Travel costs and information for Ethiopia - Metema, Gonder, Aksum, Lalibela, Addis Ababa, Dila

Note that all information in here was valid at the time (2009) - it may well have changed since.  It's also possible that I was ripped off, that I did some exceptional haggling, or that I accepted a price that I should have haggled over :-)  Currency indicators are £ (British pound), $ (US dollar), and B (Ethiopian birr).  At the time, the official exchange rates were roughly B10.8=$1 and B15.7=£1.


Ethiopia

• In contrast with Sudan, you are likely to encounter some hassle though nothing close to Egyptian standards of either persistence or aggression.
• There are few ATMs accepting international cards, so make sure you have some cash ($ are best) to get to Addis Ababa.  I saw an ATM in Gonder (Dashen Bank, supposedly accepting ATM cards on the Visa network) but it was broken.  The only working one I saw on my trip was in the Sheraton hotel in Addis.
• You can get a slightly better rate for $ on the black market rather than at a bank, but black market transactions are obviously riskier.  Finding the black market is very easy - pretty much everyone I encountered in the tourist industry offered to change money for me.
• There is an Ethiopian concept of time where 12 o'clock Ethiopian time equates to 6AM in "normal" time.  Be aware of this when trying to catch buses, planes, etc.
• Bus travel in Ethiopia is the most uncomfortable I've experienced anywhere in the world.  Buses leave early in the morning and are always packed - even spaces in the aisles are sold as seats.  Don't expect any legroom.  Many of the roads in the north are unpaved, meaning long journey times for short distances.  There is supposedly a superstition that evil spirits will enter the bus through open windows - whether or not that's the reason, all windows are kept tightly closed, even when it's 40C inside and everyone's sweating like crazy.  Not fun.  I heard rumours a couple of times that there was a "luxury" bus service connecting the tourist sites, but never found any concrete info about it.
• If the conductor doesn't have enough change on him, he'll write the amount you've paid him on your ticket then, later in the journey, he'll come round with change.
• Your bus may be stopped and all males expected to disembark for a pat-down - I was usually excluded from this.  People's baggage may also be inspected but again, as a foreigner, yours probably won't be.
• You will be given a pat-down if you want to enter a Post Office.  Cameras are also forbidden in Post Offices.
• Internet is anything from slow to excruciatingly slow throughout the country.  Try to use Gmail if possible as Hotmail takes forever to load.  Internet is generally charged per minute.  Probably best to avoid connecting anything up to the Internet cafe machines, as I saw viruses on several that I used.
• Ethiopians seem to use a sharp intake of breath to mean "OK".  I don't know if this is actually a proper sound in Amharic, or simply a vocalisation like "uh-huh" in English.
• Water and electricity outages are frequent - sometimes planned, sometimes not.  To get hot water, you generally need to have to turn on the tank heater for 20 minutes or so.

Metema/Metemma

• See this post for information about the border crossing from Gallabat in Sudan to Metema, in particular the likelihood of attempted scamming.  
• Don't change more money here than for immediate needs, as you will get better rates in Gonder.
• The weather here at this time of year is most unpleasant.  Even in the wee small hours lying naked on my bed, I was sweating buckets.

15th March 2009 B25 Nightly rate for a private room at an unknown hotel.  Most onward transport leaves in the morning so I had no option but to spend a night here.  After walking away from the overpriced hotels run by the scamming guys, I happened to stumble across this place but I don't know its name.  Shared shower (cold water) but most people seemed to use a standpipe in the courtyard.
16th March 2009 B31 Bus from Metema to Gonder, leaving just after 6AM and taking 7 hours 30 minutes, including one short stop for a luggage inspection, and a 40 minute stop for breakfast.  I bought the ticket the previous day.  The bus opened for boarding just before 5AM and left soon after 6AM.

Gonder/Gondar

The Tourist Information centre here has good info about hotels and prices.  It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the bus station into the centre of town.
16th March 2009 B130 Nightly rate for a private ensuite room at the Circle Hotel.  Balcony, TV, hot shower. 
17th March 2009 B18 Internet (1 hour)
17th March 2009 B2 Stamp for postcard to Europe
18th March 2009 B50 Entry to the Royal Enclosure.  This ticket also covers the Bath of Fasilides, if you visit on the same day.
18th March 2009 B50 Guide for the Royal Enclosure.  My guide Sisay was very good - he spoke good English and had umpteen facts at his disposal.  It took about an hour to go round everything with him, though I then spent another couple of hours on my own.
19th March 2009 B25 Entry to Debre Birhan Selassie.  You may need to hunt someone down to let you in but it's well worth it.  Photos are allowed inside but not with flash.
21st March 2009 B57 Bus from Gonder to Shire, leaving at 6AM and taking just under 12 hours (including a couple of loo breaks and a 45 minute breakfast break in Debark (which we reached in 2 hours 15 minutes)).  The bus station doesn't open until 4:30AM, at which point it seems that bus station workers and foreigners are allowed in, but no other passengers.  General admittance is at 5AM. 

21st March 2009 B20 Shared minibus from Shire to Aksum, probably the last one of the day and taking 2 hours 40 minutes on a really bad road (I think most of the minibuses take a more direct route on a better road.) 


Aksum/Axum

• Again, the Tourist Information booth here was very helpful. 
• To get into King Ezana's Park in the centre of town, simply lift the gate off its hinges (as demonstrated by the Tourist Info chap).

