Compare Ethiopia Photo Expedition by National Geographic Expeditions vs Friuli Venezia Giulia and Slovenia Cycling Tour by Tourissimo
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| Trip |
3.5 | Average
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5 | Excellent
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| Duration | 14 days | 8 days |
| Price From | $ 7,995 | $ 4,195 |
| Price Per Day | $ 571 | $ 524 |
| Highlights |
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| Trip Style | Group tour | Group tour |
| Lodging Level | Premium | Standard |
| Physical Level |
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| Travel Themes |
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| Countries Visited | ||
| Cities and Attractions |
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| Flights & Transport | Ground transport included | Ground transport included |
| Activities |
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| Meals Included |
12 Breakfast, 11 Lunches and 9 Dinners |
7 Breakfasts, 3 Lunches and 6 Dinners |
| Description |
Between its ancient wonders and its vibrant ethnic traditions, Ethiopia presents a rare chance for photographers to document fascinating cultures barely touched by the centuries. In the Omo River Valley, meet and photograph diverse peoples who distinguish themselves with elaborate body paint, scarification, and lip plates. Document bustling market scenes, and train your lens on the exquisite underground churches of Lalibela. |
Historic and scenic riding among vineyards, mountains, and lakes. There’s a lot of history involved in this cycling and multi-sport tour, with a focus on the years during and between the two World Wars. The itinerary also echoes the Mitteleuropean past of the area (on both sides of the boarder), when it was under the Austro-Hungarian Empire ruled by the Habsburg family, a real crossroads between cultures. Our visit to the WWI Museum in Caporetto-Kobarid is the best way to get to know the history and the geography of these two regions. |
Days 1 & 2: U.S./Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Meals: Dinner
Accommodation: Radisson Blu
Depart for Addis Ababa on an overnight flight. If you wish, head to the Ethnographic Museum for an introduction to Ethiopia’s cultures before we gather for a welcome dinner tonight.
Day 3: Addis Ababa/Arba Minch
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Paradise Lodge
Begin the day with a behind-the-scenes tour of the National Museum of Ethiopia. See historical treasures as well as some of the most important early human fossils finds in the world. Fly south to Arba Minch, set amid thick jungle at the junction of Lake Abaya and Lake Chamo. Settle into our cliff-top tukuls (thatched huts) overlooking the “Bridge of God” that separates the lakes, and take photographs of the sweeping landscape.
Day 4: Arba Minch/Jinka
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Eco Omo Safari Lodge
During a cruise on Lake Chamo, zoom in on a wide variety of birdlife, as well as hippos and crocodiles wallowing by the shore. Then drive south and west by 4x4 through ever-changing landscapes of banana plantations, terraced hills, and high mountains. A stop in a market village gives us a first chance to photograph the unique tribes of the south. Upon arrival in Jinka, gain insights into the area’s ethnic groups at the wonderful Jinka Museum.
Day 5: Jinka
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Eco Omo Safari Lodge
The distinctive cultural identities of the Omo Valley make it an extraordinary place to photograph. This is the home of tribes such as the Kara, the Hamer, and the Mursi, who decorate themselves with beads, feathers, and elaborate body paint and pride themselves on ancient traditions. From everyday village scenes to portraits of women with lip plates to intriguing initiation rites, our photographic opportunities abound. Today we meet the Mursi, a pastoralist society that inhabit Mago National Park and are especially known for the lip plates worn by the women. Stroll through a Mursi village to witness daily life and learn about their intriguing culture. Back in Jinka this afternoon, visit Omo Child, a nonprofit co-founded by National Geographic Emerging Explorer Lale Labuko to stop the practice of mingi. This superstition dictates the killing of children who are believed to be cursed, and is still followed by some tribes. Omo Child rescues these children and gives them a home and an education to help them become contributors to society in the future.
Day 6: Jinka/Turmi
Meals:: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Buska Lodge
Head south into the heart of the Omo Valley, stopping at villages and market towns along the way. Get acquainted with Hamer people, who fashion their clothing out of goat skins, cowrie shells, and beads, and cover their hair and skin with a mix of butter and red minerals.
