Vintage Coffee Shops, Restaurants, Sightseeing in Addis Ababa

Absolutely excellent - Addis was my guide for a day tour of the city. I wanted to make the most of my time in the city so started straight after having checked in to the hotel. Addis tailored the trip to my needs as I was tired after overnight flight. Excellently organised, very knowledgeable about the city he loves (they share same name). Don't hesitate to choose this operator above all others.

From communication before our tour, to picking us up for our tour, throughout the tour and dropping us off -- this was a fantastic experience!!! Our guide picked us up at our hotel given to us by Ethiopian Airlines and we had a fantastic day exploring Addis! We went to a museum and saw Lucy, had smoothies and our guide's favorite spot, went behind the scenes at the market, saw an overview of the city, had a FANTASTIC traditional Ethiopian meal, had delicious coffee and got dropped back off at our hotel! Not before our guide helped us to get our shoes cleaned (a local spot on the corner) to get some dust off that had accumulated throughout the day! I could not recommend this tour enough!! Great for a quick layover in Addis when you want to experience the city!! Able to customize as well!

Mr. Gashaw N. from Aspire Ethiopia Tours gave my wife and me a 3-day private tour of Addis Ababa in August 2023. Our time with Gashaw included a day trip 100km north of the city to see baboons, a waterfall hike, and Ethiopia’s most important monastery. We really enjoyed our time with Gashaw. We learned so much from him in our first visit to Ethiopia and East Africa. We could not have had the travel experience we had without Aspire Ethiopia Tours. Gashaw gave us the local perspective we were looking for. He grew up in Lalibela before starting his tour business in Addis Ababa 8 years ago. His local knowledge and contacts smoothed our way in Ethiopia and helped us make the most of our visit. Gashaw speaks excellent English and holds a degree in English literature. We had in-depth conversations about Ethiopian culture and history. Gashaw drove us in his own vehicle, handling the roads and parking expertly. He was generous with his time and communicated very well before and during our time with him. Itinerary: we told Gashaw that we were interested in culture, history, food, and art - but not shopping. He customized our experience to empasize our interests. On the first day, we visited the National Museum of Ethiopia and the Merkato (market). We ate a traditional Ethiopian lunch, and Gashaw took us to his favorite juice and coffee places. We also visited the beautiful new Abrehot Library based on our interests. On the second day, we visited the St George Church and the Ethnological Museum on the campus of Addis Ababa University. We tried different coffee and lunch places - also excellent - and visited the Makush Art Gallery and Addis Fine Art based on our art interest. In the evening, Gashaw took us to hear traditional music and dance at the Fendka Culture Center, a gathering place where he is a well-known regular. Our third day was a day trip 100km north to Debre Libanos, the most important Orthodox monastery in Ethiopia. We also saw baboons in nature and hiked to a waterfall by the Portuguese Bridge before eating lunch above the valley. It was a beautiful drive through the agricultural areas where we saw many herders walking their cows, lambs, goats, donkeys, and other animals along the lush green grain fields and grassland. We ended the day with a great view of the city of Addis from the high overlook at Entoto Park. We hope to return to Ethiopia some day and visit the famous Lalibela churches with Gashaw. I highly recommend Aspire Ethiopia Tours based on our experience with Gashaw.