Half Day Addis Ababa City Tour

WELCOME TO ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA! If you are here, you must be wondering what you can do to visit Addis Ababa and how. Here, we present our Half Day City Tour in Addis Ababa to help you have the best experience of visiting Addis Ababa. Please ask us to customize this travel offer to suit your interests.

• So, you have few hours for exploring Addis Ababa City?
• You are thinking of what to do in Addis Ababa in half a day?
• Not quite sure of how to experience Addis Ababa best?

Get best ways with us to spend your time visiting Addis Ababa. See reviews of fellow visitors on TripAdvisor how they enjoyed our HALF DAY ADDIS ABABA CITY TOUR. Among the half day city tours we offer, this brief outing combines key tourist attractions and activities in Addis Ababa.

Google's top rated sights in Addis Ababa are part of this stopover tour. Keep reading for details on how we can make your short trip in Addis special.

Addis Ababa Short Layover Tour is a private sightseeing city visit of about five hours. This tour is best for transit passengers on layover at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

Local tour guide leads the private sightseeing tour of Addis Ababa. The tour is by drive with comfortable, insured and air-conditioned private vehicle. Get our free hotel pick up and drop-offs to all hotels in Addis Ababa. Ask for modifications of this travel offer to visit any other attractions of Ethiopia's capital city.

Title – Half Day Addis Ababa City Tour

Duration – 4 to 6 hours (flexible)

Tour Price - From $40 to $100 per person

Means of Travel – Private Corolla (1 or two people) OR Toyota Minivan of 2016/2017 Model (3 to six visitors)

Tour Guide – Professional English or French Speaking Guide

Kids Friendly – Yes

Activity Level – Light

Pick up/drop off locations and time – As per visitors’ inquiry (It is private tour.)

Cancellation Policy – Free Cancellation for tours booked 12 hours in advance of tour start time

Places to visit in half day Addis Ababa sightseeing tour are: -

• National Museum of Ethiopia – Addis Ababa’s principal museum
• A Must-see religious site in Addis Ababa - Holy Trinity Cathedral
• Addis Mercato or Merkato market – Africa’s largest local market
• The highest elevation near Addis Ababa (3,200 meters above sea level) - Mount Entoto

We follow strict safety measures to keep you, staff members, and others on tour safe from Corona Virus.  For Addis Ababa layover tour, we use clean sanitized vehicles. Get free facemasks, hand sanitizers, gloves, and wipes. This brief day tour in Addis Ababa includes free airport/hotel pick-up and drop-off. This Addis Ababa stopover tour can be booked at your convenience - available at flexible beginning and ending times.

Below is Addis Ababa city guide map showing driving route (direction) and places to visit with the half day city tour.

Please read the details below for more information about our short Addis Ababa layover tour. The itinerary details what to do and what to see during the Addis Ababa city tour. And, email us for any of your questions related with booking the Addis Ababa layover tour.

"አዲስ አበባ" in Amharic language means 'New flower', hence the name of Ethiopia's capital city - "Addis Ababa". "Finfine" is the local Oromo name of the city of Addis. Founded by Emperor Menelik II, Addis Ababa has several places of interest for foreign tourists. Book this brief tour with a local guide to get Addis Ababa's highlights in few hours.

Addis Ababa Layover Tour allows first time visitors to learn Ethiopian's diverse traditions. Learning history and recent trends in Addis Ababa are part of the half day trip. Scout Top attractions in Addis Ababa ranked according to TripAdvisor. Cultural activities and best local markets make your time in Addis Ababa memorable. Let us know if you have any special-interests to include in Ethiopia’s largest city – ADDIS ABABA tours.

We offer free hotel pickups and drop-offs. If arriving at Addis Ababa early morning or late afternoon, your tour guide waits for you at the airport.

Half Day Addis Ababa City Tour is the shorter version of our Full-Day City Tour of Addis Ababa. Fluent English-speaking Ethiopian guide leads the city tour. This is private sightseeing half day city tour of Addis Ababa to visit best sites of Addis Ababa.

Duration: 4 to six hours (Half day)

We plan the short guided tour of Addis Ababa to help visitors get a great feel of Addis Ababa

and Ethiopia in a short time.

Best part of Addis Ababa half-day tour is that it is customable. Your informative tour guide adjusts your visit to fit your travel style. Going on for few hours city sightseeing tours of Addis Abeba is easy to book with short notice.