Days 7 & 8: Turmi
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Buska Lodge
Work on portraiture and capturing scenes from everyday life during a fantastic photo adventure. We’ll hop in canoes, drive, and walk to reach the diverse communities around Turmi, including the Daasanach and Kara peoples, known for their face and body painting. Wander through the local markets with your camera in hand, catching fleeting interactions between different tribes and filling your lens with images both colorful and quirky of the market stalls.
Days 9 & 10: Turmi/Konso/Addis Ababa
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (Day 9); Breakfast, Lunch(Day 10)
Accommodation: Kanta Lodge
Our last Omo Valley encounter is with the Arbore people, who live in tall, rounded huts. After a photo shoot, drive to the terraced hills of the Konso region, declared a UNESCO World Heritage site for its rich culture. Here, train your lens on a very different kind of village, built within concentric stone walls. Meet the Konso chief, a spiritual leader with an important role in tribal judicial matters, and hear about his people's complex traditions. Drive back to Arba Minch the next day, and fly back to Addis Ababa.
Days 11 & 12: Lalibela
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Tukul Village
Fly north to the World Heritage site of Lalibela. Hewn out of sheer rock below ground level, Lalibela’s eleven freestanding churches date from the 12th century and have welcomed worshippers ever since. Spend the day venturing through and photographing the web of tunnels and trenches that link the churches, capturing the site from unusual angles. Then head into the countryside to visit Yemrehane Kristos, a beautiful stone church built within a mountainside cave that pre-dates the churches of Lalibela. Stop at a village for an up-close look at rural life in northern Ethiopia and watch local women make injera, a flatbread that accompanies most meals.
Days 13 & 14: Addis Ababa/U.S.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Radisson Blu
Return to Addis Ababa and enjoy time to explore the city. Set on a photo shoot, wandering amid the stalls of the Mercado, the largest open-air market in Africa, where metalworkers recycle scrap metal and merchants sell all manner of local products. Trace Ethiopia’s tumultuous recent history at the Red Terror Martyrs Museum, or stop by a local coffee producer to pick up freshly roasted beans. This evening, transfer to the airport for your return flight, arriving home the next day.
Day 1: Grado - Aquileia
Meals: Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Villa Bernt
Terrain: Flat
Ride: 13 mi or 22 km
A private shuttle will take you to our hotel on an island-village on the Adriatic. Grado is Friuli’s lagoon city, a town with 1600 years of history, which can still be experienced by strolling the calli (streets) of the ancient city center. Grado was the first port of entry for ships headed upstream to nearby Aquileia, a powerful Roman city on the river Natisone.
After some lunch and presentations, we ride inland to Aquileia. The colony was founded in 180BC and served as a strategic frontier fortress at the northeast corner of Transpadane (on the far side of the Po river) Italy.
Back at the hotel, you will receive an overview of the tour program followed by dinner.
Day 2: Collio Hills
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Accommodation: La Subida
Terrain: Rolling
Ride: 30 mi or 48 km
After fine tuning our bikes some more, we ride along the Natisone river and we reach Gorizia for a short visit and some lunch. Once a favorite spot of the Hapsburg nobility, since 1947 Gorizia has been split in two, with Nova Gorica developing on the other side of the Italian–Slovenian border. We are in the dramatic Carso area with its limestone formations, grottoes, and underground rivers. La Subida is a charming country hotel and the hospitality of the Sirk family is legendary. Tonight, we will have dinner at l'Osteria, which is part of the La Subida Estate. La Subida is a place that makes our guests feel at home and relaxed. It's unique.
Day 3: Cividale Loop
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
Accommodation: La Subida
Terrain: Hilly
Ride: 28 mi or 45 km
Today's ride leads us northward to Cividale del Friuli (UNESCO site). We will be pedaling through the Collio and Colli Orientali del Friuli wine area for about 30 mls of easy and rolling terrain. Cividale del Friuli will be our lunch stop and then we will head back to La Subida from a different road. Before reaching the hotel, we will stop at a local winery for lunch and wine tasting. The family-owned Grillo winery is in the center of the Schioppettino wine production (very rare and hard to find anywhere else in Italy). Relax back at La Subida before dinner.
