mhoey on September 16th, 2008

This might not be the correct way of doing things for you, but it may give you a clue of what you might be facing before starting your own RTW trip!

Below is a desription of which things you should look into before heading off home. If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact me. The text below was made before and during my trip.
Many things you that seemed perfect before leaving might turn out less successful when you are on the road, I learned it the hard way myself.

Camping sites, hotels, embassies and other useful informations are stated at the end of this page.
If you not already have noticed it, I have integrated some links in the sidebar of what I found useful during my many searches of the Internet. Feel free to use these links…

If you find this helpful, why not consider helping a fellow motorcyclist on the road? You can find out how to support here. Thanks for helping.

Do you have the dream?
First of all, if you have the will, you can do anything, but I’m sure that many people stop fulfilling their dream of travel like this, when they face all the obstacles in doing so.
Some things you can arrange before leaving, some things are better left as they are! You cannot avoid facing problems during your journey, but with a little luck, you can come far. Another thing is your expectations to your journey, will it take you one or ten years to complete? Should you sell all your belongings, give up your career? – everything has a price! I think some people have already given up by now, have you? If not, keep reading…
If I manage to do an “Around the World Journey” this mean I can manage anything else in life. Not saying that I’m Superman, but this means that I have the guts to fulfill the biggest things in life, to follow my heart and my dreams. If not, it does not mean I failed. The most important thing of travelling is not about how far you go, it is about your experiences and the people you meet.
Below I will try to set focus on which things to take care of before leaving a safe home, and go on your journey. The preparations here are specific for my situation, and may vary from yours. If you are planning a journey of your own, you will face a lot of things to do, especially if you also have a eight hours job to take care of, beside of planning. But take it with ease, and things will go well. Expect half a year to one year of planning.
The two main parts in this project is the dream and will. Look inside yourself, and ask yourself if this is what you want? Take the final step, and change your life to a completely different one, from the safe life as you know it now to days where everything can happen.
Many of the things/ issues stated below I didn’t even think of, before I faced them. Suddenly you have more questions than answers, medical insurance, Carnet de Passage for the bike, Visas etc. and so little time to get them straightened out. But don’t worry, you will get all things straightened out before you go. The only thing to do, is start from the beginning, use Google and The HUBB to find a lot of the answers.
I contacted different humanity-organisations and they where very helpful to give information. Give them a call, and they are happy to guide you for a specific part of the world. The same thing is with other travellers, they would be pleased to help you out. I know about this, as I have been in contact with a lot of them worldwide. When this is said, it sure does feel like the financial part is trying to rip you of, though one try to keep it down, and you are not even getting started yet, but here we go…

Giving up your normal life
If you don’t know, whether you will be gone for a year or ten, giving up your career or selling all your stuff can be difficult to decide. It is like giving up your life, to start a new. Leaving on your journey, you thought should last for plus two years, and coming home after only 6 month, facing that you have sold all your belongings, and said goodbye to a good job, isn’t a good idea. But one has to take chances in life. I have sold all my belongings, apartment, car, furniture’s etc. and given up my career too. I only have some minor items left, that means a lot to me, stored at my parents place.
One has to decide for himself. When this is said, selling your belongings is the easy part, you can start already, as the first thing to do. I have in mind that this journey should last for a long time, meaning no time limits, only if things go completely wrong, which I can’t predict. When I leave I have no bills to pay back home, nothing to take care of, which means I can focus one hundred percent on the dream of mine. The hard part will be saying goodbye to your beloved family, friends and coworkers. But if they want to, they can come and visit you in foreign places of the world.
The 27th of Marts 2009 I told my manager that I was leaving the Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia Group, and I was going on this amazing journey. I had already told my coworkers the news the day before, as I think they were the first ones to get the information. I admit that saying goodbye to good coworkers is not easy, but after having been through this part in three different companies, one get the experience, that you will always find new friends at your new job in the future, that is what I have learned. I have been in the aviation sector in some 13 year, and I really like working with aircrafts and the people involved, but now it is time to say goodbye and start on something that is much bigger in life than work. Start travelling and see the world, its people and culture.  My last day at the job will be 8th of April 2009. This gave me some 22 days to get the final preparations done, before leaving safe home.

