Meals prepared on site by private chef during the festival. (3 meals per day)
Bottled water during festival
Tours as outline in the program
All other meals indicated by B, L, D
Traditional Dogon Mask Dance
Camel ride on the dunes
English-speaking guide for the entire tour
Roundtrip airport to hotel transfers
All taxes and admission fees to included sites
Tour Price Does Not Include:
Travel insurance, international airfare to Mali, Meals not listed, Visa fees, Gratuities, Festival entry pass, Domestic flights ($540), sleeping bag (recommended)
Prices are determined by the number of guests per vehicle, not including driver and guide/assistant.
Call (800) 533-5343 for more information or to book today! Mention code 6948167
Tour Operator
Palace Travel Inc
Offer
Offer valid through 1/5/2009
Duration
7 Days
Escorted
Escorted - Yes
Itinerary
Day
Destination
Description
Day 1
Bamako
International flight arrives in Bamako. You will be met, assisted and transferred to your hotel.
Overnight: ( 3 star hotel)
Day 2
Bamako
Today you will explore this capital city of Bamako situated on the Niger, one of Africa's great rivers.
Mali is a country of many tribal peoples, each with their own exuberant styles of clothing and jewelry. There is nowhere better to see this colorful diversity than in the streets and markets of Bamako.
Bamako has a large art and craft centre where sculptors, weavers, leather workers, jewelers and metal workers exhibit their wares and skills. One area of the market is devoted entirely to traditional African medicines. Here you'll find the freshly shrunken heads of birds, monkeys and crocodiles, along with lizard skins and other gruesome treatments.
Overnight: (3-star Hotel)
Meal(s) Included: Breakfast
Day 3
Timbuktu
This morning take a morning flight to legendary Timbuktu. Located at the terminus of the great trans-Saharan caravan route, Timbuktu became fabulously wealthy in the 16th century. Loaded with blocks of salt and other trade goods, huge convoys of camels would spend weeks crossing the unforgiving Sahara to reach Timbuktu. It was here that they would trade salt, pound-for-pound, with African merchants bringing gold and ivory along the Niger from the heart of Africa. Wander the dusty streets of Timbuktu, admiring such magnificent mud-brick structures as the Djinguiraiber Mosque, the Mosque of Sankore, and the Palace of Bouctou. See the houses of the various 19th century European explorers who used Timbuktu as a base.
Overnight: (Hotel)
Meal(s) Included: Breakfast
Day 4
ESSAKANE
This morning we shall continue our tour of Timbuktu, including a visit to the ethnological museum and Maison des Artisans. This afternoon we shall travel approximately 2 hours to Essakane, the site of the Festival in the Desert. We shall have leisure time in the encampment before the evening music begins.
(Tent and mats)
Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 5
ESSAKANE
After a musical evening, we shall have a leisurely Morning. In the afternoon, we will enjoy camel rides, traditional songs and games and interact with the musicians and traders before enjoying the music which lasts all night long.
(Tent and mats)
Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6
ESSAKANE
Activities in Essakane continue. Enjoy the music festival finale, which lasts all night long.
(Tent and mats)
Meal(s) Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7
Bamako
After breakfast, return to Timbuktu early in the morning for your flight to Bamako where you will await your onward flight or extended tour begins.
(Day room)
Meal(s) Included: Breakfast
Dates/Pricing
Disclaimer
Single Supplement $310
Single Supplement is the additional price paid for single occupancy of a room.
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