Ethiopia or Kenya?
The practical differences, drawn from our own write-ups rather than from a brochure. We are not going to tell you which is better - they are different trips. What follows is what actually changes between them.
Places written up here 72 115
UNESCO listings among them 11 11
Cost level Budget Mid-range
Busiest month in our write-ups December October
Currency Birr (ETB) Kenyan shilling (KES)
Plugs and voltage C, F - 220 V G - 240 V
Everyday languages Amharic Swahili, English
Driving side right hand side left hand side
Region Eastern Africa Eastern Africa
Capital Addis Ababa Nairobi
Ethiopia
Hospitality is a duty and coffee is a ceremony; nothing meaningful happens quickly.
What we have written up
- Abijatta-Shalla Lakes National Park national park
- Adadi Mariam Church rock-hewn church
- Ajora Falls waterfall
- Ankober historic town
- Arba Minch city
- Awash National Park national park
Worth knowing before you go
- Clocks run on a 6-hour offset - locals may say one o'clock meaning 7:00, so confirm which system a time uses
- The Ethiopian calendar sits about seven to eight years behind the Gregorian one, with 13 months
- Orthodox Wednesdays and Fridays are fasting days - vegan fasting food is everywhere and excellent
Kenya
Safari heartland with entrepreneurial buzz; Hakuna matata is real but so is hustle.
What we have written up
- Aberdare National Park national park
- Amboseli National Park national park
- Arabuko-Sokoke Forest forest
- Buffalo Springs National Reserve national reserve
- Central Island National Park national park
- Chalbi Desert desert
Worth knowing before you go
- Park fees are significant and card-paid - factor them into budgets
- The SGR train links Nairobi and Mombasa comfortably
- Nairobi traffic is legendary - schedule around it
Counts describe this site, not the countries: "places written up here" means how many pages we have finished, and it keeps growing. Currency, plugs and languages are practical facts and change rarely; check anything visa-related with the relevant official source before you book.