Political part and safety
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a good place to find information regarding a specific country and the relation ship between the country and your own. They can keep you updated on political situations, nature disasters etc. in any given country around the world. And of cause, if it is not advised to go to a specific country or area, this will probably change your route. They will also supply you with the addresses of your countries embassies located in the world.
Of cause meeting other adventure travellers on your way is worth more, as they can tell you the exact situations and how they found it to be, weather conditions, road conditions, people, culture etc. But do not take all the things they say for granted! Different people can have different experiences in a country. Some may find it nice, while others were running for the nearest airport to get out of there alive, you understand what I am saying?
It is always a good thing to  have in mind that one is travelling in developing countries and being a “whitey” (rich guy). Otherwise I think one must trust his or her own instincts. Keep a low profile in hostile areas, if a situation or a place doesn’t feel good, get the hell out of there!
I might not happen to you, but it happened to me. I got robbed while staying in southern Argentina. I lost my bike clothes containing important documents. Luckily I had backup’s of them. My advice is. No matter where you are staying always have your documents on you or hide them in a safe place! Lukily they didn’t find my money!

Carnet de Passage en Douane
Carnet de Passage used 4 times in Africa from DRC and down This can give you a headache to start with, but soon you will find out of the advantages with this great document. Ask your national motor organisation for help regarding issuing this document. They need details of you and your motorcycle and which countries you are going to visit.
German Association for Automobile Owners ADAC - AKA: “Allgemeine Deutsche Automobile-Club”  is one of the biggest clubs in Europe issuing this document. They can issue it in about 1 month and send it to you with courier where ever you might be in the world. The CDP is valid for a year from the issuing date. From here it is possible to extend for a couple of months before you need to return it to ADAC and get a new one. Issue price including shipment and deposit is about 3.310,50 Euros for a Honda VFR. You will get the deposit back when returning of the document!
What the (CDP) document gives you the right to, is to take a vehicle into a significant diminishing number of countries around the world, it is a customs document that identifies a driver’s motor vehicle, and it is insurance to the country you are about to enter, that you will take the vehicle back out when leaving, and not sell it in the country your are travelling in. You also have the opportunity to pay an import duty at the country you will enter, which can be as high as 600% of the vehicles value (Iran). When you buy this (CDP) you have to leave a deposit for the duration of the trip, another big expense, so if you leave a country without the vehicle, this deposit goes to pay for the import duty charge. Another bad thing to take in mind is, if your bike gets stolen on your way, in a country that demands you to have this document, then you will have to say bye bye to your money giving out for this! No stamp, no money!
Your national motor organisation club might demand that you get a separate insurance to get a “Tax-demands insurance” at your local insurance company, which I did not know about. This type of insurance cost in Denmark 340 Euros, and will last for only one year, like the “Carnet”. ADAC do not demand this kind of insurance!
Why your national motor organisation demands this, is because they want to be covered if you fail to get your bike out, if it gets stolen, or if you sell your bike in a country, without paying the tax for importing it in the involved country. So all parts want to be insured and covered against a situation as stated above.
I managed to get all the way down to Angola without using the Carnet de Passage, see the exact countries I went through on the STAT page. I had a hard time trying to convince the Angolan custom officers to do me a Laissez-Passer, saying I didn’t have a Carnet! In the end I had to use my Carnet as the situation became more agressive and they wanted to send me back were I came from! If you look on the Internet a lot of people tell you that you can do the west coast of Africa all the way down to Cape Town without a Carnet de Passage. I say no!

