Danakil Depression Tour: Explore Ethiopia's Extreme Landscapes

The Danakil Depression is one of the hottest, lowest, and driest places on the planet. In the northernmost pocket of Ethiopia, it is home to salt lakes, lava lakes, volcanoes and neon acid springs. The remoteness of the Danakil combined with its extreme climate and striking visuals make it among the most remarkable destinations on the planet.

Duration: 8 days
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights

Day 1: Addis Ababa-Semera Drive to Dallol

Dallol - You will board the ET 110 flight from Bole Airport at 7am to Semera. Upon arriving at Semera airport at 8:30am, you will be picked up and driven to Hamed Ela (Dallol) via Afdera Lake (Salt Lake). We will pause at Afdera Lake for a 40-minute lunch break before continuing to Hamed Ela village. We…

What's Included
  • Scout and Police
  • Government tax
  • Vegan options
  • Camping gear
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Breakfast
  • 4 liters bottled water a day
  • All fees and taxes
  • Vegetarian options
  • Gluten-free options
Location
Edna Mall
Cameroon Street
Edna mall is the opposite side of best western plus hotel it is in front of medhanialem church , bole cameron street and 1km from bole international airport
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(9 Ratings)
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1 star
Domr829
May 1, 2025
Amazing experience - Amazing company. Mickey has been super helpful and always available. I enjoyed all the places I visited thanks also to the tour guides provided. Totally recommended
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Irispu8178ki
Apr 13, 2025
Well organized and Highly recommended - The two of us went on a three-week trip through the north and parts of the south with Danakil Depression Tours. The organization before the trip was very good, even if we sometimes had to wait a few days for an answer. In the end, everything was organized very well and adapted to our wishes and ideas. We had actually agreed on “middle class” accommodation and were surprised every day by the great accommodation we slept in. So that was much more than middle class. We had 3driver 4sites new Toyota Land Cruiser for the whole 3 weeks (apart from a few days when we traveled by plane). Yohans was a great driver and very nice and friendly. We had a lot of fun on the sometimes very long journeys and it was always nice to be picked up by him at our accommodation in the morning. Many thanks again to Yohans The time in Ethiopia was very varied. Of course there are many cultural places and buildings to see. What we weren't aware of before is how diverse the landscapes are. We were, among others, in the Simien Mountains, in Geralta, in the Danakil, in the south, etc. And each place or region is special and impressive in its own way. We were most impressed by the 4 day Erta Ale/Danakil tour. Looking back, it's a surreal thought that we hiked up a volcano at night, looked into the lava, and then slept in small stone huts near the crater rim. Sleeping in the open air in the Danakil, floating in the salt water pool in the desert and Dallol were also very impressive and adventurous. The 3 day tour was carried out with the group of 8people was also very well Overall, we had a great time in Ethiopia, especially thanks to Let’s Imagine. We can only warmly recommend Bewnetu and his entire team.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
858elzbietap
Nov 16, 2024
Excellent trip north and south Ethiopia - Our trip in Ethiopia, organized by Danakil Depression Tours Ethiopia, has just ended. If you are looking for an agency that can help you organize such a trip, you can't do better. A young, dynamic, and professional team will take care of you at every stage of cooperation. Already at the stage of organizing the trip, our needs were fully understood, and contact with the office was almost immediate. Our safety was taken care of during the route. Guide Abey and our drivers are professionals in every detail. Always smiling, patient, and kind. Almost 10 days of trips ended very quickly. I can wholeheartedly recommend this office. Ethiopia with Mickey and his team is fascinating and will stay in our hearts for a long time. Elzbieta from Poland.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Petraks5873ai
Oct 14, 2024
Professional travel agent in Ethiopia - We have just returned from a 8 day trip to lalibela,danakil and omo valley Ethiopia. When deciding which agency to go with, we picked Danakil Depression Tours due to the fact that they were the ones that were best able to plan a trip around our time limitations and still propose an itinerary that included the sites that what we wanted to see. Mickey came up with an excellent proposal that was also the best value for money when compared to other proposals that we received. Everything went according to plan. Everybody was punctual and knowledgeable. All the guides were great but I must give a special mention to negusu in Addis. He was great. Ethiopia is a great country with so much to see. The people are friendly and Danakil Depression Tours is the agency that you should go with!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mary
Aug 25, 2024
The Danakil tour was excellent and the staff very attentive and caring for our needs. I love Ethiopia. 🇪🇹🇪🇹🇪🇹 the way - The Danakil tour was excellent and the staff was very attentive and caring to our needs. All the sites were memorable. I would love to return to Ethiopia 🇪🇹.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
