Our Mauritania holidays & tours
Calling all camping, camel and desert enthusiasts: our Mauritania holidays are for the adventurous. Desert dominates, and our trips focus on cross-landscape adventures, driving in the day, camping at night, meeting nomadic peoples along the way. There’s a coastal twist, too: revel in the unspoilt Ban d’Arguin National Park, where prolific birdlife, seals and dolphins can be found, as well as sweeping Atlantic seascapes. Whilst Mauritania is an adventure, it’s vital that you travel carefully, and are well-informed. Descent-based slavery still exists in Mauritania and there are human rights issues. Our holidays use local guides and drivers who can offer their perspectives, and help you fully engage with the whole country, plus local etiquette and customs.
Mauritania small group holiday
Ancient towns, stunning desert scenery and nomadic culture
From
£2275 to £2449
10 days
ex flights
Mauritania holiday, desert adventure
Ancient cities, desert vistas and nomadic cultures
From
£6799
21 days
ex flights
West Africa 8 week expedition, Morocco to Benin
An Epic 56 day Sahara to Atlantic Journey Across West Africa
From
£17259 to £18155
8 weeks
ex flights
West Africa explorer tour, Marrakech to Cotonou
An epic journey from Morocco to the voodoo coast of Benin
From
£17699 to £18699
8 weeks
ex flights
Western Sahara overland tour, Marrakech to Bissau
Travel from North Africa through the Sahara to the tropics
From
£9799 to £10299
4 weeks
ex flights
Fes to Accra overland adventure, 11 weeks
Unique West African overland adventure
From
£4595 to £4795
75 days
ex flights
Contact Us
Call us for a chat about our holidays. We are happy to discuss your holiday and help in any way we can. No bots, queues or awful hold music.
01273 823 700
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Calling from outside the UK
Mauritania map & highlights
About twice the size of France, Mauritania is bordered by Algeria, Mali, Western Sahara and Senegal, and has an Atlantic Ocean coastline. The country is dominated by the Sahara Desert, which includes the sweeping sand dunes of childhood imagination, but also plays host to mountains, rocky plateaus and ravines. The Senegal River forms the country’s southern border, while to the north lies the highest peak, the 915m tall Kediet ej Jill, close to the northern border with Western Sahara.
International flights arrive in the capital Nouakchott, typically via Paris, Casablanca or Istanbul. Public transport consists of minibuses and bush taxis, and then there’s the legendary Nouadhibou to Zouérat train, an old iron ore locomotive that’s the longest in the world and takes around 18 hours to complete its journey. For the moment, however, it’s safer and easier to negotiate Mauritania on a small group tour.
International flights arrive in the capital Nouakchott, typically via Paris, Casablanca or Istanbul. Public transport consists of minibuses and bush taxis, and then there’s the legendary Nouadhibou to Zouérat train, an old iron ore locomotive that’s the longest in the world and takes around 18 hours to complete its journey. For the moment, however, it’s safer and easier to negotiate Mauritania on a small group tour.
Adrar
1. Adrar
Mauritania’s Adrar region is the Sahara at its most enchanting. It’s a showcase for the diversity of the desert, full of rolling sand seas, sculpted rock, scorched plains and deep green oases, not to mention a sprinkling of ancient cave paintings and a handful of crumbling, fascinating towns that were once leading trade hubs and Islamic cultural centres.
Banc d’Arguin National Park
2. Banc d’Arguin National Park
Blessed with a diverse landscape of swamps, mudflats, islands and shallow ocean waters, Mauritania’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed Banc d’Arguin National Park is a birding hotspot. It’s also home to marine life including sea turtles, dolphins, whales and endangered monk seals, while hyenas, jackals and gazelles are sometimes spotted on land.
Chinguetti
3. Chinguetti
A historic caravan town with buildings dating as far back as the 13th century, Chinguetti is made even more alluring thanks to its location at the foot of some of the country’s most impressive dunes. Highlights include the twisting alleyways of the Old Town, a 16th century stone mosque, and a handful of dusty old libraries, which house the town’s ancient and fragile manuscripts.
Nouakchott
4. Nouakchott
Sleepy Nouakchott is lacking in major tourist attractions, but it’s home to the Port de Pêche, one of the busiest fish markets in West Africa. Visit late in the day and you can watch the fishermen bring in their nets, and cap off the experience with a visit to a nearby fish restaurant. History buffs, meanwhile, will be well catered for at the city’s Musée National and the Grande Mosquée.
Nouâdhibou
5. Nouâdhibou
A sprawling fishing port of low-rise buildings and sandy streets, Nouâdhibou stretches along a wide bay in the middle of a narrow peninsula near the country's northern border. Thanks to the sleepy pace of life and the eerie shipwrecks that lie marooned in a bay to the south of the city, Nouâdhibou feels even more off the beaten track than it already is.
Ouadane
6. Ouadane
Perched on the edge of the Adrar plateau and dating back to the 12th century, atmospheric Ouadane is practically deserted, with only a handful of families still living there. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s a jumble of ancient mosques and houses and is home to several thousand historic manuscripts, mostly held in private libraries.
Our Mauritania holidays reviews
4.4
5Mauritania holidays reviews
Anne Higgins07 Jan 2024
Rock Art, Mherith Oasis, and Ouadane. Guide was a little rushed to accommodate the rest breaks every afternoon […] Excellent drivers on some difficult terrain. read more
Leila Ouerdane14 Jan 2023
Although the guide was helpful I would've liked him to provide a brief cultural, historical information about the places we visited.read more
Nadine Ghsoub07 Mar 2022
Exceeded my expectations by so far!!!! read more
Candy Whittome01 Apr 2022
Generally excellent - the guide and drivers were great. Reliable, thoughtful and considerate and read the group very well. read more