Motorcycle insurance
Pablo from ATM insurance in Buenos Aires, Argentina I’ve been in contact with several insurance companies here in Denmark, all of them denied, they could not insurance a bike outside of Europe. Beside of this I have asked my own Danish insurance company insurance, regarding taking the bike around the world, and I found out, that I’m allowed to do it with a basic liability insurance. I only need this insurance to keep my Danish license plate on the bike, pain in the ass but necessary for me! A liability insurance means that I’m only insured if I cause damage to other material or personnel in Europe. The bad thing is no coverage if the bike gets stolen, or damaged if I get involved in an accident. Regarding the countries where the liability insurance does not cover, here you have to go to the nearest city, police station to get an insurance, or buy it at the border. Otherwise the insurance will cover for the countries having the green card arrangement, which is accepted in all parts of Europe and Morocco.
UPDATE: Most people believe that a third party liability insurance only comes handy when you get stopped by the police, it will prevent them from giving you a ticket. It is not true, the insurance might be a great help the day you are lying on top of the hood of a car or the day you knocked down 8 cows that suddently stood on the road when you came out of the corner gunning that bike of yours!
All in all, what I am trying to say is. Get that God damn insurance, it will help you in the end if you are unlucky!
Insurance for 5 countries on the South American countinent only cost 50 Pesos per month! Including: Uruguay, Paraguy, Brasil, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.
See more info here Antartida Seguros

Financial part
When it comes to this part, the first thing that runs through your mind is, do they have ATM’s in Africa? Yes they have, you will find them in every larger city you come to, but take in mind that they might be out of order due to power failures or other reasons. I found out the hard way when arriving to Nouadhibou without a Cent in my pocket!
Normally it is not a good thing to ride around with lot of US dollars, Euros or foreign exchange in your pocket in a third world country, but one got to have some amount of money on you, to be prepared in remote areas. Beside of this get a Visa and a MasterCard. Get a meeting with your bank to find out what they can offer you.
Forget travel checks, they are outdated long time ago!

It is also advised that you keep your bank informed about your situation, of which location your are at. Going to Africa without informing this to them, will result in inactive credit cards before you can spell your name backwards!
If you are doing your travel in a different way than anybody else, you might have people getting more interested in helping you to continue when your financial fonds are gone. There are many travellers out there with a bike doing the same as you but in a more normal way. You have to take distance from that and make your travel something special. By saying that I mean you can set up a PayPal account and hope that this might help you continue the day your fonds are long gone. You will not get rich by doing so, but it might help you getting a few miles down the road. Also companies can be an option to contact. I have never had any cooperatives to help me out with the financial part, but many of them are more than happy to give support with gear and products if they can see some part of positive feedback on their products in form of commercial on your site, testimonials and stickers on your bike!

All the documents you didn’t give a thought about
All in all there are a lot of documents to take care of before you leave. As the “Carnet” I mentioned before is something you quickly take notice of. Others are not spoken of as often. First of all you have to get an “International Driving Permit” which only works for one year from the issue date. Another thing is, that this document is made of cardboard paper, at least the Danish one is! Also bring your national driver’s license. One of my friends got stopped in Australia, the officer who stopped him looked at him when was handed over the “International Driving Permit”. The officer said “Don’t you have another for me?” The officer was more pleased to see his “National driver’s license”, so it doesn’t hurt to bring some national documents with you as well. Regarding the one year limitation on the International Driving Permit” which is stupid, but there is a solution. Often a copy of it is used at embassies to obtain a Visa for a country, and show them that you have a permit to drive a car, ride a bike etc. Scan the document and edit the issue date in Paint Shop Pro. Not even once have I showed this document to an officer when travelling, they all accept my national license!

Next is the “Circulation automobile international” also called “International driver’s certificate”. This one is dedicated for your vehicle and acts in the same way as the registration certificate. The International driver’s certificate is a translation of the identical registration certificate, to all the world’s language, which may be required in countries outside of Europe. That I did not know about, until it was told to me at the local tax office in Denmark. A good thing about it, is that it is free of charge. And again, bring your national document too.
And again, not even once did I show this document to an officer when travelling, they all accept my national document!

