Mogadishu – Somaliland – Ethiopia Tour

Pick up at the airport and our guide will assist you with obtaining your visa on arrival and take you to your Shamo hotel for a briefing. Afterwards, you’ll go on an orientation then time to relax and to swim at Lido beach, come back hotel and overnight. (D)

After breakfast, tour around the city, including walking through the ruined Italian colonial architecture and seeing the monument to the unknown soldier. You will have a chance to use the security team’s experience and that of a local fixer who has worked with several journalists to get an insight into life in Mogadishu today. (BLD)

You will be transferred from the airport to your hotel. According to the time of your arrival, you may intend to explore the capital, Hargeisa. Stay at Damal Hotel or Similar (BLD).

After breakfast you will take a walking tour around the city center of Hargeisa to get a further sense of the people and the city. Here you will see the central market, and the MiG Jetfighter War Memorial which stands for the atrocities committed by the dictator during the Civil War, and get some currency converted into schillings at one of the famous street exchange “offices”. Also, you will visit the livestock market where you can purchase your own camel or goat! For those who can’t fit a camel in their luggage, this market will provide great photo opportunities and a chance to see how the locals do business. Dinner at a newly opened and popular Yemen restaurant run by refugees from Yemen. After dinner, you can familiarize yourself by walking around the bustling city center in Hargeisa and have chai with the friendly locals. Overnight in Damal Hotel, Hargeisa. (BLD)

Morning drive to Laas Geel, the most important rock art site in Africa. These caves contain some of the oldest cave paintings on the horn of Africa. The vibrant colors and well-preserved paintings are estimated to be around ten thousand years old. Continue driving to the coastal city of Berbera.
Upon our arrival, visit a historical Ottoman Mosque and Ottoman houses. Late lunch was served at an Ottoman house. Take a short boat trip to go hunt for shipwrecks in the Gulf of Aden. Relax and swim at an untouched beach, where local youth and families come and enjoy their downtime. (Due to local culture, ladies will need to cover their bodies while in water.) Tour the historic town of Berbera in the early evening, where you will find more Ottoman, Persian, and British architecture of historic interest. This will be a great chance for some amazing photographs at sunset. Dinner and overnight in Berbera. (BLD)

After breakfast, enjoy some free time in Berbera. Drive to the small town of Sheikh in the mountains, stop for some tea, walk around and enjoy the pleasant climate. Visit the ruins of Ferdusa – a 16th-century city. Drive back to Hargeisa in time for the last supper! Dinner and overnight in Damal Hotel, Hargeisa. (BLD)

Our journey to Ethiopia begins after breakfast. We will arrive in Wajaale. After lunch in Jigjiga, the capital of the Somali-Ethiopian region, you will depart for Harar. You will check into your hotel in Harar upon arrival. After dinner, you will have the opportunity to feed wild hyenas. (BLD)

After breakfast, we explore Harar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The women wear bright colors, wild eagles circle the butcher shops, fresh coffee is processed, and khat is made into a paste for making tea. In addition, we will explore Sheikh Abadir’s tomb, the Arthur Rimbaud Centre, City Gates, Ras Tafari’s house, Ras Makonnen’s Palace, Jamia mosque, and the Smugglers’ Market. You may wish to visit a local bar or club in the evening. (BLD)

After breakfast we drive to Dire Dawa to visit the old railway station built more than a century ago that has barely changed in all that time with most of the original French-built equipment still in place and still in use. After that, we visit the spice, khat, and camel markets. Witness the locals sitting in the sun, chewing their khat, oblivious to the world around them. Inhale the strong scent of dried chillies being ground into powder for sale at the market. Overnight in Dire Dawe. (BLD)

We depart early to Addis Ababa. During the trip, we stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant. Our arrival in Addis Ababa is around the evening. We check into our hotel around that time. Our free day will be spent relaxing in the hotel or exploring the city. The night will be spent in Addis Ababa. (BLD)

After breakfast, we will take a full-day tour of Addis Ababa. We will begin our tour at the National Museum, where we will see Lucy, the oldest humanoid skeleton in the world, which dates back 3.2 million years. Our next stop is St George’s Cathedral, followed by lunch and Ethiopian coffee – arguably the best coffee you have ever tasted!

The second stop will be the Holy Trinity Cathedral, where we will view the tomb of Hailie Selassie before concluding at the Red Terror Martyrs Museum. We will hear firsthand accounts of the bloodshed, torture, and mass murders committed by the military junta of the late 1970s, the Derg. After dinner, you will have the opportunity to participate in leisure activities and overnight in Addis Ababa. (BLD)

Transfer to the airport and the tour ends. (B)

• We’ll apply prices sooner.
• This tour is priced at $xxx per person. Rooms are on a twin basis.
• Single supplement is priced at $xxx or we can allocate someone for you to share with (subject to availability).
• The deposit required to confirm your booking is $350.

Our custom tours are tailor-made itineraries designed for individual travellers, families, or a small group.

We can arrange an itinerary around your interests, dates, and special requests, all our tours include private drivers, private touring, unique accommodations, and exclusive experiences.

First, we encourage you to view our published itineraries and if it is not fit your interest then contact us and let us design a customized itinerary for you.

We always advise booking in advance. For confirmation of the tours, we require a 10% deposit payment in advance. This can be done via an online to our Business Bank account in USD. The remaining can be paid upon arrival in cash USD.

However, you can choose to pay the full amount in advance via our Somaliland Business bank transfer. We will always send the invoice with all the banking details.

IMPORTANT: All wiring fees need to be paid by the customer. Visit Horn of Africa cannot be held responsible for the failure of booking due to delay in payment.

If you wish to cancel your booking, the following conditions apply. A deposit payment has to be made to Visit Horn of Africa 30 days before the scheduled departure/beginning of the Tour.

• 21 days before arrival – 20% of the total tour price will be charged
• 15 Days before arrival – 40% of total tour price will be charged
• 7 Days before arrival – 100% of total tour price will be charged

IMPORTANT: The cancellation policy stated above does not apply if a prior agreement has been made with Somaliland Travel Agency.

Visit Horn of Africa tries to follow the agreed tour program with its clients as much
as possible. However, under certain circumstance, we might need to change the program
due to: Road conditions, safety, adverse weather conditions, civil war, strike, cancellation
or delay of domestic flights, high-level government meeting.

In the case where Visit Horn of Africa does not provide one of the services
mentioned in the program, we will provide a refund for the services not rendered, except
in the following cases:

1. Cases of force majeure, adverse weather conditions, cancellation or delay of domestic
   flights, civil war, strike, road conditions, high-level government meeting.
2. Change in Itinerary by Somaliland Travel Agency if we judge that the context endangers the safety of the customer.

A delay or cancellation of scheduled flights is not the responsibility of Visit Horn of Africa. We will, however, provide all the necessary assistance to our customers in such circumstances. All airfares are subject to availability at time of booking. Please also note that fares are subject to change without notice and are not guaranteed until purchased.