Travel Tips

Submitted by danielle on December 13, 2005 - 12:52pm.

Here are a few tips we learned when we traveled to get Miriam. I'll add to them as I think of more.

  1. Don't worry about getting your visa ahead of time. It is much more expansive - $70 plus cost of mailing per person vs. $20. It took less than 10 minutes for both Brian and I to be given our visas on arrival.  All we had to do was fill out a short form and hand over the cash.
  2. Stay at your agency's guesthouse if you can. If you're with CHSFS, this might not be a good idea for you if you have other children with you as the rooms are small and you have little privacy.
  3. Do NOT stay at the Ghion hotel. See our travel journal as to why. If you do stay there DON'T get a suite. You get nothing for the money!
  4. When shopping for gifts, avoid the market. Its fun to visit, but very overwhelming for most Americans, and unless you have a guide you will not get good prices. I loved the Haileselassie Alemayehu Jewelery Store located on Churchill Road. They have everything you want and the prices are set (no bargining) and fair.