An Ethiopia Safari is one of the most unique experiences in Africa. From its rich cultural heritage in the north to the unparalleled beauty of Ethiopia’s natural wonders and the diverse, remote tribes of the Omo Valley, Ethiopia is an epic destination that rewards the intrepid adventurer.
There is some ambiguity around travel in Ethiopia, with some travellers reporting a safe and welcoming experience while others report feeling harassed.
This is particularly pertinent to solo female travellers planning an Ethiopian safari.
I chatted with Stephanie Parker, globe-trotter and founder of Big World Small Pockets.
She is an amazing solo female traveller who has been all over the world and has a special love for Africa, including repeat trips to Ethiopia.
How do you reconcile your positive experiences in Ethiopia, feeling safe and unthreatened, with accounts of harassment and safety concerns reported by female travellers in Ethiopia?
I guess the disclaimer is that everybody has a slightly different experience when they travel to a particular country?
It is always down to the set of variables of who you meet. So there's always going to be that mitigating factor. Of course, I'm not discrediting other people's experiences. That's their experience. That's just not my experience at all. And I've visited [Ethiopia] four times.
Steph visited Ethiopia for the first time in 2017 and loved it so much she went back another 3 times before the COVID-19 pandemic.
I went four times in the next two years because I loved it so much.
There was a certain innocence about it when I was there that I found really endearing. Tourism was still very much in that embryonic stage, but I had noticed it started to grow exponentially... there is the chance that local people's attitudes have shifted to tourists, particularly Western women.
Ethiopia is also an incredibly, deeply religious country. And I'm not saying that that stops people from doing terrible things. But like pristine orthodoxy there is so prevalent and it guides people's lives in such a huge way. It's a very real part of their lives.
This is my experience of it as an outsider. I'm always going to be other to that culture. But my impression is that religion isn’t something people just do on a Sunday. It goes beyond that. It's very integrated into the culture and into people's lives. And there is a kind of respect around that. At least that was my experience. I was never harassed. I never felt unsafe.
Of course, it's a male dominated society. It's East Africa, so all the tour guides were male.
I didn't really have many interactions with women outside of those serving coffee on the street or working in hotels, because those are the jobs that women commonly do [...]. But I never felt threatened being alone with male tour guides or being in a car with male drivers.
I've stayed good friends with several tour guides. We still converse on social media...
But I'm also a very experienced African traveller, so maybe that's also a thing that works in my favour. I’m not going in wide-eyed and innocent!
How would you compare travel in Ethiopia to Morocco?
Tourism is a lot more developed in Morocco.
And I think there are two ways this affects travel safety.
On the one hand, in Morocco, you get less attention because there are more tourists.
Local people are just more used to tourists and their cultural differences, including non-Islamic, European women, travelling by themselves, so they don't pay you much attention.
On the other hand, with lots of tourists, locals get savvier to this kind of demographic and the stunts that can be pulled i.e. - the type of language / behaviour that might yield a certain response.
And people will take advantage of that. There’s a huge cultural and economic disparity that can’t be denied when explaining people’s motivations towards tourists, and we all have to make a living.
So I think more tourists in a country can work in both ways in terms of safety.
Increased tourism leads to less strangeness and otherness when you see fellow female women travelling, but it also leads to more knowledge about how potentially... you might be able to manipulate that group.
I would never walk around Morocco (even though there’s a lot tourists) or Ethiopia, in anything above the knee. Instead I would dress sensitively, keep a low profile, be respectful of different cultures. I’m the guest after all.
Equally safety is a lot about how you conduct yourself. I wouldn't ever lose my temper because I just don't think that is going to help, even if you're feeling threatened, I think that's going to escalate it instead.
Thinking about that comparison between Morocco and Ethiopia, how much is the way you travel, your energy and attitude, how much of a part does that play?
Great question. It’s hard, because I'm in my body all the time so it's a subjective thing, but I think I do walk around with a “don't mess with me” vibe, because I am confident travelling by myself.
I've travelled a lot solo, including in Africa, and I’m not a nervous person, so I think I exude quite an experienced vibe i.e. “I'm not going to go for your scam, mate, so don't bother trying it!.”. I walk with purpose, with confidence, so yes, I definitely think that plays a part in travel safety.
I also always maintain a sense of calm.
Maybe what other people perceive as hassle when abroad, I just perceive as part of life travelling in Africa. I just say, “no thank you” and walk off. It doesn't bother me. Whereas somebody else might have the same experience, but feel differently about it. So it's also hard to kind of judge safety objectively.
I actually think as a woman, I feel like I'm safer travelling than if I was a guy, because as a solo female traveller, people look out for you more.
That's my feeling. That is not concrete evidence, but that's what I feel is true.
I would find it bizarre if someone started acting aggressively to me!
Generally I feel like I only have to worry about sexual violence, to be honest. And in 15 plus years of travel, I've only had that being an issue once, and that was in Sudan.
Yeah, of course people are going to try it, but you keep yourself as safe as possible by not staying out late drinking in bars, by not saying inappropriate things, by not dressing inappropriately.
For me that's just common sense, right?
You've been to Zanzibar Island as well. What about the Beach Boys in Zanzibar? They've got a reputation for preying on lonely European women, and there's a lot of hustling and stories around.
