Overland tour from Marrakech to Dakar exploring the southern belt of Morocco's Atlantic landscapes to Mauritania hinterland and Senegal's best cultural and natural landmarks. An active truck tour with a small group for cross-cultural encounters in Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal.
Are group tours cheaper? Group tours are usually cheaper than private. However, it would be best if you also considered that group tours save you a lot of time in research, organization, and booking your trip and activities. An expedition of this magnitude is an overland Discovery covering Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal overland. Trekking, hiking, exploring, discovering, camping, visiting Morocco from Marrakech to Dakar, and crossing the best landscapes of the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara desert along the Atlantic shores are active discoveries. Most importantly, meet and mingle with locals for cross-cultural encounters. Northwest Africa has fascinated world trotters since the dawn of time. Suppose you like ancient history, archaic societies, cultural encounters, active and adventure discoveries, exotic explorations, and the beaten paths, all in the most diverse and beautiful natural setting. In that case, this tour is for you. A journey in the hinterland of Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal overland with a small group is to treasure for a lifetime. Join in the spirit of exploring the hidden treasures of this overland adventure expedition, which covers natural landscapes in remote Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal. So keep it a discovery. Enjoy our tours from Morocco to Senegal overland.
Arrive at Casablanca Airport; your guide will be waiting for you to greet you, then transfer to the hotel in Marrakech. The morning will be leisure; the afternoon will be devoted to exploring some highlights of Marrakech. Dinner and accommodation will be at the hotel
Morning devoted to discovering the historical sites, visiting the Menara irrigation pools, Bab Agnaw Gate, the Saadian Tombs, the Bahia Palace, the Badia Palace, and the Dar Si Said museum. Explore the vibrant souks of Marrakech in the afternoon. Dinner Fantasia will be reserved for you at a typical festivity of neighboring tribal dances and spectacular displays of horsemanship. Overnight will be at the Hotel.
Travel to Essaouira (Mogador); apart from the immediate impact of sea air and the excellent animation of the town, the predominant images of Essaouira are of the Atlantic - of the ragged coast and offshore islands, the vast expanse of empty sands trailing back along the peninsula to the south, and the almost Gothic scenery of the eighteen-century fortifications. Lunch will be at Chalet de la Mer restaurant overlooking the ocean. Dinner and accommodations are at Hotel des Iles.
Travel in the morning with the coastal Atlantic Berber villages and towns, visiting cultural and natural landscapes. We will stop for lunch at Agadir Port to enjoy the day's catch. The afternoon will be spent at the lagoon of Massa Birds Sanctuary to view the natural wildlife, especially the Ibis habitat. We will camp naturally tonight at the beach of Algzira. Dinner will be around a campfire with local fishermen.
Travel a full day along the Atlantic coast with the Sahara Desert landscapes on your left and the Atlantic Ocean promontory on your right stopping at some natural sites and local Bedouin markets to discover the trans-Sahara daily life. We will stay overnight at Laayoune Camping.
After breakfast, we will hit the road traveling overland to the Marvelous city of Dakhla. We will make a few off-the-road detours to visit the desert nomad's encampments and other natural landmarks. Dinner and accommodation will be at Dakhla's campground.
Enjoy a relaxing day visiting the highlights of Dakhla and the naturally stretched beaches of this area. Dinner and accommodation will be at the Campground of Dakhla.
After breakfast, We will travel to the Morocco and Mauritania border for customs clearance to start our discovery overland tour of Mauritania. We will reach the coastal city of Noudhibou for overnight accommodation.
We will take a guided tour of the city and its surrounding in the morning. The afternoon will be free for you to explore the markets of colorful Mauritania at Noudhibou.
After breakfast, we will visit the port of Nouadhibou, which the Portuguese first controlled, then the Dutch, and finally the French— any local fish markets to explore. The truck will leave Nouadhibou early enough to reach Choum before your train arrives. n the afternoon, we will prepare for the unique experience of a ride on the Mauritania Mineral Train – we’ll stop at local shops and stores to ensure the group is stocked up on plenty of water, fruits, sandwiches, and snacks. You will board the Mauritania Mineral Train – the longest and heaviest train in the world. You’ll be sitting inside open-top cars, so please ensure you have prepared a blanket, warm clothing, and goggles to protect yourself from the sand. The trains will depart from around 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The distance is around 420 km.
Your train will arrive at the town of Choum approximately at 3:00 am and spend the rest of what is left of the night/morning resting in an igloo tent. Wake up in the morning and enjoy a cooked breakfast in camp. We will begin exploring the Adrar Region of Mauritania. We will tour Azoughi Oasis and the village for a tea stop and experience the locals' daily life.
