Everything you need to know: Travel to Ethiopia
From visiting the most epic Christian sites to meeting ancient tribes with animistic beliefs, and from roaming around the thickest jungle to crossing the most inhospitable desert; traveling in Ethiopia is the most diverse African experience and this travel guide contains everything you need to know about it
I seriously thought that Ethiopia was a tourist, well-known country in the West but, when I came back from my trip, I was surprised to find out that many people had absolutely no clue about it, like they didn’t even know about its geographical location.
The truth is that traveling can be extremely subjective and, while Ethiopia may be a relatively touristic country as per Against the Compass standards – meaning that this is one of the most visited countries I talk about in this blog – compared to other average destinations, it is a real off the beaten track destination.
Anyways.
Little is known about this African country and, when people ask me what it is like to travel in Ethiopia, I always begin the conversation with the following:
The main reason to visit Ethiopia is that it is an exceptionally diverse experience.
On the one hand, cultural diversity is huge. In Ethiopia alone, you have 80 distinct ethnic groups who speak more than 80 languages and practice different religions, from different branches of Christianity to Islam and animistic beliefs.
On the other hand, this is a historically rich country and the one with the most impressive historical and archeological sites in sub-Saharan Africa, once the capital of the Aksumite Empire – one of the most powerful ancient empires in the continent that ruled for more than 800 years – and home to endless jaw-dropping millennial rock-hewn churches and European-like medieval castles.
Furthermore, contrary to any Western cliché, Ethiopia is also a land of natural contrasts, composed of fertile tropical forests in the south and vast flat deserts in the east, the Danakil Depression being home to lava pools and the hottest settlement in the world. In the north, Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile and Simien Mountains is one of the very few places in Africa with regular snowfall, the highest peak being at 4500m.
And by the way, the scenery in Ethiopia is unconditionally hair-raising, a real blessing to your eyeballs.
And if that wasn’t enough, Ethiopia was recently rebranded the Land of Origins by the Ministry of Tourism because these lands are the origin of humankind – where the oldest hominid was found – the first place to ever produce coffee and they practice one of the rawest and most ancient ways of Christianity.
Trust me, after traveling to so many countries, I am rarely impressed but still, Ethiopia definitely wowed me.
This guide contains everything you need to know to travel to Ethiopia (literally, everything), from how to get a visa to getting in, top experiences, cultural facts, budget, and loads of personal travel tips.
How to get an e-visa for Ethiopia
Everybody needs a visa for Ethiopia but today, pretty much any nationality can get a tourist e-visa.
And you can easily apply through the official website.
Make sure you do it through the above URL because there are many non-official websites which, even though they do issue valid visas, charge much more money.
Typically, there are 2 types of tourist e-visa:
- 30-day visa, which costs 52USD
- 90-day visa, which costs 72USD
And it takes up to 3 days to process. Mine took less than 24 hours.
It’s a very easy process that has absolutely no secret and very few requirements.
Is the Ethiopian e-visa valid at land borders?
Officially, the tourist e-visa is only valid for those entering via Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa.
My trip to Ethiopia was part of a 3-month journey through the Horn of Africa, traveling from Eritrea to Djibouti, Somaliland and then entering Ethiopia overland, so I intended to apply for it at the embassy in Djibouti.
However, once I got there, they told me that they had run out of visa stickers and that they would not receive more after a couple of weeks at least.
Then, I tried my luck in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland but, unfortunately they weren’t issuing visas anymore, so I was in a situation in which, according to the official information, the only thing I could do was booking a flight from Hargeisa to Addis Ababa, which kind of sucked.
However, I contacted a few travelers who said that in Africa, anything can happen and proof of that is that they managed to travel to Ethiopia overland with an e-visa, so I decided to try my luck as well and successfully managed to cross the border from Somaliland, no questions asked.
Ethiopian Visa extensions
Recently, they introduced the possibility of extending your stay in Ethiopia.
However, you should only use this service in case of extreme urgency.
If, for example, you are traveling around Ethiopia for 1 month but at the time of applying, you don’t know whether you will stay an extra couple of days, just get the 3-month visa, as it only costs an additional 20USD.
The visa extension is expensive. If you applied for the 30-day visa which costs 52USD, and then you want to extend it for 15 additional days – which is the minimum – then you will have to pay an additional 102USD, so 154USD in total, assuming this is the first time you apply.
Visa on arrival for Ethiopia
If you don’t have time to apply for an e-visa because your flight to Addis Ababa is less than 3 days ahead, you can also get a VOA at Bole International Airport.
Otherwise, I don’t see any good reason why you should get a VOA instead of an e-visa.
How to apply for an Ethiopian tourist visa via embassy
The only reason for applying for your Ethiopia tourist visa at the embassy is because you are entering overland and don’t want to risk a potential denial because you are only in possession of an e-visa.
You can find Ethiopian embassies and consulates in many cities across Europe and North America. Just contact your nearest one to ask about the process, which tends to be very easy.
How to travel to Ethiopia by plane
Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa is one of the most transited airports in the African continent.
I had actually been there twice even before visiting Ethiopia, as Addis Ababa is a common stop for many flights going to other African destinations and the Middle East.
The main airline operating in the country is Ethiopian Airlines, a modern company that flies all over the world, including to and from the American continent.
Moreover, there are many other international airlines that fly to Addis. I actually flew out of the country with Emirates.
How to travel to Ethiopia Overland
Ethiopia shares a border with so many countries :
Traveling to Ethiopia from Sudan
Completely open to foreigners. There are regular minivans running from a Sudanese city named Qadarif to the border, and the border formalities are not very complicated.
Traveling to Ethiopia from Djibouti
An easy border to cross from a bureaucratic point of view but difficult from a logistic point of view, as you need to cross the desert on a 4×4.
Moreover, an easier option would be taking the train that goes from Addis to Djibouti City, but it is a bit unreliable. For more information, check the moving around section.
Traveling to Ethiopia from Kenya
Crossing from the Kenyan town named Moyale should be a simple process.
Traveling to Ethiopia from South Sudan
Not possible. You would have to go through the jungle and go across the most dangerous part of South Sudan, so forget it. There are daily flights connecting both countries though.
Traveling to Ethiopia from Eritrea
This border is closed for foreigners and more often than not, also for locals. The only way of traveling between both countries is by flying in, from Asmara to Addis.
Read my Eritrea travel guide.
Traveling to Ethiopia from Somalia
The one I used. As you may know (or not), Somalia is divided into two regions, actual Somalia and Somaliland.
You can travel to Ethiopia from Somaliland, using the border near the city of Harar. It was very easy and quick to cross. There are normal roads and plenty of public transportation.
