Testimonials

In December 2019, my wife and I went on a four day hike into the SImien Mountains with Sammy. It was a spectacular experience, and I couldn”t recommend him highly enough. We would like to highlight the following: (i) Sammy’s organisation is highly professional. Everything worked liked clockwork, everything which was promised was delivered, and nothing unexpected or unheralded happened. The equipment is also top-notch. Good tents and sleeping bags are absolutely vital, as the temperature drops to close to freezing at night. Sammy’s is excellent – probably the best I’ve seen while hiking, and in many cases noticeable better than others we saw in camp. Sammy also has a knack for finding the best corner of the campsites and arranging, for example, a meal inside the cooking hut on a bitterly cold Christmas Eve, when the other groups ate outside. (ii) Sammy is an extremely nice, warm and engaging person. Being with him is like hiking the mountains with a highly professional friend. In particular, he is using his company to properly promote a sustainable tourism culture which involves and promotes the locals. He sees his company as providing an organised, developing set of opportunities for a large number of Ethiopians, and is articulate in describing this vision. He currently employs more than 25 people and is looking to get this up to 50. (iii) His support team was friendly, professional and absolutely efficient at everything they did. Sammy was extremely clear that he was not in the business of pushing a tipping culture and left it up to us to tip as we felt appropriately (although I strongly recommend leaving good tips – they make a huge difference to the support staff). (iv) He dealt with our group’s altitude issues, a fall I took while crossing some rocks and various other minor issues we threw at him with a relaxed professionalism which was very encouraging. He also is clearly well known and trusted in the community (he comes from Debark, the gateway to the mountains(. Finally, he was great in recommending (and guiding us to) some great spots in Gondar. His speciality may be the Simiens, but he is clearly a good guy to know for other areas in Ethiopia as well. His tours were absolutely value for money, and his communication was first rate. I would very strongly recommend both him and his organisation. Enjoy! Sean

Estuvimos con Sammy por un viaje de 3 días y 3 noches y todo estuvo perfecto. Estaba viajando con mi madre de 68 años y nos encantó el Parque Nacional.
Sammy nos estaba esperando en el aeropuerto a nuestra llegada. Que creo que es súper importante ya que sientes un alivio cuando alguien te espera con tu nombre, de lo contrario es horrible ponerte a contactar gente después de un vuelo largo. Sammy nos llevó directamente al parque esa noche y la cena nos estaba ya esperando. Cabe mencionar que la comida siempre fue exquisita. El chef que nos tocó tenía muy buen sazón (siempre verifica con Sammy antes por cualquier restricción alimenticia).
Sammy se adapta a tu condición física. Así que aunque mi madre tiene 68 años, Sammy se adapta a las necesidades de cada viajero. Él te puede llevar por dos caminatas diarias o una. Dependiendo de cómo te sientas. Y de todos modos siempre está un coche disponible para moverse de un lado a otro. Así que fuera preocupación si se cansa uno.
La tienda de campaña que nos tocó era más grande que las del resto de las otras compañías y se veía que era prácticamente nueva. Una noche llovió fuerte y no nos mojamos para nada.
Lo único malo del viaje (y fuera del control de Sammy o cualquier otra agencia) son los baños y letrinas que tiene el parque. La verdad los tienen en muy malas condiciones bajo cualquier estándar mínima de higiene y salubridad. El parque debería de dar prioridad a ello pues es la salud de todos, turistas y locales. Fuera de ello, la visita fue espectacular. Aquí está su correo y WhatsApp.
+251918211005

We went with Sammy Kasaw to the Simien Mountains for a 3 days 3 nights trip and everything was perfect. I was traveling with my 68 years old mother and we really enjoyed our time at the national park. Sammy was ontime when our flight arrive to the airport. I think is really important to see someone with your name on a sign waiting for you so you dont have to worry about contacting people.
We drove directly to the park and dinner was waiting for us that night.
I must said the food was always good. Our chef prepared each meal with love and local spices (always check first with Sammy if you have food restrictions).
Our tent was bigger than the rest of the tents, we could see it was almost brand new. One night we had heavy rain and we were safe dry.
The walks and trails are personalized to your needs. If you are fit or not, Sammy can adapt the walks accordingly. You could have one big walk in the AM and another in the PM. Or only one. Just let him know how you feel and he will adapt. And anyways there is always a van to drive some parts if you dont feel to walk.
The only inconvenient (out of Sammys or any travel agency control) are the out houses and toilets facilities which require definitely more care, most of them are below any regular hygiene standards. Sanitation at the National Park should be a priority.
Besides that, the trip was fabulous. Sammy will make sure you enjoy every moment of your trip. We definitely recommend Sammy Kasaw for your future trip to the Simiens.
Please find his email and WhatsApp here:
+251918211005

We did a two day, one night trekking in Simien Mountains National Park. We left early in the morning from Gondar en drove via Debark to the entrance of the park where we started the hike to the Jinjabar Camp Site where we slept in a pre-pitched tent. The next day we drove to Chenek where we entered a completely different world. The views and flora and fauna are amazing! After a walk around we drove back to Gondar, What made this trip even better was the very professional and friendly guide we had. His name is Samuel Kasaw and he arranged the transportation, tent and meal perfectly and joined us on the hike. He is truly a good and knowledgeable guide who understands what Western travellers find important (like punctiualty, good food and good material). Greetings, Mart, Daan and Johan

Sammy organised a 3 day/ 2 night trip for a group of 4 in the Simien mountains. We all had an amazing experience and our tour guides, cooks, guards were all amazing. Our guide provided lots of information about the national park, its history, people, animals, flora & fauna. It was a truly incredible life experience and I would recommend it to others. Sammy was professional, respectful and organised.

