Love this post! thanks!

Is there anyone out here who knows of similar threads about this route the other way around? I would really like to get more info on where best to get visas on the west coast, coming from the south.

Any websites or links to travellers going this way would be much appreciated!

Cheers

Do you plan on doing the actual coastal route I.e. CI, Liberia, Sierra Leone, guinea, guinea Bissau? Or will you go around some?

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We are planning to do: Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania.

Ghana - get at home (I would put a letter in with your application explaining why you want a date in advance to start your visa)

CI - apply in Accra via www.snedai.ci

Guinea - apply in Abidjan

Senegal - you don't mention your nationality, many don't need a visa but probably be able to get it in Abidjan or Conakry

Mauritania - unsure if it's available at Rosso on the border, might be worth checking some recent threads

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Updated info for this for the last few days

Cote D'Ivoire - CFA 33k, Dakar, 3 days. Easy enough

Sierre Leone - CFA 120k, Dakar, 1 day, UK Passport, think others are cheaper
Be aware, this embassy has moved (again). Now next to the Gabon embassy, not as google says. Reccomend going to this embassy in advance of application as it requires a trip to the bank to pay money in, which took time for me

Both plus a stack more embassies i found on my travels are located in iOverlander with more details where i applied/asked

Yo thanks for the information dude! Will try keep all this updated for future peeps

These GPS coords were spot-on, we turned in our Passavant and got our Carnet stamped yesterday (a Friday afternoon, Dec 9 2016). Some added notes:

The building is light blue and had a giant "DOUANES" in gold metal letters over the entrance, quite gaudy, also hard to miss. It is at the middle pier in the shipping port.

If you are in a car, parking is difficult. I had my wife just do laps. She eventually found a spot in the middle of the road (everyone else does this, and she was not hassled in any way) -- a moto would have zero problems with parking.

The bureau for this closes for lunch from 1:30-3pm. I arrived at 2:30 and the entry guard hooted at me in fast french, despite my 3 requests for him to speak slower. A tout caught me out and was very insistent that he could help me and kept snatching my paperwork, but I shook him off and explored on my own. I didn't see him again.

Facing the entrance doorway (guard desk to your left), you go all the way to the end of the lobby. A set of stairs is at the very end, to your right. Take these all the way up (top floor). There will be a Door at the end of the hall at the top landing with "Chef de Bureau", and a smaller sign underneath saying "All requests <== go to the Secretariat"

The secretariat door is immediately left in a narrow hallway. Because it is Africa time, the 3pm lunch ended at 3:45pm and a crowd had gathered. Also, all paperwork was going to the Chief, and his door suggests that he arrives at 10am, and leaves at 4pm, so morning is a better plan.

I was moved to 3 different departments, each time being asked to follow one of the girls who act as "runners". At the last one (Bureau of temporary importation) the Chief asked me for a copy of both my Carte Gris and Passport -- I was taken across the street (by a runner girl again) to a copy center, and was asked for 100 CFA for the copies. When I showed a 10,000 CFA note, he couldn't make change, and the helper girl took me back out with my copies -- effectively stealing 16 cents from the poor guy. Bring copies if you can.

If you don't speak french, a colored folder may be helpful, so you can "keep your eye on the ball" -- the paperwork is going to move all over the place, so it's a game of three-card monte. I had the only carnet, which is a thick and annoying document, and was easy to track in the piles of paper moving all around.

The entire process was 90 minutes for me -- 45 for the "lunch wait", 45 for the paperwork. I was never asked for anything sketchy, and it was very pro.

Because I had a Carnet, the last chief kept my Passavant. I asked him about it, and he clarified that the Carnet was now the "official" document for the car. If you are doing TIP only, this conversation may be different for you.

They are officious, but friendly if you look lost, and will answer questions warmly, no hassles here at all.


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Other notes:

There were widespread political rallies today. We left Zebrabar in St. Louis at 7:30AM and only got to Dakar Douanes at 2:30pm, 7 hours! Plan accordingly.

The toll road A-1 is worth every bit of the 1500 CFA if you are in a car. My cheapness cost us an hour by staying on the local roads. Cards not accepted on the toll road, just like everywhere else.

Martin at Zebrabar will run your Passavant to town for you, using a service. It was 150EUR for one, 200EUR for two, and somehow 300EUR for three. Since I was #3 in our group, I opted out. If you are on a slow-roll through Senegal, this can take the pressure off. Ask about it when you first arrive.

The Passavant had no time stamp, only a date stamp, so if you crossed Diama early, you may have more than 48 hours to get to Dakar.


Cheers and thanks again OP for the info!

- Mike

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