What a visitor's money does in Ethiopia: every guide rated from very cheap to very expensive, cheapest first, then the things that cost travellers money without buying anything — the ATM, the taxi, the SIM.
Ethiopian Birr (ETB) · 1 EUR = 188 ETB · 1 USD = 165 ETB
The birr was floated in 2024 and has moved a long way since, so check the rate the week you travel rather than trusting a guidebook. Change at a bank in Addis on the way through — Lalibela has few options and worse rates — and keep the receipt, which you need to change back.
Avoid: relying on any machine in town — they are few and often empty or offline
Use: Change cash at a bank in Addis Ababa before you fly up
Bring dollars or euros in cash and keep the exchange receipt, which you need to change birr back on the way out.
A short ride in Lalibela: 200–500 birr across town — cheap
From the airport: Addis airport to the centre 500–900 birr
Cheaper than the blue-and-white taxis, which are negotiated.
Injera with a spread of wats — spiced stews eaten with the hands, no cutlery — and Wednesdays and Fridays are fasting days when everything served is vegan, which happens to be when Ethiopian food is at its best. Ethiopian coffee is a ceremony, takes half an hour, and is the correct way to spend it.
The cost rating is this site's own, for a visitor, from the guides' authors and the corrections readers send in. The general rules — the conversion prompt, shoulder season, the airport taxi — are in budget travel tips.
