Great for people as us visiting the country for work reasons… with a short time to enjoy Addis Ababa. It was so complete! So amazing tour! A complete day visiting key places for nature, history, gastronomy (food, juices, coffee…), art & culture…The guide was very kind, very close and anticipating our needs.I strongly recommend this tour

This tour was really interesting, thanks to my guide. He made me feel like a citizen of Addis for several hours, walking some kilometers. Plus his knowledge about history & habits of the country & the city was quite more interesting than the hike itself. It was a pleasure and I would recommend to everyone who wants to discover the city out of a climatised car.

I'm grateful to have Gashaw as the guide, who is approachable and knowledgeable about the history, politics, and social profile of Addis Ababa. I was welcomed to the walk as a friend, and experienced different local transport methods (walk, mini-van, and ride share) to travel around. Gashaw was flexible with the itinerary and adjusted the plan as I proposed. We each had a detour during the trip, but it's such a learning to walk around various parts of the town.

I was keen to make use of my long stopover, between flights, to see what I could in and around Addis Ababa and to get a flavour of local life and culture. After reading some very positive reviews of Aspire Ethiopia Tours, I established contact with founder & general manager Gashaw. His enthusiasm was infectious. We soon put together a tailored programme of sightseeing & activities. On the day itself, a member of Gashaw’s team - Beki - arrived at my hotel as arranged, together with a car and driver. I thoroughly enjoyed a stimulating guided tour of several of the city’s key attractions, ranging from everyday ‘street life’, local markets, the National Museum, to a fascinating visit to a family in a rural area, and the chance to experience traditional Ethiopian cuisine in a totally authentic setting (these latter two activities being my personal highlights !). As a keen amateur photographer, I was especially glad of the many photo opportunities throughout the tour. My time went all too quickly, but that has motivated me to revisit the country - and for a longer spell, rather than just a one-day stopover. If and when I hopefully do return, I need look no further than Aspire Ethiopia for all my travel arrangements, confident in the knowledge that they can provide a totally professional, personalised service (including prompt & efficient communication in advance of actual arrival in the country). My thanks once again to Gashaw and the team, whose services I can strongly recommend to other visitors to Addis Ababa.

We had a wonderful tour with Gashew, he was a very friendly and enthusiastic guide with excellent English and huge knowledge of Ethiopia. We were only visiting for the day on a stopover but he gave us such a great overview of the history and culture of Ethiopia it made us want to return to explore the country further. Email correspondence beforehand was excellent and the tour customised to our preferences. We visited a local family in a village in the hillside and cooked and ate injera with them which was just wonderful. Lunch was fabulous in a beautiful circular building which used to be the Queen’s residence. We visited the Entoto mountains and when it rained Gashew was flexible and took our children for the best smoothies we’ve ever had! We drove through the mercato which was also wonderful. I researched this tour extensively and this company were the most cost effective by far. Highly recommended.

I had a rushed reservation and was completely unsure of what I wanted to do. But after talking to Gashaw and meeting him, I was sure of what I wanted. Our tour encompassed all of the greatest sites in the city, and because he was so knowledgeable, I learned so much about the history and current climate of the city/country. Gashaw made sure I was always comfortable and did/saw what I wanted. He is also very humble, wise, and open minded. I like to think we struck a good friendship by the end of the day. He is an excellent tour guide. Highly recommended👍🏼

Gashaw was a truly excellent guide, super knowledgeable, friendly, and flexible. We had a great time visiting museums, Entoto mountain, coffee shops, churches and merkato. In this city, you really need someone with a car who knows their way around. We did things that I never would have been able to do on my own (such as walk around merkato or go inside St George’s church). When I said I was interested to see the synagogue, he knew exactly where to find it. We also had a delicious traditional lunch with honey wine. I couldn’t recommend it more, and I hope to see Gashaw again in Addis sometime soon!

An amazing day trip around Addis Ababa, fantastic guide, fascinating tour of the Cathedral, markets, the mountain scenes, coffee stops, museum and a great local lunch. Hugely recommend, very knowledgeable guide with a private car to swiftly get around the city with the trip adapted accordingly to one's own schedule and requests, I've recommended the tour to all friends and family, not to be missed!

Gashaw was a great guide! He was very interesting and keen on us havig an experience that suited us. He picked us up timely in a nice van/mini bus with several seats. What i especially livked was how he ”read the room” and adapted, both when talking and showing us around. He was very knowledgable, professional and kind. Will definitiely get in tough if ever in Addis again! Higly recommend :)

We went on a half day tour to Merkato with Gashaw as our guide. Gashaw was very helpful and quick to respond to our request and arrange the tour, including transportation. He is very knowledgeable as a guide and provided us with interesting facts, not only about Merkato but also about Addis Ababa and Ethiopia in general . He could respond to all our questions and requests. This is the second time we did this tour with him and he made sure that the tour was adjusted so that the whole group got an interesting experience and to visit different parts of the market. Would highly recommend Gashaw as a guide.

