Cathy Hillman, who is booked on our Cradle of Voodoo tour to West Africa, dropped me an email yesterday asking for some advice. Whilst we have our experts here at Explore, I thought it would be also good to get anyone who has been to West Africa to offer their advice. Here are the questions from Cathy (slightly edited by me) however any suggestions would be most appreciated.
We had a FANTASTIC trip to Mali in Oct 05 (best holiday ever) and been desperate to get back to West Africa since then.
I’m really interested in helpful – practical – suggestions of things to take:
- what was the best sort of Mosquito Net (am thinking about taking one of the Pop-Up ones but no idea if it is suitable because of the variety of accommodation we have).
- should I try and find a map over here, or buy it there?
- Is there access to both drinking water and ordinary water for showering or is it another case of a cup in a washing up bowl?
- Was there much to buy – not just souvenirs but things to eat?
- Is there much free time?
- Should I change a little money as we go along or change it all at the airport?
- When we went to Mali I took a little “bubble set” which went down a treat with all the children as they had never seen bubbles before and took the pressure off them following us for money. Is this a good idea?
You can leave your comments by going here.
Our replies were:
- Best to have a mosquito net with hooks that you can hang from the ceiling. For camping our tents have inbuilt nets.
- Probably best to buy a map at home. Stanfords have a good selection (we usually recommend Stanfords for books and maps)
- All hotels have showers. On the camping nights bucket showers are avaialable although of course water is limited.
- The tour is great for local handicrafts and you pass through many markets so there are always opportunities to buy fresh, local produce.
- Always difficult to answer, however the tour is designed to be active and participatory and covers a good amount of ground. There is always free time in the evenings, and a lot of activities and excursions are of course included, but optional if people would prefer time to do something else. i.e. if you want free time you can opt to take it rather than do something organised.
- The tour leader will advise on places where and when the tour group can change money, as places where it’s possible are limited. The Airport is probably not appropriate due to the flight arrival time, and trying to get everyone through the money change bureau – best to wait for the leader’s advice when you are there.
- A great idea to carry something for the children. Pens and Pencils can also be much appreciated and we also suggest maybe pictures of the UK e.g. postcards.
Please do leave your suggestions in the comments. Cathy and I would love to hear them.
Mali… one of the most inspiring trips I’ve been on (dec.06) and great tour leader. it was much ‘easier’ than anticipated; we dumped our mozzie nets, not necessary, but had plenty of deet. Take tons of anticeptic hand wipes; ”femi-wipes” also good idea for women when no showers. individual gifts discouraged but stuff for schools and communities (old clothes etc) welcome and given as group gifts. We really liked the Explore philosophy in this respect. lots of walking in dirt/animal droppings so shoes better than sandals! You can’t be disappointed with this trip if you are prepared…read the blurb! Don’t really need maps but nice to see where one’s going. Take crosswords/ travel games to play on long boat trip; our game went down a treat with one of the crew. Lots of interesting ”ethnic” stuff to buy… or, if time, go to Bamako crafts market at end of trip.