Grand Loop Tour : 30 days

Day 1 Saturday: Arrival in Bamako, MALI
International flight arrives in Bamako; airport-to-hotel transfer; overnight in Bamako (Grand Hotel, or similar)

Day 2 Sunday: Bamako - Segou (235 km) (B)
Bamako city tour: start at Point G and the panoramic overview of the city; visit the National Museum, the city market and the artisans' village, where you will see local craftsmen at work: silversmiths, woodcarvers, weavers, and leatherworkers; in the afternoon, 3-hour drive to Segou; overnight in Segou (Hotel Independance, or similar)

Day 3 Monday: Segou - Djenne - Mopti (405 km) (B)
Onward drive to Djenne, to see the huge, colorful weekly market, and the magnificent Great Mosque, the world's largest mud brick architecture and one of Unesco's World Heritage sites; drive to Mopti for overnight (Hotel Kanaga, or similar)

Day 5 Wednesday: Mopti - Timbuktu (550 km) (B)
After breakfast, depart Mopti and drive across the Sahel (~6 hours), to the legendary city of Timbuktu, at the edge of the Sahara Desert ! overnight in Timbuktu (Hotel Hendrina Khan, or similar)

Day 6 Thursday: Timbuktu / Sahara Desert (B)
Visit the mythical city of Timbuktu: see the ancient mosques (built in the XIV^th century) and former universities, the museum and the Ahmed Baba Institute archives of ancient Islamic manuscripts, the explorers' houses, the city market which receives the azalaïs, the salt caravans from the desert; in the afternoon, excursion into the Sahara Desert by camel caravan to visit a Tuareg camp; enjoy tea on the dunes with your Tuareg hosts, the Princes of the Desert; return to and overnight in Timbuktu (Hotel Hendrina Khan, or similar)

Day 7 Friday: Timbuktu - Dogon country (625 km) (B)
Return drive (~6 hours) across the Sahel, to Mali's fascinating Dogon country; overnight in Bandiagara (Hotel Kambary / Hotel La Falaise, or similar)

Day 9 Sunday: Dogon country - Ouahigouya (Burkina Faso) (260 km) (B)
Depart Dogon country, driving (~3½ hours) through picturesque villages and cross into Burkina Faso; city tour of Ouahigouya, capital of the old Yatenga kingdom, including the historic Yatenga Naba's compound (Naba = "King") and Naba Kango's tomb; overnight in Ouahigouya (Hotel Amitie, or similar)

Day 10 Monday: Ouahigouya - Ouagadougou (182 km) (B)
After breakfast depart for Ouagadougou (~4 hours); city tour of Ouagadougou: visit the Grand Market and the crafts markets at the Artisans' Center, where you will find basketry, batik fabrics, wooden statues and masks, jewelry, leatherwork and bronze castings; overnight in Ouagadougou (Hotel Silmande, or similar)

Day 15 Saturday: Abomey (B)
Full day to explore Abomey, former capital of the Danhomey kingdom; visit the Royal Palace and Museum, site of the ancient palaces of the twelve kings of Abomey (Unesco World Heritage site), who reigned from 1620 through 1900; visit the artisans' center, renowned for traditional tapestries and bronze castings, formerly reserved for the royal court only; in the afternoon, explore the Dahomey Trail with its unrestored palaces and fetish temples; overnight in Abomey (Motel d'Abomey, or similar)

Day 16 Sunday: Abomey - Cotonou (135 km) (B)
Drive to Cotonou, capital city of Benin; city tour of Cotonou, including the fish market and the international Dantokpa market, with its fetish market and handcraft center; enjoy a pirogue excursion to Ganvie village, built on stilts over the lagoon (Lake Nokoue); overnight in Cotonou (Hotel du Lac, or similar)

Day 17 Monday: Cotonou - Ouidah (40 km) (B)
Drive to Ouidah, the voudou capital of West Africa, and an important traditional religious center and ancient slave depot, which sent thousands of slaves to the new world; visit the Museum in the old Portuguese fort, the temple of pythons, the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the Kpasse sacred forest; trace the route of the famous "Slave Road" which leads to the slavery memorial of Zoungbodji; perhaps also witness a traditional voodoo ceremony featuring the spirits of departed ancestors; overnight in Ouidah (Hotel Oasis, or similar)

