Mali by car
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From Europe
From Europe one has to cross the straits of Gibraltar, Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania. There are no longer any problems crossing Western Sahara along the coastal road. You will need to have your car and passport information ready to hand over at the various checkpoint however. There is now tarmaced roads all the way from Europe to Bamako and on to Gao (apart from 3 km at the border between Western Sahara and Mauritania).
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There are several ways to get to Mali by car.
The most popular routes are from Senegal (especially since the Dakar-Bamako trains stopped) and Burkina Faso. The road from Gao to Niamey has recently been paved and a bridge is being built in Gao so the entire journey from Niamey to Bamako can be completed on paved (if not remote) roads.
There are also decent land crossings from Mauritania (recently paved) & Guinea. The Ivoirian crossing leads into a region of northern Cote d'Ivoire controlled by rebels and, while fairly safe, will lead you through countless roadblocks and "officials" demanding bribes; if travelling to southern Cote d'Ivoire, you're better off travelling through Burkina Faso & Ghana.
There is a remote desert crossing with Algeria near Tessalit, but it is dangerous (prone to banditry and used for smuggling) and remote. It may be closed to tourists; even if not, the Algerian side is dangerous (banditry and al Qaeda extremists!) and requires a military escort.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Mali
