There was a lot of planning involved and we used our travel agent to help sort out the myriad details.
Air? This involved flying into Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and flying out of Bamako, Mali. There was only one suitable airline (for us), Air France who flew into both cities via Paris. Royal Air Maroc is the only other airline we found that flew to both cities, via Casablanca. Not much of a choice on air. Priceline.com Air

Visas? You need for both countries. We used Zierer Visa Service rather than Fedexing back and forth to consulates in Washington, DC.

Travel Insurance? The price of this trip included the cost of a baseline insurance pakage for medical coverage and emergency evacuation. It did not include trip cancellation. As I’ve stated before, we always buy travel insurance. All it takes is one incident where you lose all money paid for the trip and you’ll be a convert.

Health & Immunizations? You are required to have a Yellow Fever vaccination. You must present your International Certificate of Vaccination showing the yellow fever vaccine in order to get a visa. Only Yellow Fever Vaccination clinics are allowed to administer this. Check out where in your area at the Centers for Disease Control and also their recommendations for other immmunizations.

Recommended were: Meningitis, Tetanus, Typhoid, Hep A, and Polio. We also needed to take Malaria pills – our drug of choice is Lariam, (Mefloquine is the generic). (We prefer the once-a-week Lariam to the once-a-day Malarone - but it’s your choice). Sub-continental travel requires lots of medical necessities…but it is worth it!

Weather and Clothing? It was going to be very hot! March is the hottest time of the year. Most villages were in Muslim areas which meant women and men needed to be covered from shoulders to knees. This wouldn’t be a problem as long as we wore long shorts.

Included? Airport transfers, sightseeing, expert leadership, accommodation in hotels when possible and group camping equipment (we did have to bring a sleeping bag), all meals, bottled water, tips for camp, hotel and “pinasse” (boat on Niger river journey) staff.

Last – bring money! If, like me, you can get into “obsessive-compulsive shopping” mode — bring lots of money. There was seemingly no end to the unusual, ethnic crafts seen in these countries. Don’t pass them by because you will never see anything like them again! Major buyer’s remorse will set in after the trip is over…trust me on this.

Lonely Planet Shop

“Timbuktu & Beyond” was a true Adventure Trip. This would require lots of patience and ability “to go with the flow” but we were psyched and ready…bring it on!