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Some might find it interesting, but I found it a little OVERPRICED. This museum is just a room with a few old B/W photos and a courtyard with a well that is, supossedly, the original place around which the cuty was founded. I doubt it very much that THAT was the original dwell, but even then, 7 EUROS for the entrance seems a bit too much!! (El Prado Museum in Madrid costs only 5 and it's "a little" bigger)
Written Sep 29, 2008
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If you join one of those desert trips, the guys at the start will offer you the touareg blue scarfs for the trip. You can buy them or hire them (for about 1-2 euros).
They might be useful IF THERE IS A SUDDEN SAND STORM, but that is very rare, so it's more a tourist trap than a useful thing.
Anyway, it makes a good souvenir photo, so maybe you don't care after all for 1-2 euros...
Written Sep 29, 2008
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Timbuktu is in the middle of nowhere. It's not easy to reach. It's even more difficult to leave... It's reknown as a "cul de sac". A gap... a trap...
Very often, independant tourists have to pay incredible amounts (I heard up to 150 € but I don't know if it's true!) to get a simple place in an uncomfortable and overcrowded "taxi brousse" (bush taxi: see picture).
Unique Suggestions: So in a way, Timbuktu IS a tourist trap...
Several solutions to avoid being trapped there or having to pay too much:
1/ Go with your own car. Preferably in convoy: several cars may help each other in case of breakdown. Keep in mind that there are no petrol stations between Timbuktu and Douentza (300 km);
2/ Organize you way back in advance with a guide from Mopti, Gao or Douentza;
3/ Go with an agency.
For the 2 last solutions, always be SURE that everything is fixed: the price, the date of the trip, water and food...
Fun Alternatives: It has to be said that it's possible to leave Timbuktu by a pinnace on the Niger River that can take you to Mopti (sailing 3 to 5 days) or Gao (3 days).
The pinnaces carry passengers AND freight. Not comfortable at all but magical... They leave from Korioumé (Timbuktu's port), 15 km South.
It's IMPORTANT to organize this trip before you come to Timbuktu : there are several CROOKS in the city who sell expensive tickets on pinnaces... and let you with nothing to eat and drink. In those condition, 3 or 5 days are long and you will not keep a good "souvenir" of your trip....
THIS CAN BE DANGEROUS...!
Again, whatever you choose, always be SURE that everything is fixed: the price, the date of the trip, water and food... and if possible, pay after you came back.
Written Oct 20, 2003
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Reviews and photos of Timbuktu attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Timbuktu sightseeing.
Timbuktu is in the middle of nowhere. It's not easy to reach. It's even more difficult to leave... It's reknown as a "cul de sac". A gap... a trap...Very often,...
11 members live in Timbuktu
Q: Hello Kind Peoples of the Virtual Tourist Forum, I begin my post grad teacher training in September 2011, meanwhile I'd like to...
A: Probably your best bet is to contact some expats living in Timbuktu right now. I have been there twice, but never looked at it from your perspective. Nothing like taking...
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Timbuktu, where the camel meets the canoe
For many people in the world Timbuktu has an air of mystery. Many people think about this legendary city in Mali more as a mythical place than as a city with a real history. Timbuktu is often used as...
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Saying Timbuktu often takes you to dreaming of distant lands, inaccesible towns, 1001 nights... Timbuktu is a legendary city for its position in the middle of Africa, being an ancient mercantile...
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Timbuktu is lost in the middle of the desert. In fact the nearly Sahara is sucking down the city and you can find sand everywhere (even in the food). This mythical and mysterious city disappoints...
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Timbuktu… « La Ville 7 fois sainte »… « la Cité aux toits d’or »… « La Ville aux 333 Saints »… Nowadays, the mythic city is only a pale shadow of its legend. Already in 1828 when he arrived there, the...
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I've been to Timbuktu, have you?
Wow! Timbuktu or Tombouctou. the fabled and mysterious city. The end of the road. The ultimate off the beaten path destination. Putting the "lonely" in Lonely planet. It is still hard for me to...
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