One other thing. I'm not sure how long this is going to last or what exactly is going on but plan on ATMs to not work on your international cards. They didn't work for us in Nouadhibou and now none are working here in Nouakchott either. From our hotel here and other guests only locals with bank branch cards can take out money - no Visa or Mastercard from foreign travelers are working at any bank ATM. My advice is to get what you think you need for the whole country at the border. The exchange they'll likely give for 400 to 1 euro isn't terrible. Its 420 to 1 in an exchange shop in Nouadhibou. People will change euro for you likely everywhere, but just make sure you have some, they will take US Dollars as well!

Another odd thing to note coming in. Starting on January 1st, 2018 they've changed the value of their currency, but are accepting both types til July. A 1000 ouguiya bill is now a 100, 2000 now 200, etc. You could receive both types. Just a heads up.

Tensions may return here, so they say:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...6-2#post576528

__________________
Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail

Last week (jan, the 2th) - there were no problems to get the new mauritanian money out of an ATM at NDB with VISAcard.
Cheers Ferdi

11/01/2018

Dear all,

i just returned from a very smooth overland trip from Europe to The Gambia without a Carnet de Passage!. During this trip i crossed Morocco, the Western Sahara, Mauritania and Senegal. I found that a lot of information available on forums like these are in need of an update, therefore i will do my best to be as complete as possible. (note that my experience can always differ from yours)

When driving throughout West Africa, knowledge of the French language is absolutely necessary. i would strongly advise anyone thinking about doing a similar trip to make sure to have at least basic proficiency in French.

Entering Morocco:
Entered by ferry through Tanger Med, late at night. we got stuck at customs there, it took us more than 6.5 hours to get through. we may just had some bad luck, but i would advise to do a good research on other possible points of entry (Cueta, Tanger ville). Get your temporary vehicle import permit beforehand on the internet (search for D16TER). Currency exchange and vehicle insurance available after customs. if using a European insurance with coverage in Morocco, be sure to get an ORIGINAL proof of insurance beforehand.
Fair warning: the Moroccan police love to hand out speeding tickets. i got 2. just keep to the speed limits, even in the lonely desert: they are everywhere! otherwise you'll have to pay on the spot, about 15 euros. The toll roads in morocco are truely amazing because they are not busy, cheap (15/20 euro total cost) and gas stations are frequent. southwards from Agadir the roads are just 1-lane, watch out for oncomming trucks. make sure to have fiches ready to hand out to the numerous police checkpoints. (Search for "fiche morocco" on google)
south of Tan-tan Diesel prices get a lot cheaper, about 0,70 eu/L. between Laayoune and dakhla there is a lot of road construction going on at the moment: calculate extra time for this stretch! Don't stray to far from the paved road, landmines may be present throughout the whole western Sahara, especially south of Dakhla.

Mauritania:

Leaving morocco:
Crossed the border at Bir Ghandouz. arrived around 12 o'clock in the afternoon. ask for instructions if you can not find the correct buildings.
- Stamp out your passport (left side of road).
-Afterwards, stamp out the temporary import permit in the building on the right-hand side, bring your carte grise! the moroccan police will probably search the car.
-Afterwards you'll have to go to the gendermerie building on the right, get another stamp, and then you leave morocco.

Entering Mauritania:
From morocco there is a 1km strecth of newly paved road through the so-called "no-mans land" after the paved road awaits a 0.5km stretch over sand and rocks (4x4 vehicle is advisable here). politely decline fixers trying to lead you through this small stretch: just drive on and wait on the end of the tarmac, and wait for another truck to show a good way. if not possible just stay in the visible tracks. don't be afraid of landmines, if you stay on the tracks you will be perfectly fine.
Once at the border a fixer will probably swamp you or act like he is an official. i used one, paid 10 euro's and actually found him to be very helpful. the choice is yours.
-Go to the police building on the left. they check your passport. nothing is to be paid here.
-Go to the customs building a bit further down on the same left side, it is a bit hidden so if you can't find it just ask. here you will get your visa. took me about 30 minutes, cost: 55 Euro.
-Afterwards, go trough the gate at the right side (it should say "douanes" or something similair on the arch above the gate) go straight into the building and ask for the temporary import permit (passavant). fill out the data on your vehicle registration card (or in french Carte grise) on a form and let it be stamped out. cost is 10 euro's.
-after that, get vehicle insurance on the left side of the road. i got ecowas insurance for the "whole" of West Africa, 20 or so days for 30 euro's. if you can get the ecowas insurance, get the ecowas insurance! this way you don't have to get a new insurance in Senegal, The Gambia, etc.
when all is done, you are free to go! have some fiches ready for Mauritania.

