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REPUBLIC OF MALI (continued)

7. How do I get there?

Visas
Airlines
Airport to City
Roads
Train
Departure Taxes

VISAS

Most visitors must have a visa and valid passport to enter Mali. The only exceptions are citizens of nearby Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Togo, and Tunisia, who must present a valid identity card or passport upon arrival.

A passport is considered valid if its expiration date is at least six months beyond your arrival date in Mali.

Visas are good for 90 days after being issued. When we applied for our visas in 2007, the Mali Embassy in the U.S. wanted to know our arrival date in Mali and then dated the validity of our visas ahead to that date.

You should ascertain whether they will do that for you so you don't apply too early.

U.S. citizens are eligible for up to a five-year multiple entry visa. For citizens of other countries, visas range from a 90-day single entry to one-year multiple entries.

In April 2008 the cost of all visas increased to US$131.

U.S. citizens can download a visa application from the embassy website: www.maliembassy.us. Citizens from other countries should contact the Mali Embassy nearest them for visa application information.

A complete application includes the following:

A valid passport
Two recent passport-size photographs (glue them to the application form)
Two completed application forms
A copy of your airline itinerary or a flight ticket
A copy of your yellow fever certificate
A copy of your hotel reservation
The application fee paid in cash, money order, or certified check

Visa processing takes about five business days. You must include a self-addressed stamped envelope with your application. A return envelope with a tracking number is recommended by the embassy.

AIRLINES

Mali is served by only one major international airline (Air France) and several African airlines, which all fly into Bamako:

Afriqiyah Airways (Libya)
Air Algerie
Air Burkina
Air France
Air Gabon
Air Guinee
Air Ivoire
Air Mauritania
Air Senegal
Cameroon Airlines
Compaignie Aerienne du Mali
Ethiopian Airlines
Kenya Airways
Point Afrique
Royal Air Maroc
SAE Airlines (domestic only)
STA Trans African Airlines
Tunis Air
West African Airlines (Benin)

If you are flying from North America or Europe to Mali, Air France will probably be your airline of choice since it offers regular service from many U.S. gateway cities to Paris and between Paris and Bamako.

Royal Air Maroc offers New York City and European connections to Bamako through Casablanca.

Since both airlines arrive and depart Bamako in the middle of the night, you may want to plan your hotels and airport to city transportation accordingly.

African airlines with the best reputations for safety and reliability include Royal Air Maroc, Ethiopian Airlines, and Kenya Airways.

AIRPORT TO CITY

Welcome to Mali. Since airport arrival experiences usually leave lasting impressions on first-time visitors, the small airport in Bamako (Bamako-Sénou International Airport) could use a major house cleaning.

Indeed, it's a good example of too much chaos (not sure what to do) and confusion and too many crowds, hustlers, and touts. Visitors are justified in wondering if anyone actually administers this mess.

Banks, money kiosks, and people holding signs appear as soon as you enter the airport door - in the immigration area rather than after you collect your bags.

Several uniformed (green) porters wait for you at the baggage belt and try to "assist" you. They are hard to shake.

After you pass your bags through an x-ray machine and have your baggage tags checked, you walk outside toward a parking lot where you will see signs of hotels on the right side and crowds in front of you.

Here you will most likely be approached by some friendly young men who want to assist you with your bags. Welcome to the transportation hustlers and touts who will try to rip you off with high prices and stories about getting to your hotel. Some will try to grab your bags or escort you to a taxi where they expect to receive a tip. Ignore them or tell them firmly "no."

Ignore these hustlers and look for your hotel shuttle or representative, or get a taxi. The taxis are located about 150 feet to the left of the exit. However, it's difficult to identify who is a legitimate taxi driver, since many freelance drivers pose as legitimate taxi drivers.

An official taxi driver carries a yellow card, which you may want to see before getting into a vehicle, most of which look like they have been engaged in battle for many years! They both look and feel unsafe (no seatbelts and the driver may drive like a hellion).

The cost of a taxi from the airport to the city is fixed at the airport - CFA7,500 (US$17.60) - which is twice what it should be (the return trip from the city to the airport costs around CFA3,000).

However, the airport hustlers will try to charge you 20 Euros or US$33.00. Assuming you are a stupid tourist, they will try to confuse you into overpaying for this already costly 15-kilometer ride to the city.