You need your passport with an acceptable expire date on it and in good condition. I had to replace my passport after finishing the African continents, no more blank pages! You will find embassies of your countru all over the world, ready to issue a new passport for you to send out wherever you might be in the big world. Some people have the option to get two passports at same time. Look that up while you still are back home!

If you have made up your mind of getting an insurance, that will cover the basic’s health issues (more about this below), then for God sake, bring the document or card that proof this! I have chosen to bring my national health card too, as I will start my travel in Europe. Furthermore I have found out that there are no problems getting medical attention in a European country. Even vaccinations you can get for free if you show them your vaccination card. Something I had to pay for back home.
Do some copies of all these important documents/ papers. A good thing is to store them at a friend’s place or at your parents home as you then have someone close related to help you, if troubles occur? Another good invention without being too political or doing any commercial stunt for the huge giant as Google has become, As some may already know, Google has come up with a neat thing for us travellers, the Google Docs. Here you can upload all your personal documents/ papers to your own protected account affiliated to your Gmail.
Furthermore the embassies sometimes demand following copies of your documents:

- Passport
- International drivers license (not really worth anything, but take it anyway)

- Vehicle registration
- Insurance card (Green for the European countries)

- Carnet de Passage (get one from your local vehicle organisation)

- Vaccination card (many officers demanding to see this before letting you into their countries)

Food and water
Food will not be a problem for you, many places around the world you can find great markets with all from fresh fish to coloured vegetables as you have never seen them before. Use common sense and look at the food before buying, look at expire dates, if it is stated. Avoid meat hanging full of flies etc. Keep some portions of “Almost ready to eat” in your luggage for emergencies and days where you haven’t been able to find any food.
You should try and stick to bottle water, where available. When this is not possible to get, you should use some kind of purifier to produce disinfected clear water for consuming. You can use Micropur Forte pills, to clean the water, or get a Katadyn water-filtrator. Micropur Forte tablets are your best bet for fast and effective water disinfection for clear water. An essential item for any traveller, hiker or camper entering areas where water quality cannot be guaranteed.
Many places in Africa you can’t get use of the purifier pills or water-filtrator due to too much salt in the water. Mauritania is one of the places!
The combination of silver ion and chlorine treatment will disinfect most bacteria and viruses in 30 minutes, and eliminate Giardia in clear water after 2 hours.
It is very important to keep a high safety about the water, I can say so after more than a month of bad stomach. Also take notice of the bottle water you buy, many places the bottles are not sealed, showing they have been opened and used again. It might not be a big problem as I have tried without problems.

Getting yourself ready!
Not everything is about your bike and gear, most of all you have to get yourself geared up for the journey too, by doing a little check up on your health before leaving.  You won’t make this journey just because of a fine tent or a nice bike. Some good topics to look into are:

- Your body – (pay your doctor a visit)
- Your teeth’s
(get your dentist to do a revision on your teeth’s)
- Vitamins
(living on the road means there can be long periods without salad)
- Medical insurance
(it gives you a peace of mind to be sure not to lie dying on the side of the road)

Visit your doctor and dentist before you go, and get things sorted if you have any issues that requires attention. You can probably not avoid paying a visit to a dentist or a doctor during your journey, but many things can be taken care of when you are home in your own country. It makes things a lot more easy.
If you search on the Internet you will find many companies which can supply you with a medical insurance, but be aware as many of them demands astonishing amounts for these! I found it appropriate to sign for 4-6 months to fit my travel. You can sign the insurance directly on the Internet and print the papers and card. In 5 minutes you have a medical insurance ready to cover you. Why sign a medical insurance? It is simple, no one wants to lie dying on the street in a foreign country without possibilities of getting help. Money or an insurance must be presented before you will get any attention. So what the insurance companies provide is getting help in emergencies, incl. transport back home if needed, situations that could become pretty expensive, if you had to pay for it yourself. Furthermore it gives your some sort of peace of mind, taking in mind that riding a motorcycle can be dangerous.

