Client Tour Reviews 2012
Reviews by clients of cultural, historical, wildlife, sight-seeing and adventure tours taken in
Ethiopia and organized by Highway Tours in 2012.
Keith Cornish writes:
All places visited were special in their own way but Lalibela was especially stunning.
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Seeing the diversity of culture, history and geography in the north of
Ethiopia.All places visited were special in their own way but Lalibela was especially stunning.
Travelling by road can be difficult because of all the works that are in
progress (especially Gondar to Axum). Flying is efficient and cheap. Read the
independentreview at ResponsibleTravel.com
Keith Cornish
London,
England.
Places Visited Jul 6 - 14, 2012:
Addis Ababa, Bahirdar, Gonder, Axum, Lalibela, Harer.
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Sir Roy Anderson writes:
Very good organization - excellent choice of National Parks and excellent guides - and a very good careful
driver.
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Very good organization - excellent choice of National Parks and excellent
guides - and a very good careful driver
Take a plug for bathroom wash basins - some hotels fairly basic. Yes to a small degree - money into local
economy via accomodation and meals.
Excellent - would recomend Highway Tours to anyone wishing to go to
Ethiopia who is interested in wildlife and the National Parks.Some wonderful memories, I would not hesitate to
recommend it to a friend Read the independentreview at ResponsibleTravel.com
Sir Roy Anderson
London,
England.
Places Visited May 20 - 28, 2012:
Awash National Park, Bale Mountains National Park, Rift Valley Lakes.
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Scott Stanway writes:
It was a dream come true, an absolutely fantastic trip and one I would take again in a heartbeat.
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The two days in Lalibela was by far the peak and summit of my trip to
Ethiopia and a dream come true. However, apart from the visits, the best thing by far about being in Ethiopia
was the people.
I had such fun with them and they are an extremely friendly nation - the
guides, in particular, were fantastic, knowledgable and always keen to show you some extra places. Also worth
mentioning is the agent, Eskinder, who went flat out to ensure that everything ran smoothly and was always able
to go the extra mile for his customers - a real hero.
Prepare yourself for a completely different culture to your own, be open
minded, be ready to have some amazing experiences and see some amazing sites. Importantly, don't worry - the
guides and agents are fantastic and will go out of their way to make sure that you enjoy yourself and have a
great experience.
As I stayed at local hotels, ate in local restaurants and shopped locally,
I feel that the local people definitely benefitted in some way. Regarding environmental impacts and
conservation, I can't really comment apart from that I know our party didn't disturb any of the natural
environments with litter or such things. Read the independentreview at ResponsibleTravel.com
It was a dream come true, an absolutely fantastic trip and one I would
take again in a heartbeat. Everything went well, from general organisation to travel to accomodation to the
sightseeing itself. The agent, Eskinder, chose the best people in each town and made sure that everything was
as good as it could possibly be.
Scott Stanway
Glascow,
Scotland.
Places Visited May 13 - 24, 2012:
Addis Ababa, Bahirdar, Gonder, Axum, Lalibela, Harer.
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Gary Ward writes:
The whole trip was a sensation,far better than we expected.
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The fantastic scenery especially in the north,the climb to maryam korkor
church,diverse cultures,rural areas where there are no tourists,of course lalibela,simien mountains,omo
tribes,key afar market,shala and awash national parks,also some great accomadation ie gheralta,awash,lalibela
and arbaminch.
If you have the time travel by road.Some of the roads are not too good ie
debark to axum,but the scenery is stunning.
We had a main guide and driver for the whole trip who were brilliant,plus local guides at the main
sites.
We travelled north,south and east over 20 days covering over 4500 kms by
road with just two internal flights,if we had the time to cut these out we would have done. Read
the independentreview at ResponsibleTravel.com
Fantastic,brilliantly organised by eskinder the companies owner,a top
man.Everything apart from a 45 minute delay for a puncture went without a hitch,having travelled quite a bit in
africa thats saying something.
Gary Ward
Nottingham,
England.
Places Visited Mar 18 - Apr 5, 2012:
Addis Ababa, Bahirdar, Gonder, Simien Mountains, Axum, Tigray Churches, Lalibela, Lower Omo Valley, Rift
Valley Lakes, Awash NP, Harer.
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Helen Aicolina writes:
We deliberately selected an Ethiopian based company and flew Ethiopian Airways this meant that all money
spent on our holiday went to local people/companies.
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The whole trip was memorable. Highlights include: the climb to Maryam
Korkor church in Tigray. Gheralta Lodge. Boat trip Lake Tana. Complimentary cultural evening
organised by Eskinder of Highway tours for our last night in Ethiopia.
Wild life, the mountains, canyons, gorges and the glimpses of rural
life. The charming people especially in Tigray. The vibrant colours of the houses. Rock
churches in Tigray and Lalibela. Staying in a traditional guest house in Harar.
Lots of wonderful memories. Excellent trip, efficiently organised by
Eskinder. The itinerary was well planned and adapted to our specific requirements.
