Overland Active Tour from Marrakech to Dakar

Upon arrival at Casablanca Airport, your guide will warmly greet you and escort you to your comfortable hotel in Marrakech. The morning is yours to relax and acclimate to your new surroundings. In the afternoon, your guide will take you to explore some of the city's most fascinating highlights. After a day of adventure, you'll return to the hotel for a delicious dinner and a restful night's sleep.

The morning of the second day is dedicated to immersing yourself in the rich history of Marrakech. You'll visit the Menara irrigation pools, Bab Agnaw Gate, the Saadian Tombs, the Bahia Palace, the Badia Palace, and the Dar Si Said Museum. In the afternoon, get lost in the vibrant souks of Marrakech, a true cultural experience. The day culminates with a dinner Fantasia, a typical festivity of neighboring tribal dances and spectacular displays of horsemanship, reserved just for you. You'll spend the night at the Hotel, ready for the next day's adventures.

Travel to Essaouira (Mogador), apart from the immediate impact of sea air and the friendly 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.

In the morning, travel along 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 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 for 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 daily life of the trans-Sahara. We will overnight at Laayoune Camping.

After breakfast, we will travel overland to the Marvelous city of Dakhla. We will make a few off-the-road detours to visit desert nomad encampments and other natural landmarks. Dinner and accommodation will be at Dakhla’s campground.

Dakhla is a beautiful destination located in the Western Sahara region, known for its stunning landscapes, rich cultural heritage, and various outdoor activities.

Enjoy a relaxing day visiting Dakhla's highlights and the natural stretched beaches. Dinner and accommodation will be at the Dakhla Campground. Dakhla is a beautiful destination in the Western Sahara region, known for its stunning landscapes, rich cultural heritage, and various outdoor activities.

After breakfast, we will travel to the Morocco and Mauritania border for customs clearance to start our discovery overland tour of Mauritania. We will then reach the coastal city of Noudhibou for overnight accommodation.

We will take a guided tour of the city and its surroundings in the morning. In the afternoon, you will be free to explore the colorful markets of Mauritania in Noudhibou.

After breakfast, we will visit the port of Nouadhibou, which the Portuguese first controlled, then the Dutch, and finally by the French—many local fish markets to explore. The truck will leave Nouadhibou early enough to reach Choum before your train arrives. In the afternoon, we will prepare for the unique experience of a ride on 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 famous 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 train 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 at approximately 3:00 a.m., and you will spend the rest of the night/morning resting in an igloo tent. We will wake up and enjoy a cooked breakfast in camp. We will then begin exploring the Adrar Region of Mauritania. We will tour the Azoughi oasis and village for a tea stop and experience the locals' daily lives.

Lunchtime at Hotel Mer et Desert, owned by a French lady who started her journey by exploring the Sahara on an adventure. She left everything back home and settled here to become a community member. She is a real trooper who can share a lot about the social issues of local tribes. She is a beautiful 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 a crucial resting landmark for the trans-caravan routes of the Sahara. Today, it is primarily 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 the marvels of Ouadane’s streets with your local guide and see the buildings that once glorified the country. Then, we will 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 incredible rock formations. Visit the Mheirith Oasis – an amazingly picturesque place where Mauritanians like to come and relax during the date season. Continue 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. Then, you will be taken on a short trek (approximately 30 minutes) to the oasis's source; the scenery here will remind you of Jurassic Park.

We will drive through the stunning Tivoujar Pass and 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. A donkey cart then brings the catch 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 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 to discover the north of Senegal. We will stop to visit Pink Lake, a unique natural phenomenon caused by a unique combination of microorganisms 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. In the 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 exceptional 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 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 on a significant 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 local colorful market and Senegal’s leading 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. It is 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 town and interact with people whose traditional hospitality enables you to share their daily life; ride with them on their fishing hand-carved canoes; we 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, who will be visiting on our way to the exciting market of Mbour. Later, we will cruise to Joal, an endowed place that naturally mainly became known as the birthplace of the country's father 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 succeeded in reintroducing much of the marvelous native flora and fauna that are unique to West Africa and has gradually disappeared due to demographic pressure and poaching. In the 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 the 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.