Mauritania - Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking in Mauritania

Hitchhiking to Mauritania

Recent reviews in Mauritania

21.26871, -16.8926

Waited for a really long time in sandy wind. Cars asking for payment or signalling they go locally. Finally a guy stopped cause he thought we have some problem. We wanted to nouakchott but his backdoor broke so he went back to nouadhibou, we decjded to go with him and got a dinner invitation.

rating: 2/5, wait: 300 min, ride: 59 km ↙

―Alpazel, April 2024

16.75029, -16.10051

I wanted to hitchhike towards Diama border crossing but then i saw that bus with people sitting on a roof and i didnt want to miss my chance for this experience especially when the guy said it costs 2000 senegalese francs, which is like 3 euros. At the end of the ride i realised he ment 10000 (fuck french, srsly), but he got 7500 (guess i still overpaid). Well it was a nice safari, i saw acrocodille, monkeys, wild pigs. But also had to pay 200 MRU for the national park as a white skin tax. If you have a chance just hide yourself at the checkpoint. The road was in a good shape and with some trafgic till Keur Macene, then it was an unpaved road with traffic tgat seems mostly consisting of buses and taxis. But you might be lucky. I'd just be nervous about getting stuck in this area over night cause of the crocodilles.

rating: 4/5, wait: 0 min, ride: 86 km ↙

―Alpazel, April 2024

18.54114, -11.44004

A police checkpoint, again the police does the job for you. The police in Tidjikja is friendly and had no problem with me camping wild and hitchhiking. Sadly i had some brain failure when the policemen stopped a minubus and said this one goes to Nouakchott for 800, i just took it. I consider it as a mistake, but the fact is that up until Sangrave the road was deserted. If you are in a hurry you can take a bus to there and then continue hitchhiking. But also, there are beautifull places around Nbeika and Moudjeria, huge sand dunes, you might just want go there and call it a day there ;)

rating: 4/5, ride: 602 km ←

―Alpazel, April 2024

20.26114, -13.10171

Going from Terjit to Tidjikja during ramadan I came to the police checkpoint. After a short dispute with the policemen he understood i wanna hitchhike but didnt let me, instead of it he hitchhiked for me. He got me a free ride in a truck. Was a nice ride, just had to keep watching the driver who was falling asleep cause of fasting in 40 degrees. The fact i got in with a help of police made passing further checkpoints easier (they called the terjit checkpoint to verify). The road to Tidjikja is paved and mostly in a good condition, but it was nearly empty (maybe also due to ramadan and off main turistic season time). With the truck it took like 8 hours.

rating: 4/5, wait: 60 min, ride: 324 km ↘

―Alpazel, April 2024

20.27393, -13.18363

Back of pickup truck ride. Free, he gave is food, said he was going only 2km, turned out to be 2 hrs. Just after the police checkpoint.

rating: 5/5, wait: 10 min, ride: 173 km ↙

―Simba, January 2024

20.57616, -12.45545

Nice Arab tourist picked me up. 2nd car to pass, first one demanded payment.

rating: 3/5, wait: 60 min, ride: 22 km →

―Treetree, January 2024

20.57615, -12.45582

Scored a free ride with ngo to oudane. Very fast, your experience may vary,

rating: 5/5, wait: 2 min, ride: 119 km ↗

―Treetree, January 2024

20.04858, -13.03804

Epic pickup truck ride with tourists to the junction, best to leave early, but I left it to late afternoon and it still worked. Free

rating: 5/5, wait: 30 min, ride: 37 km ↖

―Treetree, January 2024

20.92462, -11.65222

Very few cars leave oudane, most in the morning so get up super early. I missed most of the cars, two stopped but demanded payment (quite rudely). The a couple where full, but for hours on end there was nothing. I hiked out further and got a lift with some tourists in late afternoon. Be willing to pay or wait, and get up early.

rating: 2/5, wait: 400 min, ride: 166 km ←

―Treetree, January 2024

20.52628, -13.01163

Walked out of atar beyond the checkpoint. Most of the cars just going to a small village or are shared taxis. One guy stopped but demanded payment, then a nice tourist stopped and took me to chinguetti. Long wait but it worked.