A lot of governments advise against travelling eastwards into Mauritania. if you stay around the coastal highway, bear in mind that Nouadhibhou and Nouackchott are the best places to spend a night. The road quality on the first stretch between nouadhibou and nouackchott is fairly bad, watch out for potholes. further south the road gets better. south of Nouackchott the road gets very bad, and directly under Nouackchott there is a lot of road construction going on. calculate extra time.
if heading for Diama, the first 30 km of the road is brand new tarmac. ask for directions to diama. you have to cross a 30km sand piste through a nature reserve. it is beautiful, don't forget to take your camera out. the piste itself is quite rough, adjust your speed. afterwards you need to pay for the park entry, 7 euros per person. after that, head for the mauritanian side of the border!


Leaving Mauritania:
-head for the first office on the left. stamp out your temporary import permit. the cost is 10 euros, ask for a receipt (The rule in general is, No receipt = corruption!).
-Go to the next office on the left. stamp out your passports. they ask for 10 euros. do not pay! ask for a receipt, when they refuse, remind them that a receipt (recu in french) is necessary for government transactions. by doing this i got away without paying.
- A man is guarding a gate there, asking about 2 euro's for a "tax de commune". pay them and continue.

Drive over the dam to the Senegalese side! Many people dread this crossing because of the many stories about corruption here [but Rosso ferry is much worse]. crossing was quite expensive for me (we did not have a carnet de passage!) so expect to pay a substantial sum. on the plus side, it was very desolate and easy-going and the process took about 1 hour.

... Senegal and Gambia covered here


So that was my story. I hope many future overlanders find this information to be usefull. if planning on doing this trip, i can highly recommend it! It was amazing.

Feel free to send an E-mail if you have any questions. In case your car will stay in the Gambia, i am willing to share the contact information of the officials who helped me out of trouble.

Good luck,
3 Young Dutchmen.

We are heading to Mautitania. .has anyone hav latest visa new? Will head to Rabat to confirm with em assy will post update.

Latest visa update 5.2.2018

We stopped at the embassy in Rabat. The following IS my direct experience and as we were coming from Tanger med our stop was for peace of mind as anything else.

Visa 30 Day - 690dh
A payment request is issued which you then go and pay over the counter in cash at the local BCME branch ( across the main road from the embassy.
You will also need a photocopy of your pasportizace, 2 passport photos.
Then they will take your fingerprints and Digital photo before issuing a visa at 14h the next Day.

IT was suggested that the border option also works but if anything were to fail you would be told to go to Rabat....so go and figure...

I will post a current update from the border once we get There.

We crossed the border on 8.2.18.

All parametric visa facilities work. Cost is 55 euro. So if you are bypassing Rabat the border will issue a visa on the spot. The longest delay might be a day if they lose connection, as told to us by a fixer.

According to the Embassy visas of any duration are available at the border. We would want at least 30 days, preferably 90. Any idea if that would be s problem?

We have been stuck in Dakhla and the authorities don’t help. We are trying to get to Senegal with our car and doesn’t matter what, they don’t want to let us drive through Mauritania. Does anyone have an idea? We are more than desperate. Thanks a lot in advance

Being patient works well in Africa. It could be a long wait.

Are they providing any reason for why you can't pass? Or just a lot of "no" with no explanation?

The reason is almost certainly that Morocco closed this border to Mauritania in March 2020 when Covid broke, and this rule has yet to be relaxed.
Now the border is only open to Moroccans, Mauritanians and Senegalese.
Fyi, even before Covid a lot of African borders – usually obscure crossings – had this 'locals only' [no tourists] rule.
Post-Covid it's probably much more common in Africa right now.

See also this thread by the OP: https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...-please-102271

__________________
Morocco Overland 4 (2025) • Trans Morocco Trail

The news (yet to be confirmed) is that the border between Mauritania and Western Sahara opened for tourists Tuesday morning.

__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

There were pics posted on other forums of overlanders crossing. Seems legit.

Mauritania has introduced a new eVisa system.

Info
https://anrpts.gov.mr/en/service-de-...QVI1mb3NPvzm6Q

Application Page
https://anrpts.gov.mr/en/visa/reques...Bso_8M5LbI0LgA

30, 60 or 90 day duration options along with multiple entry visas.

The online system takes about 5 minutes. There is no request for payment via the website, I don't know if means visas are now free or payment is requested later.

The WhatsApp help number responds quickly to messages but then said visas are not their department and to speak with a local embassy. Early days I guess.