My husband and I had an excellent day out with Muluken (tour guide) and Birhanu (driver) last week. Muluken is a walking dictionary on Ethiopia. Ask him anything! We learned so much about Ethiopian history and culture. Muluken picked us up from our hotel at the agreed time. He was extremely punctual (something that is very important to us!) It was our first time in Ethiopia and we were a little anxious about safety etc but it took us about 2 minutes of being with Muluken to relax and trust him and Birhanu. They are both really lovely and trustworthy guys. Birhanu's driving was excellent too. I am quite a nervous passenger usually but I felt completely comfortable with Birhanu's driving. I would highly recommend booking a tour with Merit Tours. The city tour we did was excellent as we were short on time and saw SO much more in a day than we would have without Muluken. I particularly enjoyed the lunch in the local house. Also I loved the church murals on top of Mount Entoto: Two things we definitely wouldn't have been able to do ourselves. We really fell in love with Ethiopia and its people. We will definitely be back and will bring our kids next time. I think kids our kids' age (9 and 11) and over would love it. When we are back, we will be contacting Muluken for a much longer tour of his beautiful country! Highly recommend this company and happy to answer any questions!

My mum and I had a great time with Mr Muluken! Not only did he brought us around and shared key Ethiopia history. He helped make the trip more personalised for us. It was our first time in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He made the experience really enjoyable.

I booked a two days tour at Lalibela rock churches with Muluken Girma and It was really amazing: the visit with the guide, Destaw, was very interesting and everything was perfectly organized. When I was in Addis Ababa I requested two half day tours of the city and the guide, Biruk, was very nice and interesting. I really appreciate the experience and I always felt safe with them ! Thank you!!!

We booked with this company for a day tour of Addis Ababa and had a wonderful experience! Muluken did a great job at coordinating our booking and making us feel welcome in his city. We visited all of the main sites, with an exception of the National Museum (home of "Lucy"), which was closed. The highlight of our trip was a visit to a local home, where was also had lunch. It was interesting to see how the locals live and also try some local foods. We felt welcome in their home, and we would highly recommend this experience to everyone visiting Ethiopia. Muluken was great to deal with! He provided excellent communication and was respectful of our own cultures as well.

I contacted Muluken to arrange airport transfers and domestic transportation for my young nephew and niece who were visiting Ethiopia. Muluken was extremely professional, he communicated what it would take and worked with me on payment details and getting him the information he required. He went to check out the Airbnb and the Embassy location before their arrival and kept me updated with details during the day of the flight. He offered and immaculate service that made me feel that my young people were in capable hands. I would highly recommend his services to anyone, Muluken is very effective at what he does.

I contacted Muluken for a night tour of Addis Ababa whilst I was in transfer. The attention and replies were extremely prompt and he quickly assisted me in setting up a tour of the city. The evening was excellent with a lot of sights visited (albeit at night) and numerous exciting details. The guide was very friendly, knowledgeable and passionate, which made the tour better and it is making sure that I come back for a much longer period. My recommendation is that Ethiopian Airlines should reach out to these tour companies and encompass a visit to the city whilst passengers are in transit - this will open up the country to more opportunities and allow us to experience the great culture that is Ethiopia.

We had booked for the two days tour to Harar with Muluken for the end of April 2020. He made every effort to adapt the itinerary to fit in with our other travel plans. Then of course the Covid pandemic arrived. Naively, we rebooked again and again; Muluken running around changing our bookings and keeping in contact. Finally, the inevitable - cancelling. Muluken had bought our domestic Ethiopian Airlines tickets for us using the deposit we had paid had him. Getting those tickets refunded by Ethiopian Airlines was never going to be straight forward. However, with Muluken's determination, persistence and a bit of lateral thinking, we got it all sorted. I can only praise Muluken for his organisation, dedication and honesty. we will be in contact with him to take that trip when the world can finally travel again.

I had a great time and was well provided for by Muluken. We had an amazing time, and this was an amazing value considering what we did in one day. We had enough time to enjoy a spectacular view along the way to the Tiya stones, as well as the impressive rock-hewn church (Adadi Mariam), a museum showing ancient hominid tools discovered nearby, and even stop in to a local hut to enjoy an amazing fresh cheese dish with injera made by locals (including coffee). Culminating in learning about the Tiya stones, it was all in all a very fulfilling experience and we felt safe bringing our young kids along. Muluken is very knowledgeable about Ethiopia and makes plenty of pit stops for food and water. He will answer any questions you have along the way.

Wonderful

My partner and I had a really good experience with Muluken last week, completing a day tour of Addis. He was very professional, knowledgeable and nice to chat to. It was only our second day in Ethiopia and he took us to places we could not have ventured ourselves - particularly the mercato! If you have particular sites you would or would not like to see, I'd suggest thinking ahead and letting Muluken know to make the most of the tour as he seemed happy to tailor it (e.g. we could have given the national museum a miss). Thanks, Georgie

Great tour of the city! Was able to squeeze a lot in during our layover

Muluken is a professional in his field, organizing, arranging and attending to all details. We were a group of 6 persons - various ages and interests and our collective positive experiences were directly related to Muluken's excellent English, his knowledge of the country and his honesty and approachability.