We (two friends from the USA and South Africa), spent 4 days and 3 nights with Sammy and the team he arranged trekking in the Simien mountains. He was really wonderful to communicate with, extremely organized and flexible in planning. He arranged a team with a chef and assistant chef, driver and scout. He picked us up in Gondar and dropped us off again, and arranged a hotel in Debark as well on route. We ate really delicious food every night, many nights a three course meal in the middle of the mountains. We especially loved the home made soups.
He was an excellent guide, and very enthusiastic about the mountains as well as all the animals and plants. We saw Ibex, Gelada monkeys, and many many birds. He knew many of the paths very well, and we always felt very safe, even when the bad weather and clouds rolled in and one couldn’t see anything. I would recommend bringing warm clothes as it can get very cold at the top of the peaks.
We would HIGHLY recommend traveling with Sammy, and anytime we would be back in Ethiopia we will give him a call.
His number is +251 91 821 1005.

We, a couple from Germany, spent seventeen days in the north of Ethiopia in February 2019.
For the organization of our trip by a local agent/guide we got a recommendation from the German Embassy for „Sammy“, Samuel Kasaw. So we wrote him our plans and he organized the whole trip according to our individual wishes:
* flight from Addis to Bahir Dar, visit of the monasteries in the lake of Tana and the waterfall of the Blue Nil
* trip to Gondar, visiting the palace of King Fasilidas
* 6-days-hiking through the Semien Mountains
* trip to Axum, visiting the great steles and the palace of Queen Judith
* trip to Mekelle with stop in Yeha and climbing up to the monastery of Debre Damo,
* 3-days-trip in the Danakil-Desert to the salt-fields, the geysir-fields of Dallol, climbing on the vulcano Erta Ale and swimming in Lake Afdera
*trip from Mekelle to Lalibela, visiting the famous rock-churches
* flight from Lalibela to Addis.

Sammy picked us up at the airport in Bahir Dar, accompanied us for the next three days until we left into the Semien Montains and back in Debark he handed us over to the driver for the next eight days.

During the trip we had very fascinating experiences and the days were always filled with new impressions. Because of the perfect organization there was nothing we missed or what disturbed us (except the poor hygienic conditions in the Semien Mountains and the waste situation on Erta Ale). It was always possible to change the program according to our actual needs or physical condition.
During the whole trip, Sammy stayed in contact with us by phone calls and cares for our well-being. He booked nice hotels for us and did everything for our satisfaction. The fair price he gave us included all costs except tips and personal expenses. The drivers and the guides were very friendly, competent and attentive.
– For us it was the best decision to travel with Sammy.
– Thank you so much, Sammy!!!

My girlfriebd and I had been wanting to visit the Simien Mountains ever since we saw pictures of the Gelada Monkeys. We arrived in Gonder and Sammy arrived a pickup, hotel, and transfer to the mountains. He was on time and we were happy with how easy arranging the trek was.

We started the trek and were in awe of the beauty. The mountains were 10x more beautiful than we thought. The landscape and diversity of botany was inspiring. We trekked to seven days and summited Ras Dashen. The experience was wonderful. The staff Sammy picked were amazing. The guide, scout, and cooks were great! On returning I was sick and Sammy helped me and made sure I was ok. We wanted to visit other parts of Ethiopia and Sammy arranged it all.

Before our trek we wish we brought wipes and hand sanitizer. It was colder than we expected on the fifth day and could have brought more layers. Expect that you are in the middle of no where and facilities accommodate that. They are caring people and want you to love ethiopia. Drink plenty of water and take pictures!

Contact Sammy:
WhatsApp: +251 91 821 1005
Samuel.kassaw@gmail.com

I am an American living in Europe and recently visited Ethiopia to participate in a fun run, and see the amazing scenery and cultures. I was amazed at the experiences I had and the friendliness of everyone. The best part of my trip was without a doubt the 4 day hike in the Simien mountains, led by Sammy Kassaw. Not only is he knowledgeable and highly competent as a guide, including considering safety and well being of the people around him, but he is fun to be around and a really nice person. It’s important to have a guide in the Simien mountains. I usually hike alone in North America or Europe but knew I needed a guide in Ethiopia and I knew that a great guide can make an experience great, and vice versa. Sammy was incredibly professional but also easy going and genuine, and made the experience great; I did not feel like I was just a tourist but that I was hiking along with a local and made a good friend. I highly recommend Sammy Kassaw, and I recommend spending at least a few nights out in the Simien Mountains, it’s an experience you won’t regret. Alex