Covid-19 : current situation Mauritania

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, entry and travel restrictions may apply Mauritania. Remember to visit the site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before you leave for the latest information

Money Mauritania

The currency is the Mauritanian ouguiya (abbreviations: MRU, OM and UM). One ouguiya consists of 5 khoums. The coins in circulation are: 1 khoum, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 ouguiyas. Banknotes in circulation are: 50, 100, 200, 500 ouguiyas.
At the beginning of 2023, 1 € was worth 37.5 MRU. Note that many Mauritanians still calculate in old ouguiyas (MRO), adding a 0, which can sometimes lead to misunderstandings...

Budget & Tips Mauritania

Some price ideas:

A cab ride: 20 MRU on average (if shared cab).

A pack of cigarettes: from 70 MRU to 100 MRU depending on the brand.

A sandwich: 90 MRU.

A dish in a small restaurant: from 150 MRU to 200 MRU.

A bottle of water: 10 MRU (75 cl).

A liter of gasoline in Nouakchott: 43 MRU (38 MRU per liter of diesel).

A baguette, a chocolate bread, a croissant: 10 MRU.

If your trip is based on hotels with air-conditioned rooms and restaurants of an equivalent standard, it may cost you quite a bit of money, between 3,000 MRU and 5,000 MRU per day (or 70 € to 120 € per day). On the other hand, you can live well in Mauritania by spending only MRU 300 to MRU 1,200 (€7 to €30) per day, if you frequent small inns and neighborhood restaurants.

Getting around within the country is the most difficult problem to solve. If you rent a vehicle, it will have to be a 4x4 unless you only want to drive on paved roads, a prospect that is not very interesting. Renting a 4x4 with a driver costs about 3,500 MRU per day (around 85 €), not including fuel. The other solution is to travel within the country with local means of transport, collective cabs or even trucks. In this case, count on 80 MRU to 100 MRU per 100 km. However, beware of the lack of comfort of this solution (imagine a rusty Mercedes with 10 people on board), reserved for the most reckless for long journeys.

Passport and visas Mauritania

To travel to Mauritania by air, you can obtain a biometric entry visa at Nouakchott or Atar airport for €55 in cash, valid for one month. The same procedure applies to those who come by land, especially at the Senegalese and Moroccan borders. Vaccination against yellow fever is mandatory. Even if you are asked for it less and less often, the absence of your vaccination booklet or the absence of a certificate of vaccination against yellow fever can lead to you being turned back at the border, just like the absence of a visa on your passport.
Be careful! The obligation to declare all foreign currency upon entry into Mauritania was abolished by Circular No. 006/GR/98, issued by the Governor of the Central Bank of Mauritania on July 27, 1998.

All passports issued in France are now biometric. They include your photo, your fingerprints and a secure chip. To obtain a passport, go to the town hall with a tax stamp, proof of address, an identity document and two passport photos. The passport is issued within approximately three weeks. It is valid for ten years. Children must have a personal passport (valid for five years).

Tip: Before you leave, remember to photocopy all the documents you take with you. You should take one copy of each document with you and leave the other with someone in France. In case of loss or theft, the renewal process will be much simpler with the consular authorities. You can also keep copies on the official website (mon.service-public.fr). All you have to do is create an account and scan all your identity documents and other important documents in the confidential space.

Health Mauritania

On-site medical problems. The most common health problems are diarrhea, airway infections and skin diseases. It is common to be bitten by insects, some of which transmit diseases (such as malaria) that can occur after the return trip. In addition, insect bites are easily superinfected in a tropical environment and it is important to be attentive to minor injuries. To avoid bites, be sure to cover your arms and legs by wearing appropriate clothing. In the desert, the heat of the day, the cold of the night and dehydration are what you have to fear most.

For advice before your trip, do not hesitate to consult your doctor. You can also contact the travel medicine society at the Pasteur Institute medical center at ✆ 01 45 68 80 88 (www.pasteur.fr/fr/sante/centre-medical) or go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website under the heading "Conseils aux voyageurs" (www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/voyageurs).