What a basic medical  insurance can cover per person per trip is stated below. Maximum cover and benefits for the “Single Trip – Basic Cover”:

- Illness and home transportation 100 %

- Hospitalisation 100 %

- Outpatient treatment by a doctor or a specialist 100 %

- Repatriation and local ambulance 100 %

- Prescribed medicines 100 %

- Prescribed treatment by a physiotherapist or chiropractor 2.000 Euros

- Provisional pain-stilling dental treatment 670 Euros

- Accompaniment and summoning in case of illness

- Transport in the situated country 100 %

- Accommodation per day: 250 Euros

- Evacuation 100 %

- Accommodation per day 100 Euros

Price for medical insurance may vary due to the company you sign from, but I can inform that a basic world cover for 4 month is around 300 Euros.

IMPORTANT: Do not go for the anti-Malaria medicine called Lariam. I can advice you strong against this as I have tried it on my body myself. My first test before my journey went okay, only with some minor side effects like, bad sleep, bad stomach etc. Things one can live with, but when I screw up your mind you should not chose such a product.
I got very paranoid and afraid due to this drug when I was in Senegal, and had to return to Europe. All I had in my mind was getting out of Africa, a thing a regret.
Maybe Lariam will not have the same side effects on you as it had on me, but I do not think it is worth to try.

Here are some of the side effects of the Lariam, decide for yourself if you want to try:
Psychiatric suffering, shake, lack of co-ordination, motoric neuropatis, sleeplessness, cramps, restlessness, depression, change of atmosphere rent, panic attacks, forgetfulness, confusion, hallucinations, aggression, psychotic and paranoid reactions. Cases of suicides and suicide thoughts have been reported too and the list just continues…

Go for alternatives, search the Internet, ask your doctor what he can advice you to take. Tell him where you are going, which part of the world, as there are different kinds of Malaria, so there are also different kinds of anti-drugs. Anti-Malaria drugs are not a 100 % guaranty that you will not get Malaria. One can avoid getting it by using protection against mosquito’s such as mosquito net, wear long sock’s in evenings and dawns, and do not sit out more than necessary in areas where mosquito’s are present. Malaria has to be taken serious,  people in the world gets killed by it. Every year 300-700 million people are effected by Malaria and 1-2 million die from it!

Vaccination
This is in my opinion not a place to save money. In many countries you are demanded to show some kind of proof that you have been vacinated against different diseases. For instant when I got stopped by a cop in Senegal whom demanded to see my vaccination card. One can ask the question, what he would have done, if I hadn’t the correct documentation. Many times all the want to get is a bribe. And it is here that you pull out your documents and show that everything is in correct order while you smile to the fellow! Of course this is not why you should get the demanded vaccination depending on where you are going. The reason to get it is because of your health and to protect the country you are visiting, against epidemics
Many of the deseases are wiped out in Europe many years ago, but you might get close to them, if you are planning on visiting a third world country.
So which vaccinations should you go for? I am not the proper one to ask about this. Take contact to your doctor or the health care system in your country. I can advise you on the price and what vaccination-program I got, which you can read about below:

The cost if you are eager to know, was in my case 461 Euros, it may variate, depending on where you are planning to go? It took exactly one month to go through this programme. In fact I have to get the next booster injection of the Hepatitis A & B vaccine already 5 months after you received the first doses. Iwas lucky to get this for free at a hospital in Spain!

