Dear Taddese
How are you? I hope that everyone and SET are well and that you are having a fantastic travel season in Ethiopia.
I just wanted to let you know that I have just posted a review on Tripadvisor - they have not published it yet but they should do so in the next few days. The review I posted is as follows:
' My initial worry with booking directly with a local Ethiopian company months in advance of our trip was that we would not have any of the payment protection afforded by UK tour operators especially as our deposit was paid via a bank transfer. We need not have worried at all as Senait (Sunny) Ethiopia Tours (SET) was totally professional and trustworthy. All fears were allayed when they dealt with all our queries promptly and efficiently. They also contacted us on a regular basis after the payment of our deposit to ensure that we had all the information we required about the tour.
Our trip to the Omo Valley and the Danakil Depression with Taddese Atlaw (MD) and his team was superb. To start, we just told Taddese what we would like to do and he provided us with an itinerary which fulfilled all our requests. He was very prompt with his responses to all our queries.
We travelled in the latest 4X4s (very comfortable on very rough roads/trails) and stayed at good quality hostels, hotels and luxury lodges (we had the best accommodation available in each town/village). We had skilful drivers (Ayalew and Abate), a knowledgeable guide (Getachew) to the Omo Valley and a superb cook (Nardos) to the Danakil Depression. Taddese kept in constant touch with his team throughout our trip – checking on our progress and ensuring that all our needs were met. He provided a service which surpassed our expectations.
SET is a fantastic company to travel with and we will return to Ethiopia to visit the rock churches and hike the Simien Mountains with SET in the future. '
Once again, we would like to thank you for a fantastic trip. We enjoyed ourselves very much and have recommended SET to all our friends and family.
We hope to see you again soon!
Me and my friends in May 2016 using the services of the company Senait Ethiopia Tours. We had a recommendation from the Internet about this company and do not regret that our tour operator in Ethiopia was its general manager Mr Taddese Atlaw. Drawing on his extensive experience and knowledge, and our wishes, our tour has turned out an unusually interesting and varied. It is important that we get everything we promised and more. And also I would like to note the seriousness and punctuality in correspondence, which is very important for the tourist who plans to visit the country for the first time. Anyone who wants to visit Ethiopia, we heartily recommend this particular company. Your tour will be full of the best impressions.
"I arrived back in Australia last Wed night after an amazing trip. I loved Ethiopia and was so very well looked after by Ayalew (my guide/driver) and Taddese and his team. I am so glad that I didn’t have any travel companions!! Everything happens for a reason!! We were free to stop for photos, coffee, markets etc etc without having to consider anyone else. It was great!! I thought the landscape was breathtaking, the historical sites amazing and of course the ethnic tribes fascinating. We travelled in a 2011 Land-cruiser (very comfortable on the bad roads). The hotels were excellent-Ayalew always made sure that the room was satisfactory and hot water turned on etc. We had most meals together and I really enjoyed his company. He was very thoughtful and caring and also had a good sense of humor. I hope that he and I will stay in touch in the future. Taddese is also a very caring person and phoned us every day to check that all was well. Everything was so well organised and he went the extra mile eg When I had a free day in Addis between tours, he offered me a car and driver to go shopping. Our farewell dinner-(Ayalew, Taddese and me) was very enjoyable and Betty (Taddese’s wife, who met me at the airport on my arrival) had bought me a beautiful pashmina and gorgeous embroidered “house-coat” as a farewell gift. I was very moved by their kindness and thoughtfulness. If I hadn’t already paid for my ticket to Zanzibar, I would have happily stayed in Ethiopia. I hope to return one day. Thank you for all your efforts for me. It all worked out for the best!! I would not hesitate in recommending Senait Ethiopia Tour company. Taddese works so hard to ensure that everything is as it should be. I hope this email finds you well and not having too many “work” headaches!! Put Ethiopia on your list of places to go-it is truly wonderful.
Best Wishes Always",
Senait Ethiopia and everyone associated with it was absolutely THE BEST experience for our visit to the Omo Valley. Taddese managed from the office and booked everything and checked in with us all during the trip to make sure everything was great. Our personable guide Robel Petros and our wonderful driver Abate Fentwa were so welcoming, organized, professional yet so friendly and helpful. Absolutely nothing went wrong, we had the most incredible experience and got amazing, prize-winning photos. We would rate this tour company and all it's people as AAA+++ They made sure our lodging was always comfortable and for the meals that were not included, they gave excellent advice on restaurants. Their vehicles were modern, super-clean, comfortable, well-maintained, and their knowledge as we traveled made our trip delightful, introduced us to superb local guides for detailed cultural tours...We cannot say enough good things about Senait and everyone who helped us with our 2 week Ethiopian tour.
