Richard Mortel, USA/Saudi Arabia

Being safely back in Riyadh now and having had a few days to digest my experiences in Ethiopia, I am now prepared to offer the following review.

The vehicle provided was excellent, no problems whatsoever, comfortable and always kept clean. Our driver/guide, Abay, was outstanding. Always on time, polite, easy to deal with, we both enjoyed his company and found it interesting to talk about Ethiopia from him. Although a few days were long, exceeding 12 hours on the road, Abay never seemed tired and was always the same helpful and cheerful young man. We both highly recommend him.

The hotels were good, with perhaps a couple exceptions. We found the Kuriftu Resort to be expensive for the poor standard of services received. And the Taye Hotel in Gondar leaves much to be desired, but both of us have traveled extensively in challenging destinations, and we were not terribly put out by the poor standard of some properties.

Ethiopia truly amazed me, and Asheem tells me that he also enjoyed it. I have traveled extensively in 61 countries, 15 of them in Africa, yet Ethiopia is simply the most stunning of them all. I never tired of the constantly changing dramatic landscapes, and what made them even more interesting was the fact that I knew, at the end of the day, I would be arriving at another fascinating destination with a rich and mostly unknown history.

In sum, we thoroughly enjoyed the tour, and would (and actually already have) heartily recommended Abeba Tours to anyone considering a visit to Ethiopia. Furthermore, while we were still on the ground in Ethiopia, Asheem and I both picked Abay’s brain so to speak so as to devise the best itinerary for an upcoming tour to the south, which we will arrange with you (of course!) a little further down the road.

I have traveled on dozens of private land tours similar to my tour with Abeba, but my level of satisfaction with Abeba, from the planning stage through the actual travel is right up there at the top.

It was a pleasure to meet you in Addis, and I take this opportunity to thank you for your high level of service.

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