Accommodation
Bamako has several 5 stars hotels including a Radisson.
There are also 4 and 3 stars hotels which we can offer according to budget.
In the interior, we use only the best in each town. In international terms the best provincial hotels would be rated 2-3 stars, and they do have en suite bathrooms and air-conditioning.


Food and Wine
You can find restaurants to suit most tastes in the more popular areas. Freshly caught fish, especially grilled Nile perch, is often on the menu cooked to local recipes. Other specialities include poulet yassa (chilli spice grilled chicken) and riz yollof (meat or vegetables cooked with tomatoes). Ginger and hibiscus juices are a local speciality.
Wine from the new and old world is available in good hotels and restaurants in Bamako, but not widely found in the provinces.
Good beer is available everywhere.


Shopping
Shopping in markets is fun, especially in Bamako, Djenne and Segou, famous for its fabrics. Prices are negotiable and you must barter!
Some of the more popular tourist purchases include:-
Textiles, including mudcloth, indigo cloth, cotton
Wooden sculptures, typically masks and statues
Traditional musical instruments ( kora, djembe, balafon)
Silver or gold jewellery, swords, daggers
Leatherwork (wallets, purses, shoes, cushions, jewellery boxes)
Pottery and ceramics


Activities
Sail by sunset on a traditional boat on the River Niger.
Camel Caravan into the Sahara to visit a Tuareg camp on the dunes.
Traditional Dogon mask dance in a village; this is a reproduction of an authentic ritual, still practiced today.
The World Heritage City of Djenne would need to be part of your itinerary. Set on the banks of the Bani River it is built almost entirely of mud and it is the home of the largest mud building in the world----the Grand Mosque.
Trekking through the magnificent Bandiagara Escarpment is an adventure, as is making your way through the desert to enigmatic Timbuktu, the trading station at the end of the Tuareg caravan route. Here you are in the heart of Tuareg country. Their language Tifanagh is so closely related to Hebrew and Phoenician that the speculation is that they are the "lost tribe" of Israel.
Take a Pinasse (long boat) on the River Niger to Timbuktu.
The mountains of Hombori near Timbuktu soar like Gothic battlements and are a surreal backdrop to the desert sands.
Exploring the River Niger, especially around Timbuktu or Mopti is a good idea. The Niger is a river in confusion. It is the third longest in Africa after the Nile and Congo. It rises just 200km from the Atlantic in Guinea, yet instead of making a swift sway to the ocean, it flows inland for 2,000 km towards the Sahara, where, on arrival in Timbuktu, it seems to realise its error and begins a big an slow bend south and west to head through Niger and Nigeria before spilling out 2,000km later into the Niger River Delta.


Getting Around
There are many options for local transport by road or river. All of them can be slow, uncomfortable and unreliable!
We recommend you talk to our representative locally and plan with him or her what you want to do and the best way to do it!


Visas
As visa regulations and local laws change frequently and often without notice, dmAFRICA can accept no responsibility regarding the need for or availability of visas, and suggests that the agent and the client check with the embassy of the countries to be visited in the issuing country of their own passports. The information below is therefore only a guide:

All tourist visitors require an entry visa.
A 5 days entry visa is available upon arrival at Bamako Airport and costs €25.
An entry visa can be extended while in Mali at Bamako, Mopti or Timbuktu.
We can provide a letter of invitation to facilitate boarding, but this does not guarantee getting on a flight.
We recommend obtaining a visa before travelling, as history shows that airline security procedures are such that flight boarding made be refused by the airline to any traveller without a visa.
Where clients have a Mali Embassy or Consulate available in their country, we are recommending you obtain the visa in advance.
The website of the Malian Embassy in Washington DC (www.maliembassy.us) has all the pertinent information to apply for a tourist visa, including downloads of the instructions and application form.
Similarly this information is available from other Embassies and Consulates.


Language
French is the national language and is widely spoken along with the local tribal languages.
Some English is spoken in international hotels and some other tourist-related places.


Money
The local currency is the West African CFA franc (US$1= 450 CFA; €1= 650 CFA), but the US $ and €uro in large denominations ($100, €100, €200 and €500) are readily exchangeable in the main cities.

Travellers Cheques are also exchangeable but not as easily as cash and carry a high commission rate; it can be as high as 20%!
Also, travellers should be prepared for lengthy procedures to exchange travellers cheques, and you should ensure you have your original TC purchase receipt.

Our advice is to take cash and exchange as much as you need while in Bamako rather than wait until you are elsewhere.

Credit Cards are not widely accepted. Visa can usually be used in the international hotels and the more internationally inclined restaurants of Bamako; and very rarely Mastercard and American Express also. Do not count on using Credit Cards outside Bamako.

There are a few ATMs in Bamako. Those that do exist accept Visa but only give the equivalent of US$450 maximum.
There are also Western Union and/or Moneygram outlets in Bamako, Sikasso, Kayes, Mopti and Timbuktu, where cash can be transferred and accessed the same day.


Local costs
In the provincial towns expect to pay €6-€10 for lunch and €10-€12 for dinner. In the main towns expect to pay approximately 20% more. In the international hotels lunch will cost about €20 and dinner €35 without drinks. Bottled mineral water costs about €1 in stores and €2-€4 in hotels and restaurants for a 1.5 litre bottle.


Health
Malaria is endemic. You must consult your doctor before you travel to ensure that you are prescribed the correct type of protection.

Vaccination against Yellow Fever is obligatory for entry in to Mali.
Immunization against hepatitis and meningitis is recommended.

There are privately owned pharmacies which can prescribe most medication should you become sick. Many pharmacies in Bamako are quite well-stocked (not so well in the interior), but these are European (i.e. French) drugs, with European labels; brands found in the US are not widely available in Mali.


Water
We strongly recommend you drink only bottled water, avoid ice in drinks and beware of salads which may have been washed in contaminated water


Dress Code
The dress code is casual although some hotels require gentlemen to wear long trousers for dinner.
As it can be cool in the mountains and on desert evenings, you are advised to pack at least one warm sweater.


Time Difference
Mali is on GMT


Electricity
220v with 2 or 3 pin sockets. A European adaptor is required.


Communications
The mobile phone signal for most networks is limited although improving. Some hotels can provide a wifi connection through the hotel reception.

Here are just a few things we recommend you include on any holiday to Mali

• Meet the locals by hunting for bargains in Bamako’s pavement market stalls


• Visit a local bar and listen to the beautiful music of Boubacar Traore, Ry Cooder or Ali Farka Toure


• Visit a Carrefour (culture centre) for tribal music and dance performances, especially for a Dogon Mask Dance

• Suggested Reading:-

“The Unveiling of Timbuktu" The Outstanding Adventures of Caillie by Galbraith Welch, the account of the first Western Explorer to both reach and return from Timbuktu.

Most visitors from the USA or from Europe access Bamako by Air France from Paris or Royal Air Maroc from Casablanca.
Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines are two of several pan African options

Our office is located in the Magnambougou quarter of Bamako and our office staff and guides all speak French and English.
An emergency mobile phone number is given to clients on arrival.
For bookings enquiries and all pre tour planning and arrangements clients should contact sales@dmafrica.com