Cheap flights to Mali

• Air Algerie
• Royal Air Maroc
• Air France
• Ethiopian Airlines
• KLM
• Turkish Airlines
• British Airways
• Flybe
• AirBaltic Airlines
• KLM
• Kenya Airways
• Air Europa
• Tap Portugal

• The flight from London Heathrow to Bamako Airport takes 8 to 11 hours and comes with a stopover.
• Manchester to Bamako flight duration is 9 to 14 hours long depending on the airline used. This flight can come with one stopover.
• The flight duration of the trip from Birmingham to Bamako airport is 8 to 15 hours, depending on the airline chosen to fly with. This flight has one stopover.
• Passengers flying out of London Gatwick Airport, usually reach the Bamako’s Modibo Keita International Airport in about 10 to 15 hours after switching an aeroplane.

Regrettably, as of right now, there are no direct flights from any airport in Mali to an airport in the UK. Usually, passengers and travellers to Mali take an Air Algerie or a Royal Air Maroc flight to Mali. Tickets from these airlines are cheaper than tickets of Air France, although Air France operates more flights to Mali overall. African Based airlines have the added advantage of being midway between the UK and central Africa and are close to Mali, and thus can offer cheaper tickets.

The best time to visit Mali is in the months of December and January. These months are the coolest months of the year for a country that is partially covered by the Saharan desert. The temperatures, even in these months, can get warmer when the harmattan winds begin to blow from the desert towards the more habitable southern Mali, without warning. However, that is not always the case and when they do start to blow towards the greener south of the country, just stay indoors and get entertained by your great Malian hosts.

The cheapest time to visit Mali is in the hot months that are between May and July. These months might be hot, with temperatures reaching about 40°C but they also bring in some rain and with that the country gets greener and cooler after the parched searing months. So, keep hydrated, keep cool and enjoy the summer months in Mali, by paying half as much as other travellers usually pay who visit Mali in the winter.

The airport that handles all international flights coming to Mali is Modibo Keita International Airport (BKO) at Bamako city. Since Mali is a landlocked country, Bamako Airport has been the primary doorway in and out of Mali. The airport is only 15 kilometres away and the city centre is only 25 minutes away from Modibo Keita International Airport. Despite being in an isolated landlocked corner of Africa, the airport has assisted 1 million passengers in 2017.

British citizens require a visa to enter Mali. This visa can be obtained from the Malian Honorary Consulate in London. It can take about seven to twenty-one days to get the visa processed by the Malian authorities. The British government has advised its citizens going to Mali, to avoid travel at night time and to have their identification papers with themselves at all times. Mali is a vast country; however, the northern half of the country faces some instability, so travelling into those regions is not advised.

The word Mali comes from the Mali Empire which existed before the region was colonized by the French in 1905. Mali has the world’s third-largest copper and gold reserves which have provided Mali with significant development and foreign presence, especially in the south of the country. Malian culture is an amalgamation of Islamic, Arabic, Sudanese and African traditions with the added finesse of the European cultures brought over by the colonial presence.

• The Great Mosque of Djenne is one of the most remarkable structures that were built in a Sudano-Sahelian architectural style. The Mosque is said to have been built in the 1200s but an exact date is unknown. The French, on their arrival in 1906, rebuilt the Great Mosque that was falling into ruin due to neglect. The local population of Djenne has insisted on keeping the mosque historically accurate and denied any attempts of modernizing the structure. The raw look of the mosque, built with just mud bricks and its walls dotted by scaffoldings, which are climbed to repair the structure once a year, is a sight to behold. This mosque is an important part of the Malian cultural heritage and it appears on the country’s coat of arms.
• The Bandiagara Escarpment is a sandstone cliff that rises to about 500 meters into the air and runs for 150 kilometres. In the shade of the cliff, there are the mud buildings and dwellings of the Dogon people who have lived in the area for centuries. Even when the French came to Mali, these people remained uninfluenced by the colonial cultures because only the Dogons knew the cave systems in the escarpment and used to surprise the colonial oppressors away. Today, their culture and unique buildings is a world heritage site and several hotels have been built to house the tourists who take this trip to experience the Dogon heritage of Mali.
• The Tomb of Askia, in Gao, is one of the first building s that was made in the Islamic earthen architecture of Western Africa. Askia Muhammad was the first King of the Songhai Kingdom. After performing his Hajj pilgrimage in 1495, he is said to have brought the materials from Mecca to make his tomb. A royal cemetery, a courtyard and a mosque are a part of the tomb complex. The tomb is said to have rooms and passageways but was sealed off with the King’s body inside at the time of his death. The Askia Tomb’s Mosque has been in used for worship for centuries and apart from the annual re-plastering, the building has stood in its place for centuries.

If you ever wanted to enjoy live jazz music surrounded by nature, with the monkeys ogling from the trees and the hippos wiggling their ears in the Senegal River, then come to Kayes in January. The musicians at the Gouin Festival can even make the dullest people tap their feet as their music incites the dancers to move and sway to its rhythm. Festival on the Niger is also a music and dance festival in Segou, but it evolves into much more than a hymn to the rhythm of life. Wood carvings, paintings, puppet shows, sculptures, and photographs from the country’s most talented artists converge on to Segou in February. Plastering the Great Mosque is an annual event in early May when all of Djenné gathers to apply fresh mud to the city’s historic Great Mosque after the rains have eroded its walls. The mud plaster is prepared in pits with the men helping to stir it in the hay with their legs and the women throwing in pots of water into the pit. Join in and have a little fun.

Getting around in Mali can be somewhat of a challenge, but if the tourists stick to the more populous areas of Mali, getting around can be relatively easy. The country lacks in urban infrastructure and paved roads can only be found in administrative districts and key trade route cities. Since Mali is a landlocked country, its exports are shipped out through Senegal or Côte d'Ivoire. The rail routes and roads linking to these countries to the capital city of Bamako make it easier for travellers to move. Taxi services are largely privately owned. Motorcycle taxis are also available that can zigzag between clogged and damaged roads easily.

The recent developmental projects and the exploration into Mali’s gold reserves have encouraged businesses to establish five-star hotels in the country.

• Radisson Blu Hotel, Bamako
• LAICO l'Amitie Hotel
• Laico El Farouk Hotel
• Azalai Hotel Salam
• Hotel La Coccinelle