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INVITATION ONLY MALI TOUR (including Timbuktu!)

Finally, my Mali tour. By invitation only. Alright folks. As many of you know, I’ve been working for years behind to finally organise a trip to Mali. Not any old trip to Mali, a trip including the last frontier of hardcore travel, Timbuktu!

MALI TOUR DATES:

I have them confirmed, but I won’t be publishing online. This will be done privately via email and whatsapp only, for security reasons.

MALI TOUR ITINERARY:

DAY 1;

Arrive in Bamako. Depending on flight times, mini-city tour, then group dinner and drinks.

DAY 2:

Private Jet baby (actually, more like some 50 year old propeller plane stolen from the Soviets, but still, it works)! Basically the reason why the trip is so bloody expensive. Today we fly to Timbuktu for the day. Check out the famous Adobe Mosques, witness a traditional Toureag Dance, watch a famous calligrapher work his magic then we’re outta there before causing a scene.

Flying to Mopti. Here we’ll hit the Bani river for a river cruise and visit the local fish market.

DAY 3;

The second coolest place in on our Mali tour, Djenne. A UNESCO world Heritage Site, we’ll pay a visit the grand Mosque. Lunch with a local family, and then on to San, to cjeck out the mud fishing port. Finish up in Segou, where we overnight.

DAY 4:

After brekkie we head to the former capital of bambara kingdom, SegouKoro. River trip and a traditional Mali lunch, then to visit the Bozo fishermen and explore their unique culture. Take some anti-nausia tables and join us as we check out how they make their local millet beer! And then roadtrip and overnight in Siby.

DAY 5:

We move to Manding country, to Siby, today. The home of the Mandinka, an ethnic group descending from the 13th century Malian empire. The highlight here is the Arch of Kamajan, a historic meeting point for soldiers, warriors, councils and people of knowledge all the way back in the 13th century.

We’ll finish the day with a visit to the sacrificial graves and a Dogon dance will be organized in the village of Siby.

Drive back to Bamako, where we board a traditional wooden boat, to enjoy the life of the Niger River, the third longest river of Africa; we will visit the sand port and the temporary fishermen villages and camp for the night.

DAY 6:

All depending on your flight times of course. But after breakfast, the day is used to visit Bamako: the national museum, the puppet workshop, the fetish market, and the artisanal market and monuments. Possible day use at the Auberge Amassakoul before being transferred to the airport.

Back to Bamako for airport transfers outta here. Safe and sound (hopefully!).

MALI TOUR PRICES:

Brace yourself. Permits, ‘payments’ to officials, invitations, security bribes and of course a private charter flight in and out of Timbuktu means that the week long stay in Mali is going to cost us:

$4,599USD. Ouch. I know.

Only 14 spots available as 16 can fit on the plane. My fixer and I obviously take up spot number 15 and 16.

What’s included?

• All accommodation (ranging from camping to 2* and 3* places. This isn’t Thailand folks, be ready!)
• All breakfasts
• All transport, including a (super f*cking expensive) private charter flight into, and out of, Timbuktu
• A local, english-speaking guide
• A western guide (me!)
• All activities listed
• All entrance fees listed
• Airport Transfers

What’s not included?

• International airfare in and out of Bamako
• Travel insurance (mandatory! I actually recommend kidnap insurance for this trip too)
• Lunches and Dinners
• Tips for local guides
• Visa fee (paid to your nearest embassy when applying for your visa)

Mali Visa

You have to earn this trip folks. My guys will get us our registrations and letter of invitations, and anything else we need. But, then we need to go to a Mali embassy to get the actual tourist visa.

For me, in Bangkok, I too feel your pain. No embassy in Thailand, or in South East Asia. I have to fly either back to Ireland/UK for London, or to Delhi, in India. You can ask your nearest embassy do they allow postal applications, most do.

Is Mali Safe To Visit?

There is a reason Mali is one of the least visited countries in the world. Bamako, the capital, is safe. Some of the West and North are safe-ish. Timbuktu and that region? No, not safe. You’re joining this trip in full awareness of that fact. If the flight gets grounded and doesn’t go, I’ll refund you guys everything I get refunded. It’s a risk we take with these trips, much like our Central African Republic trip and South Sudan trip last year. And what an epic trip that turned out to be!

I’ll be taking every precaution to maximise safety, and I’m using my fixers that a former staff member has used multiple times for trips himself in Mali.

How you can join my Mali Tour?

Unfortunately, it’s invitation-only folks.

Due to security threats, this will be offered to people who have traveled with my previously, or who have reached out with their real identities online. I know there is huge demand for this trip, but please email me to be added to the list. I’ll do a second one early next year if we manage to pull this one off!

BOOK HERE:

johnny@onestep4ward or instagram.com/onestep4ward