Bamako is considered to be one of the most African of the African capitols. In other words, if you are looking for a truly African experience, to visit the roots of West African culture, than Mali is the place.
The advice that I have to offer to first-time visitors is to be able to speak some French when you get there. Life will be pretty tough for the non-French speaking traveler.
For leisure and business tourists alike, it will be important to get around once you get there. For this, there are a few options.
Use the taxi system. edit
The taxis are everywhere and typically get you where you need. There are two types...
The private taxi- A small, usually yellow Peugot, four-door sedan. Usually, these taxis remain private, but occasionally, they will pick up another traveler. The drivers almost all speak very good French and know the city like the back of their hands. Usually about 1500 CFA to hitch a ride across town, sometimes can be as high as 2000. Should negotiate fare upon getting in taxi.
The mini-bus taxi- These are big green mini-buses, usually filled with about 15 other passengers. Costs about 125 CFA to get you from point A to point B. Point A is the place that you hail the taxi. The problem here is that you need to be able to describe point B well-enough. Also, these taxis don't always take you to point B directly; they have relatively fixed routes and will drop you off at a place where you can catch another one to take you the rest of the way to your destination. There is always a doorman which occupies the slide-open rear doors. Some of the doorman have better French than others. The general procedure is this, the taxi comes to a halt, the door man pops out you ask him whether he is heading to a general area of town, he tells you yes usually, you squeeze in to a very tight spot, eventually he lets you know that you have arrived (you should remind him once en route of your destination), you pay him the fee (usually not more than 150 CFA).
Rent a Car edit
Regular Car or SUV - Some of the traditional rent-a-car places will rent you a vehicle, or there are specialists in off-road vehicles. These are based at some of the major hotels, including at the Hotel Nord Sud.
Rent a Car + a Chauffeur - This is the option that works best for short lengths of time. For the business traveler, it is truly a necessity. Often when visiting Bamako for business, one needs to frequently move about from office to office, from meeting to meeting. This option is ideal, as the car is dependable, the chauffeur is experienced in driving and he knows many of the names and locations of the major government offices, NGOs, tourist spots, etc. This service is available on a daily basis, and the driver and car remain nearby at each stop that you make. For the tourist, this option can be your solution to seeing the city of Bamako in a care-free manner. Trips out of the city are available as well, although the fare can be somewhat higher than intra-city rates. Gas is an additional cost to the renter. A distinguished man by the name of Aldiouma (pronounced al-jew-ma) Togo runs a classy operation is open to negotiation for rates. Usually around 25-30 thousand CFA per day for intra-city use. Slightly less than double that fee for extra-city travel. His info: Aldiouma Togo: Cell: (+223)642-6500 Home: (+223)222-1624 togoaldiouma@yahoo.fr