The vaccines are stated below – enough to kill ten full-grown African male elephants. This will protect me against some nasty diseases, some of them has been wiped out in Europe for many years ago:

- BCG (bacille Calmette - Guérin) TB (Tuberculosis) vaccine (10 years)

- Tdap (Tetanus Toxoid Diphtheria Acellular Pertussis) (10 years)

- Yellow Fever vaccine (10 years)

- Japanese Encephalitis vaccine, first dose

- Japanese Encephalitis vaccine, second dose (1 year)

- Hepatitis A &; B vaccine, first dose

- Hepatitis A &; B vaccine, second dose (After 5 months)

- Typhoid vaccine, single injection (3 years)

- Meningococcic Miningitis A – C vaccine (3 years)

Visa
This can be a tricky part of your journey. Furthermore you can quickly have the feeling like all you are doing, is hunting down embassies and begging for a visa to enter the next country on your route. But I am sorry to say, there are no ways around, this is part of the game. But don’t give up already, you will quickly get the routine of filling in the paper works for applying for a visa, in West Africa many of these are in French, so it would be good to know the most common words such as nom, prenom etc.
Visas are often given with a 30 days length with a single entry or double entry. Most of them starting from the day you enter the country. Ask the people at the consulate of the rules, some embassies count from the day the visa is issued. I would be sad to show up at the border, finding out your visa is expired. Mostly it takes the embassy 2-4 days to issue the visa.
Be polite when presenting yourself at the embassies and don’t ask stupid questions, at least not untill you have your visa in your hands. Remember these guys have your balls in their hands. They can reject you entrance to a country because of something you said or did. It happens that they invite you in for an interview or a talk, to hear about your travel or why you want to visit their country. Again, be polite, answer their questions even if they can sound weird. Tell them you are on holiday and want to visit their country as a tourist etc. For god sake do not tell you are a journalist! Keep it simple. If you feel the atmosphere is good, and there is no way they can misunderstand you, then it doesn’t hurt to tell them about your big journey, but you have to be sure, it might change your travel route or even end your travel with a bump.

Embassies of countries in Africa
Mauritania embassy
(Rabat, Morocco)
6, Rue Thami Lamdawar
Rabat-Souissi, Morocco
- GPS: N33° 58.829′ W006°49.841′
Rating & info:
- Straight forward
- Price: 360 dirham
- Issue time: 1 day
- Avoid time of Ramadan in Rabat.
- Take care with the rate of the taxi’s and hotels. I found out that one have to pick the newest models of cabs, when taking a taxi ride. These are equipped with a meter! Otherwise they rip you off
- Don’t wake up the ambassador before nine, because you forgot to set the time on you watch
- A great guy named Zine works just across the embassy. If you see him, he can help you filling out the Visa form if needed. He will also look after your bike. You can trust him!

Mauritania embassy (Dakar, Senegal)
Rue 39
Dakar, Senegal
- GPS:
- Issue time: 2 days
- Price: 54 euro
Rating & info:
- Expensive, Nice consulate, they will help you fill out the papers if necessary

Mali embassy (Nouakchott, Mauritania)
Center of Nouakchott
- GPS:
- Issue time: 3-4 hours
- Price: 6500 Ouguiya
Rating & info:
- Most nicest consulate I have visited, the beautiful girl in the reception will help you fill in the form while you flirt with her
- Be there before 12 O’clock and pick it up at 2 or 3 pm

Nigerian embassy (Bakau, The Gambia)
- GPS:
- Issue time: 4-5 days
Price: 1985 Dalashi
Rating & info:
- Nice consulate, the ambassador will probably iniyou up in his office to inform you about security issues in Nigeria and also hear about your plans and route (they care about your safety and their good relation to other countries, so they do not want tourist to get in trouble)
- Apply for visa on Tuesdays or Thursdays and get them the week after or on the Thursday after
- They will inform you to deposit the money for the visa on their bank account in a bank nearby (Access Bank) close to the American embassy
- You need 2 passport photos, copy of your passport and Yellow fever vacciantion
- Best of all, you do not need a invitation letter