Day 4: Bovec
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Alp
Terrain: Rolling Hills
Ride: 46 mi or 74 km (shorter option available)
Today's ride takes us out of Friuli, heading northeast to the border of Slovenia. We will notice the landscape changing as we ride through the lowest mountain pass of the Alps, a long, easy smooth climb that takes us to the former border between Italy and Slovenia. Entering Slovenia we will find ourselves in a lush, green landscape with the typical vegetation of a mountain region, with rivers, waterfalls, and forests. Silence and very few cars make this and the next rides heavenly. Our lunch stop is in Caporetto/Kobarid and we have planned a visit to the WWI museum, a small but very complete and interesting house where the people from Caporetto have collected pictures and objects through which they tell the history of WWI as it was lived by the soldiers and civilians in that valley where we bike during our tour. In the afternoon we cruise to Bovec following the Soča river valley. You'll have time to explore Bovec on your own ant to enjoy a cold beer while watching the sunset behind the high mountains that surround the valley where Bovec is nestled. A short walk to the center of Bovec and we will find our dinner table ready at a local Gostilna, a simple, typical ‘trattoria’ style restaurant where we can enjoy our Slovenian meal.
Day 5: Bovec
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Alp
Terrain: Rolling Hills
Ride: 23 mi or 37 km
Bovec is known as the adventure capital of Slovenia, and we have a full day here to rest and enjoy a wide range of outdoor activities: kayaking, rafting, canoeing, paragliding, mountain biking, hiking and more. Kayaking in the emerald waters of the Soca River while immersed in the landscape of high peaks, forest and waterfalls is an unforgettable experience not to be missed. For those who like hiking there are some interesting trails with historical traces of WWI and WWII just outside of Bovec, with a war cemetery, two old forts and some bunkers and tunnels dating back to the Napoleon era and WWI. A bike ride will also be available if you want to explore the countryside up to the edge of Triglav National Park, in a remote little valley where only sheep and cows are witnesses to our slow-paced ride through paradise. Dinner is on your own.
Day 6: Fusine Lake to Bled
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Astoria Bled
Terrain: Rolling Hills
Ride: 37 mi or 59 km
Today we’ll go across the Alps to reach Tarvisio, a town on the border where Italy, Austria and Slovenia meet. A bus will shuttle us and our bikes over a mountain pass and down to the enchanting Fusine lakes where an easy and flat bike path starts. We’ll follow the bike path along the valley, once again immersed in a beautiful forest and with mountains all around us. Past the town of Kranjska Gora we’ll leave the main path and enter a secondary valley, now riding on an unpaved (but smooth) bike path. This valley, the Radovna Valley, is the most beautiful, magical and enchanting place of the whole tour. Streams, small waterfalls, tall trees, water mills, a few old farmhouses and some cows are what we will see during the almost 10km of riding in this heavenly valley. Once we leave the valley we will be very close to Bled and if time and weather permit we can take a detour to admire the Vintgar Gorge, a canyon carved by the Vintgar River. A boardwalk runs along the gorge and from there we can view waterfalls and rapids.
Bled is our final destination today. We’ll bike along the lakeshore to reach Hotel Astoria in the center of Bled. Dinner will be at a castle overlooking Lake Bled. If time allows it, you can visit the interesting museum inside the Bled Castle.
Day 7: Ljubljana
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Accommodation: Allegro Garni Hotel
Ride: None
Today we’ll transfer by private bus (about 1 hr) to Ljubljana. Upon arriving, you will have a guided visit of the town center of this UNESCO-recognized gem. You will have some free time in the afternoon to explore on your own and to do some shopping. We will enjoy our final dinner at one of the finest restaurants in town.
Day 8: Ljubljana
Meals: Breakfast
Terrain: Departure
Ride: None
After breakfast, we’ll provide a transfer to the Ljubljana airport.