Day 18 Tuesday: Ouidah - Lome, TOGO (110 km) (B)
Continue visits of Ouidah in the morning; afternoon drive to Lome, Togo for overnight (Hotel Le Benin, or similar)

Day 19 Wednesday: Lome (B)
City tour of Lome: visit the National Museum, Lome central market, the artisans' village, and the Akodessewa fetish market; overnight in Lome (Hotel Le Benin, or similar)

Day 20 Thursday: Lome - Accra, GHANA (200 km) (B)
Cross the Ghana border, and continue to Accra; city tour of Accra, including the National Cultural Center, National Museum, and the Nkrumah Mausoleum; walking tour of James Town, and crafts shopping at the Trade Fair Centre; overnight in Accra (Shangri-La Hotel, or similar)

Day 21 Friday: Accra - Cape Coast / Elmina (170 km) (B)
Drive to Cape Coast; visit the old town and the Cape Coast Castle, former bastion of the Atlantic slave trade, now a Unesco World Heritage site; excursion to Elmina; enjoy a walking tour of St. George's Castle and a stroll to St. Jago Hill for a panoramic overview of historic Elmina; overnight in Cape Coast (Sanaa Lodge, or similar)

Day 22 Saturday: Cape Coast - Kakum National Park - Kumasi (225 km) (B)
Drive to and visit Kakum National Park; learn about the rainforest and its animals, and see the forest from the canopy walkway in the treetops; onward to Kumasi, capital of Ghana's Ashante country; overnight in Kumasi (Hotel Georgia, or similar)

Day 23 Sunday: Kumasi / Ashante country (B)
City tour of Kumasi, including the National Cultural Center, the Manhyia Palace, and the Kejetia market, the largest market in West Africa; afternoon excursion to visit Ashante villages (as time permits) on the outskirts of Kumasi: Bonwire village, to see authentic kente cloth being made; Pankronu village and its traditional pottery; wood carvings in Ahwiaa village; Ntonso village, for its adinkra cloth; overnight in Kumasi (Hotel Georgia, or similar)

Day 24 Monday: Kumasi - Tamale (360 km) (B)
Morning visit to the goldmines in Obuasi, then onward to Tamale; overnight in Tamale (Gariba Lodge, or similar)

Day 26 Wednesday: Ouagadougou - Bobo Dioulasso (355 km) (B)
City tour of Ouagadougou: visit the Grand Market and the National Museum, with its interesting collection of regional clothing, masks, household utensils and ancestral statues; also visit the crafts markets at the Artisans' Center, where you will find basketry, batik fabrics, wooden statues and masks, jewelry, leatherwork and bronze castings; afternoon drive to Bobo Dioulasso; overnight in Bobo Dioulasso (Hotel Auberge, or similar)

Day 27 Thursday: Bobo Dioulasso - Banfora (85 km) - Bobo Dioulasso (B)
Morning excursion to Banfora, in Burkina's sugarcane country; return to and visit Bobo Dioulasso ("house of the Bobo merchants"), Burkina's second largest city; see the old mosque and visit the old Kibidwe artisans' district, where you will see blacksmiths, potters, and dyers at work; overnight in Bobo Dioulasso (Hotel Auberge, or similar)

Day 28 Friday: Bobo Dioulasso - Sikasso (Mali) (165 km) (B)
Depart Bobo Dioulasso and cross the Mali border, to Sikasso in Mali's green belt; tour Sikasso: see the remnants of the Tata, ancient palisade that encircled the city and for a time held off the French colonial army; visit the Mamelon, residence of the former kings of Sikasso; overnight in Sikasso (Hotel Kaaky, or similar)

Day 29 Saturday: Sikasso - Bamako (375 km) (B)
Visit Misiri Koro, sacred grotto that housed the city's protector spirits; and return drive (4 hours) to Bamako; overnight in Bamako (Grand Hotel, or similar)

Day 30 Sunday: Bamako - final departure (B)
Tour Bamako: from the panoramic overview of the city at Point G, to the National Museum, the city market, the artisans' village, the fetish market for traditional medicine; or option to just relax by the hotel pool; in the evening, transfer to the airport for your final departure