Border crossing in Africa
Morocco (From Ceuta, Spain)
Visa not needed for European cityzens
1 € = 115 Dirham
Time: 20-30 minutes
Times passed: 3
Rating:
- Straight forward, but the officers can be a little hard to deal with (Ramadan), no bribes asked
- A lot of people trying to hassle you before the border, selling you documents that are free of charge
Info:
- Do your currency exchange before entering the border zone (At the roundabout). Fair rates
- No Carnet is needed
Procedure:
- Leave the Spanish sector
- Get your passport stamped into Morocco in one of the sheds by handing over the two cards you filled out on the ferry
- Get your vehicle stamped into Morocco, not in the passport but in white, greeen and yellow duplicate papers
- Keep the white and yellow duplicate for the vehicle, you will have to hand this over when exiting the country
- The green european insurance card is valid in Morocco. If you do not have a valid insurance, I have heard that it is possible to buy at the border!
- Get a fiche with your details on, as you get tired of waiting for them to write off your passport details during the many police checkpoints on the way down
Documents: Passport, drivers license, vehicle insurance papers, the two fiche from the ferry with your details on

West Sahara
- Visa not needed for European cityzens
- 1 € = 115 Dirham
- Times passed: 3
Rating:
- Nice and friendly officers, they just want to chat, no bribes asked
- Same money as in Morocco (No exchange needed)
- No real border, just a lot of checkpoints where they want to see you identity papers
Info:
- No Carnet is needed
- Get a fische with your details on as used for Morocco (Stated above)
Mauritania
- Visa needed for European cityzens
- Time to pass the border: 1-2 hours
- 1 € = 362 Ouguiya
- Times passed: 3
Rating:
- Not much hassle, just kids wanting to exchange currency with you. Say you don’t need their help and they will stop bother you.
- Moroccan and Mauritanian officers are polite
Info:
- Carnet’s is not needed in Mauritania
- They might ask if you are carrying any alcohol on you or search your vehicle for drugs
Procedures:
- Get your papers stamped out of Morocco (You and your vehicle/ Passport)
- Enter “No Man’s Land, and zone with a couple of tyre tracks leading from West Sahara to Mauritania. Stay on the track as this is a mine zone. Not long time ago a car hit a mine and exploded
- Arrive in Mauritania
- Get your passport stamped into Mauritania at the police office
- Get your vehicle stamped into Mauritania (Passport, 10 € which is official)
- Exchange money at the border. €/ Dirham to Ouguiya or go to Nouadhibou where you will find ATM machines
- Buy insurance at the border or go to Nouadhibou to buy it for 12 €, valid for 1 month
Documents:
Passport, vehicle registration, drivers license
Senegal (Rosso)
- Time to pass the border: 4-8 hours
- Times passed: 2
Rating:
- This is one of the worst borders in West Africa, if not the worst!
- Corruption and touts (Avoid any of the touts, just ignorre them)
Info:
- Carnet’s is no more needed in Senegal
- Do some money exchange if needed, though they accept euros
- They might ask for money to open the gates leading out of the border area!
Procedures:
- Upon arrival buy your ferry ticket (5000 UM)
- Get your passport stamped out of Mauritania by the police (10 € bribe)
- Get your vehicle stamped out of Mauritania by the customs (10 € official)
- Buy insurance for the ECOWAS countries 25 € for 1 month if you didn’t buy this in Nouakchott, Mauritania
- Get on the ferry (The captain might ask for more money, bloddy bastard)
- Cross the river and arrive to Senegal (You are almost through)
- Get your passport stamped into Senegal by the police (Some European citizens are not needed a visa, but check up on your countries agreement with Senegal before arriving)
- Get your vehicle stamped into Senegal in your passport. Vehicles over 5 years are not accepted in Senegal, but again this is Africa, things do not go by the rules, otherwise there wouldn’t be any vehicles in Senegal (10 €)
Senegal (Diama Dam)
- Time to pass: 1-2 hours
- Times passed: 1
Rating:
- Extremely easy compared to Rosso you have done the piste. It is achieable on a streetbike in the dry season, but may take up to 3 or 4 hours. Don’t drive into the national park during night time. Police will supply you with security at the last check point before arriving at the border.
- Once at the border, you almost have to shout at people to come and do some exchange. No bumsters or touts, but the Mauritanian police are corrupt and will ask for money, which you are not suppose to pay them. They almost trew the visit card I gave them after me when I walk out of their office
- National park cost 1000 Ouguiya (Official)
- Mauritanian customs cost 10 Euro (Official)
- Most European countries get stamped in without having visa (check up on your country which agreement they have with Senegal. My Greek friend got rejected without having a visa)
- Carnet not needed
- Bridge cost 2500 CFA (tried to wait it out, but had to pay the full amount in the end)
- Senegal costoms cost 5000 CFA for getting your bike into the country
Hotels in Africa
Grand Hotel (Rabat, Morocco)
19, Rue Patrice
Lumumba-Rabat, Morocco
- GPS: N 34°01.240′ W 006°49.915′
Rating & info:
- Dirty, bastard of a manager. But  still a nice nest for a couple of days
- Don’t pay more than 50 – 75 Dirham, they first wanted 150 bucks of me. Negotiated the price down to 115 dirham, and I believe it can go further down
- Ask for room 221 and you will find open Wi-Fi Internet in the bathroom close to the window, (Najib) is the name of the network
- Have your motorcycle parked nearby in the garage. The old dirty guy will guard it 24/7. You can trust him. Price, 30 dirham per day/night which should be no more than 10 dirham per night after my believing

