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Whenever hitchhiking There are loads of police checkpoints on every road in Mauritania, police check points will play an important rolemauritainia. Depending on your luck, the mood of the check point's commander and a million other factors, Every time they will think stop you're great, invite you for [[food]], give you stuff and even try demand to have a fiche (photocopy of the ID page of your passport and to find rides for know where you, or tell you that you absolutely canare going. Carry about 30 print outs. I't hitchhike from there, either because it is illegal or just because it is "not normal" or "m not safe"exaggerating, and you might be forced to take a taxi'll need them. When you're hitching In the past people had problems with checkpoints really messing with Mauritanians (except maybe if it is a taxi taking you for freehitchhikers, which also happens)however as of 2024 I had no problems with any checkpoints at all, be prepared for the police going incredible lengths to make sure you're safe and everything is in order - when [[User:Zenit|Zenit]] was hitchhiking from Rosso to Nouakchott nor did anyone I travelled with three Mauritanian agronomists, police sent the whole car . They just all the way back want to Rosso after three quarters be given a printed photocopy of the way (150km) so the region's police chief (who had come your passport, and once asked me to show them the station from his home for the occasion) could personally make sure Zenit was in the car voluntarilyoriginal. Also, at every checkpoint (which are really numerous in Mauritania), Zenit It was asked to step out a bit of the car a pain and taken aside to ask about the ride and to take all the informationsometimes caused a couple of minutes delay, including the car's Chassis number and the driver's phone number at one pointbut nothing insane.
Be wary on the border For crossing to Senegal if you cross at Rosso, there's many the rosso border crossing has a notorious reputation for hustlers there and scammers (even though they mainly target people in cars). As of 2024 rosso wasn't that bad as a backpacker in the evening, a few people hissed at me but I walked straight past them, one guy insisted he was my friend but then demanded commision at the end, which he did not recieve. Still, be wary, do not give your passport to anyone unless they are in full uniform with ID, do not pay for anything, the stamp, the ferry, its all free, and anyone approaching you to offer you help randomly will definitely want payment. It is easier early morning to late evening. When you arrive at the big green gate, a soldier/policeman milling around will ask to see your passport. Make sure you're talking to the real police before showing it. After that you'll be directed to go to the booth on the building to the left for your exit stamp. It's not visible from that gate and actually quite far around, facing the river. Once stamped out, wait for the car ferry. It is definitely free for foot passengers, and has a sim card seller on it for senegal. An orange simcard with 1gb of data is 1000 cfa, or 100 new ougia. A money changer was also there, although he didn't have much cfa. On the senegal side, a policeman will probably greet you on the off ramp and demand your passport, try and make sure he is real, he will take you to some booths where you are stamped in and fingerprints are taken, thats it, crossing over! Be alert, but it really isn't impossible unless you have the IQ of a potato and believe gullible is written on the ceiling. You should also have your vaccination certificate ready (they can check for yellow fever, although I was not checked in Jan 2024), or be prepared to shed some money or a lot of time, possibly both. The alternative to Rosso is to cross the Senegal River at Diama. The border post over there has a reputation for bieng more relaxed, (as of 2024 I was told some scammers where present there) but the traffic is quite sparse aswell. Additionally, the route briefly crosses a national park. At a police checkpoint there a ranger demands a 200ug "entrance fee" from all tourists for the park, even if you're going direct to the border. A lot of backpackers try and get out of paying it, so he gets annoyed very quickly.
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[[File:Train_ndb-choûm_(27).JPG|thumb|right|300px|The longest train in the world, which runs from [[Nouadhibou]] to [[Choum]] and [[Zouerate]]]]
'''Mauritania''' is a very dry country on the west coast of [[Western Africa|West Africa]], south from [[Western Sahara]], north from [[Senegal]] and [[Mali]]. Mauritania doesn't seem to be a good place for hitchhikingis definitely hitchable, at least in although there are issues as the conventional sense. The majority of vehicles are shared taxis and many private vehicles which stop will try and charge the same rates, and in the desert wait times can be long due to lack of traffic. Still it is possible to cross the country by hitchhiking; , the main roads ([[Nouakchott]]-[[Nouadhibou]], Nouakchott-[[Nema]] and Nouakchott-[[Rosso]], possibly Nouakchott-[[Atar]] as well) , are certainly hitchable, be it with overlanders, Euro-African car traders who bring vehicles to West Africa, or just nice Mauritanians curious about meeting Europeans.
In southern Mauritania on the road to [[Mali]], around [[Kiffa]] and [[Ayoun el-Atrous]] hitchhiking is much harder than in other parts of the country. People there really don't understand hitchhiking and even after long explaining of what you're doing they'll take you to the bus station. Even the police/army/gendarmerie checkpoints are somewhat harder there. Officers are able to wait for bribes for hours, force you out of the car for "safety" reasons and next day force another driver to take you. It doesn't feel very comfortable but it's certainly possible to hitch through.
It should be possible to hitch to Mauritania from the consulate in Rabat, [[Morocco]], with overlanders calling in to get their visas, or from southern Morocco. You can also get into Mauritania with Mauritanian traders, who can be found opposite the first police checkpoint north of Dakhla. The price for a journey to Nouadhibou is currently 250-380Dhs (negotiable). Another option are Moroccan vegetable trucks leaving from Agadir or Marrakech.
: ''I've found it very easy to hitch over short distances, maybe up to 10 km further than that payment is expected. However I did hitch with a general from the Mauritanian Army from [[Atar]] to [[Nouakchott]], he even insisted on paying a hotel for us halfway.''
Experience from [[User:DeepGroove]] in 2023:
At the beginning I was quite discouraged at the border, when the police only wanted to let me go if they have the numbers plate of my driver. And then even didn't let me go when I had one, because my driver wouldn't bring me all the way to Nouakchott and the police said: it was too hot...
But then I noticed that is not too hard to hitchhike in Mauretania, even inside the city. Just let the taxis pass. That are more or less all the old cars. I took my hands on my heart and shaked my head when they arrived (explaining takes more time). And I concentrated on the new cars. That made it quite easy then :)
=== Cities ===
Be aware of mines in the border region to [[Western Sahara]]. Don't leave the road there. Do not accept guides offering to take you across for a small fee, the road is clearly visible, walkable and you will only get ripped off.
To [[Mali]] you have to go to Ayoun first and then south to [[Gogui]]. It's probably the only not-a-dirt road, there are no problems at the crossing.
== Nomadwiki & Trashwiki ==
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