They arranged our transportation to Awash Falls. Driver (Solomon) and his van were excellent. Solomon was safe and accommodating and the van was spacious and clean.

Highly recommended! Very knowledgable and fun tour guide (Biruk) :-)

Muluken is a very trustworthy tour guide that can customize tours within the Addis area. He partners up with a driver and have a nice air conditioner car. He is able to provide plenty of information on the specific destinations and is very easygoing.

I hired Muluken for the three days I was in Addis Ababa because I had little time in Ethiopia and wanted to make the most of it with trips outside of the city. He helped customize my itinerary and made it an unforgettable experience! Plus I got to meet locals in the areas we toured, which I feel added a lot to the sightseeing.

Muluken Girma is an uncommon tour guide as he has a special skills to introduce tourists in the Ethiopian spirit. Very high quality of professional service and excellent level of English define Muluken as the perfect person to understand the cultures and the beauty of Ethiopian geographic landscapes.

Great day with Muluken! I only had half day free but he catered to my agenda and took me to some great sights and we had some great coffee. He showed true professionalism in explaining the background behind things and was an easy going guy. I'll definitely be back for the other half of the tour and more!

Cannot speak highly enough of this tour guide. Muluken has amazingly deep knowledge of Addis and the surrounding areas. The way in which he imparts the information and his command of English are bound to make for a great day. We enjoyed every minute of the two tours that we did. Great value. We learnt so much and saw some really fascinating sites. Just driving around Addis is a joy in itself.

Our family of six traveled to Addis Ababa for the first time since we adopted our daughters from Ethiopia 12 years ago. Our purpose was to experience the sites and culture with our now high-school-aged adopted daughters. Muluken went above and beyond, connecting us with the director of the now-closed orphanage who provided us with valuable information. In addition, he persistently pursued leads and was able to locate and arrange meetings with several dozen of our daughters' family members, including a brother and sister none of us knew existed. I can't express how much impact Muluken's investment in our experience had for our family. He would have earned his 5 stars from us all without making those additional connections. There's a reason he's the #1 ranked tour guide in Addis!

Muluken is such a great guy - more than a tour guide, he becomes your friend. Knowledgeable, interesting and caring, he points out features of his beloved Ethiopia that many may miss.

Absolutely fantastic tour guide! Muluken took me to see Debre Libanos monastery for the day. He was very communicative in advance of the tour, sending me confirmation emails and WhatsApp messages. On the day of the tour, he was punctual in the morning to pick me up directly at my hotel. We had an excellent day together, including visiting the monastery, and multiple other places along the way that he picked out to stop. His English is impeccable. He taught me an extensive amount about Ethiopian culture, tradition, and history. In general, he is a very nice and fun person, and makes for a wonderful tour guide! I provide my absolute highest possible recommendation. You will be glad you chose Muluken if you do! :)

The tours I did with Muluken were fantastic. I only had a few days free in Ethiopia and Muluken was able to provide an unforgettable personal experience. Everything was as promised and went smoothly. Muluken is very pleasant, well informed and was able to provide me with much knowledge about Ethiopian culture, history, economics and politics. I chose the itinerary Muluken suggested, a day tour to the Debre Libanos Monastry and Jemma river gorge, followed by the 2 day tour to the Rift Valley which included visits to the rock church of Adadi Mariam, a local market, the world heritage Steles of Tiya, staying at the excellent Haile Resort on the shore of Lake Awassa. The return to Addis Ababa featured a visit to local fish market, Abiyatta Shalla national park and lake Ziway. For me, highlights were sampling the local food at popular local restaurants, stopping at the homes of villagers, meeting them and seeing how they live. This gave me great insight into modern day Ethiopia, the wonderful diverse cultures and the challenges the country faces. Muluken and his team are to be recommended for the excellent, informative and exciting tours.

We were visiting Ethiopia to stay with an Ethiopian friend in Addis but wanted to see more of the country so looked for someone to organise visits to the north, and the Rift Valley while we were in the country. We always prefer to use an in-country tour organisers rather than a UK based agency so that all the funds are spent in the country being visited. We found Muluken through a search on Trip Advisor. Making the arrangements with Muluken worked well via email, and Muluken responded very well to the requests and suggestions we made. For our visit to Bahir Dar and Lalibela Muluken arranged for excellent drivers and guides, especially in Lalibela, which was the highlight of our two weeks in Ethiopia. The recommended hotels were very good, except that the bathroom in the Abay Minch Lodge in Bahir Dar was in urgent need of some maintenance. We were particularly pleased with the Mountain View Hotel in Lalibela and Sabana Beach Resort at Langano Lake. We have recommended that Muluken supply a larger vehicle for journeys of over 2 hours in length given the condition of some roads. Overall we strongly recommend Muluken who is good to do business with.