Hotel Ganalé (Dakar, Senegal)
Rue Amadou Assane Ndoye
Dakar, Senegal
Web: Hotel Ganalé
Rating & info:
- Very expensive
- Nice and clean
- Bad Neighbourhood, so be carefull when going out in the city at night
- Good bar/ beer
- Free Wi-Fi in the bar and hotel room
- Your bike is safe on the street as the guard watches it day and night. Had mine standing there for 6 days without any problems

Camping sites in Europe & Africa
Le Camping Moto (Crest, France)
26400 Montclar-sur-Gervanne (Near Crest, but can be hard to find in darkness)
France
Tel:    0033 475400483   0033 475400483
GPS: N 44° 44.119′ W005° 07.291′
Web: Le Camping Moto
Rating & info:
- New owners, but nice people. Gave information on the Bab Sahara camp in Atar, Mauritania (Africa)
- Can be hard to find the road leading into the camp site at darkness, so slow down when you are near
- The new owners have a fierce dog, I didn’t feel safe when it was around. The old German Shepherd was much nicer

Camping Moto Dordogne (St. Aubin de Nabirat, France)
La Vieille Eglise
24250 St. Aubin de Nairat
France
Tel: 0033 553312406
GPS: N 44° 44.311′ W001° 16.540′
Web: Camping Moto Dordogne
Rating & Info: Was closed when I can by for a visit, out of season

Bab Sahara (Atar, Mauritania)
- Road to Azougui, Atar-Adebaye, Northwest from the central roundabout, 800 meters towards Azougui
GPS: N 20° 31.155′ W013° 03.810′
Rating & Info:
- Dutch owned
- Very nice oase close to the desert
- I had a splendid time in the nice garden and met 2 wonderful british people.
- Town looks like something from the stoneage
- Friendly locals
- The owner was home on holiday, so there not present. Mysterious bloke looking after the camp
- To find the campsite go north-west from the central roundabout, 800 meters towards Azougui.

<<<I will continue updating this page as I progress my journey>>>


4 Responses to “Info”

  1. Great site man. I came across your photos on flickr and they lead me to your site.

    Excellent information here. I plan to eventually do a trip similar to yours if perhaps a little less ambitious. I’ve cut my teeth on adventure motorcycle travel on a trip to Morocco this year in April. Only strengthened my resolve to hit the road long term at some stage in the future. you can see some photos of that trip at the link above if your interested.

    All they best for the remainder of your trip. I’ll be following you progress.

    Stephen

  2. hey :) seems you are still alive lol..

    do you remember Woindhoek or Pringle Bay in South Africa??? it’s me Diana.

  3. Hi Diana

    Still alive, how is life treating you, still in South Africa or have you moved on?

    Cheers

    mhoey

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