Lunchtime at Hotel Mer et Desert, owned by a French lady who started her journey by an adventure exploration of the Sahara, then left everything behind back home and settled here to become a community member. She is a real trooper who can share with you a lot about the social issues of local tribes. She is a wonderful source of information.
Drive to the UNESCO world heritage site of Chinguetti – a venerated city with its stature of Sufism and center of Islam teachings. You'll visit the archaic Islamic library for rare manuscripts and handwritten books. Visit other historical monuments and landmarks, including the congregation Friday Mosque of Chinguetti, the national symbol of Mauritania. Later, we will retreat to the Dunes for a dramatic sunset setting. Dinner and accommodation will be at the Hotel.
After breakfast, we will hop on the truck for an 80km drive through the pure desert and dunes vistas: on the way, stop in Tanounichert for a tea stop with the locals – once upon a time, Tanounichirt was an important resting landmark for the trans-caravan routes of the Sahara. Today, it is mostly a ghost town reminiscent of a glorious past. Here, products of sub-Saharan Africa were traded with those of the Mediterranean. The Portuguese arrived in 1487 and transformed the city into a local center of cultural, economic, and scientific advancement.
You will explore with your local guide the marvels of Ouadane’s streets and see the buildings that once glorified the country as a whole and then move on to the new part of town where we’ll be sure to mingle with the locals—traditional dinner and overnight in the Hotel.
Today, we will reach one of the most picturesque oases in Mauritania. We will stop on the way to visit Agrour – here’s your chance to see pre-historic petroglyphs carved on rocks over 5000 years ago and an incredible rock formation. Visit the Mheirith Oasis – an amazingly picturesque place where Mauritanians like to come and relax during the dates harvest season. Continue onwards to the White Valley – a dune-filled fault line with many small settlements and palm groves. The Guelb Aouelloul crater is a 3.1 million-old impact crater approximately 40 km across and can be observed from space. Breathtaking scenery.
For lunch, you will be served a home-cooked meal in Terjit Oasis, followed by a short trek (approx 30 minutes) to the source of the oasis; here, the scenery will remind you of Jurassic Park.
Drive through the stunning Tivoujar Pass. We will reach the beautiful town of Atar in the late afternoon. Dinner and overnight will be at the Hotel Des Caravanes.
Today, we will transfer overland to Nouakchott, An early rise for breakfast, and the long drive to the Mauritanian capital city.
On the way, we will break for lunch at San Francisco Café for a hearty meal and access to WiFi after a few days of deprivation. We will do our best to arrive in time to catch the lively Atlantic fish market. Every evening hundreds of fishermen bring in the day’s catch on their distinct sea canoes, recognized by their colorful hand-painted hulls. The catch is then brought by donkey cart to the city’s markets
Visit the National Museum, where artifacts of the history of Mauritania and its ancient cities are exposed – this will allow you to have a quiet recap of what we’ve seen in the previous days. Visit the local craft market, where locals specialize in camel wool rugs Visit the highlights of Nouakchott and its markets, then head to the beach for some great people-watching. This is where local Nouakchottois come to escape the city and cool off. We will have our farewell dinner at a local restaurant and try our luck at getting inside a Chinese-owned restaurant for a cold beer. Overnight in Nouakchott
After breakfast, we will take off to Saint Louis, traveling to discover the north of Senegal. We will stop to visit Pink Lake, a unique natural phenomenon caused by a unique combination of micro-organisms and a high concentration of salts which gives the lake its pink color. We will encounter the women harvesting salt and interact with them. Our second stop will be at a Fulani village where the Chief may welcome you. Continue to Saint Louis, Senegal’s former colonial capital. Early evening we will go on a city tour of Saint Louis. This ancient city is the spiritual heartbeat of Senegal. We will visit its medieval Medina narrow streets and explore the unique Moorish architecture of neighborhoods of traditional houses with carved wooden balconies and verandas. We will make a stop at the vibrant fishing village of Guet Ndar. Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner Overnight at a Hotel.