In case of illness. Contact the French consulate. They will help you, accompany you and provide you with a list of French-speaking doctors. In case of a serious problem, they will also inform the family and decide on repatriation. To find out about emergencies and establishments that meet international standards, visit www.diplomatie.gouv.fr and www.pasteur.fr

Repatriation assistance - Medical assistance. If you have a Visa® or MasterCard® bank card, you are automatically covered by medical insurance and repatriation assistance for any trip abroad lasting less than 90 days (you do not need to pay for your trip with your card to be covered; simply holding a valid card ensures coverage). Check with your bank and carefully review the overall amount of coverage and deductibles as well as the conditions of coverage and exclusion clauses. If you are not covered by one of these cards, don't forget to purchase medical assistance before you leave.

Pharmacy kit. It is wise, before leaving, to put together a small first-aid kit that could, if necessary, be very useful and allow you to continue your trip in the best conditions. It is not intended to replace a mandatory medical consultation as soon as worrying symptoms appear, but simply to prevent, and sometimes to relieve, certain inconveniences that may occur during a trip to Mauritania. Here are a few tips for putting together this kit: an anti-malarial, an anti-diarrheal, an antipyretic for headaches or toothaches (aspirin or paracetamol), a broad-spectrum antibiotic, eye drops, a digestive antiseptic, an anti-vomiting agent. Sunscreens, mosquito repellents, disinfectants for drinking water and possibly an ASPIVENIN® can complete this inventory.

Security Mauritania

Security is the main issue that always comes up when one is planning a trip to Mauritania under the current circumstances. One realizes this when discussing one's next trip with one's entourage, and at the latest when reading the information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But the debate continues on the spot, with the foreign travelers you meet in the hostels and with the local tourism professionals. We always come back to the same delicate subject. Delicate, because the terrorist threat is essentially invisible, and is therefore perceived differently on each side of the Mediterranean.
Is it safe to travel to Mauritania? We do not pretend to provide an answer to this question, as it is far too naive in itself. But Mauritanians will answer that Islamist terrorism has killed more people in France and Belgium than in their country. The turning point in the closure of tourism was the murder of four French tourists on December 24, 2007 in Aleg, in the south of Mauritania on the Route de l'Espoir, by a small group linked to the Algerian Salafist movement. This tragic episode resulted in the cancellation of the Paris-Dakar. A vast policy of securing the tourist regions of Mauritania also followed. Too late, this event has left its mark on people's consciences and there is a clear distinction between before and after Aleg in terms of tourism figures.
In Niger, Areva employees, including 5 Frenchmen, were kidnapped in Arlit in September 2010. Following these kidnappings, Maurice Freund, owner of the travelers' cooperative Point Afrique and present in Niger at the time of the events, decided to suspend his flights to Mauritania. at Point Afrique," he explained on the Rue89 website, "we had the pretention of being one of the last bulwarks by creating activity. I'll give you an example: in 1996, according to UNDP figures, the prevalence of poverty was 58% in northern Mauritania. By 2002, this rate had fallen to 21%, thanks to tourism. Around Atar, we have created something by bringing 600 people per week. A trekker supports a whole family during the season.
Following the events in Arlit, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs established a red zone, formally not recommended for its nationals, which for Mauritania concerns all the areas east of a line linking Chinguetti to Tidjikdja.
Three Spaniards working for an NGO were kidnapped on November 29, 2009, on the Nouakchott-Nouadhibou road, three days after the kidnapping of a French national in Mali. In August 2009, a suicide attack was carried out against the French embassy in Nouakchott, resulting in no casualties.
More recently, in July 2010, we remember the Franco-Mauritanian military operation to free the Frenchman Michel Germaneau, who was being held by a small group affiliated with AQIM in Mali, and who probably died before the assault due to a lack of medication.
During the night of February¹ to 2, 2011, a vehicle packed with explosives exploded in Nouakchott. The army explained that it had deliberately detonated the device, which was attempting "to infiltrate the capital to carry out attacks" (reported on the website www.jeuneafrique.com). According to AQIM, the passengers set off the explosion themselves. Another vehicle bomb was intercepted by the gendarmerie near Rkiz, in southern Mauritania.
In January 2011, two French nationals were murdered in Niger.
So much for the facts.
On security in the Adrar region, Cheibany, director of a travel agency in Nouakchott, said: "Atar is not a high-risk area [...] I defy anyone to tell me of a security problem in Adrar since 1997 [...] It is the most secure platform in Mauritania. A mountainous area made up of basins and passes that are difficult to access. The number of entrances is limited and during excursions, we avoid areas that are too easy to access.
In conclusion, the vast majority of tourists returning from Mauritania say that they never felt unsafe. There are many controls on the roads and the list of passengers is requested by the police. It should also be noted that the extension of the cell phone makes it possible to transmit the slightest news in a very short time. As Cheibany says, "Atar is a former military garrison. ninety percent of the population of Adrar has at least one family member in the army or who has been a member. The population of Adrar has no affinity with terrorism. And it is a region that benefits from tourism. So who is going to risk compromising this activity?"
Today, the red zone of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (www.diplomatie.gouv.fr) has been logically restricted to the border areas. It is wise to consult the Ministry's website ("advice to travelers" section) before leaving.

