I rode from Ethiopia to Dibouti (via Dire Dawa) and on to Eritrea (Assab and Massawa then up to Asmara) I flew from there back to the UK. Bit of an unusual route but I had family there so it made sense for me. I know that you can get a ferry from Djibouti to Italy and it may be possible to get from Eritrea to Sudan but I'm not sure.

The road from Addis to Harar and Dire Dawa is new tarmac and in good
condition apart from a few wash-outs but there was work being done them -
the road itself is a stunning alpine ride and Harar is an amazing city. The road
from Dire Dawa to the border is a good graded gravel road and once you
are on it you won't have any problems finding your way (I wasn't using
a GPS at this point). I was riding alone at this point so started off
early and followed some local busses until I was happy that it was all
ok. The border crossing went very smoothly. The road does pass very
close to the Somali border so its worth checking the security situation
before you start off but it seemed safe when I rode it in Oct. A few teas shops along the way but not much else.

Once you cross over into Djibouti you are on good tarmac and can be in
Djibouti town itself within a couple of hours (although there are back
roads if you want to take your time). Djibouti is quite a busy town -
lots of legionnaires, french supermarkets and good food - I enjoyed it
but it is quite expensive. I ended up hanging out with some australian
and dutch bikers who work at the port - very friendly and they looked
after me very well (you can get in touch with the aussie through horizons
- under the travellers looking for travellers section). It can get very
hot in Djibouti so it would be worth trying to plan it so you are there
in the cooler season (it was just starting to cool down a bit at the
beginning of October when I was there and I think the cool weather lasts
at least until Christmas but its worth checking for yourself). You can
get motorcycles tyres in Djibouti if you need a new set. I'm not sure
what your route is like but there is a ferry from Djibouti to Italy which could make a nice option.
>From Djibouti I rode to Tadjoura - via a detour to see the forest du
day and on up to Randa because the direct road to tadjoura had been cut
by the rains - the ride from forest du day to randa was spectacular
riding along a dry river canyon and finally emerging to a view of arid
mountains stretching as far as the eye could see. I spent a night at the golf
hotel in tadjoura and was able to get petrol there. I started off early
the next morning for Obok (using the GPS coordinates that are posted as
a reply to my question on the HUBB - these GPS coordinates were great)
the road is sandwiched between the mountains and the red sea and was a
great ride. I reached Obok around 09:00 and after breakfast started
asking about the route to the border. It seems as if there are 4x4s that
go from Obok to the border most days - but Sunday and Wednesday would be
your best bet as the ferry from Djibouti arrives then - but they seem
to leave in the afternoon (although this might just have been the d
ay I was there). The route from Obok to the border is across sandy
plains that have lots of tracks - all heading off in different directions
- i took a guide with me on the back of the bike since I was riding
alone and didn't want to wait until the afternoon and follow one of the
4x4s. The sand is quite deep/thick in places and it had just rained so
there were some muddy patches that were super-slippery. It took about 3
hours of riding to reach the Djibouti border where I got some lunch and
even managed to buy some petrol. The border crossing wasn't a problem - but they couldn't stamp my carnet.
Its 30km from the Djibouti border to the Eritrean border and I had left
my guide behind at the djibouti border so was relying on my GPS from
here - but had no problems. There was a border post at Rahata (the
eritrean border) where I got my passport stamped (unlike what the guide books
tell you) - I had bought my eritrean visa in Djibouti - it cost $40 and
took one day - although I think its only open on Wednesday (when
I was there). From the border to Assab is mostly good gravel
although the first 20 - 30 km is small tracks - once again the GPS coordinates
from horizons worked well. There were a couple of check points between
the border and Assab and the soldiers didn't speak any english but I
managed to get through without too much hassel (although it helps to be
patient).
Assab: I stayed at the Assab hotel which was cheap and good and the
owner was very helpful - I would recommend it. In assab I had to get a
travel permit from the Ministry of Local Government - which once again
took some patience. Although customs didn't want to stamp my carnet!? I'm
still in the process of shipping my bike home so I'll let you know how
that goes and if you should insist that they stamp it. When I was there
there was a petrol shortage in Assab and I had to spend a bit of time
trying to find some on the black market but managed to get it
eventually - go speak to the Afar in the muslim end of town.
Assab to Massawa: 550-600km but the road is very good almost all of the
way - just at the end it got a bit rough but they were working on it -
if you start early you could do it in one day but it would be a long
one - the road follows the coast (I didn't use the GPS here as the road
was so good and i think they used another route that went further
inland) and once again can be very hot if you are there at the wrong time of
year - very harsh and empty area - it reminded me of North West Namibia - more check points so make sure you get that travel permit but
even then be prepared to wait every now and again. I didn't start early
and therefore slept at a truck stop between Tio and Foro which was great
- there were a couple of restaurants and even a hotel (beds out in the
open under the stars - perfect on a hot, sticky night).
Massawa: no problems getting petrol here - I was in a rush so couldn't
stay long which was a shame - I would definately advise you to spend at
least a couple of days there and go snorkeling in the islands.
Massawa to Asmara: 115km - of good tarmac - about 60km of it is strait
up the escarpment - 60km of hairpin bends - just great fun but would be
even more fun if the trucks kept to their side of the road - keep your
eyes open!
Assmara: great place - funky town - quite calm and peaceful but has
good food and funky art deco architecture -
well worth spending time there. I had to go home from Asmara but if you
have time it would definately be worth exploring some more of the
country.

Security: the border demarcation between ethiopia and eritrea after
their recent war is still ongoing so its worth keeping an eye on
the situation.


Enjoy - and do let me know if you have any questions.

cheers

miles