rating: 3/5, wait: 120 min, ride: 84 km →

―Treetree, January 2024

19.53586, -14.66906

Stood by the side of the road, got a ride into Central Nouakchott in 5 mins, didn't ask for payment.

rating: 5/5, wait: 10 min, ride: 264 km ↙

―Treetree, January 2024

19.73027, -14.39975

Just after the police checkpoint, got a ride in a truck for 30km down the road

rating: 5/5, wait: 10 min, ride: 42 km ↙

―Treetree, January 2024

22.70765, -12.46401

This is the place where they form the train towards to Nouadhibou. We came here around 12pm. Some people are gathering around passenger wagon. If you want to ride on the top of iron ore watching all the desert landscapes just move further and find a car that suits you. Train moved to Fedrick in 1,5h or so and also stopped there for around 30min, so we could change the car closer to the train head. The time might be different, so it's better to get here earlier. Make sure you bring warm clothes and something to cover yourself during the night since it might be cold, also take something to protect your eyes (we had a goggles), enough water and some snacks. The whole ride takes around 20h.

rating: 5/5, ride: 634 km ←

―otv3n, August 2023

20.50637, -13.05711

Go to the police control and ask them to find you a lift. Even with them, it took me half day to find one. They usually wait for a mini bus with some spare seat. There is also lot of army guys doing this, you may wait them to leave before you go.

―Garept, June 2015

20.50637, -13.05711

At the end of the town, at the police control.

―Anonymous, June 2015

20.89785, -17.05925

I hitched the train all the way to Zouerat in January 2015. The night was very cold. Better go in the wagon with other people, especially if you want to stop before Zouerat, to know when is it. I missed my stop in Choum and finished in Zouerat.

―Garept, June 2015

21.29833, -16.97525

I changed my driver by crossing the border because my past Malian driver was about to be escort directly to Mali border. So I found a french camping-van who was going to Nouadhibou.

―Garept, June 2015

21.29833, -16.97525

The Border at Mauritania side close at 18:00 so please try to arrive there earlier. I got there at 17:00 and there is no place to sleep on the Mauritania side only in the Morocco side (at least when i was there Summer 2013)

―Juaum, April 2015

20.8875, -17.05671

There's no need to pay for rides, it's definitely possible to find someone who will take you for free. (I've been there in 2011 and 2012)

―Kundrt, June 2014

20.89785, -17.05925

ONLY for jumping the train to Choum. Make sure you bring some goggles and wear something around your mouth, for the intense dust...

It was a free-for-all last time I was there in '06.

―Anonymous, May 2012

Recent reviews mentioning Mauritania

29.57505, -9.69736

I got a lift from here, all the way down to Mauritania with a Malian driver. Here starts really the road of the desert uses by the Senegalese and the Malians, best tip, try to hitch with them.

―Garept, June 2015

16.50313, -15.81026

I was coming from Mauritania, from Senegal. I hitched the boat because I literally catch him on his way, already full of people. On the Senegal side, I walked in the direction of Saint Louis until the last petrol station, where all the small bus starts their way for Saint Louis. I hitchhiked on the road until the first small bus stops, asked him if I could go for free because I´m only doing hitch hiking, he invited me with lots of laughs.

―Garept, June 2015

28.45086, -11.11422

This spot is full of local hitchhikers, which are all willing to pay a bit for their ride. I tried for over 5 hours at all points between the police checkpoint and the small street joining later before some french picked me up. As everywhere along this road with some patience you can get very long rides to Mauritania.

―Anonymous, May 2015

16.06063, -16.41764

I´ve found a ride until the border with Mauritania

―Juaum, April 2015

16.50313, -15.81026

Border with Mauritania. You have to cross by boat so cars are waiting for the boat and your opportunity to find a ride.

―Anonymous, April 2015

21.29833, -16.97525

FRONTIERE AND NO MAN'S LAND BETWEEN MAURITANIA AND MOROCCO
You will wait a long time with your driver to pass this frontiere, so this is the place to change your plan
Sign : ask for everywhere, I found a ride for more than 2000 km
Waiting : 2/3 hours for all the process and the crossing of the no man's land
Speed : very low

rating: 4/5

―Anonymous