There was a good selection of hotels including the outstanding Gheralta
Lodge and Rowda Webr Guest House in Harar. We appreciated the range of sightseeing options and
activities, the knowledge of our local guides which gave an insight into the country and its history. Our
driver and tour leader inspired confidence and we felt safe and well looked after at all
times. Read the independentreview at ResponsibleTravel.com
We would highly recommend Highway Tours at Ethiopiantour.com.
Helen Aicolina
London England.
Places Visited Jan 28 - Feb 12, 2012:
Addis Ababa, Lalibela, Tigray Churches, Axum, Simien Mountains, Gonder, Bahirdar, Harer.
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Stuart Read writes:
Special thanks must go to Eskinder at Highway Tours for knitting everything together so seamlessly.
Remarkable! 5 stars!
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It's not easy to pick out any one thing that stood out above all else,
this trip was a feast for the mind from start to finish. Its now a good couple of months since our return and
I've had time to begin digesting the memories. With that in mind, I guess it has to be the people we met along
the way, so many wonderful people.
All our guides were excelent without exception but not just the guides...
all their support staff, cooks, drivers, kitchen assistants, hotel and resturant staff etc ... the local people
wherever we went, the waving smiling children ... I could go on forever. Yep, above all else, the people realy
did it for me.
My top tips... Take a large empty bag in which to bring home a few
Souvenirs. Keep smiling (hard not to !) the locals seemed to warm very quickly to a friendly face. Try not to
be too intrusive with your camera, if you want photo local people just ask politely.
If at any point you feel yourself wilting from culture overload, dont be
afraid to tell your guide you'd rather like to chill out over a coffee or a beer, they are more than happy to
go with the flow.
Short answer, Yes ... local guides, locally sourced food, Souvenirs made
by local people, local airline, local drivers and all our tips went to local people. Just the way it should
be. Read the independentreview at ResponsibleTravel.com
This trip will live with me forever for so many reasons... Ethiopia is a
stunning country of incredible landscapes, mind blowing mountain vistas, magical towns and villages and breath
taking sceanery that left us speachless.
Special thanks must go to Eskinder at Highway Tours for knitting
everything together so seamlessly. Remarkable! 5 stars.
Stuart Read
London,
England.
Places Visited Jan 15 - 27, 2012:
Addis Ababa, Bahirdar, Gonder, Simien Mountains, Axum, Lalibela, Harer.
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Richard Antolak writes:
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Because the country is so varied, there were several high points. In the
North, Lalibela stands out on account of its beautiful situation high in the mountains. And also of course, the
series of famous rock-hewn churches it contains.
What impressed me most was that these churches were not simply empty
museums, but active sites of worship. When I was there, pilgrims were already arriving from all over Ethiopia
to celebrate Christmas. It was a wonderful sight.
In the south, the highpoint for me was the visit to the Karo village,
beautifully situated on a high plateau overlooking a bend of the mighty Omo river. The Karo people were very
friendly and forced me to think deeply about things (and values) that were really important in life.
Just sit back and enjoy it. A lot of work has been done in the background
to make sure everything appears smooth and effortless. There is also an element of flexibility built into the
holiday, so if you see something you didn't expect and want to investigate, it is usually possible to arrange
it. Read the independentreview at ResponsibleTravel.com
Apart from bringing foreign money into the local economy, I arranged to
assist the Ari people collate and translate their oral history and legends. This will become a resource for
visitors as well as for future generations of Ari people.
I also managed to initiate links between a Primary school in Axum and one
in Scotland, which should be of mutual benefit to the children of both schools in the
future.
It was excellent. First class.
Richard Antholak
Glasgow,
Scotland.
Places Visited Jan 7 - 19, 2012:
Addis Ababa, Bahirdar, Gonder, Axum, Lalibela, Rift Valley Lakes, Omo Valley Tribes.
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Brenda Young writes:
It was a completely different experience, some marvelous some horrifying depending on the cultures of this
fertile land.
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We went for the Timkent Festival which was fantastic and well worth
while.
The tribes in the south have barbaric cultures of which we saw by chance,
the whipping of the Hammer women til they bleed, the Muri tribes and their plate women - who by the way just
sit around waiting for the tourist to come to take their photo for a fee - I would rather stay
single!!
All was a new experience and different from the other 20 or so African
countries we have visited. The most amazing thing aws that it was not a dry dessert but wonderful
farmlands!?
Don't give gifts or money to these people as we are converting them into
beggars and dependents, There is heaps of fertile land and water to provide for all - maybe a little more
education wouldn't go astray but the government seems to be self centred and forgets what it's job is in some
locations? Read the independentreview at ResponsibleTravel.com
The local people have already been ruined by the International Funds that
give them money and the tourist who are seen as a purse so they don't need to work their land anymore. I urge
you not to donate to these fundraisers and let the people revert back to what they know best ie agriculture -
not sitting around for hand outs.
It was a completely different experience, some marvelous some horrifying
depending on the cultures of this fertile land.
Brenda Young
New Zealand.
Places Visited Jan 5 - 30, 2012:
Addis Ababa, Rift Valley Lakes, Omo Valley Tribes, Bahirdar, Gonder, Simien Mts., Axum, Tigray churches,
Lalibela.
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