About
Your Ultimate Ethiopia Tour Operator
VAST Ethiopia Tours is an Ethiopia Tour Operator Company run with expert knowledge of Ethiopian culture, geography and history. Our staff includes 10 Ethiopians ranging from guides and drivers to the best office workforce in the country. VAST also counts on two foreign tour consultants as well as a network of sales and promotion partners throughout Europe and the US.
We choose the best tour guides who know and understand our country, languages and culture. Each one speaks English in addition to a variety of foreign languages. In fact, VAST can accommodate visitors in English, German, Spanish, Polish, French and Flemish. The safety of our visitors is assured by employing responsible drivers and using reliable vehicles. We have strict rules about driving at night and never go over the speed limit. We take comfort knowing you are comfortable.
In addition to enriching your experience, VAST Ethiopia Tours has ulterior motives, namely changing the world’s negative perception of Ethiopia and its people. Even thirty years after the much talked about famine of 1984, most people tend to link Ethiopia with poverty and destitution. VAST, the Ethiopia tour operator strives to show a side of Ethiopia that not only is enchanting but shows Ethiopians as a people who are doing everything they can to improve their own lives and the lives of their families.
Indeed, the story of VAST proves that an Ethiopia tour operator company can offer quality services at a competitive price with flawless execution. We are the proof that Ethiopians are at the forefront of the growth and transformation of their country, and through our VAST Cares community development program, we donate 10% of our profits to several social programs in education, culture and helping the physically disabled.
VAST Ethiopia Tour Operator value client feedback and suggestions, which is why so many past clients have returned to us and recommended VAST to friends. We hope that once you have toured with us, you will do the same.
VAST is an Ethiopia Tour operator of the following types of tours
- Historical Tours
- Cultural Tours
- Bird Watching Tours
- Trekking Tours
- Adventure Tours
- 1-2 Day City Tours and Excursions
- Pilgrimage and Festival Tours
- Research Tours
- Volunteering and Social Tours through VAST Cares
Staff
Since childhood, Habtu has walked hand in hand with tourists and tourism in Ethiopia. His hometown of Lalibela is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and boasts Ethiopia’s number one tourist site. He remembers playing in those “mystical” rock-hewn churches and spending the day with visitors learning their language and customs. Today, under the banner of VAST Ethiopia Tours, he takes tour groups back to his hometown.
Habtu graduated with a degree in Tourism and Hospitality in 2007 and has devoted himself to VAST Ethiopia Tours. Habtu not only specializes in Lalibela, but has traveled far and wide and wants to take travelers to every corner of Ethiopia. You can rely on Habtu’s expertise, both practical and honest, to make the perfect travel arrangements.
Chris is a long time resident of Ethiopia and an avid traveler who has been all over the country. Early on, he was a key investor in Vast Ethiopia Tours. Chris speaks Amharic and left the country of his youth in 1977 while still in high school. He became a teacher and came back to Ethiopia where he taught English for two years. He and his sister are also accomplished authors of children’s books and work hard to establish libraries for children in Ethiopia under the program Ethiopia Reads.
Habtu first partnered with Chris organizing his tours, and what began as a tourist-tour guide relationship glided naturally into a business partnership and Vast Ethiopia Tours. Chris and Habtu hope to treat many more visitors to the possibilities of travel through Ethiopia.
Rik is a veteran tour leader who first made his mark in European tourism and since has been all over the world with all types of groups. He made his first trip to Ethiopia in 2012, where he fell in love both Ethiopia and VAST and has been back several times leading groups. He represents and promotes VAST in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. He says it’s not always easy to convince visitors to give Ethiopia a chance, but admits that those who visit once, more than likely visit twice!
Originally from Utah, Nico loves traveling, rock climbing and speaking local languages to negotiate a hot meal or a place to put his tent.
He was a trekking tour guide in the Andes before moving to Ethiopia on 2010. He and Vast Ethiopia Tours go back to 2011 when he first partnered with Vast to discover and create trekking routes and create unique tours rarely seen or offered from other operators. He also created the first sport climbing wall in Ethiopia, located just outside of Addis Ababa.
You will find Etsehiwot in the VAST Ethiopia Tours main office in Addis Ababa making reservations, organizing vehicles and keeping the general logistics of every tour in tight, working order.
She has the honorable distinction of being the first woman graduate from Gondar University’s school of Tourism. Etsehiwot has been with Vast since 2013.He was a trekking tour guide in the Andes before moving to Ethiopia on 2010. He and Vast Ethiopia Tours go back to 2011 when he first partnered with Vast to discover and create trekking routes and create unique tours rarely seen or offered from other operators. He also created the first sport climbing wall in Ethiopia, located just outside of Addis Ababa.
