What Makes Us Different?

Private Tours -
Off the Beaten Track

Our tours offer experiences you won’t find anywhere else, with moments so unique, you’ll be pinching yourself. Go beyond the typical tourist path and discover the hidden gems of Ethiopia, with exclusive access to the Hamar tribe that you can’t find on any other tour. We give private small group tours and even our backpacker tours never exceed 8 guests.

Fewer Tribes for Deeper Connections

We intentionally limit the number of tribes we visit to avoid turning cultures into a checklist. This gives space for more respectful, unrushed encounters and allows us to show up as thoughtful guests rather than spectators. It also helps us avoid over-tourism and gives you a far superior experience.

Higher, Fair Pay for Local People

We’ve created unique, sustainable experiences that benefit the local community by providing fair wages. Thanks to our focus on smaller, more intimate tours, local people earn between 3.6x and 7.5x more income compared to standard tours. This directly supports the community and ensures everyone benefits from tourism.

10% to Local Charitable Projects

Unlike other tour operators, we take a hands-on approach to giving back. We directly fund and run charitable projects in the local area, addressing pressing community needs and ensuring we can monitor the positive impact of our efforts. Our close ties with the Hamar tribe help us understand exactly what they need, enabling us to provide targeted support. With 8 years of experience in the charity sector, we are deeply committed to making a difference—and as our business grows, so will our ability to support even more people. More information on our projects coming soon.

Authentic Cultural Immersion

We’re committed to meaningful cultural exchanges—not just quick photo ops. Our tours offer you the opportunity to engage deeply with local traditions, participate in cultural activities, and develop real connections with the communities you visit. We’re especially proud of our long-standing relationships with the Hamar people, which allow us to offer rare, in-depth access to their way of life—something not available through mainstream tours. These aren’t staged moments, but genuine invitations into everyday life, made possible through trust, mutual respect, and time.

Carbon Neutral and Low Plastic

We’re committed to protecting the environment. We offset the carbon produced by our car journeys and partner with lodges that source food locally. We plant a tree for every tour we host. We provide every guest with a LifeStraw water bottle, enabling you to safely drink local water and avoid using disposable plastic bottles, the leading cause of plastic pollution from tourism—saving up to 30 plastic bottles per person per trip. LifeStraw also provides a child in need receives access to safe water for an entire year for every bottle sold.

Our Story

Ethical Ethiopian Experiences is a family-run social enterprise founded by Geta and Fiona in 2025, built on a shared vision: to offer meaningful, respectful travel that truly benefits local communities.

Geta was born and raised in Turmi, in the heart of Ethiopia’s Hamar region. He grew up going to school in the morning and herding goats with his Hamar friends in the afternoon. Attending Ethiopian Orthodox Church and coffee ceremony one day and a Hamar Bull-jumping the next. Living between these two worlds—Ethiopia's national culture and the Hamar's pastoralist traditions—he developed a deep appreciation for the richness and complexity of both. However, he saw how traditional tourism often reduced Ethiopian cultures to a photo opportunity—visitors arriving for a snapshot, then leaving with no real understanding of the people or way of life. From a young age, he dreamed of something better: travel rooted in respect, connection, and cultural dignity.

Fiona, originally from Hertfordshire, England, met Geta in 2015 while volunteering with an education program in South Omo, where Geta was working as a lead project coordinator. She quickly fell in love with Ethiopia and, captivated by its landscapes, traditions, and deep-rooted culture, cancelled her return flight and left her teaching job back home. Living and working in the Hamar region for 2 years gave her a rare window into a world most travellers never truly see. Fiona’s hope is for visitors to experience the same deep connection she feels when in Ethiopia.

Over the past decade, Geta and Fiona’s personal and professional paths intertwined as they fell in love, moved in together, married, became parents to a beautiful baby boy and began planning an impact-led business aligned with their values. While living in London and travelling across Southeast Asia, East Africa, Europe, and Mexico, they gathered ideas and studied best practices for creating meaningful, sustainable tourism experiences that benefit both people and planet.

Now living back in Ethiopia, they’ve turned that vision into reality. Together, they’ve created a new kind of travel experience—one that celebrates culture, supports local livelihoods, and leaves a positive footprint behind. Both Geta and Fiona are passionate about ensuring that local people benefit directly from tourism, not only through fair and respectful cultural exchanges, but also by using part of the profits from each tour to support charitable projects in the region.

Our mission is to transform tourism in the Omo Valley, generating lasting prosperity for the people of South Ethiopia. We are incredibly proud of the unique tours we’ve developed, which offer an authentic and immersive experience unlike any other currently available in Ethiopia. The six reasons outlined above explain how our tours stand apart from what’s on the market today.

Join us on an unforgettable journey where you’ll not only discover the beauty and culture of Ethiopia but also help make a positive impact in the lives of local communities. Together, we can create meaningful change while exploring the Omo Valley and beyond.