By plane
- Bahar Dar Ginbot Haya International Airport (IATA: BJR). Ethiopian Airlines operates scheduled flights from Addis Ababa Flights to Aksum in the north.
By bus
The city is connected by daily buses to/from Addis Ababa and Gondar. Many private minibuses also run to/from Gondar and Addis Ababa. They often do not leave from the bus station but are instead arranged through your hotel or by local touts (who will find you before you find them!). The minibuses are more expensive but faster, especially to Addis Ababa. Try Selam bus or Sky bus for a more comfortable (and potentially safer) ride.
To get to Bahir Dar from Lalibela by bus, take a dawn bus to Gashina (about two hours south of Lalibela) and change there to the Woldia – Bahir Dar bus, which passes through Gashina around 10am. To get from Bahir Dar to Lalibela, take the 6am Bahir Dar – Woldia bus and catch the last Lalibela bus at Gashena, which passes through around 3pm.
Get around
Bajajs (three wheel rick-shaws) are the most common form of transportation in the city. 20 Birr will get you most places you want to go in the town center. There are also blue minibuses, but few still exist as means to get around town. Bajajs are inexpensive and cost no-more than two birr per line of road and ten birr for a private charter.
Being a relatively flat city with wide streets, Bahir Dar is an excellent city for cycling, and bikes can be rented at various locations in the city. Look for one of those many bike repair places, they rent out a decent bike for about 20 ETB per hour. Cheaper if more distant from the center. More modern bikes can be rented in the port area from a tour organisation service for about 50 ETB.