its journey at 6am. If you don't want this to happen, it'd be prudent to break up your journey to more manageable distances... at least you know the town/city you'll be putting up in. |
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| Bus stops | | |
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| on August 22, 2006 |
Travelling by bus in Ethiopia lets you enjoy the landscapes and know some local people. Long distance buses (6-12 hours) stop just once for lunch (except the 2-3 pissing stops). At those stops there is only very basic local restaurants. Expect nothing but injera there, or maybe some biscuits and water in the street stalls. In the pic you can see me sharing a lunch with my bus mate and his family.When the bus stopped they took me to the restaurant and shared their food with me. It was a giant inhera (fasting food) that I shared with his mother and brothers. I invited them at the end. Inviting in Ethiopia is a pleasure, as the whole meal was about 4 USD for all of us!! |
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| Plane, bus, 4WD. | | |
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 |  on July 10, 2004 |
Ethiopia is a huge country. So the quickest way to go around is to fly with Ethiopian Airlines. There are domestic flights from Addis Abeba to 20 other towns, like Bahir Dar, Gonder, Aksum, Lalibela, Arba Minch and Jinka. It's fast and cheap. For travelling by road there are buses between all major towns. To reach smaller towns and villages, you can use minibuses, 4 WDs or pickup trucks. In Addis Abeba you can also arrange several tours. Doing the historical route to the north by minibus will take two weeks. Going south to visit the villages and tribes in the Lower Omo Valley and the lakes in the Rift Valley by 4WD will take also about two weeks. |
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| Taxis | | |
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| on November 30, 2005 |
1. You can save a bit if you don't book the taxi from the airport taxi personnel. Instead, walk out of the terminal, and you'll see a row of blue taxis. The yellow or cream-colored ones are managed by agencies. These tend to be more expensive. 2. Taxis are a lot cheaper if hired by the hour. Remember to negotiate before getting in. Ask around for the approximate price to know where you stand. |
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| Muddy roads | | |
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| on August 25, 2006 |
If you travel in the rainy season (I did, july-september) you will have a few incidents on the road, mud on the tracks, mountains that fall and cut the road, etc... In these cases, people go out of the bus and help the truck stucked to get out. All passengers help carrying stones, we put them under the stucked truck wheels and push to get it out. Nevertheless, it takes no longer than 30-40 minutes to solve the problem. |
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| DON'T open the windows!!! | | |
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| on November 30, 2005 |
Was told by the locals that Ethiopians have this paranoid presumption that exposing themselves to the wind in a moving bus will make them susceptible to bad luck, spirit possession, ill health etc. So don't attempt to open the windows unless you want to have your knuckles rapped, fingers jammed, and eyeballed at throughout your journey. It wasn't that bad when i was traveling the historical route as it was in the cool highlands. Just a wee bit stuffy... |
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| The bus experience | | |
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| on August 25, 2006 |
Travelling by bus in Ethiopia is a challenge and a real experience. Most tourists travel by plane, as it's not very expensive and definetly faster, but travelling by bus you get to know better the people and the landscapes, undoubtely. There are just 2-3 asphalted roads in Ethiopia, so travelling by bus (specially in rainy season) is slow and uncomfortable. Expect the bus stucked in the mud, wheels problems, smoke out of the engine and so. All long distance buses leave at 6am, when the sun is out. Most of them take 6-10 hours, if you do trajects such as Addis-Bahar Dar, Gonder-Axum and so. Buses are old and the seats are hard, but the worst is the heat: ethiopians are not very fond of opening windows, sometimes because wind bothers them, sometimes the windows are broken and it's just impossible. In mountainious trips is not unusual see people puking in the bus, as they get easily sick. There are plastic bagas prepared for that. When they finish they just throw out the bag by the window. The buses stop every 4-5 hours (for lunch usually at noon-1pm) plus a few times for pissing, in the middle of the road, of course! |
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More Ethiopia Tips
| Overview | General Tips Tips: 58 - Photos: 50 |
| Restaurants Tips: 31 - Photos: 19 | Hotels and Accommodations Tips: 35 - Photos: 16 |
| Things To Do Tips: 122 - Photos: 111 | Nightlife Tips: 6 - Photos: 2 |
| Off the Beaten Path Tips: 25 - Photos: 18 | Tourist Traps Tips: 8 - Photos: 6 |
| Warnings or Dangers Tips: 27 - Photos: 15 | Transportation Tips: 51 - Photos: 36 |
| Local Customs Tips: 71 - Photos: 68 | Packing Lists Tips: 15 - Photos: 10 |
| Shopping Tips: 6 - Photos: 3 | Sports Travel Tips: 2 - Photos: 2 |
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