Time difference Mauritania

During the six months when France applies summer time, when it is 12:00 in Mauritania, it is 14:00 in France. In winter, 12:00 in Nouakchott corresponds to 13:00 in Paris.

Spoken languages Mauritania

If you speak Hassanya, the very pure Arabic that is unique to Mauritania and spoken by about 80% of the population, you will have no problem communicating. If not, French should be enough to be understood by enough Mauritanians to make your stay enjoyable. In the south of the country, Wolof, Soninke, and Fulani are the most common languages spoken by black Africans. Except in business circles, and possibly among tourism service providers, English will not be of any use.

Communication Mauritania

To call from Mauritania to France, dial + 33 followed by the number of your correspondent without the 0.

To call from France to Mauritania, dial + 222 followed by the eight digits of your correspondent.

The telephone between Europe and Mauritania works quite well, and if it doesn't, you can almost always get through by insisting.

Use your cell phone. If you wish to keep your French plan, you will have to activate the international option (generally free) by calling your operator's customer service.

Who pays what? The rule is the same for all operators. When you use your French phone abroad, you pay for the call, whether you make the call or receive it. In the case of an incoming call, your correspondent also pays, but only the price of a local call. All calls made from or to foreign countries are out of the package, including those to voicemail.

With the proliferation of smartphones, cybercafés have become less popular, but they have not disappeared. Wifi connection is usually free in cafes and restaurants, but you can pay for it.

SIM cards are available from MRU 200 and top-up cards from MRU 50.

For example, a 300 MRU recharge card from Mauritel (the most efficient network) gives you 6 hours of national calls and 400 MB of Internet for one month.

Mauritanians are fond of phone calls and WhatsApp, much less of e-mails, because connections are often hazardous when leaving Nouakchott, and 3G and wifi are often very busy in the evening in the inland cities, with a consequent slow loading..

Electricity and measurements Mauritania

The 220-volt power supply is quite good in Mauritania. Power cuts are rare in the major cities and rarely last long. But the further away from the urban centers, the more random the energy supply becomes, until it becomes non-existent in the most remote areas. Some buildings are gradually being equipped with solar panels, an inexhaustible source of energy in this country. The units of weight and measure are the same as in France. The only difference is that "kilo" is often used as an abbreviation for "kilometer".

Luggage Mauritania

Make sure you have as many t-shirts and pants as possible made of canvas or cotton rather than synthetic materials. Avoid dressing up in African clothing, as you will be labeled a tourist, or walking around shirtless or in shorts. Africans say that shorts are only for children. If you keep it simple, you will have the best chance of being accepted.

Unless you are going north between November and March, there is no need for a sleeping bag, as night temperatures rarely drop below 20°C. On the other hand, a light and not very bulky meat bag will be essential to protect you from the wind and sand.

If you do your laundry, with the climate in Mauritania, the clothes will dry quickly. Please note that in the hostels, only the mattress is provided. No pillows, towels or soap...

A pair of easily detachable sandals will be useful, because we often take off our shoes before entering the tent. Running shoes will be useful for walking in the dunes (where the sand can be hot). A headlamp, a waterproof bag for important papers, and a pocket knife can be useful, as well as glasses and creams, indispensable protection against the sun. To protect your head, don't bother with a hat, you will easily find what you need to make a superb chèche. This turban, even if it is not rolled up in the rules of art, will preserve very effectively from the sun, the wind, the sand, and will make you multiple other services.