How to Cross the Senegal - Mali border at Kidira
Posted: September 11, 2022 | Tagged: Border Crossings, Mali
How to get from Tambacounda (Senegal) to Kayes (Mali) via the Kidira/Diboli border (February 2020 before the pandemic shut things down).
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My day started in Tambacounda and ended 281km later in Kayes. Here is the minivan that broke down a few hours after leaving Tambacounda:
The road from Tambacounda to the border at Kidira was in crap condition, as per usual in Senegal. The journey was hardcore. I arrived in Kidira after 184 km at 4 pm.
In hindsight, what I should have done was found a hotel and crossed the border the next day. But I didn't.
I headed immediately for the border.
I got stamped out, walked across the bridge, over the Falémé River and into Mali.
In hindsight, what I should have done was found a hotel and crossed the border the next day. But I didn't.
I headed immediately for the border.
I got stamped out, walked across the bridge, over the Falémé River and into Mali.
I had secured my Mali visa in Dakar so I just breezed through the immigration as if it's an everyday occurrence that a backpacker comes through here.
The guys were friendly. No attempt was made to extract a bribe.
They told me I could sleep in the Hotel La Falémé which had a nightclub attached and take a bus to Kayes at 6 am. Umm, thanks but no thanks.
The guys were friendly. No attempt was made to extract a bribe.
They told me I could sleep in the Hotel La Falémé which had a nightclub attached and take a bus to Kayes at 6 am. Umm, thanks but no thanks.
Above: my Mali visa. My proudest ever.
Below: Passport stamps for exiting Senegal and entering Mali:
Below: Passport stamps for exiting Senegal and entering Mali:
Mali, my 94th country, my 88th UN-listed country.
I rode a 5-seater minivan for the final 97km and arrived in Kayes at 11 pm. It took a while to find a hotel. But after lots of unhelpful help, I ended up at the colonial-era Hotel du Rail, across from the station that no longer serves any trains.
It had been a very long day. The roads had been tough, I'd snatched food and water where I could and I privately suffered in the heat. But I had made it to Mali. Pretty neat eh?
I rode a 5-seater minivan for the final 97km and arrived in Kayes at 11 pm. It took a while to find a hotel. But after lots of unhelpful help, I ended up at the colonial-era Hotel du Rail, across from the station that no longer serves any trains.
It had been a very long day. The roads had been tough, I'd snatched food and water where I could and I privately suffered in the heat. But I had made it to Mali. Pretty neat eh?
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