A dance performance in Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Ties

Heritage tours for Ethiopian adoptees & their loved ones

Itinerary
What's Included
Add-Ons
Contact Program Manager

2026 Ethiopian Ties

Ethiopia

December 20 - 30, 2026

✓ 10 days

✓ All ages

✓ Visit Addis and Hawassa’s Top Destinations

✓ Personalized Reconnection Experiences

✓ Travel with a U.S. Ties Adoption Specialist to Navigate Emotional Moments

★ Registration deadline is September 1, 2026 ★

Starting at $4,798 (USD)

Register Today
Request Information Packet
A family of four poses for the camera in Ethiopia.

Why Ties?

A photo of the continent of Africa, with a star highlighting Ethiopia.
A group of people pose for the camera in Ethiopia.

Our Ethiopian Ties journeys are designed specifically for adoptees returning to Ethiopia — not as tourists, but as individuals reconnecting with their personal history and heritage. Supported by our dedicated Ties team before, during, and after travel, each experience is thoughtfully built around adoptee needs, identity exploration, and meaningful cultural connection.

We work closely with trusted in-country partners and guides to create opportunities for deeper engagement - including heritage sites, cultural learning, and, when possible, connections tied to each traveler’s story - all within a supportive adoptee peer community.

Through curated heritage experiences, personalized support, and shared reflection, we walk alongside you every step of the way.

Our programs help Ethiopian adoptees reconnect with their roots, deepen cultural understanding, and honor their individual journeys.

We understand adoptees because we are them.

Itinerary

Featured

Day 1 | Addis Ababa | Settle into your hotel room — some may arrive early to explore.

Day 2 | Addis Ababa | Orientation and city tour featuring key cultural sites & markets. End the day with a traditional dinner.

Day 3 | Addis Ababa | City tour including Holy Trinity Cathedral, St. George’s Cathedral, Ethnological Museum, and more.

Day 4 | Personalized time for adoptee-led visits and reconnection experiences.

Day 5 | Region Day - travel to birth region or province

Day 6 | Continued personalized visits to meaningful places or people.

Day 7 | Fly to Hawassa

Day 8 | Hawassa | Explore Hawassa’s fish market, take a boat ride, and join a hands-on cooking class.

Day 9 | Yergalem | Visit a coffee farm and partake in a traditional coffee ceremony.

Day 10 | Addis | picnic at Mount Entoto, optional zipline or market visit, and farewell dinner.

Day 11 | Depart for home

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Inclusions & Exclusions

Ethiopia - Inclusions
What’s Included

  • Comprehensive pre-travel materials to help prepare logistically and emotionally for the journey, a very important part of each traveler’s readiness for this amazing, life-enhancing experience

  • A team of adoption specialists available before, during, and after the trip who build bridges, facilitate activities and discussions, create community, and attend to details enabling you to focus on the meaning of the journey

  • Optional group discussions for adoptees and siblings (Connect & Chat) and adult loved ones traveling (Talk Time) led by an adoption specialist

  • Assistance thinking through the significant people and places you'd like to visit related to your adoption and how visits might impact the adoptee's birth country experience

  • Welcome and airport transfers upon arrival and departure, and transportation for all inclusions

  • Double or triple occupancy in moderate or first-class accommodations with private bath, including tax and service fees

  • Transportation between locations included in the journey

  • Orientation gathering to help travelers get to know one another and understand the journey ahead

  • All sightseeing, inclusions, admissions listed in the information packet

  • (B)reakfasts, (L)unches and (D)inners as shown in the information packet

  • English-speaking guides who will enrich your experience by sharing local customs, lifestyle, and humor

What’s Excluded

  • International airfares

  • Passport and/or Visa fees

  • Tips and Gratuity

  • Personal expenses, spending money

  • Any meals that are not included on the information packet itinerary

  • Transfers between the airport and the hotel before or after the main tour itinerary (unless previously discussed)

  • Excursions or Extensions that families opt into during their time in-country including travel to the adoptee's province or city of birth.

  • Optional activities

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Optional Excursions
& Extensions

A pair of animals look for food in the grass.
Three children smile for the camera in a rickshaw while being accompanied by an adult male.
A young man cooks a traditional Ethiopian bread.
Ethiopia - Add Ons
Bahir Dar, Blue Nile Falls, and Gondar

Bahir Dar, the regional capital and hub for Lake Tana and the Blue Nile, is known for its palm-lined avenues and was awarded the UNESCO Cities for Peace Prize for addressing rapid urbanization. About 20 minutes downstream, the Blue Nile Falls (Tis Abay, “great smoke”) reach 138 ft high, though the flow varies by season. Gondar, a former Ethiopian Empire capital, is home to several royal castles, including the Fasil Ghebbi UNESCO World Heritage Site, earning it the nickname “Camelot of Africa.”

Day 1 | Fly to Bahir Dar | Explore the serene Lake Tana
Day 2 | Tis Abay | Hike to the iconic Blue Nile Falls
Day 3 | Gondar | Explore this European-style city with Islamic influences



Inclusions: Domestic flights from Addis to Bahir Dar and Gonder to Addis. Three night accommodation in 3 or 4-star hotels (double/triple occupancy). Three breakfasts, three lunches, and two dinners while traveling. Transfers and ground transportation to/from the locations, admission to attractions, guide, and all taxes.

Lalibela

Known as the "Jerusalem of Ethiopia", Lalibela provides nearly a dozen below-ground rock-hewn churches and beautiful vistas. Lalibela, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, features churches carved out of solid volcanic rock during the 12th and 13th centuries with intricate tunnels, trenches, and courtyards. If you are choosing not to or unable to reconnect with important people, this excursion can occur December 23 - 25. You can also choose to add it as an extension December 30 - January 1.

Day 1 | tour of churches
Day 2 | full day guided tour of below-ground churches
Day 3 | fly to Addis

Inclusions: Domestic flights from Addis to Lalibela and from Lalibela to Addis. Two nights’ accommodation in 3 or 4-star hotels (double/triple occupancy). Two breakfasts, two lunches, and two dinners while traveling. Transfers and ground transportation to/from the locations, admission to attractions, guide, and all taxes.

Please contact the program manager for pricing.

Safety and security is dynamic in Ethiopia and can change at any time. Ties will not operate any extensions and/or excursions if our team determines they could pose a risk to participants safety and/or wellbeing.

A family smiles for the camera while waiting for a baseball game to start.
An Ethiopian woman demonstrates a cooking technique.
A man lets a mantled guereza explore while sitting on his shoulders.

“The Ethiopia trip was very emotional for all of us. I’m glad we traveled with Ties because they organized meaningful cultural activities and supported us through the emotional parts of the experience, with a strong understanding of adoptive families.”

— Patima S., Ethiopian Ties 2025

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YOUR TIES PROGRAM MANAGER

Ben Kaanta

Ben is a former engineer who worked for 20+ years in the biosciences in roles from project management to CEO.  Longing to work more closely with people making transformations in their lives, he is a CPCC and ICF certified coach. After spending most of his life in Colorado (with stints in Indiana and California), Ben and his wife Tanya decided to pursue another passion of theirs - expanding their horizons through adventure. Along with their teenage daughter, this led to splitting their time between Colorado and living abroad. They also have a son attending college in Colorado. Ben is married to a Korean adoptee, and participated in heritage camps with his family over the years.

Please note: Ben may not travel on every trip.

Photo of Ethiopian Ties Program Manager, Ben Kaanta.

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