Typical half day city tour of Addis Ababa includes visiting:-

• National Museum of Ethiopia (የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ሙዚየም) - especially to see the skeletons of Lucy or Dinknesh (the oldest human ancestor and 3.2 million-years old)
• Holy Trinity Cathedral (መንበረ ጸባዖት ቅድስት ሥላሴ ካቴድራል) - to learn about Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity and to see the graves of Emperor Haile Selassie I
• Merkato (Addis Mercato) market (መርካቶ ገበያ) - the biggest outdoor cultural market in Africa and
• Mount Entoto (እንጦጦ ተራራ) - to experience Addis Ababa's panorama and Ethiopian cultural activities with locals

Depending on visitors’ interest and time, drive to Entoto Hill for view of Addis Ababa. At Intoto Mountain, take part in cultural experience. Learn how to prepare Enjera (Injera) – the Ethiopian bread. Attend Ethiopian traditional Coffee Ceremony.

Activity Summary

With a professional local tour guide make the best use of your short time in Addis Ababa.

The half day Addis Ababa City Tour itinerary takes 4 to 6 hours. Visit the Holy Trinity Cathedral and experience how life goes for locals at the giant open-air local market of Merkato. Enjoy the panoramic view of Addis Ababa from top of Entoto Mountain. See the fossil remains of Lucy–the oldest hominid (3.2 million years old).

At Merkato market, walk with your tour guide to discover its unique cultural sections. Know of Ethiopian spices, colorful hand-woven grass baskets, secondhand items, and recycling section.

At Entoto Mountain, visit a local family for experiencing Ethiopian culture. Learn how to cook Ethiopian meals, and see how to brew Tella (Ethiopian homemade beer). Unique activity of the visit to involve in Ethiopian culture is trying the Ethiopian traditional Coffee Ceremony.

Have a scenic drive on the principal roads of Addis Ababa to see historical monuments, popular squares, and important buildings of Addis Ababa.

Addis Ababa Stopover City Tour Itinerary

Your tour guide will meet you at your hotel in Addis Ababa. OR if you are just arriving, meet your guide at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. Here’s what you can expect, if you’re hoping to book a half day trip in Addis Ababa with us.

Drive on Bole Road and via Meskel Square (the main square of Addis Ababa) to the Holy Trinity Cathedral. This cathedral is the most important religious site of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa.

Take 45 minutes to 1 hour guided tour of the Holy Trinity Cathedral. See the artfully crafted stained glass windows, and the stunning architecture of the building.. Take time to visit ancient historical and religious artifacts at the Trinity Museum.

The next stop on Addis Ababa Half Day City Tour is the National Museum of Ethiopia. Start visiting the national museum with archaeological discoveries on the basement floor. Meet Lucy or Dinknesh (the oldest hominid who lived in north east Ethiopia (Afar Area) about 3.3 million years ago.

NOTE - NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ETHIOPIA IN ADDIS ABABA IS NOW OPEN FOR PUBLIC VISITS.

Learn about Human Evolution and why Ethiopia claims to be the “Cradle of Mankind”.

Then, drive for half an hour to the busy local market of Merkato–the biggest outdoor market in Africa. With about an hour walking tour of Merkato learn about the Ethiopian local spices. See the colorful hand-woven grass baskets and shop at Merkato.

Stop at the 'Chat' (green leaves locals chew for stimulation) market. Experience how life goes at the second hand items market of Mercato market. Merkato in Addis Ababa is ideal for sightseers who enjoy snapping photo shots.

Next, drive through the beautiful eucalyptus forest to Mount Entoto. The highest peak around Addis Ababa is at Entoto Mountain with 3,200 meters above sea level. Entoto is a great sport to overlook and take photo of Addis Ababa city. Here meet a local family and learn how to prepare Enjera (the Ethiopian national bread).

See how Tella (the local homemade beer) is brewed, and to take part in a typical Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony. See the entire process of the Coffee Ceremony starting from roasting the beans, pounding by hand using mortar and pestle, and brewing it.

Stop at the new Entoto Park. Go for a little walk in nature smelling the pleasant scents of eucalyptus trees. Check out the breathtaking view overlooking Addis Ababa city. Note that all visitors must have passports or Identity cards to visits Entoto Park. For historical sites visiting, you can stop at Menelik II Palace (the first palace in Addis Ababa) at Entoto Mountain.

On the way back from Entoto to Addis Ababa, stop at Shiro Meda local market. Shop for small local gift items and hand-woven cotton clothes.