Lonely Planet Ethiopia & Djibouti 6

We used this fall 2017 edition in October 2019 for two weeks in Ethiopia. We also used it to help plan our trip which focused mostly on Northern Ethiopia. This edition inspired us to visit Djibouti for about a week and we're glad we did.General feedback:- A number of businesses listed in the book are now closed.- Some of the entrance fees have gone up or doubled since the book was published.- Lalibela has some amazing sights but unfortunately a lot of boys and young men harass tourists for money ("awwakabi" in Amharic). This is really downplayed in the book. Other cities didn't have this culture in our experience: Addis, Bahar Dar, Gondar, Axum, Mekele.- We had trouble finding shops listed in the book. In Gondar, we looked for 2 shops listed in the book and went to the exact spots on the map and even the English speaking locals could not help us. It would be great if they improved the descriptions and directions for the shopping locations. However, these places might also be closed.- Most hotels have airport shuttles and guides will often be at the airports on arrival to escort tourists to their hotels. These guides are very helpful and make booking tours last minute convenient. This isn't really mentioned anywhere. All can negotiated with and it is worth asking if they are a licensed guide. It might seem like a hustle but in general everyone if extremely helpful without being pushy in these situations.- In Addis, the blue taxis rip off tourists so it is worth downloading the RIDE app if you have service. Or have your hotel help with taxis.- Also worth noting that ATMs in Ethiopia do not accept debit cards (in our experience), only credit cards with cash withdrawals. We tried multiple ATMs without success and then had to deal with our banks to refund money that was never withdrawn.Overall we are happy with the book but certain parts did seem to be written as if the author had just heard about a place rather than actually visiting it. Ethiopia and Djibouti are both incredible places to visit.. use the book with caution. Hopefully a new edition comes out soon!

Good info. Exactly what you expect from LP guides. Using this one to plan another trip to Africa

Brand new book, as advertised.

I felt that the writers had sat in a cafe learning about Ethiopia from other travellers stories. It is the worst Lonely Planet guide book I have ever used. The authors tell half a story, eg. they tell you to get a bus somewhere and then don't tell you where or how far away the bus station is situated. I realise that this book is only a guide but when you have limited time in a country it is important to know real facts not a fairy tale fantasy about what is possible to achieve in the time available to you. Anyone trying to do the Historic Circuit in two weeks is going to be sorely disappointed unless they us Ethiopian airlines and fly the vast distances between these amazing sites.

Little old now as it was 2 years old the prices of many attractions have increased but the rest of the information is still valid and a good companion to have.