My first question is since I'll most likely only have a week for this trip do you think that would be enough for Ethiopia? That could be the big deciding factor since a week in Seoul would surely be fine. Seoul seems super interesting, I love Korean food, but I imagine it to be a bit more expensive and maybe not so different from the other major Asian capitals I've visited. Although with visa fees in Africa it probably evens out - a bit more expensive airfare wise too. Surprisingly tickets to Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia are all pretty well the same price. Initially I was drawn to Ethiopia for the history, love the food, and read a naughty nomad travel guide where he said Addis Ababa was a cool city with decent nightlife. Wenchi Crater and Erte Ale look super sick to check out.
You should be able to get a 30 day tourist visa for 50 dollars. The vaccinations and malaria medication (though technically you don't need malaria meds in most of Ethiopia, but I took them anyway) might be more expensive if you don't have solid health insurance. Still, Ethiopia is shockingly cheap.
A week is not a lot of time and, personally, I would want more, but based on your two desired destinations, I think it could be reasonable. Wenchi is close enough to Addis Ababa that it's not a big deal to get there. I haven't done it, but with the Bradt guide book or just talking to others, you'll figure it out. For Erte Ale and the Danakil Depression just fly to Mekele. You should know that tourists have been kidnapped in that region of the country. I believe by Eritrean terrorists. I'd still go, but it's something to be aware of. Like I said, Ethiopia as a whole is very safe.
Here's a theoretical itinerary:
Get into to Addis and go straight to an Ethiopian air office; they're all over the city. Buy a flight for the next day to Mekele (this is possible). Spend a couple nights there. Fly back to Addis. Do a trip from Addis around the "Wenchi loop". Seems feasible to me and you could probably squeeze it in to a week to 10 days. Again, I would just plan it out with the Bradt guide.
Wait, so if you fly in on Turkish Air or any airline that's not Ethiopian then you don't get local prices once inside Ethiopia? That's pretty interesting, curious how that works.
Yes, you have to fly in on Ethiopian Air. No exception. I did the Turkish air flight last summer that goes from large US cities to Istanbul and then Istanbul to just about anywhere in East Africa and it was super easy and fast, but I flew into Nairobi and ended up making my way into Ethiopia a couple of weeks later on a 100 dollar Ethiopian flight from Entebee to Addis. Once I arrived, I went to an Ethiopian Air office, showed them my ticket and opened up local ticket prices for all domestic flights. That's all you need to do. Go to an Ethiopian Air office with a verifiable Ethiopian Air boarding pass that shows you entered the country on Ethiopian Air and you're good to go. It was amazing and you could save up to 175 dollars on even a single round trip flight with it.
Ethiopia actually just got it's first skatepark built. I emailed the dudes at Ethiopia skate about connecting and helping out if that's where I go this trip.
So yeah, basically, I'm wondering if one week is enough time or if I should save it for when I can do longer. If not, would you suggest Kenya or Kampala over Ethiopia? I've been to pretty well every region of the world but this would be my first time visiting I guess what you'd call "real" Africa. I don't think Morocco counts haha.
If you are going to a country in Africa for skating, Ethiopia is definitely the place to be. Also, if you are going to be able to connect with locals who have similar interests that's going to make the trip even better. I would say that is a huge reason you should go to Ethiopia.
I would definitely not suggest Kenya over Ethiopia.
Uganda, is less spread out than Ethiopia and easier to travel by land. It's really a stunning country and Kampala is my favorite city in East Africa, but I would say Ethiopia edges it out, at least for me. I think especially if you want to skate and connect with people in the skate community, go to Ethiopia. On the whole Ethiopian tourism is more geared towards history and culture and Ugandan tourism is more geared toward adventure activities, like rafting in the Nile.
I didn't mean to come off as negative at all towards Addis Ababa. I do love Addis, but it's a bit hectic and going through hyper growth due to Chinese investment. I also just think it's really worth experiencing the rest of the country.
I wouldn't actually say that Ethiopia is the most representative of Sub Saharan Africa (not that any one country could be representative of a region that large), or what may be referred to as "real Africa". To me, Ethiopia has a very different feel than other East African countries. There's much more of a middle eastern influence. Many Ethiopians look almost Yemeni, which makes complete sense considering Yemen is just a short boat ride across the gulf of Aden.
If you really want to explore the region, you could save the trip for when you have 3 or 4 weeks. Maybe hit up Uganda and Tanzania, get a more holistic perspective, have a bit of a beach break in Zanzibar. It would be pretty cheap to fly between the different main cities in the respective countries.
Thanks a ton man!
No problem. It's rad you want to visit Ethiopia!