2 independent reviews for Timbuktu festival tour, Mali
Reviews for Timbuktu festival tour, Mali
Bernard John Hughes review 23 Sep 2025
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Our four days in Timbuktu was the most memorable part of our visit to Mali. Aly made sure everything ran smoothly, and we felt safe with the police presence. Mosques and manuscripts were well worth seeing. The people were exceedingly friendly and gave us a great welcome.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Top tips for visiting Mali are plan well in advance. Getting visas from the embassy in Belgium and malaria tables take time and if you want to see sites of special interest to yourself then talk to Aly using WhatsApp well in advance.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
We were able to help the local people. We flew Royal Moroc Airlines from Gatwick to Bamako. The airline has a generous baggage allowance of 100lbs which allowed us to bring gifts for the local football team, school and hospital.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Our trip was an adventure not a vacation and far exceeded our expectations.Melis Terzioglu review 20 Dec 2025
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
1. Visiting Timbuktu 2. Attending a private concert by Vieux Farka Touré at his house (pricesless experience) 3. Crashing a wedding 4. Dogon dance (albeit not in the Dogon country to which we were supposed but could not travel)2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
You have to be prepared that very little or nothing might go according to plan. We were able to do 20-30% of what was mentioned on the initial itinerary. You are basically sold an "ideal program" in a country where unfortunately the circumstances are far from ideal. So things change and they change fast on a daily basis. You also have to know that during that "ideal" phase, communication is impeccable but then when things start shifting and falling apart the communication also dwindles and is not properly managed. Mali is a wonderful country which unfortunately seems to be getting more and more unstable, so travel there bearing in mind that you might get to see very little of what you are promised. To add to these major hiccups, you have to also know that although the tour is run&operated with the best of intentions it is not done so in a professional manner: organizational and communication skills are lacking (with the guide usually being late all the time starting with your airport pick-up upon arrival or arriving last to the agreed spot to which you are expected the take taxis at a short notice). We had initially signed up for a program that was meant to last 9 days and ended up finishing in 6 instead.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
One noticeable thing was that we ate at local restaurants, although extremely slow in service the food was mostly good. Locally benefitting however does not make for good all the time. We had thankfully upgraded our hotel when signing up for the tour and were happy with our choice. The rest of the group ended up changing that initial hotel mentioned in the package for better options along the way. So we think meeting some very basic standards should precede local impact.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
10 out 10 for the intentions, 4/10 for the executionHoliday Reviews
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