Mali Travel Guide

Mali is not a country you can just waltz into. There are few visa-free arrangements in place, and thus, almost everyone requires a visa to visit the country. Visas are not required for citizens of Algeria, Andorra, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Indonesia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Macau, Mauritania, Monaco, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo and Tunisia.

The currency of the country is the West African CFA franc, denoted CFA (ISO currency code: XOF). It's also used by seven other West African countries. It is interchangeable at par with the Central African CFA franc (XAF), which is used by six countries. Both currencies are fixed at a rate of 1 euro = 655.957 CFA francs.

The main cities along the paved road into the north are connected via bus (Bamako, Segou, San, Mopti, Gao). A separate paved loop runs through the south (Bamako, Bougouni, Sikasso, Koutiala, Segou) There are many different companies with different schedules but they all have more or less the same prices. Normally a ride to Mopti (600 km, half the way up), endures approximately nine hours; a ride to Gao at least 12. All times are very rough, however, and few bus companies will even give you an estimated arrival time as different drivers drive different speeds and it is not improbable that the b…

In a constitutional reform in 2023, French was demoted from its official language status, but it remains the lingua franca for communication between ethnic groups. Bambara (or Bamanankan in the language itself), along with numerous other African languages (Peulh/Fula, Dogon, and Tamashek, the language of the Tuareg people), are spoken by 80% of the population. Few people speak French outside bigger towns, and even Bambara gets rare in some regions. Very few people speak English. A Songhai phrase…

Mali is politically unstable and therefore lawlessness is wide spread. In June 2012, Mali was hit by a political crisis and a civil war, which temporarily split the country into two parts: the north being named as "Azawad" and being controlled by a group of Islamist rebels, whilst the south experienced a military junta. Travelling in Timbuktu and Gao provinces is particularly dangerous, and as of July 2012, the Islamist rebel groups have ordered all shrines which are considered to involve idolatry to be destroyed. The U.S., Canada and Australia travel advisories have since continued to advise…

Vaccinations

Although it is rarely enforced, you are required to have an international vaccination card showing immunization against yellow fever. It is also recommended to get Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, typhoid, and meningitis vaccinations. You may also consider getting a polio vaccination due to the outbreak of polio in Northern Nigeria that has spread around the region.

Greeting people is very important. You should get familiar with the greetings in French or, better, in Bambara. Vendors should be treated in a proper way, even when you buy just fruit or bread. It is very important to show a general interest in the other person, so ask about family, work, children, and so on. The answer is simple: "Ça va" (It's all right). The interlocutor should not answer in a negative way.