The Unique of lungo local tour local guide and professional guides are a good combination to satisfy our clients Finally, our clients often tell us we have a style unique in tour operating in ethiopia – a real family ambience; we have been told by clients ‘it was like travelling with family’ and ‘it was like coming home’. This is exactly what we set out to achieve: most importantly treating our clients as individuals, tailoring our service to be flexible and catering for all needs.
Our staff operate very much at the ‘sharp end’ with highly professional senior managers spending significant time overseas, researching, checking and often just meeting clients to ascertain your likes and equally important, your dislikes. There is simply no substitute to creating the very best possible holidays and offering the very best value for money. There’s so much to see and experience on our holidays and if you want to take part in everything that’s fine, but if not, that’s fine too. If you want to see the sights on your own, no one will put any pressure on you not to. This is something our clients really appreciate – the freedom to explore. We hope you enjoy learning about our superb, carefully selected destinations as much as we’ve enjoyed creating them and genuinely hope to be of service to you and share our passion for travel!
Here’s when it’s worth paying for a professional tour guide and it is an obligation to hire a local guide.
Tourguide
You can choose between group or private tours.
Part of the fun of traveling is getting lost and finding new destinations on your own.
But sometimes, having an experienced guide can be extremely helpful and even necessary to get access to certain places.
So, when is it worth paying for a professional guide?
When you’re short on time
If you only have a few days or hours to spare, getting a tour guide can help save valuable time.
You can organize what you’d like to do with your guide beforehand so that they can customize plans for a few hours or a full day. That way, you can leave your trip feeling like you got to see the best of the area. To make the most of the time you do have, hire a tour guide beforehand.
Historical locations
Even though places like the lalibela, gondar, siemen mountain to hire a local guide is must, when you have so much ground to cover it’s good to have a guide who can take you to the must-see pieces first.
Plus, a tour guide can give you valuable knowledge and a deeper understanding into what you’re seeing so you leave the country with a solid understanding of its roots.
Extremely popular tourist sites
Hiring a guide at the historical attraction can let you cut the lines. Want to see all of the best tourist sites in your destination without having to wait in lines that can take hours? Getting a tour guide for highly popular destinations like the north historical attraction can be a huge time saver as they will know insider information.
Adventure trip
This may apply more if you’re at a beginner’s level and looking to go on a adventure trip like mountain climbing, trekking, or river rafting trip.
Often, getting a tour guide will also include lessons to help you get on your feet. Even if your guide isn’t with you, they can let you know areas you should be careful to avoid because of safety concerns.
For example, tour guides are highly recommended for activities like trekking to siemen mountain, ertale and rock hewin of tigrain church because of its dangerous conditions. Guides can escort you and ensure you have a safe journey, especially in tough rainy season.
Protected area
Unfortunately, some of the most stunning natural wonders are only accessible via a tour guide.
This usually happens when the site is part of a protected area.
For example, siemen mountain, bale mountain and wildlife sanctuary requires a tour guide because of its location in a protected park.
Dangerous locations
If you’re planning to travel to a destination with a dangerous reputation, it helps to have a tour guide who knows which areas to explore and which to be more weary of. A good example is ertale and danakil Depression.
Large outdoor historical complexes.
When you’re visiting the historical attention that’s large in size, it can sometimes be overwhelming and confusing to visit on your own.
In historic attention, like lalibela, gondar, axum rock-hewn church of tigrai or the tribe of omo valley, having a guide can help you know where to start and save you from missing valuable information.
Guides can bring you to the most interesting excavations and add valuable stories to each that guides often don’t. They’ll also know when and where is the ceremonial event like a bull jumping to help you save time.
Nature or hiking trips
If you’re visiting a national park, bird watching, south omo valley tribes, or hiking trail, it’s great to get a tour guide who can give you information on wildlife, plants, and hiking trails. For the untrained eye, it can be hard to spot animals, but guides know where to look for shy wildlife and hidden plants.
For example, bale mountain national park, Ankober and jima valley are known for their stunning array of bird and butterfly species, but it could be incredibly tough to know the right places to spot them without a trained nature guide.
When you don’t speak the same language
Translation books and apps help when you’re looking for a quick phrase, but if you’re traveling to a country where you don’t speak the language at all, a local tour guide who speaks both languages is a great investment.
Not only can they help you communicate with locals, but they can also help translate signs and descriptions in museums and attractions so you know exactly what you’re seeing.
When you don’t want to drive.
Driving in africa country can be stressful when you don’t understand the signs, aren’t familiar with the roads, and may even be driving on a different side of the ride — like in the UK.
That’s when a guide comes in handy. Many tour guides will pick you up and take you around the area, explaining the history and context of the sites you’re seeing while driving. This makes it easy to navigate the sites without stressing about driving.
Plus, sometimes hiring a guide as a driver comes out to be cheaper than what you’d pay to rent a car, especially if you’re paying for a one-way rental.
To see hidden gems
One of best parts about hiring a tour guide is seeing their favorite stops. If they are a local, chances are they have their go-to destinations that only locals know about. Whether it’s a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, a favorite local pub, or a fantastic attraction that most tourists overlook, guides can help recommend authentic experiences that you may not discover on your own.