655adriec
Aug 15, 2024
You can trust Danakil Depression Tourd - My wife and I joined this tour of North (many churches and varied landscapes) and South (lush fields, nature, birds, and tribes). The organisation from Danakil Depression was spot-on. We took flights between locations in the North and were met by different local guides. In the South, we had a driver and guide for the whole week. It's very different to many other tours that we've taken, as it was a private tour for two. The roads in the South are such that 4x4 jeeps are required, and it is sort of tricky to run group tours in these regions. All the guides are knowledgeable and always on time and know interesting places to go. You often have a second guide, when you get to a particular location, to help spread the tourist earnings and to allow specialist knowledge (such as local language, which are many in Ethiopia). We covered a lot of ground in the two weeks, and you'll be changing hotel every night to fit in North and South in two weeks. We went off season, which suits some, as it is quiet, and you get the whole of a huge lake to yourself or a whole church to yourself with a crowd of locals. Special moments. If you're going for the first time the highlights are Lalibela and the tribes of the South, though there are many others. The local dish is delicious (teff with sauces), though western dishes are always available too and taste great. St.George's beer is tasty :-). Vegetarian food is always available. You get the occasional brown out in the hotels, but it is not a big problem. No mosquitos in the north (too high and dry). In the South, the hotels have mosquito nets and you need to be wary of the many insects (we got bitten). It's a very diverse country and you'll enjoy your trip. Danakil Depression Tours are a safe bet.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
W5615ftpatriciar
Aug 4, 2024
Very well operated 8 days Danakil,Lalibela & Omo Valley - My family (wife, adult daughter and I) were keen to go to Ethiopia and were clear as to what we wanted to do and see. However, we were apprehensive about trying to do it on our own. I searched the internet and narrowed down our potential choice for a local travel agent to three agencies. I wrote to all three explaining what we wanted to do and asking for their proposal. One responded promptly with a boiler plate offer of the standard tours they ran. That was not helpful because I could see those already on their website. I wrote back repeating our specific requitrements but received another offer for their standar tours. The second did not even bothefr with a response. Mickey took a couple of days to respond but they addressed our specific interests and suggested some alternatives. We concluded, after soime email exchanges on exactly what we wanted to do. Throughout the 8 days we spent in Ethiopia, Danakil Depression Tours representatives at all locations were prompt, punctual and very helpful. The vehicles we were provided were all owned by danakil depression and their drivers were all of a good standard. The tour guides were free lancers but carefully picked so that they spoke reasonable English, anticipated our needs and were informative. Danakil had booked us into the best hotels in every location (except for Addis where we did not want to splurge on a big name hotel and preferred an Ethiopian owned five star hotel). The tour was run at a pace that was comfortable for us and any last minute changes in local plans were invariable accommodated cheerfully. Their recommendations to attend the Lalibela Christmas and the Addis Timkat celebrations, and the arrangements they made to enable those, proved to be the highlights of our trip. I would recommend Danakil Depression to any family or group that want a tailor-made trip.
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Q4395ywalessandral
Jun 7, 2024
Honest and wonderful adventure - First of all Mickey was the best tour guide ever. He met us at the airport and waited inspite of the delay. He took us to our hotel and made sure the accommodations were as expected. After a conversation explaining what we would like to see, Mickey gave some suggestions and set up our itinerary and went above and beyond assisting us with airline and hotels in 3 different cities. All In all it was a wonderful experience and touring so many different places in Ethiopia was awesome. One of the most important things was that Mickey made us feel safe at all times because he communicated with us every step of the way and was so caring and attentive. I highly recommend Mickey for his honesty, expertise and caring attitude. We had a wonderful adventure.
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512leaf
Jun 3, 2024
Perfect 8 days tour - The 8 trip through northern Ethiopia was a relaxed and at the same time interesting experience thanks to the perfect organization by Danakil Depression Tours and especially the great help and support on site from the managing director Mickey. I can only advise anyone interested in Ethiopia (including individual travelers) to choose this tour operator. The guides as well as the drivers, hotels, vehicles, food, the entire support from checking into the hotels to shopping, sightseeing and local visits was perfectly planned from start to finish, friendly, punctual and extremely helpful.
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From $1,199
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).