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I have not been to Niger, but have spent several years in burkina and have been going back regularly for the last 12 years

you do not want to go in April
It is bloody hot. I mean 45 degrees in the shade hot. Unless you like bloody hot.
but then August is very rainy in Burkina, not so nice either, though it is still nice and warm, but there will be days when it rains all day long

flights between Ouaga and Niamey are only with Air Burkina as far as I know and these used to be around 300 euros return

I will be in Burkina in February, could ask about the Niger visa then

I used to take Savarine (proguanil and cloroquine combo) against malaria

if you fly between Ouaga and Niamey then I would also add Gaoua to your trip in Burkina-Lobi country is fascinating, there is a nice lebanese hotel called Hala, not really budget, but not too expensive either

Oh, I do hope you speak french.

If you have more specific questions about Burkina do let me know

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I have what I call ' tourist French' in that I can ask direction, order food, check into a hotel, greet people etc , however my conversational skills are limited.

Having never been to this part of the world I'm not sure about the climate, as an example I managed quite fine in southern tunisia during an August when we were above 40 every day, however travelling in India during the monsoon season when the the temperatures was mid - low thirties and humidity was 100% was miserable, for the most part I deal with dry heat quite well, its humidity that gets me.

I only need a one way to Niamey, since the new Turkish airlines flight flies Istanbul - Niamey - Ouagadougou - Istanbul, I'll fly open jaw into Ouaga and out of Niamey, interestingly its about £50 cheaper than a straightforward return. Just discovered Air Burkina, for a small west African airline their website is impressive, three days a week to Niamey £90 one way.

It's interesting that you mention Lobi Country I've just been reading about this area and thought it may be interesting, we'll add that to the list then.

I have came up with a couple more questions today,

Firstly I was wondering about train services, are they still running I much prefer trains to buses and thought it may be an interesting way to travel between Banfora and Ouaga.

Also what do you know about Fada Ngourma? is this an interesting place to visit, if there is anything worthwhile there, if its worth a stop I might consider overlanding to Niamey.

Thanks Liza

Jeraboa

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trains in burkina sadly not really reliable
there is now a cargo train between ouaga and bobo and i think with a small passenger compartment, but times are not reliable and it takes more than 7-8 hours, but there are nice buses between ouaga and bobo , 4,5-5 hours, a-c bus for sth like 11 euros one way

bobo to banfora is about 80 km, maximus 1,5 hours on the bus

i took the ouaga to bobo train on 1st of January 1998 and even then it was nothing special

Bobo is a place you want to spend some time at - i used to live there, wrote my PhD thesis on the life in this town, i love the place, not much to see, but a great place to hang out, drink tea or beer or both, and just be, watch people etc.

There are nice places on the outskirts of the town, to stay, to go visit, if you want i can send you recommendations in PM, with all these new LP rules, I don't want to be accused of being a tout, since these places belong to friends, but then again, when you've known a place for as long as I have, difficult to make recommendations without saying, it belongs to a friend

Fada n'gourma - have not been back there since I spent a night there in december 1997.
Cut my finger on a fan, had a bad toilet story, which I only tell if I am sufficiently drunk, as it is rather embarrassing, that is all I remember

can I ask you to tell me about the Turkish airlines deal, I could not find it online

thanks

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What are the flight options between Ouagadougou and Niamey and how much does the flight cost?

In addition to the already quoted Air Burkina, Asky and Senegal Airlines have also flights from Ouaga to Niamey (not daily though). BTW, the schedule on the web of Asky isn't updated so use the book option to know it. Senegal Airlines is probably the less reliable of them.

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Sure, the open jaw flights are costing £530 out of Manchester

31st March
Depart Man 15.35
01st April
Arrive Nia 21.55

29th April
Depart oua 23.55
30th April
arrive man 09.15

Its an excellent price for an open jaw into west Africa, especially flying from Manchester instead of London, a couple of months later the prices go up by around £200, which is similar to Royal Air Maroc fares from London. I haven't seen it advertised as an introductory offer, but those prices clearly aren't lasting beyond the spring.

I looked at Asky but their fares are £151 so substantially more expensive. Something called Deccan aviation also shows up on search engines such as bravo fly charging £143, I wonder if this is an error with the airline code and those are actually Senegal airlines flights.

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Something called Deccan aviation also shows up on search engines such as bravo fly charging £143, I wonder if this is an error with the airline code and those are actually Senegal airlines flights.

Right, those are Senegal Airlines flights. Air Deccan and Senegal Airlines have/had* the same airline code^ and therefore the confussion.

*Air Deccan (owned by Deccan Aviation) was adquired by Kingfisher some years ago. It was re-branded (so it isn't called Air Deccan anymore) and, AFAIK, doesn't use the DN code now (it uses Kingfisher's code: IT)
^Some small/regional airlines are given the same airline code because it's assumed they won't make the same routes as they are regional and operate in different regions.