Gashaw was absolutely excellent showing me and my 4-year-old son the sites of Addis. Entertaining a child on a tour is no easy feat but he did it. My son even said, "Gashaw is really smart and knows a lot. He should have a job showing people around the city." 😄

My wfe and I had an incredible day touriung Addis Ababa with Sisay. Gashaw was very communicative in advance of our visit to set up an itinerary that suited what we were looking for. We had a full day layover in Addis. Unfortunately, our flight to Addis was delayed several hours. Nevertheless, Sisay was there to meet us when we finally arrived. We went straight to a coffee shop where he explained to us some of the coffee history of Ethiopia. And had a delicious coffee! He also guided us through the Mercato, with a special focus on parts of the Mercato that interested us the most (spices, metal workers, recycling). We never would have found any of those parts of the market without Sisay. He then took us to his favorie juice shop where we had a the perfect late afternoon thirst quencher. We ended the tour with a visit to Mt. Entoto for the sunset. Spectacular. But that was not the end of our day. Sisay also joined us for dinner for a traditional Ethiopian meal. There were other tourists at the restaurant, but most of the patrons were locals. The entire day was also filled with history, stories, anecdotes and all the intangibles that make for an excellent tour. Gashaw had also arranged for us to visit a local school attended by orphans. Due to our flight delay, we were unable to visit the school. We had brought some items to donate to the school. Sisay and Gashaw were very generous of thier time and willing to take our donations to the school another day. If you are in Addis Ababa, do not look anywhere else for a guide. I highly recommend Aspire!! Thank you for a wonderful day and evening.

Look no further! Book this tour, you won’t be disappointed! Spent about 5 hours walking through Addis and had a fabulous time. Saw all the important monuments, learned a lot about the culture and history and had just plain fun. A great way to discover the city!

We like the fact that Gashaw was knowledgable about his country. We were impressed that he was able to show us and tell us about everything asked. He was very respectful and had the kindest spirit. When I fell ill he made sure I got the medical attention need. I can go on and on about this youngman. If I ever visit again I will make sure it will be with Gashaw Newt again. I just love his positive energy and how he intergrades it into his work tours. Thank you Gashaw for the best experience ever!!!

This tour was amazing, Within just one day I could see the major highlights of Addis, try coffee in several traditional places, and learn a lot on Ethiopian culture and history.

I had an unexpected layover in Addis Ababa. I found Gashaw on trip advisor with a 5 star review so I booked him for the day. Gashaw expertly drove me around Addis including just outside and up a mountain where I had a tremendous view of the whole city. We packed in so many thing in such a short period - museums, churches, delicious lunch, coffee, short hike - with Gashaw all the while explaining Ethiopia’s fascinating history and geography. I couldn’t have asked for a more knowledgeable, friendly guide and I highly recommend Gashaw and his company Aspire Ethiopia to anyone and everyone.

Took a second tour during a long stop-over in Addis. Great quality private tour, was taken around the city by car and shown a good balance of sights. The tour is customizable upon your interests and my guide Gashaw was able to perfectly tailor it to my needs. Great contents, good local food, amazing experience overall. 100% recommended.

We had an absolutely wonderful time in Addis Ababa thanks to Aspire tour. We had around 6 hours to explore ADDIS and called Aspire at the very last minute and they were able to arrange a tour for us; and Adisu, our guide was at our hotel in less than an hour . We visited the national museum , Saint George’s cathedral ,Mt Entoto park atop the mountains and the market. Adisu was very knowledgeable and made our museum visit one of the best ever . The church was closed but Adisu was able to work through his contacts and we got a very personal visit to the inside of the church which was very fascinating . Had a lovely cup of coffee atop the mountains and the drove through the busy market streets. We also wanted to try some local cuisine and Adisu took us to a great restaurant with the finest local beer and food. Cannot recommend Aspire tours enough . Thank you Adisu and Aspire tours for making this a very memorable trip!

During a visit of a friend in Addis, Gashaw guided us during two days. He tailored the tours to our interests and was very mindful of our needs and wellbeing. I can recommend him as a very knowledgeable and funny guide with a strong mastery of English and Western culture. He was very open in helping us understand Ethiopian culture and society and clearly knows the best authentic places to eat and drink at. With him, we visited Piazza, Taitu hotel, Merkato, the sights along Churchill Avenue, La Gare, St George Cathedral, IES, Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Gebrekristos Desta Art museum. I hope I can still engage his services for a future visit of the historic sites in the north of the country.

Having lived in Addis Ababa for a while now, Gashaw was still able to show me a different side of the city. Wading through the hustle and bustle of Merkato and Piazza, he shared his knowledge of the history and culture of Addis and its people. Gashaw listened to our wishes and completely personalised this tour for us. He is a knowledgeable guide and very pleasant company. Would recommend him to anyone. Thank you for the beautiful experience!