Tour Ethiopia - Together We Learn

We have a new tour route!

Join us to travel through Addis Ababa, Bishoftu and Awassa sampling the tastes and food experiences of the country as well as the jazz and art culture of modern Ethiopia.

The Modern Ethiopia Food and Culture Tour

2023

This tour takes in the best of the sounds, tastes and sights that modern Ethiopia offers. We will visit restaurants and home cooks for foodie and cooking experiences sampling the spices, unique grains and indigenous coffee of Ethiopia.

You will experience the modern art galleries and jazz clubs of Addis Ababa; enjoy kayaking and juice bars on the lakes of Bishoftu; walk the national parks and take a dip in the hot springs; and say hello to hippos on a boat ride in Awassa.

The tour also offers a unique insight into local life in Ethiopia. You will learn to make injera in the home of one of our sponsored students and travel with our donkey library to help at a reading session in a rural school.

We will announce the full itinerary and dates from January 2023. Click below to be the first to hear when details are confirmed.

Keep me informed!

Unmissable Tours of Ethiopia

Travel back in time to a land of rock-hewn churches, mysterious castles, ancient island monasteries, and warm and welcoming people.

Experience the culture and history of this wonderful country in the company of UK and Ethiopian tour leaders, with over 20 years’ experience working in Ethiopia.

Responsible Tourism – We take the impacts of tourism seriously and aspire to:

Generate greater economic benefits for local people and enhance the well-being of host communities;

Involve local people in decisions that affect their lives and life chances;

Make positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage;

Provide more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues;

Provide access for physically challenged people;

and to be culturally sensitive, to engender respect between tourists and hosts, and to build local pride and confidence.

Why come with us?

Unrivalled Experience – We have worked and travelled in Ethiopia for more than twenty years.

Expert Guides – Accompanied throughout the tour by members of our friendly Ethiopian team, knowledgeable local guides, and a UK tour leader with experience of Ethiopia.

Small Groups – Usually limited to between four and eight guests.

Invest in the Country – The tours are not-for-profit and the cost includes a donation to our work. During your tour you will visit some schools, meet children benefiting from such support, and see what impact our work is having.

All Inclusive – All tour prices include accommodation, all meals and land transport. The only additional costs are flights, visas, and any money you wish to bring for casual spending.

“A great trip not to be missed. A wonderful and very interesting experience which lived up to all expectations and more. The more I reflect and read on my return, the better and more unique it all becomes.”

Brigitte

The Historic Ethiopia Tour

12 days*: £1,850

Spring 2021

(* 11 nights in-country)

This tour is the perfect introduction for those who have not visited Ethiopia before.

The tour introduces you to the historic sites, wildlife, culture, food, music and dancing of Ethiopia. The northern region we visit boasts all of Ethiopia’s ancient capitals and most of its historic buildings and churches. There is outstanding scenery in the Simien Mountains, picturesque countryside everywhere, and inspiring views all round Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile.

Find out more

The Great Rift Valley Tour

12 days*: £1850

Autumn 2021

(* 11 nights in-country)

This tour takes us into the spectacular Rift Valley in the south of Ethiopia.

The tour introduces you to rich tribal lands with a range of different cultures, prehistoric relics and extraordinary natural sights. Wildlife is an exciting feature, with hippos, crocodiles and zebra as well as a vast panoply of spectacular birdlife.

FAQs

Together We Learn is a UK registered charity that has been supporting education in Ethiopia for almost twenty years. It has offices in northern Ethiopia (in Gondar) and Addis Ababa, as well as an office in London. Our Ethiopian teams lead and deliver Together We Learn’s programmes and the small team in London fundraise and support the projects.

Together We Learn is the merged orgainsation of The Kindu Trust and Link Ethiopia, under which name we started our tours in 2010. The charity manages and supports over 500 children through our child sponsorship scheme which ensures that the poorest children are able to access education. We work alongside schools and communities to facilitate teacher training and build much needed school facilities – classrooms, toilets, clean water stations, libraries, etc.

Unrivalled experience – we have worked and travelled in Ethiopia for more than twenty years.

Expert guides – accompanied throughout the tour by members of our friendly Ethiopian team, knowledgeable local guides, and a UK tour leader with experience of Ethiopia.

Small groups – generally limited to a maximum of eight guests.

All profits going to a good cause – this is a totally non-profit trip. Part of the overall cost is a donation to our work and will be spent supporting the education of the children of Ethiopia.

Unique opportunities – our knowledge of Ethiopia and fluency in the local language enables us to leave the tourist trail and introduce you to warm and welcoming people in colourful and unique situations.

