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Ethiopia - Car Rental ?



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 4th, 2004, 05:00 PM
Thomas Kunz
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Default Ethiopia - Car Rental ?

I will travel to Ethiopia for 3 1/2 weeks in November this year. We plan to
travel the "historical route", the Simien Mountains and maybe 1 week to
the South
(Bale NP). We plan to take some minor roads as well, if possible. We
would like to hire a car or 4WD
-- Is it true we need a 4WD, or is it possible to travel with a normal car,
e.g. Honda Accord or similar ?
-- 4WD rental seems to be very expensive, about 5000 US$ for 4 weeks (AVIS
rate, about 5000km included). Do you have any idea about where we could get
a good and less expensive 4WD in Addis or some other city (tour operators,
rental companies, private people)
-- Anybody could tell me about his/her experiences with car rental in
Ethiopia ?
-- Is it mandatory or advisable to take a driver, as we would have better
view, more space in the car etc. without a driver?
-- Any other ideas about where to go? - We are interested in people,
culture, photography, nature, markets. I have two guide books (Bradt,
Lonely planet), so I know waht they write, but maybe you know some more.

please omit the jerk in your answer
  #2  
Old June 5th, 2004, 12:43 PM
L. Andreoli
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Ethiopia - Car Rental ?

Thomas,

We "just" returned from Ethiopia and visited both the Northern part
(historical route) and the Southern part (tribes etc.). All magnificent!
If you take the historical route incl. Semien Mt's it is advisable to
take a 4x4WD
as some parts of the roads are very bad (you need enough free clearance
underneath your car), also entering Semien and Lalibela town.
The roads to the South from Addis to Arba Minch are good but going more
South you need a 4x4WD
(one week for visiting the South in my opinion is quite short)
In can give you the following general advise:
Although expensive rent a 4x4 with driver for the whole trip (enough
place for 5 persons, driver & luggage included), for touroperator see
below.
Think about the possibility of flying to the main places of interest
(Addis-Bahir Dar-Gondar-Axum-Lalibela and back to Addis) and from there
with a 4x4 to the South. All this can be arranged by the touroperator

You have enough info abouth Eth. using the books you mentioned. If you
like to know/learn something from the Amharic language I advise you to
buy the small Lonely Planet book: "Ethiopian Amharic Prasebook"
(ISBN 1-74059-1333-X)
Reliable roadmaps you have to buy in Addis


There is only one large touroperator in Ethiopia , it is an Italian one
from origine.
Look for: http://www.greenlandtours.net

Ethiopia is a beautiful country (we lived/worked there for 3 years)
For photo's and the itinerary we did, have a look at our homepage:
http://www.homepages.hetnet.nl/~louine
If you need more info let me know
greetings,

Lou Andreoli
(Human, wildlife & nature photographer)








"Thomas Kunz" schreef in bericht
news
I will travel to Ethiopia for 3 1/2 weeks in November this year. We
plan to
travel the "historical route", the Simien Mountains and maybe 1 week

to
the South
(Bale NP). We plan to take some minor roads as well, if possible. We
would like to hire a car or 4WD
-- Is it true we need a 4WD, or is it possible to travel with a normal

car,
e.g. Honda Accord or similar ?
-- 4WD rental seems to be very expensive, about 5000 US$ for 4 weeks

(AVIS
rate, about 5000km included). Do you have any idea about where we

could get
a good and less expensive 4WD in Addis or some other city (tour

operators,
rental companies, private people)
-- Anybody could tell me about his/her experiences with car rental in
Ethiopia ?
-- Is it mandatory or advisable to take a driver, as we would have

better
view, more space in the car etc. without a driver?
-- Any other ideas about where to go? - We are interested in people,
culture, photography, nature, markets. I have two guide books (Bradt,
Lonely planet), so I know waht they write, but maybe you know some

more.

please omit the jerk in your answer



  #3  
Old June 8th, 2004, 12:05 PM
Nisse PowerMan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Ethiopia - Car Rental ?

L. Andreoli wrote:

Thomas,

We "just" returned from Ethiopia and visited both the Northern part
(historical route) and the Southern part (tribes etc.). All magnificent!
If you take the historical route incl. Semien Mt's it is advisable to
take a 4x4WD
as some parts of the roads are very bad (you need enough free clearance
underneath your car), also entering Semien and Lalibela town.
The roads to the South from Addis to Arba Minch are good but going more
South you need a 4x4WD
(one week for visiting the South in my opinion is quite short)
In can give you the following general advise:
Although expensive rent a 4x4 with driver for the whole trip (enough
place for 5 persons, driver & luggage included), for touroperator see
below.
Think about the possibility of flying to the main places of interest
(Addis-Bahir Dar-Gondar-Axum-Lalibela and back to Addis) and from there
with a 4x4 to the South. All this can be arranged by the touroperator

You have enough info abouth Eth. using the books you mentioned. If you
like to know/learn something from the Amharic language I advise you to
buy the small Lonely Planet book: "Ethiopian Amharic Prasebook"
(ISBN 1-74059-1333-X)
Reliable roadmaps you have to buy in Addis

There is only one large touroperator in Ethiopia , it is an Italian one
from origine.
Look for: http://www.greenlandtours.net

Ethiopia is a beautiful country (we lived/worked there for 3 years)
For photo's and the itinerary we did, have a look at our homepage:
http://www.homepages.hetnet.nl/~louine
If you need more info let me know
greetings,

Lou Andreoli
(Human, wildlife & nature photographer)




Hello, I'm interested in hotel advice (possibly with phone numbers,
addresses and email address) for the historical route.

Also any other travel tips for Ethiopia, historical route and Addis.

Regards, Anders

snip snap

--
Remove the obvious part before replying by mail please!
 




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