Bamako - Post Report Question and Answers
Travel time and best routes to this city from Europe or the US:
Basically 3 ways to get here - Air France via Paris (18hrs from Dulles including layover), South African Airways via Dakar (12hrs from Dulles including layover), and Royal Air Maroc via Casablanca (26hrs from JFK including layover).Of these, Air France is probably the best way and probably 85-90% of USG travelers come this route. The disadvantage is that it gets you into Bamako at 8-9PM at night. South African is definitely the fastest and gets you in mid-afternoon but you have to deal with an interesting airport transfer at Dakar plus you rely on Ethiopian Airways to get from Dakar to Bamako (not always the most reliable).This route is not recommended if you have pets due to customs regulations in Dakar. Royal Air Maroc is the cheapest route and the most scenic because you overnight in Casablanca, however I know no one who travels that route unless they are paying personally due to the fact that you get in at 3am. - Sep 2009
U.S. to Bamako via Paris, France, approximately 14 hrs. - Apr 2009
Route is through Paris on Air France. Paris has direct flights to most major cities. Total time is 5 hours from Bamako to Paris, then about 8-10 hours to major U.S. cities. - Feb 2009
All roads go through Paris. Travel time always ended up being about 24 hours from the U.S. because of layover time in Paris. Paris to Bamako is the daily flight everyone comes in on. - Feb 2009
The most direct route is via Paris on Air France, although it is very expensive because Air France has the only direct flight to Europe. 8 hours U.S.-Paris, 6 hours Paris-Bamako. - Jan 2009
