Loubatanleh Hotel in Djibouti

Djibouti

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When to travel to Djibouti

The best time to visit Djibouti is November to March. This is the “cool” season. Temperatures are much more manageable, usually between 23°C and 29°C.

  • December and January: These are peak travel months. The weather is as perfect as it gets in the desert, and the evenings in the mountains (like Day Forest) can actually get quite chilly. We visited during Christmastime (Dec 20-31).
  • The Whale Shark Window: If you want to see the whale sharks, you must visit between November and February. This is when the plankton blooms in the Gulf of Tadjoura, drawing them close to the shore.

Connectivity

We didn’t go to a shop to get a sim card, though Djibouti Telecom is the main provider.  I survived with a few days without internet at the camps and then used wifi in Ras Dika, Loubatenlah, and Tadjoura. There were no eSim options.

Language & Communication in Djibouti

In the cities like Djibouti City and Tadjoura, you’ll need French to communicate but hotel owners/managers may speak English.

In the desert, most people speak Afar, Amharic or Somali. Very few people speak English. You can get by with some gesturing and Google Translate. At the Day Forest Camp, the people only spoke Amharic and at Lake Ghoubet, the manager only spoke Afar.  I can’t imagine that you’ll be out in the desert without a guide to help you though.  

Cash & Card Logistics

Djibouti is a cash-heavy economy.  The official currency is the Djiboutian Franc (DJF).

  • ATMs: There are several ATMs in Djibouti City, but they can be finicky. I recommend withdrawing what you need at the airport or at the Kempinski where the ATMS are reliable (we checked a few inside the hotel until we picked the one with the best rate). There are also several ATMS near Ras Dika hotel.
  • Remote Areas: Once you leave the city for Lake Abbé or Day Forest, cards are useless.

What to Expect: Camp sites in Djibouti

What to Actually Expect at the Camps

If you’re heading out on a tour, you’ll likely be staying in huts. It’s a cool experience, but it is very basic.

Electricity

Most camps will not have electricity in the huts and they are kinda open air traditional style wooden branches with some sort of cover. All the camps we stayed in except one had a working solar charger in the dining area.

Beds

Beds were mostly comfortable. Our tour company brought sheets for us to use at all the camps. If you’re interested, you can get a sleeping bag insert.

The Cost & Tipping

Expect to pay around 10,000 DJF (~$56 USD) per person per night if paying independently. This usually covers your accommodation and all three meals (but some days you’ll be on the road for lunch so you’ll need snacks).

We generally only tipped when the service was exceptional and we felt this was only true at Ras Bir, where the manager Abdou and the cook really went above and beyond with the food and friendly chats.

The Food at Camps

  • Breakfast: Usually fried bread served with jam, butter, and Nutella. There’s tea and coffee (but honestly, neither was great I think because of the type of water boiled?). If you need protein go shopping in Djibouti City.  
  • Lunch: Almost always a sandwich “on the go” during a long drive. Bring some snacks like granola bars.
  • Tea time: Always served at the camp around sunset before dinner.
  • Dinner: Usually starts with a salad (with Thousand Island dressing) followed by fish or chicken served with a rice/pasta combo. Dessert was typically some fruit.
  • Water: Provided by the tour company + camps.

When You Need a Guide

To see the main touristy sites, you need to organize a tour. The distances are long, and the driving is intense; half the time, it doesn’t even look like there are roads or maps where you’re going and there is no/limited public transportation. With the tour company we visited: Lake Abbe, Lake Assal, Ardoukoba Volcano + viewpoints, Lake Ghoubet+ Whale Sharks, Day Forest, Randa town stopover, and the Abourma rock art.

Tour companies I recommend:

  • We did a 4-night tour with Massigo Travel.
  • For travelers interested in exploring more of the Horn of Africa, Macrobia Expeditions offers small-group tours in Djibouti, Somaliland, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and South Sudan. Their itineraries are designed for adventurous travelers looking to experience the region’s culture, history and landscapes with knowledgeable local guides.

You can also organize day trips with guides to make planning easier:

What You Can Do Alone

You don’t need a guide for everything. If you are efficient, a guide maximizes your time, but you could technically manage these with attempting public transit:

  • Lake Ghoubet: It’s on the main road, but you’ll need to coordinate a fishing boat in advance if you want to see whale sharks.
  • Lake Assal: We saw expat and military families driving themselves here.
  • Tadjoura: This is an accessible town with hotels reachable by road or ferry from Djibouti City.
  • Traveling to Camps: You could do some camps without a car but the camp manager will need to organize a car to pick you up from somewhere eventually if you don’t have private transport. We thought we managed to get a taxi from Tadjoura to Ras Bir ourselves but the taxi refused to drive off road. So, we needed the manager to send us a car last minute.

Public Transit

Check the Djibouti Tourism website for updates

Public Busses

From Djibouti City:

  • Tadjourah  (Departure: Behind the UNFD, price: 1500 FD)
  • Dikhil  (Departure: Balbala Livestock Park, price: 700 FD)
  • Ali-Sabieh  (Departure: Balbala Livestock Park, price: 600 FD)
  • Arta  (Departure: Balbala Livestock Park, price: 500 FD)
  • Obock  (Start: Behind the UNFD, price: 2000 FD)

I haven’t confirmed any prices

Ferry

From Djibouti City:

 In Tadjourah and Obock, the ferry remains at the dock for about an hour, then departs for Djibouti. Ticket price 1,100 DJF

Towards Tadjourah

  • Saturday: 8:00 AM
  • Tuesday: 8:00 AM
  • Thursday: 10:30 am
  • Friday at 8:30 am

Towards Obock:

  • Sundays: 8:00 AM
  • Wednesday: 8:00 AM

Understanding the Afar Land

The Afar people are nomadic and live in temporary structures; either round or square huts that look a bit haphazard but are perfectly suited for their lifestyle. Interestingly, the Afar are governed by four Kings (across Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia). They don’t really abide by government laws; they move freely across borders because they consider the land Afar land, not government property. In fact, the Djibouti government often has to consult these Kings before starting any projects on their territory. The Afar people choose to live nomadically and we were lucky to see one caravan.

The Afar people choose to live nomadically, and we were lucky to see one caravan slowly making its way across the landscape. The sight was incredible: a few camels carrying mats and supplies, being led by a husband and wife team. Behind them were something like 40 goats and 2 kids.

So often though I thought, what are people doing way out here?!

The answer, we learned, is a mix of ancient tradition and sheer survival. Most Afar are pastoralists, meaning they spend their lives following the rains to find grazing land for their camels, goats, and sheep.  Later our guide said goats are smarter than sheep and the people here don’t like sheep. Lol.

Djibouti Guides