Mauritanian border
Morrocan side!
Current exchange rate: 10th March 2023
1 euro = 50mru
Arrive: Drive in the left-hand lane towards the terminal (a long line of trucks takes up the right-hand lane).
Enter: Proceed though main gates (avoid prayer time or you will wait for an hour).
Immigration: Trucks enter via the right-hand lane. Park and walk to the first office booth for exit stamp.
Scanner: Drive forward and follow the road to the right (no signs – in any language, here). The scanner is inside a huge shed and scans one vehicle at a time. Drive forward when signalled; park and exit the vehicle to stand outside. The operator will take your TVIP ( little card given when entering Morocco ) and sign it once scanned.
Customs: This gets confusing. Exit the scanner building and drive directly ahead to customs officers (sitting with a temporary table, police dog ).
Do you have anything to declare? A drone? We then got lost headed toward the exit; parked and returned again to the main building to stamp the TVIP.
Exit: Hand over documents (passports and TVIP) at the first exit booth. Drive forward and hand them over again to the official standing outside. Then hand them over one final time at the exit and park for one last check.
Entering Mauritania on the Morocco Mauritania border crossing
Arrive: Park outside the main entrance. The driver is invited through the first room to a small office behind. An officer will check passports and vehicle documents. We were asked our destination tonight in Mauritania and final destination.
Enter: Drive through the main gates to enter.
Customs (1): Park alongside the first customs building on right hand side. Officers ushered us to exit the vehicle (all four of us) while an officer and dog checked inside.
Immigration: Drive ahead 20m to car park on left. Walk back to the building for immigration and visas. Visa formalities are straightforward including biometrics and a photo. The visa is printed immediately and payment accepted in Euro (55 EUR) or Dirham (650 MAD) with the exact change.
Customs (2): The exit gates are in sight but stop at customs on right-hand side. Pay TVIP for the vehicle (10 EUR or 100 MAD). ( or carnet)
Police: Move across and park on the left for a final police check to register your passport details and confirm where you are staying and for how long. (This is tricky with a motorhome; we gave our first night’s destination as well as loose confirmation of itinerary). This seemed to suffice.
Vehicle insurance for Mauritania
The last stop crossing the border from Morocco to Mauritania at Guerguerat is just outside the main gate of Mauritanian border control and is a small building to the left as you exit. This is an office for vehicle insurance with options for your stay in Mauritania.
The following are the costs offered for vehicle our size (large camping car <3.5 tonne) to be insured in Mauritania:
03 Days: 964 MRU
10 Days: 1259 MRU
20 Days: 1850 MRU
30 Days: 2146 MRU
Insurance office
Money exchange and Mauritanian currency
The Ouguiya is the official currency of Mauritania. The currency code for Mauritanian Ouguiya is “MRU”.
This is the exchange rate we were offered in February 2023 crossing the border from Morocco to Mauritania at Guerguerat:
1 EUR = 500 MRU
1 MAD = 50MRU
But wait, before you frown and refresh XE a few more times to check these figures remember Mauritania has a new currency. The current Ouguiya was introduced in 2018, replacing the old Ouguiya at a rate of 1 new Ouguiya = 10 old Ouguiya. Basically this means one ‘zero’ was removed on the new currency.
Many (most) Mauritanians still quote prices and currency in old Ouguiya which can be confusing. For example if they say 5000 they may actually mean ‘500MRU’. Or as the changer quoted us at the border 50MRU in fact meant 5.0MRU. It pays to check and write the number on your phone calculator first to confirm you both mean the same thing.
At the time of writing, the official exchange rate offered on XE is given as:
1 EUR = 50 MRU
1 MAD = 5.0MRU
Can you buy a SIM card for Mauritania at the border?
We were offered a Moov Mauritel SIM card for 10 EUR. (From the hustlers ) iHere They told us the SIM card had 1GB of data included for 10 EUR. ( they do not)
Further along, the same hustler plus a few additional were still following us and by then the price of the SIM card had dropped to 8 EUR.