What was your experience with the Beach Boys?
Yeah, definitely. That goes on for sure.
I don't know, it doesn't bother me. I just accept that is what goes on in certain parts of the world, where there’s a big opportunity gap between locals and travellers.
With that sort of stuff, I try to to give it back gently a with a wry smile. And they kind of know that you know that they’re trying it on and you won’t be falling for it!
I try to make it gentle because I think humour can break a lot of these kind of moments that might feel a bit grim.
I try to get across that I know what they’re doing, but that I'm going to be here for five days, and I am just not up for it, so they’d be better off spending their time elsewhere!
But would I walk along the beach in Zanzibar at night by myself? Absolutely not. I wouldn't probably be going out of the resort at night at all.
I mean, you're a tourist in East Africa, not south London!
Assuming that language is not a problem - I know Zanzibar is a little bit English. Is English widely spoken in Ethiopia?
In tourist services, yes.
Outside of that, no.
Kids will shout at you on the street. “Farangi!” but I just don't feel worried about that...
I do look strange to them, and they're not used to seeing tall, white women by themselves!
And they’re just kids, commenting on something that looks different to them, so I respect that.
I’m interested in how your experiences stack up, Ethiopia, Morocco, Zanzibar, Central and South America... I think a lot of women are put off by solo travel in South Africa, for example, because of its reputation as a crime hotspot. I know it's difficult to compare so broadly across destinations, but what are your thoughts?
I guess I would compare South Africa to somewhere like Argentina, just because it's a bit more economically developed, and Argentina has a more European feeling.
And also because Cape Town, obviously an incredible city, is one of my most favourites and Buenos Aires – BA - is the same.
In both those cities, I'm hyper vigilant about the areas that I go and the areas that I don't.
So even though the adventure part of me doesn't want to stay in the sanitized, safer, or tourist friendly areas, I do...
In lots of other cities I would get buses, but in Cape Town and BA, I always get Ubers or cabs – there’s just a vibe, a feeling that it feels like the wiser thing to do...
So there's an element of trusting your gut. Even if you usually do one thing, if you don't feel comfortable, go with that...
Yeah. What is it that my gut picks up on? There is a kind of knife edge energy in these places. On the surface it's all fine, but maybe it could just tip at any point... I don't have any evidence to say where I get that feeling from, but I do feel that in both these cities.
Maybe that is a difference between my travels in South Africa and other parts of Africa - I've done a lot of tours in other parts of Africa. You take guides because you literally can't go on safari without them! Whereas I've done more independent travel in South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, where to can self-drive on safari and sightsee using public transport.
Maybe that's part of it, in some other parts of Africa, I’ve had the security of some tour infrastructure more than in South Africa.
Before you travel, do you read the travel advisories and do a fair amount of research? Or do you find you do more research when you hit the ground?
I think more when you hit the ground!
If it's a country that I don't know anything about, I will check the gov.uk website, just to see what the threats are, then take it with a pinch of salt.
The website will say “exercise caution when go here” and generally that means you can go there, but you just need to be careful.
I also read other bloggers, because I feel like they give great personal accounts.
When visiting countries that I don’t know for the first time, like Ethiopia or Sudan, especially countries where I may have to dress more conservatively, I'd look at blogs because I think you get more on the ground, real experience i.e. “what can I wear in Egypt as a solo female traveller?”
Places that I feel are more known travel entities and have good infrastructure, like maybe Thailand, or even South Africa, I don't need to read anything about them – I just hit the ground running!
What are your top tips for solo female travellers travelling to Ethiopia, Morocco, Zanzibar or South Africa?
- I think dressing appropriately is definitely a big thing. It sets the whole tone about how local people might view you and interact with you as a result.
- It's all quite ethereal. But a smile also goes a long way! As does calm communication. But that doesn't mean being a pushover. You can have clear boundaries and be firm, but still deliver them in a way that's not going to create or escalate a situation.
- Practically, just knowing where your belongings are, and having them in view, is so useful! I always have a shoulder bag, like a bum bag, that I wear across my chest with all my important things in it. I can see it and that makes me feel safe.
- Don't go out after dark unless you're certain of where you're going and what the vibe is (check it out in the day before you go out at night to be sure!) It sounds like scare-mongering, but always know where you're heading and make sure you know how to get back to where you're staying too. Don't just bumble off without a portable charger either in case your phone dies and you’re stuck. Let others know your plans.
Travelling to places where you know there isn't a lot of English. Would you say it's always better to get a guide?
Ethiopia, yes, just because it's also very culturally different to western Europe.
But Morocco, South Africa, and Zanzibar, no, I wouldn't say that you need a guide at all. I think independent travel is a lot about infrastructure.
The infrastructure is just much more accessible and organised in those countries, so you can make use of that and do a lot more independent travel.
For more advice and insights from Steph and Lauren Melnick, see Solo Travel in Africa: Essential Tips for Safety, Confidence & Adventure on YouTube.
Embarking on an Ethiopian safari and travelling to Africa (especially on your own) can be daunting, and it can help to work with an experienced safari company.
Check out our affordable Ethiopia Safari Tours or discover more about this fascinating African country in our Ethiopia Travel Guide.
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