After breakfast, our Senegal adventure tour will proceed to visit the Djoudj National Bird Park (a UNESCO World Heritage site), one of the world's most important migratory and local bird sanctuaries. This park is a paradise for bird enthusiasts, situated on a major Palearctic migratory route. Some of the world's greatest concentrations of white pelicans and flamingos can be seen here: up to 10,000 species. Enjoy a pirogue ride to better view the many species of cormorants, pelicans, ducks, flamingos, various songbirds, and more. Crocodiles, boas, boars, and other wildlife species may also be seen. Complete your city tour of Djoudj, then continue en route to Kaolack with a stop in Touba, the holy city of Sufi Mouridism. Arrive in Kaolack in time to visit the colorful local market and Senegal's main peanut farming, trading, and processing center. Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner Overnight at Relais
After breakfast, we will travel south to Saloum Islands. This area is one of the best natural settings in West Africa. They are situated in a beautiful wild nature reserve between the ocean & the Saloum River. You can enjoy natural landscapes, canoe cruising, vibrant villages, and colorful markets here. Visit the village and interact with people whose traditional hospitality enables you to share their daily life, ride with them on their fishing hand-carved canoes, will camp in one of these villages around a campfire, and enjoy a Bar-B-Que dinner grilled over a campfire. Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner Overnight at Keur Saloum
Today, our overland tour to Senegal will proceed to Joal Fadiouth, visiting on our way to the exciting market of Mbour. Later we will cruise to Joal, an endowed place that naturally became mostly known as the birthplace of the father of the country and first president, Leopold Sedar Senghor, after Senegal's independence from French occupation. Our small group will visit the fish market and observe the lively daily activities. We will also visit the Senghor Museum. Our tour continues to the traditional Serere village of Fadiouth, where you will observe the cathedral, the marketplace, the sacred Baobab tree, and the famous cemetery where Muslims, Christians, and Animists share the same burial ground. We will travel to Saly beach resort to explore Senegal's typical small villages. Arrive in time to enjoy the beach before nightfall. Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner Overnight at Palm Beach
After breakfast, we will take off to Bandia National Park for a safari. Bandia Game Reserve is located in a 3500-hectare-wide conservation National Park. Here you will see diverse wildlife species native to Senegal. You will spot buffalos, antelopes, impala gazelles, monkeys, tortoises, and the famous African crocodile, in addition to white rhinoceros, kudu, elands, cape moose, giraffes, ostriches, zebras. Stop by the crocodile pool where animals come to drink, and buffalos wallow in the mud. If you are a birding person, you will also enjoy watching numerous bird species, including small hornbills, grey herons, eagles, blackbirds, and kingfishers. The Bandia wildlife reserve has successfully reintroduced much of the amazing native flora and fauna unique to West Africa and has gradually disappeared due to demographic pressure and poaching. Early evening return to Saly Beach Resort. Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner Overnight at Palm Beach
Travel to Dakar in the morning. Upon arrival, we will take a 20-minute ferry ride to Gorée Island. Our local guide will take us on a site historical tour, then visit the ethnographic museum, where also a museum curator will lecture us on the history of the Goree, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After lunch, we will return to Dakar for a historical and cultural visit to the city. We will tour the colorful markets, including Tilen Market, famous for various medicinal herbs and traditional medicine men. Our tour will take us to Grand Mosque, the Presidential Palace, and the Artisans Market. Our cultural tour of Dakar will end at our hotel, where our dinner will be served. Meals included: Breakfast & Dinner.
Our Senegal expedition is coming to an end. You can extend your journey and book other activities with our representative or transfer to Dakar Airport to catch your flight home. Meals included: Breakfast
| DEPARTING | FINISHING | SEATS | TOTAL IN USD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 28 Jan 2025 | Tue 18 Feb 2025 | Available | $3985 | INQUIRY |
| Fri 28 Feb 2025 | Fri 21 Mar 2025 | Available | $3985 | INQUIRY |
| Fri 28 Mar 2025 | Fri 18 Apr 2025 | Available | $3985 | INQUIRY |
| Mon 28 Apr 2025 | Mon 19 May 2025 | Available | $3985 | INQUIRY |
| Wed 28 May 2025 | Wed 18 Jun 2025 | Available | $3985 | INQUIRY |
| Sat 28 Jun 2025 | Sat 19 Jul 2025 | Available | $3985 | INQUIRY |
| Mon 28 Jul 2025 | Mon 18 Aug 2025 | Available | $3985 | INQUIRY |
| Thu 28 Aug 2025 | Thu 18 Sep 2025 | Available | $3985 | INQUIRY |
| Sun 28 Sep 2025 | Sun 19 Oct 2025 | Available | $3985 | INQUIRY |
| Tue 28 Oct 2025 | Tue 18 Nov 2025 | Available | $3985 | INQUIRY |
| Fri 28 Nov 2025 | Fri 19 Dec 2025 | Available | $3985 | INQUIRY |
Cost per person: $3950 USD
Single supplement: $1250 USD
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