Anyone looking for an introduction to this fascinating and little-known country. This is a non-strenuous experience as a member of a small, personal group of guests travelling in comfort and with expert guidance.

Your tour will be supported by a UK tour leader, with experience of Ethiopia, who will meet you at Heathrow for the departure, and an Ethiopian tour leader, one for our staff, who will meet you on arrival at Addis Ababa. In several places on the tour, there will also be local expert guides who share their knowledge of the area.

Tourism is a growing area in Ethiopia and more and more hotel options are becoming available. The hotels we use are always clean, comfortable and secure, with one or two very special places. Double, twin or single rooms are available, all rooms are en-suite.

All meals with soft drinks are included in the cost of this tour without any restrictions. You are very welcome to enjoy an alcoholic drink, and Ethiopia has a good selection of beers and a growing wine industry to try, but this would be a separate cost.

Traditional Ethiopian cuisine is delicious and not quite like any other in Africa. Food is spiced, but not hot, and meat, fish, vegetarian and vegan options are all easily available. You will have plenty of opportunties to try the famous ‘injera’ served at all Ethiopian meals – a sour pancake-like bread made with the indigenous teff grain. Our guides will be happy to advise you on the local meals available but most of the places that we visit will also have Western food options available if this is preferred. Good Italian food is well represented with pizza and pasta available at most places as well as soup, rice and vegetable dishes widely available.

Ethiopian Airlines is regularly voted the ‘Best Airline in Africa‘ and they run excellent international and internal flights. Ethiopian Airlines flights run daily from London Heathrow to Addis Ababa and the capital is served by several international airlines, if you are travelling from elsewhere.

All domestic flights on the tour are with Ethiopian Airlines and their service is friendly, comfortable and reliable. For the land travel we use well maintained people-carriers or landcruisers depending on the terrain with friendly local drivers. The main roads in Ethiopia are often newly tarmaced and facilitate comfort and efficiency. We may also include a trip to dinner by tuk tuk if our guests want to try the local transport!

A tour is £1,850 per person, and there is no single supplement. A deposit of £500 is needed to confirm your place and the remainder should be paid at least four weeks before the date of travel.

The tour cost includes accommodation, land transport and all meals.

For your financial protection, Together We Learn is a member of Trust My Travel and our membership number is TMT10806. All money paid by guests for the main tour cost is paid directly into an independently managed Trust Account held at a bank in the UK. This means that, in the unlikely event of our financial failure, you will receive a refund for all the services you have paid for. This money is not received by Together We Learn until you have completed your trip and all suppliers have been paid.

Trust My Travel is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority under the PSR 2009: No. 569641. For more information about how your payments are protected please visit www.trustmytravel.com.

Flights – the cost of the flights are not included in the tour package. As we want to ensure the group travels together, and minimise the work for you, Together We Learn will arrange flights on your behalf and these are paid for separately. Flights are usually around £700, though prices may fluctuate depending on Ethiopian Airlines policy.

Visa – Ethiopia has an online e-visa application system which makes applying for your visa a very straightforward process. This can be done at any time and the turnaround time is up to 48 hours but we recommend making the application a month before the date of travel. Our UK team are on hand to help you through the e-visa process. The visa costs $50 USD.

Travel Insurance – All of our guests must have travel insurance in order to join the tour. All travel insurers cover Ethiopia and our UK team can help with recommendations.

Souvenirs – Food, travel and non-alcoholic drinks are all included throughout the tour. You may want to bring some money to buy souvenirs and gifts or alcoholic beverages. Our Guide Notes (upon booking) contain advice about the prices.

N.B. These costs may vary and are true at the time of writing – September 2020.

All of our tours take place during the dry seasons in each region so guests can expect warm to very warm pleasant days; around 24 degrees on the Historic Ethiopia tour and up to 28 degrees on the Rift Valley tour. Nights tend to be refreshingly cooler, around 14 degrees. There may be occasional showers of rain, but they are unlikely to last for more than a few minutes at a time and should never inhibit our itinerary.

A yellow fever vaccination is advised and some guests choose to take anti-malarials. Please consult your doctor or travel clinic to find out which vaccinations you should consider.

There are hospitals and numerous health clinics across Ethiopia with knowledgeable doctors, all the places where we stay on this tour have creditable hospital facilities.

The places visited on the Historic Ethiopia tour are frequented by tourists on a regular basis. The Rift Valley tour takes you to places rarely visited by the average tourist in Ethiopia but the people are always welcoming and excited to meet and interact with tourists.

Ethiopia is a large and peaceful country and people tend to treat visitors very well as tourism is recognised as an important industry. Their welcome and their good nature is a special feature of our tours.

Our standard booking conditions can be found here: Standard Booking Conditions.