Day 1.  Thu USA / Dakar

Make your way to the airport for your flight to Dakar.

Overnight: En Route.

Day 2. Fri. Arrive Dakar / Bamako

This morning arrive at Dakar. On your arrival, clear immigration and customs and proceed back to the departures level and re-check in for your flight to Bamako Mali. Around lunch time you will arrive in Mali. On arrival at the capital city of Bamako, you will clear immigration and customs and proceed to the exit where you will be met and transferred to the hotel.

The rest of the afternoon is free to rest and relax at your hotel. Make plans for early to bed for an early morning departure. Make your own wake up call with the hotel. Leave luggage with the concierge and travel with overnight bags.

Overnight: The Hotel Sofitel L’Amitie.

Day 3. Sat. Bamako / Timbuktu. 

This morning you will need to leave the hotel at 9:00am. You will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Timbuktu. On arrival you will be met and transferred to the town. You will explore the town of Timbuktu for the day.

 All Day:  Transfer to Bamako airport at 09h00 for 11h00 M.A.E. flight departure to the remote and fabled town of Timbuktu, arriving around 01h35 – you will be met at the airport by our Timbuktu local guide, who will transfer you to your hotel to drop off your luggage and give you a morning tour of Timbuktu to include the 3 oldest mosques in West Africa, (the university is the Sankore Mosque, Djingareyber* and Sidi Yahia mosques), the explorers’ homes, museum and marketplace where one can still buy salt, the Ahmed Baba Center and Haidara Library where we can see the ancient manuscripts that have survived since the 13-14^th centuries

Late afternoon, we will depart on camels for a sunset camel trek into the desert to visit a nearby Touareg encampment (3 km).  We will have an opportunity to mingle and drink tea with the Touareg nomads who will entertain us with their traditional singing, drumming and dancing with sabres before we return to Timbuktu for dinner and overnight

*It is no longer possible for tourists to enter the Djingareber mosque

Overnight: The Hotel La Maison. (B)

Day 4. Timbuktu / Mopti/ Djenne. (Private drive)

This morning rise early and have breakfast. You will be met and transferred to the airport for your short flight to Mopti. On arrival, you will be met and escorted on a drive to Djenne.

Transfer to Timbuktu airport at 07h00 for 08h00 M.A.E. flight departure to Mopti, arriving at 08h50 – your vehicle and English speaking lead guide will be waiting as you deplane and will transfer you to Mopti for a morning tour to include a visit to the harbor, marketplace, old town and mosque.  Mopti is known for its port linking Mali’s major towns and villages along the Niger.  Here you can see the big slabs of salt that come from the far north, carried 750 km across the Sahara desert by the Touareg salt caravans to Timbuktu where they are loaded on to pinasses that sail down the Niger to Mopti to be bought and sold.  There are many different faces of Mali selling and buying in the marketplace – Peul, Bozo, Fulani, Dogon, Moors, Touareg and Songhai – we will also visit a quartier where we can see the Fulani women who are famous for their huge gold earrings and who are featured on Mali’s national postage stamps and posters throughout Mali

After lunch, we will depart for a 2-hr drive to Djenne (130 km), sister of Timbuktu and one of the oldest towns in West Africa.  It is built on an island in the Niger River Delta and we must cross on a ferry to reach it

We will have a walking tour before dinner to see the famous mosque (built in 1280 when the 26^th king “Djenne Were” koi Komboro converted to Islam) and walk through the narrow, winding streets to see the beautiful architecture of the clay houses that make Djenne such an original and beautiful “city”

Overnight: The Hotel Maafir. (B)

Day 5. Mon. Djenne / Bandiagara. (Private drive)

This morning you will be met and escorted on a visit to the local Djenne market and other sights in the morning.

Monday is market day and we will wake up to a quite different Djenne full of people and activity!  We will visit the colorful marketplace and Djenne’s mission culturale which houses the plan of Djenne-Djeno, the ancient settlement of Djenne, dating back to 250 B.C. and some of the artifacts that have been excavated mid/late morning, we will depart Djenne for a 3-hr drive to Pays Dogon (200 km to Bandiagara), stopping en-route for lunch in Severe – Pays Dogon has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site for its natural and cultural significance, where vibrant people still live as they have for centuries along 130 km of escarpment and continue to be studied by anthropologists around the world – our first stop will be to visit the village of Songo (15 km before reaching Bandiagara), famous for its picturesque setting and rock paintings at the site of circumcision – we will have a guided tour and continue to Bandiagara.

Overnight: Hotel Kambary Cheval Blanc. (B)

Day 6. Tue. Bandiagara / Pays Dogon. (Private drive) / Mopti. (Private drive)

This morning you will be met and escorted on a fascinating visit to Pays Dogon. This afternoon you will continue your drive reaching back to the town of Mopti.

This morning we will drive down the Bandiagara escarpment to visit the southern villages of Djiguibombo, Kani Kombole and Teli; we will have guided walking tours, see the old Tellum dwellings, meet the village chiefs and elders and return to our hotel in time for lunch

After lunch we will drive to Mopti (1-hr) for a mid/late afternoon Bani river excursion in a traditional pinasse to visit a couple river villages

Overnight: Hotel Kanaga. (B)

Day 7. Wed Mar 07: Mopti / Bamako.

This morning you will be met and transferred to the airport for your flight to Bamako. On arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

Transfer to Severe airport at 07h00 for 09h20 M.A.E. flight to Bamako, arriving at 10h35 – you will be met at the Bamako airport as you deplane and transferred to your hotel.

After lunch, we will have an afternoon tour of Bamako to include the National Museum and recycling marchee – we recommend dinner at San Toro restaurant, the best traditional African restaurant in Mali with live kora music while you dine (starting at 20h00)

Overnight: The Hotel Sofitel L’Amitie. (B)

Day 8. Thu. Bamako / Dakar / Goree Island (Afternoon private tour)

This morning rise early and you will be met and escorted to the airport for your return flight to Dakar Senegal. Upon arrival, clear immigration and customs and proceed to the exit where you will be met and transferred to the hotel.

This afternoon enjoy a tour to Goree Island by ferry-boat. Lunch at the famous restaurant of Goree “Le Chevalier de Boufflers” In the afternoon, your visit of Goree will start with the House of Slave where a lecture will be delivered by the curator on “300 years of slave trading in Goree”. Visit the ethnographic museum, the Fort with the Memorial of Goree. Visit the school where you will meet the pupils and the teachers. Meet the populations of Goree interact and socialize with them. Return to Dakar at the end of the afternoon.  

Overnight: The Novotel Dakar. (B)

Day 9. Fri. Dakar.  (Half day city Tour)

This morning around 9:30am, you will be met and escorted on a private tour of Dakar city. The capital of Senegal is a modern city of 1.5 million with beautiful contemporary buildings and some historical colonial houses. It is a vibrant city with active open-air markets, cafe terraces, a wide range of hotels, delicious food and a great night life. You can discover Dakar by taking a walk along the ocean or the busy city streets. Art lovers will find an abundance of galleries, artists’ studios, museums, and festivals.

The people of Senegal are proud of their modern capital city. This bustling, cosmopolitan city features skyscrapers and hotels, businesses and boutiques. Beaches and windsurfing centers are just a few miles from its mosques and markets.  Your private guide will escort you through the city and return to your hotel by 1:00pm in time for lunch on your own.

This afternoon is at leisure to relax and prepare for tomorrows departure.

Overnight: The Novotel Dakar. (B)

Day 10. Sat  Dakar / USA

This morning rise early and you will be met and driven to the airport for your  morning flight to USA.