It’s up to you whether you take the SIM or not. But in truth it isn’t too far off the price we paid in Nouadhibou where the same SIM costs (5 EUR) and a recharge (2.5 EUR) for 2.5GB of data.
(INWI coverage from Morocco was still working right through until 1km after we exited the Mauritanian side heading for Nouadhibou).
Morocco Mauritania border from Dakhla to Nouadhibou?
It is possible to travel overland. many travelers take this (the only) route from Morocco heading south all the way to South Africa. It is after all the main Pan-Africa road and route.
Grab a full tank of diesel on the Morrocan side ( better quality and cheaper) the new SHELL GARAGE ( after the service area takes card) from Dakhla you need to follow the Guerguerat signs as this is the crossing from Morocco to Mauritania! at the b
About the Guerguerat border
The Morocco-Mauritania border is 1564 kilometers (972mi) in length and runs from the tripoint with Algeria in the north-east to the Atlantic Ocean in the south-west. Currently the only border crossing that is open between Morocco and Mauritania is at Guerguerat; about four hours south of Dakhla.
The Guerguerat crossing is made up of two border crossing points. One on the Western Sahara side in Morocco and the other on the Mauritanian side, with a strip of sandy No Man’s Land in between. (stay on the road) there are lots of LAND MINES in this area!!
What documents do you need to prepare in advance?
Despite what you may have heard about the Morocco Mauritania border crossing it is in fact fairly straight forward with regards to documentation and anything else that is asked of you.
Here is what we needed to show to cross the Morocco to Mauritania border at Guerguerat:
Passports
Temporary Vehicle Import Permit (TVIP) from Morocco (the small white business-card size paper given at the Moroccan port of entry).
Vehicle Registration Card (eVRC)
Getting to the Morocco Mauritania border from Dakhla
This is a long drive so definitely start early. Distance-wise (according to the map) it takes around five hours to drive from Daklha to Nouadhibou (but that is without any time allowed for the long border process). The first stage is the drive from Dakhla to the border town of Bir Gandouz and then to the Guerguerat border terminal.
Dakhla to Bir Gandouz: 288km (3hr 16min)
Dakhla to Guerguerat: 367km (4hr 10min)
Dakhla to Nouadhibou: 430 km (5hr)
The final border town of Bir Gandouz
Last chance to refuel.
There is a Petrom Station at the beginning of the town with a small and friendly convenience store and a restaurant that serves a good tea and coffee all on the same site. However if you want to pay with a card you will need to fuel up at the shell garage approximately 30km before the border ( just after the service area)
A further kilometer down the road there is one hotel (Hotel Barbas) where it is possible to stay or park the night if needed, or park amongst the lorries at the Morrocan garage on your right
The ‘No Man’s Land’ from Morocco to Mauritania
The stretch of No Man’s Land between the Morocco and Mauritania border !!
The road on this stretch is shit terrible.
Apart from the (LAND MINES) there is Rubbish, plastic bottles and bags, oil and fuel cans, as well as car wrecks, ( blown up vehicles) vehicle parts and old tires that did not make it.
The distance between the two is actually only about 1km. The scenery is grim but interesting.
This is where Mauritania begins..
fixers and ‘assistants’ at the border…
Note that the first point of fixers and ‘assistants’ is on the Mauritanian side. They approach cars and follow you in to the buildings. If you don’t want assistance, be firm and make it clear. If you’re the passenger waiting in the vehicle you will be approached by money changers and men selling SIM cards. They are friendly but VERY insistent. PERSONAL SPACE does not exist here..
Getting to Nouadhibou from the Morocco Mauritania border (on the Mauritanian side)
The drive from the border to Nouadhibou is less than one hour.
Distance from Guerguerat border to Nouadhibou: 64km (1hr 3min).
How long does it take to cross the Morocco Mauritania
(don’t forget that Morocco is actually one hour ahead of Mauritania).
With regards to crossing times at the actual border points it took less time than that.
Exit formalities from Morocco took 1.5 hours (plus
Entry formalities for Mauritania took us 1.5 hours.
THIS IS THE INSURANCE OFFICE..
Comments