21st March 2009 B70 Nightly rate for a private ensuite room at the Africa Hotel.  Hot shower, toilet roll, towel, but rock-hard pillows.  The restaurant does a decent dinner buffet for B18.
22nd March 2009 B30 Internet (1 hour)
23rd March 2009 B50 Ticket covering all sites except for the churches of Mary of Zion.  It's valid for the duration of your stay.  I got mine at the Northern Stelae Field - can't remember if you can get them elsewhere.
26th March 2009 B20 Taxi from the hotel to the airport, about 15 minutes.
26th March 2009 B1,421 Flight from Aksum to Lalibela on Ethiopian Airlines, departing at 11AM and taking 45 minutes.  I booked this ticket 2 days in advance, and confirmed the day before departure.  Note that the Ethiopian Airlines office in Aksum only accepts cash, not credit cards.  (I think you can get a discount deal if you buy several flights at once, but you might need to do this in conjunction with an international flight coming into the country.)  A bus to Lalibela takes 2-2.5 days.  


Lalibela
No-one in the Tourist Information place seemed to speak English, which was odd as the charts on the wall for tourist numbers indicated that foreign tourists exceeded local ones.
26th March 2009 B40 Shared minibus from airport to your hotel, taking 35 minutes. 
26th March 2009 B167 Nightly rate for a private ensuite room at Heaven Guesthouse.  Hot shower, towel, toilet roll, breakfast.  Though a nice place, it's right at the "bottom" of town, meaning going anywhere involves some uphill plodding - roughly 20 minutes' walk to the "top" of town.
27th March 2009 B200 Entry to all 3 church sites, valid for 5 days
27th March 2009 B60 Internet (1 hour)
28th March 2009 B40 Shared minibus from the hotel to the airport
28th March 2009 B1,690 Flight from Lalibela to Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines, departing at 4:30PM and taking nearly 2 hours, including a stop after 30 minutes in Bahir Dar.  I booked this ticket 2 days in advance, and confirmed the day before departure.  Note that the Ethiopian Airlines office in Lalibela does accept credit cards. A bus to Addis Ababa takes 2 days.


Addis Ababa 

• The ATM machine at the Sheraton accepts ATM cards on the Mastercard network.
• The Tourist Information place wasn't very helpful, other than telling me where I could get a yellow fever vaccination.
• I had a suspiciously high incidence of attempted overcharging for Internet usage, ranging from claiming my start time was much earlier than it actually was, to miscalculation.  Apparently the fastest Internet access in Addis is in the Hilton - it's B109 per hour, presumably more if you don't have your own machine.

28th March 2009 B40 Half-cost of a taxi (shared with one other person) from the airport to the Baro Hotel (in the Piazza area).
28th March 2009 B95 Nightly rate for a private ensuite room in the Baro Hotel.  Small, basic room, with a towel and a packet of condoms.  Variable hot water.  However the place seems to attract more interesting travellers than the average.
29th March 2009 B12 Internet (1 hour)
31st March 2009 B42 Yellow fever and meningitis vaccinations from the vaccination centre of the Black Lion hospital on Zambia Street west of Churchill Avenue.  In theory I needed the yellow fever in order to enter Kenya, however the certificate doesn't become valid until 10 days after the vaccination and I entered Kenya before 10 days were up.  Fortunately no-one checked.
1st April 2009 B10 Entry to National Museum.  Photos are allowed.
1st April 2009 B20 Entry to Ethnographic Museum (this is actually inside the University of Addis Ababa, in the Institute of Ethiopian Studies).  Photos are NOT allowed.
2nd April 2009 B40 Taxi from Piazza to the Kenyan Embassy.
2nd April 2009 B438 Kenya visa (3 months) You need to fill in a form and hand over a passport photo.  It's a next day pick-up.  You can also get a visa on arrival at the border - as it turned out, the visa price halved in between me getting mine in Addis and my arrival at the border, so I shot myself in the foot with my advance planning.
2nd April 2009 B1.5 Postcard 
3rd April 2009 B39 Haircut at the Hilton Hotel
3rd April 2009 B2 Stamp for postcard to Europe or US
6th April 2009 B180 Parcel to the UK via airmail (1.6kg).  Take your stuff to the Post Office and the staff will find a box for you.
7th April 2009 B40 Taxi from Baro Hotel to the bus station
7th April 2009 B99 Bus from Addis to Moyale, leaving at 7AM.  The first leg was to Dila, taking 7 hours 20 minutes including a lunch break.  I'd tried to buy a ticket a day in advance but had been told they could only be bought on the day.  Note that if your luggage goes up on the roof, then you won't necessarily be able to get it down in Dila, so have your bare essentials (toothbrush, etc) with you inside.  The road from Addis to Moyale is paved the entire way.


Dila/Dilla
7th April 2009 B60 Nightly rate for a private ensuite room in the Zeleke Hotel.  Window, towel, hot shower.
8th April 2009 The second leg of the bus journey was from Dila to Moyale (Ethiopian side - the Kenyan town over the border is also called Moyale), leaving just after 6AM and taking about 7 hours including a breakfast stop.  Note that you will have the same seat you had for the first leg, and this seems to be enforced.


Moyale
The border post closes for lunch but opens again at 2PM.  Try to use up all your birr in advance, as you will get a bad rate for them on the Kenyan side, and you won't be able to change them at all once you get further south (unless you can find someone going north to sell them to).  You may well be approached by touts for a bus to Nairobi but don't buy from them.