Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, ADD, is located just three miles from the city and is the main hub of Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s fastest growing airline with nearly 450 flights per day flowing through this destination. The airport recently went through a major expansion that allows it to accommodate some 22 million passengers a year.
Expect long line-ups in arrivals and departures. Check points that are more automated elsewhere are simply on no-go here much of the time as records are written by hand and customs officials are MIA.
Addis Ababa Bole International Airport Amenities: Do not expect much at this airport. There are a few high-priced, poorly served food and coffee shops inside the airport, perhaps a few kiosks selling handicrafts and little else. The airport does not have a hotel attached but there are a number of guest houses in easy distance of the airport. You will find free intermittent Wifi here.
The airport does offer two lounges for upper-class passengers: Cloud Nine Lounge is located in the Departure Hall and is available to Ethiopian Airlines Cloud Nine Passengers.
Sheba Miles Lounge – is located in the Departure Hall and accessed by Sheba Miles members with Gold & Silver membership cards.
Addis Ababa Travel Guide
Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia is an unsung treasure and usually has few western visitors. The city of some 3.3 million people is filled with a plethora of museums and iconic landmarks, religious sites that are full of history and culture and worth the exploration. Some of the top things to do in Addis Ababa are listed below.
Getting around Addis Ababa
Find two types of taxis in Addis: Mercedes-Benz taxis usually available through hotels and at the airport, and privately-owned blue-and-white taxis. Both types are unmetered and priced according to destination. Blue-and-white taxis provide shared ride services on a fixed route for a low, standardized fare. A minibus is a cool option if you are on a budget as it is relatively cheap, efficient, and pretty safe. There is also the light rail option, which is quite modern looking and also cheap but with few irregularities. Taxis, too, are relatively inexpensive and quite plentiful. Unfortunately, Addis Ababa is not particularly walkable as there are crowded sidewalks where there are sidewalks, lots of chaotic traffic and fumes from that traffic that make walking uncomfortable.
Best time to visit Addis Ababa
Ethiopia enjoys a Mediterranean climate so is welcoming all year long. The months of June, July and August are the wettest times as heavy rain falls in these three months. Hotels may offer reduced room rates during these months. International brands here include Hilton, Sheraton and Radisson Blu.
Top things to do in Addis Ababa
The National Museum
Although the National Museum in Addis Ababa is not the largest or the most luxurious museum in the world, it offers a some of Africa’s strongest collections of artistic, archaeological, natural and historical exhibits. The famous skeleton of Lucy, the 3.2-million-year-old ape that was the first Australopithecus afarensis skeleton to be unearthed, is on exhibit there. Discovered in 1974 by paleontologist Donald C. Johanson in Hadar, Ethiopia, the bones were, for a time, relics of the earliest known human ancestor species. You can also see what was from 1930 to 1974 the throne of Emperor Haile Selassie. There is a modest charge for entrance. The National Museum is on the campus of Addis Ababa University.
Meskel Square
This is among the most popular landmarks in Addis Ababa and is the site of protests and public celebrations. It is also remembered for massacres during Ethiopia’s years of terror in the 1970s.
Ethnological Museum of Ethiopia
This museum is located at Addis Ababa University in the Institute of Ethiopian Studies. The museum was built in 1955 and its main aim is to preserve the nation’s heritage while conducting research into the cultural history of Ethiopia. The museum house more than 13,000 collections in storage and on display. See the preserved bedroom, bathroom and changing room of Emperor Haile Selassie, complete with a bullet hole in his mirror from the 1960 coup d’etat. Other rooms focus on religious art, with stunning diptychs, triptychs, icons, crosses and magic scrolls.
Red Terror Martyrs Memorial Museum
More than half a million Ethiopians were killed or mutilated between 1977 and 1978 after the military coup by Mengistu Haile Mariam. This iconic memorial was built to memorialize the martyrs of the Red Terror. Photographs, documents, and even piles of bones mark the memories of this sad time in Ethiopia’s history.
Elevations in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the highest capital city in Africa because of Mount Entoto, which is at 3,200m elevation above the sea level. One of the best things to do in Addis Ababa is to visit this landmark area and explore some of its attractions, such as the historical churches of St. Mary, St. Raguel church, and Palace of Emperor Menelik II.
Brunch at the Taitu Hotel
Itegue Taitu Hotel was built in 1898 in the middle of the city anchored by what is locally referred to as Piazza. It was the first hotel in Ethiopia, built by Emperor Menelik II for his wife, Taitu Betul (1851 – 1918). The Hotel is located in a hilly quiet area with cool breezes and panoramic views and presents a rare glimpse into old Ethiopia when it was ruled by royalty. Dining here can be a treat, with a variety of Ethiopian dishes served. There is also a vegan buffet here – something rarely seen in Africa – with dishes using unusual spices and plant combinations.
Music lovers will love the Jazzamba Lounge presenting live music every night by local and international artists. It features different genres of music including traditional Ethiopian music, but the tilt is towards all forms of Jazz including Ethio-Jazz.
Addis Ababa Travel Tips
Travelling in Ethiopia is relatively safe but you should try to avoid border areas because of the political unrest and kidnapping of tourists in the area. Best to use a tour guide. There are a number of recommended tours of Ethiopia but the most popular tour is the heritage tour that goes to Gondar, Lalibela and Lake Tana.
Foreign currencies are rarely used in Ethiopia as you will pay for most hotels, tours, food with Ethiopian currency. Similarly, credit cards are not widely accepted outside of hotels. You should not hesitate to bargain with sellers and drivers when you are in Addis Ababa.
Make hotel reservations weeks in advance. There are few international business hotels in the city and they fill up fast as there are many offices of international government here.
What to buy? Pick up a pound of Ethiopian coffee. Find the best coffee at Tomoca for half the price it sells for elsewhere in the world. There are sidewalk cafes all over the city where lattes and espressos pour with wonderful German pastries. Textiles are also a good bet with intricate designs of Ethiopian symbols woven in.
