Asmara with Kids
Family travel guide for parents planning with children
Top Family Activities
The best things to do with kids in Asmara.
Fiat Tagliero Service Station
This 1938 petrol station resembles an airplane poised for take-off, complete with 30-meter concrete wings. Children can sprint across the forecourt while you recount how Italian futurists once pictured tomorrow. The interior is normally locked. Yet the exterior steals the show.
Medeber Market
In the city's metal-working district, artisans weld scrap into coffee pots, toy cars, and cooking sets hammered from recycled cans. Sparks shower the air, the scent of hot iron mingles with roasting coffee, and children leave clutching miniature metal cars or tiny cooking kits.
Cinema Impero
The 1937 cinema shows children what movie houses looked like before multiplexes. The pink façade and original ticket booth survive, even if the auditorium has been modernised. Popcorn and old wood still perfume the lobby.
Tank Graveyard
An open-air yard of military hardware from the 30-year war invites children to scramble over rusted tanks, Soviet-era missile carriers, and a retired MiG fighter jet. The scale awes, and every exhibit is hands-on history.
Harnet Avenue Ice Cream
The city's main boulevard turns into an evening promenade where families drift and socialise. Italian-style cafés scoop proper gelato, order the traditional 'helu' flavour that tastes like spiced honey. Children practise Tigrinya while counting coins, and you watch the pageant of locals.
National Museum
Set inside a former palace, this compact museum keeps young minds busy with ancient coins, traditional weapons, and portraits of resistance fighters. A shaded courtyard with benches doubles as a snack-break refuge. Show curiosity and staff often launch an impromptu tour.
Best Areas for Families
Where to base yourselves for the smoothest family trip.
The city's main artery delivers flat walking, cafés spaced for bathroom breaks, and enough architectural eye-candy to keep children alert. Wide sidewalks swallow strollers, and the evening promenade culture welcomes children everywhere.
Highlights: Ice cream cafes, people-watching, Fiat Tagliero nearby, relatively flat terrain
A calmer quarter of embassies and tidy villas. Tree-lined streets throw shade over afternoon walks, and several schoolyards open their playgrounds to visitors once classes end.
Highlights: Shaded streets, informal playgrounds, lighter traffic, embassy cafés serving Western food
The sports district hosts weekend football matches children can watch and informal games they can join. A neighbouring market pours fresh fruit juices and sells quick snacks, and the altitude keeps the air cooler.
Highlights: Weekend football matches, fresh juice stands, cooler mountain air, local children ready to play
On the city's edge farmland begins. Children meet donkeys hauling water jugs, watch women bake injera over outdoor fires, and taste rural life without leaving Asmara. Views back toward the city are spectacular.
Highlights: Rural experiences inside city limits, farm animals, sweeping views, authentic neighbourhood life
Family Dining
Where and how to eat with children.
Asmara's restaurants orbit around Italian-era cafés and modest local kitchens. Children are welcomed everywhere, even in the smarter spots, and waiters gladly tweak dishes. High chairs are scarce. But laps suffice. Service is unhurried, stash snacks for restless kids.
Dining Tips for Families
- Ask for pasta 'al dente' if your children like softer noodles, Italians taught locals to leave a bite.
- Many cafes will make plain rice or eggs even if not on the menu - just ask
- Fresh fruit-juice stalls make perfect bribes for good behaviour, mango and guava never run out.
Cafe Moderna, Bar Vittoria, and Cafe Roma dish out familiar pizza and gelato alongside strong espresso for parents. The 1950s décor fascinates children raised on Starbucks.
At Zara Restaurant children eat with their hands, the sour, pancake-like injera is both plate and utensil. Order 'tsebhi' (mild stew) for spice-shy kids.
Fruit-juice vendors and popcorn sellers crowd Harnet Avenue. Let children rehearse Tigrinya numbers while ordering fresh mango juice for pennies.
Tips by Age Group
Tailored advice for every stage of childhood.
The city sits high enough to keep temperatures mild. Yet the sun punches harder. Toddlers run out of gas quickly in the thin air, and the endless staircases in residential quarters turn strollers into awkward luggage.
Challenges: Diaper-changing tables are scarce, sidewalks tilt and crack against stroller wheels, and restaurants almost never offer high chairs.
- Stay near Harnet Avenue for flatter walking
- Bring a carrier for stairs and narrow passages
- Pack familiar snacks - local toddler food is very different
Children this age are magnetized by the Tank Graveyard and gawk at the 1930s "futuristic" buildings like they have stepped onto a movie set. They can pick up simple Tigrinya greetings and often spark playground friendships despite the language gap.
Learning: They can puzzle over the museum's ancient scrolls, trace the story of colonial architecture block by block, and debate whether Italian gelato or local suwa tastes better.
- Encourage kids to trade small toys with local children
- Let them help negotiate prices at markets - it's expected
- Bring a sketchbook for drawing the crazy buildings
Teens may groan at Asmara's unhurried rhythm. Yet the architecture's Instagram gold and the raw spectacle of the Tank Graveyard usually flip the mood. They can cover longer distances on foot and start to grasp the backstory behind the façades.
Independence: Harnet Avenue is calm enough for teens to wander after dark, though language barriers keep deeper exploration in check. Send them out in pairs for peace of mind.
- Hand them the camera, the city's geometry and pastel façades beg for social media posts.
- Encourage them to research Italian futurism before visiting
- Evening promenade culture means later bedtimes are culturally appropriate
Practical Logistics
The nuts and bolts of family travel.
Downtown Asmara is stroller-friendly along the main boulevards. But expect lumpy sidewalks. Those blue-and-white shared minivans everyone calls 'linea' cost pocket change. Yet you will fold the stroller to squeeze aboard. Taxis swarm every corner and charge next to nothing, settle the fare before you climb in. None carry car seats, so pack your own or ride local-style with babies on laps.
Orota Hospital manages emergencies capably, and pharmacies line Harnet Avenue for backup. Pack diaper cream and any specialty formulas. The labels on local brands do not match Western ones. Shelves carry the basics. But familiar names are missing.
Ask for ground-floor rooms, elevators are rare. Hot water plays hide-and-seek; late-afternoon showers give the strongest pressure. When hotels promise "family rooms," they usually mean two doubles side-by-side, not suites. Bring outlet adapters and a fully charged power bank for the inevitable blackout.
- Wet wipes and hand sanitizer for the Tank Graveyard
- Small toys to trade with local kids
- Sun hats - altitude makes sun stronger
- Comfortable walking shoes for uneven sidewalks
- Snacks for slow restaurant service
- Eat lunch at local injera places - cheaper than tourist cafes
- Use linea minivans instead of taxis for short distances
- Buy fruit at markets rather than hotel restaurants
- Many attractions are free - plan walking tours of architecture
Family Safety
Keeping your family safe and healthy.
- ! Strong high-altitude sun requires hats and sunscreen even when it feels cool
- ! Tap water is generally safe but bottled water tastes better for picky kids
- ! Traffic stays light. But drivers are not conditioned to watch for kids, keep a firm grip on small hands at every crossing.
- ! Rust flakes off the Tank Graveyard relics, confirm tetanus shots are up to date and tuck bandages into the daypack.
- ! Evening temperatures drop significantly - pack layers for sunset outings
- ! Street dogs exist but tend to be timid - teach kids not to approach
- ! Power cuts strike without warning, keep phones topped up and pack a flashlight for those pitch-black hotel corridors.
Explore Activities in Asmara
Didn't see anything interesting yet?
Browse Viator's full catalog of tours, day trips, food experiences, and private guides in Asmara.
See All Asmara Tours on Viator