Senait Ethiopia and everyone associated with it was absolutely THE BEST experience for our visit to the Omo Valley. Taddese managed from the office and booked everything and checked in with us all during the trip to make sure everything was great. Our personable guide Robel Petros and our wonderful driver Abate Fentwa were so welcoming, organized, professional yet so friendly and helpful. Absolutely nothing went wrong, we had the most incredible experience and got amazing, prize-winning photos. We would rate this tour company and all it's people as AAA+++ They made sure our lodging was always comfortable and for the meals that were not included, they gave excellent advice on restaurants. Their vehicles were modern, super-clean, comfortable, well-maintained, and their knowledge as we traveled made our trip delightful, introduced us to superb local guides for detailed cultural tours...We cannot say enough good things about Senait and everyone who helped us with our 2 week Ethiopian tour.
We also had a great trip with Senait Ethiopia Tours! They made the trip so easy and enjoyable -- not an easy thing for a family of 5, with 3 children of different ages, needs and interests. They accommodated last-minute changes necessitated by an opportunity to visit our daughters' birth family (and were incredibly sensitive to and respectful of the needs and emotions around this visit), adjusted their typical route so that we could visit some less common places of interest and also spend more time hiking, and responded perfectly to our request for LOTS of authentic Ethiopian food in places frequented by locals (it was all delicious!). Our driver/guide was personable, had a great sense of humor, and did everything possible to make our trip as comfortable and enjoyable as possible -- including spending several days tracking down a hard-to-find memory card for our older model digital camera, helping us bargain at the local markets, and helping us change money. It was a magical trip, and we look forward to working with them again for a tour of the southern part of the country in a couple of years.
A group of three persons with only a week to spend for sightseeing, we were nonetheless eager to visit various attractions in the Eastern part of Ethiopia and possibly even include some sightseeing in the Rift Valley Lake District. Since we did not know whether it was realistic to squeeze all of this into a seven-day tour by car, with only six overnight stays, we contacted Taddese, the tour operator of Senait Ethiopia Tours. This turned out being the perfect choice, because Taddese in fact managed to organize a magnificent tour of about 1500 km that included everything that we had in mind. Starting and ending in Addis Abeba, the tour included the Awash National Park (with crocodiles, kudus, hot springs and more), Harar (plus some hungry hyenas), the village of Koremi, Dire Dawa, the rift valley lakes of Langano, Abidjatta-Shalla and Ziway (including a boat tour on the latter, with lots of birds and some nosy hippos), the Tiya Stelae Fields, the Melka Kunture Prehistoric Site and the rock-hewn church of Adadi Mariam (certainly an alternative for those who have no time to visit Lalibela). After returning to Addis, we even managed to visit Lucy at the National Museum and drive up to the Entoto. Taddese arranged for all of the lodgings as well as for professional local guides at most of the places that we visited. Moreover, also providing the minivan for our tour, Taddese arranged for it that Engidawork, his very experienced and careful driver accompanied us. Engidawork is not only a very responsible tour guide but also a very friendly and caring person and we were very happy to be on this tour together with him. As a side note, he also impressed us with his ornithologic knowledge. During this tour, we stayed overnight at the "Awash Falls Lodge" in the Awash National Park (adventerous; with a baboon knocking at our door in the evening for some Trick or Treat), at the "Rewda Cultural Guesthouse" in Harar (very authentic), at the “African Village” in Dire Dawa, at the "Maya Hotel/Kuriftu Resort" in Adama, at the "Haile Resort" at lake Ziway and finally at the "Caravan Hotel" in Addis Abeba. All of these accommodations had their very characteristic, positive features and we enjoyed being at all of these places; and on some future occasion, we would stay at each of them again. In summary, Taddese and Engidawork made a wonderful and harmonious tour possible and we can very well imagine booking our next tours in Ethiopia with Senait Ethiopia Tours again.
Sunny Ethiopia Tours believe in high standards of service, but charge very competitive price. It is a well-organized company with experienced travel staff who facilitates travel and will give you unforgettable memories.
Sunny Ethiopia Tours believe in high standards of service, but charge very competitive price. It is a well-organized company with experienced travel staff who facilitates travel and will give you unforgettable memories.
Ethiopia’s uniqueness makes it a fascinating destination for every kind of traveler, but in particular for the traveler who wants that bit more.