Mali border access from Mauritania
 

Is there Carnet needed for motorcycle entering Mali from Mauritania?

Is the Mali's VISA available at the border?

With the Sun, Margus

[This message has been edited by Margus (edited 12 May 2004).]

Hey there, You can get into Mali with a bike/4x4 with no Carnet, you need to get a 'Laisser Passe' (letter of passage) done at the border when you enter Mali, costs 2000 CFA and takes 20 minutes or so,need your Carte Gris (registration document)and Insurance too, if you dont have anything valid for Mali already, If you are planning on travelling through West Africa get a 'Carte Brune' (ECOWAS Brown Card) available from most insurance brokers which covers you for 15 countries in West Africa and is a hassle free way to do it. Cost me 46€ for 3 months insurance on a Land Rover Tdi. Just tell them the horsepower is low and your bike is not worth much to keep the price down - Its a fairly worthless exercise anyway, but it gives you the legal minumum and keeps the Cops off your back.
As for the Visa, you have to get one before you enter the country as it stands at the moment - I have heard of people blagging it, but you can bet it cost them a fair bit of Backsheesh. You can get the Visa in Nouakchott from the Mali Embassy same day or overnight for 2000 UG (6€ ish) Cheers, Grif.

Thanks a lot for the info!

Going to check the ECOWAS Brown Card from my insurance company soon.

Can anyone tell how're the road conditions from direction Nuadibu -> Nouakchott -> Bamako -> Timbuktu

Planning to go with a street bike two up, so it gets stuck into sand with it's weight when not choosing roads well.

Or it's better to go from Nouakchott to Bamako via Senegal/Dakar? I see a bigger road going that way from my low resolution map (hoping to get a better one soon...).

And is there a border access with Mauritania when going back from Timbuktu to Mauri on the direction to Nema - or only offroad routes possible?

Margus

[This message has been edited by Margus (edited 14 May 2004).]

hi

route de l`espoire is very much ok(all tar) from Nouachott to Nema but forget the leg to Nara in Mali on a street bike and during raining season> I passed there last year on a Honda xrl650 and it was a real struggle with mud and water. Got stuck in flooded plains for a couple of days, but it was also great fun with the right bike. The border officers on Mauri side are really corrupt and try a lot to get something out of you.

On the Mauri side there were works going on to improve the road from Nema to the border but I am not sure how far this has got.
safe ridings
Alessandro