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Abita is a very knowledgeable guide, taking excellent
care of his clients,discrete and helpful in the most
difficult situations. Thanks to him and
the local people in Abuna Yemata, I managed to
walk / climb to the church
despite my height fear.
We had an excellent time with Ermias in Dire Dawa,
Kulubi and Harar. He is so
caring and kind, plus full of humor. Kulubi was just
fantastic ... 2 farangis in
this crowd of more than 200.000 people! A mystic and
pagan experience all the same.
Gebre and Gebre Hana drove masterly in the most
difficult situations and were
very flexible and caring as well for our comfort.
Aman, our cook, made us change our mind on the quality
of the food in Ethiopia... his
cuisine was just great and varied!
Regarding the program, the real highlights of the trip
were the Danakil with
wonderful Dallol "beginning of times landscapes",
fantastic views of the salt
harvesting in lake Asale and camel caravans. But the
peak of the trip, the moment
we will never forget, is the ascension to the Erta Ale
and the breath taking view of
the lava lake! It has been a hard walk, a long
walk, but just great to be there.
The Dire Dawa, Kulubi and Harar part were especially
interesting from a cultural
and social point of view, allowing us to immerge
ourselves in the day to day
life of the people of this region…….
In a word, Simeneh, our vacation was just Amazing. Thank
you again for this.
Kind regards
Nicole Coppens & William Tchang
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Amazing Ethiopia travel truly lives up to its name!
March 2007 found me at the end of an assignment in
Uganda. After seeing a friend’s photos of Lalibela, I
was dying to go. But how would I find my way around? My
online search turned up Amazing Ethiopia Travel along
with several other local travel agencies.
I
can’t say what the other companies might have been like,
but Amazing Ethiopia Travel and Tour was just that,
adapting the itinerary to my time, making all flight and
hotel reservations, picking me up at airport and showing
me the sights. All the hotels were very comfortable and
the guides well informed.
I
felt safe and secure throughout the trip, even though I
was traveling alone.The
Historic Ethiopia tour was like a trip back in time, and
I learned a lot. If you’re interested in visiting
Ethiopia, this is the travel agency to go with!
Michelle Bashin
USA
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Amazing Ethiopia is a good description of the country
and the tour company. We did a 21-day tour of the north
and south and thanks to Amazing Ethiopia, it was
probably the best holiday we have ever had.
The tour was extremely well organised and went without a
single hitch. Our driver and guide were very friendly,
helpful and professional. Ethiopia is a fascinating and
beautiful country.
We would recommend anyone looking for adventure to visit
Ethiopia and to use Amazing Ethiopia who made our
holiday such a memorable and enjoyable experience”.
Steve and Kim,
UK
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"Thank you Amazing Ethiopia Tours for an incredible
adventure that was so well-organised and enjoyed by us
all. We found the cultural and historical tour to be a
truly unique travel experience and were particularly
impressed by your flexibility with the changes we needed
to make to our original itinerary.
The accommodation, explanations given by your local
guides in each city and incredible places that we were
able to experience were unforgettable. I think our
dinner on our last night at the Crown Hotel where we
were able to enjoy the local food and dancing was a
particular highlight!
A special thank you to Tsega'ab and Simeneh for all
their efforts and constantly being in communication with
us throughout our tour. I will be recommending Amazing
Ethiopia Tours to all my friends who are interested in
visiting Ethiopia.
Thank you again.
Lucy
Williams, Australia.
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As a veteran Africa traveler who prefers solo travel, I
usually stay far away from tour companies. However,
because of limited time, I contacted Amazing-Ethiopia
Tours to assist a colleague and me in working out a tour
of Northern Ethiopia. I was absolutely delighted that I
did so as their guidance, assistance, efficiency and
overall hospitality was truly “amazing”! Simeneh
proposed an 8 day tour using air travel over the classic
historic route.
The
reservations were attended to; the hotels basic but as
good as available in the towns; and at each airport, we
were met by a local guide and driver. The guides were
well-trained and very informative as well as personable
and open about Ethiopia and its problems. When we had to
leave a day early, Simeneh obtained plane
reservations for us even when the plane was full
– a miracle worker. Simeneh and Tsega’ab took us for an
Ethiopian meal with dance and music the first night and
it was a terrific introduction.
On the last evening in Addis, we wanted Italian food,
and they arranged a dinner at a superb restaurant
perched on a hill overlooking the city and included a
fine bottle of wine as their gift. During our travel, we
saw large tours of 40-50 people who traveled together on
buses, ate together and rarely interacted with any
Ethiopians. Since we were only two, we were grateful
that we had the opportunity to talk with many wonderful
people who opened up their hearts and their history. All
of this was made available to us at a very affordable
cost.
Amazing-Ethiopia Tours is without question your best bet
in touring the richly complex country of Ethiopia!
Harvey M. Weinstein, MD, MPH
University of California, Berkeley
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I
have done some travel in the past few years - everything
from the "red velvet rope and private bus" tours to
backpacking by myself from Istanbul to Cairo - so I have
encountered a number of pleasures, surprises and
unexpected dilemmas during my travels. I have
encountered everything from carpet scams in Turkey and
the agressive touts in Tangier, Morocco, to the
good-natured bargaining with Masai wariors and the
delight of being invited home to a family's farm in the
West Bakaa Valley. In all my travels I can honestly say
I have never met anyone as honorable, kind and
conscientious as Simeneh and his partner .
I cannot recommend these two more highly. They both have
built good relationships (and reputations) with various
contacts throughout Ethiopia - I know because when I
mentioned their names I always heard them praised.
I went to Ethiopia last fall and afer great frustration
trying to book my own accomodations, I finally contacted
Simeneh and asked for his assistance. His expertise
allowed me to relax and enjoy the trip. Ethiopia can be
as trying as it is beautiful and awe-inspiring - having
someone with Simeneh's expertise handling the
arrangements eliminated most of the travel-related
stress.
Simeneh made suggestions, but never pressured me to
accept a more expensive accomodation or package tour -
in fact he suggested even cheaper accomodations when I
assured him that I was willing to bypass some of the
comforts to meet my budget. He would probably laugh if
he were to recall how my requirements varied dependant
upon where I was located - but as always he was patient
with me. I am sure that Simeneh will tailor your tour to
suit the style in which you choose to travel.
While I was scrambling to find a stateside travel agent
to book all my flights around East Africa, Simeneh
quickly booked my accomodations and other travel
arrangements and I never had to worry.
Ordinarily I like to do self-guided sightseeing at the
various attractions, but I really came to appreciate the
benefit of a guide in Ethiopia - not only for the
insight and historical and cultural detailing they can
offer, but also because they offer a buffer against some
of the more aggresive touts. I had the priviledge of
"tailing" Simeneh's partner in Axum and was truly happy
not only to hear his commentary, but also receive his
advice on how to manuever through this village. While in
Addis Simeneh squeezed in an extra tour just to make
sure that my visit was complete. My only regret is that
I didn't ask Simeneh to do the whole tour rahter than
just allowing him to do pieces of it.
I know that it sounds like I am gushing - but I was
quite impressed with Simeneh's service. Additionally,
Simeneh and his partner are the nicest guys that you
will ever want to meet. If you were to make use of their
services and don't come home having made friends of the
both of them, I will be really surprised.
So, you can see that I recommend Simeneh most highly -
he and his business partner are genuinely considerate
and knowledgeable about travel in their country.
Phillip T William
Virginia,USA |
