Mauritania Travel Cost: My Complete Budget Breakdown [2026]

Mauritania Travel Cost: My Complete Budget Breakdown

Wondering how much it costs to travel Mauritania?

Before travelling Mauritania, I’d read countless articles claiming West Africa was one of the most expensive regions in the world to backpack. So I decided to track every single penny I spent to create this complete Mauritania Travel Cost Guide!

After 1 week travelling independently through Mauritania, I spent £337.40 in total. That includes everything: my visa, accommodation, transport, food, activities, internet and even a blanket for the Iron Ore Train!

But, that figure doesn’t tell the whole story. Almost £70 of my spending came from one-off costs, while another £65 was spent on an optional private transfer into Senegal. Excluding those, I averaged just £29 per day.

For most backpackers travelling independently, I’d recommend budgeting around £30-40 per day, making Mauritania considerably more affordable than its reputation suggests.

In this guide, I’ll break down exactly what I spent, where my money went, and how much you should realistically budget for a trip to Mauritania.

Mauritania Budget Summary

Trip Overview

NOTE: My trip spanned parts of 8 calendar days, but I spent almost exactly 168 hours (7 full days) in Mauritania. All daily averages in this guide are therefore based on 7 days.

Where My Money Went

*excludes private vehicle from Nouakchott to Dakar.

At a glance:

• Backpacker budget: £25-40 per day
• Mid-range budget: £40-75 per day
• Comfortable budget: £75+ per day

For most backpackers travelling independently and using shared transport, I’d recommend budgeting around £30-£40 per day excluding one-off spending like you VISA or souvenirs.

My Actual Travel Budget Breakdown

Before diving into each category, it’s worth explaining exactly what these figures include.

Throughout my time in Mauritania, I travelled with two friends. Therefore we shared costs on accommodation. Everything else, including food, transport, activities, is my individual spending!

On paper, I spent £48.20 per day, but that includes my visa and a private cross-border transfer into Senegal that most travellers simply won’t need.

Without those one-off costs, my day-to-day travel expenses came to £29.02 per day, which feels like a much more accurate reflection of what backpacking Mauritania costs in reality.

In the sections below, I’ll break down every category so you can decide where you might spend more (or less) than I did.

Accommodation Costs

I was pleasantly surprised by accommodation prices in Mauritania.

Given how little tourism the country receives, I’d convinced myself hotels and guesthouses to be both scarce and expensive. Instead, I found simple guesthouses everywhere we visited, and none of them broke the budget!

During my week in Mauritania (7 nights), I spent a total of £71.02 on accommodation, averaging £10.15 per night.

You might spend slightly more if you’re solo, but not much since I was generally paying for a single bed in a room.

Most budget travellers will find that accommodation is one of the easier costs to manage in Mauritania. While you won’t find the same abundance of hostels as in Southeast Asia or Central America, basic guesthouses are available in most places along the typical backpacker route.

Here is exactly how much I spent on accommodation in Mauritania.

NOTE: These were paid either in local currency, USD or by card.

The most expensive place I stayed was Nouadhibou, simply because we decided to treat ourselves after the iron ore train! It was still good value, particularly since breakfast was included!

Transport Costs

Transport was easily my biggest day-to-day expense in Mauritania, alrough my figures are a little misleading…

Unlike food or accommodation, long-distance journeys quickly add up, particularly if you’re trying to visit Chinguetti or ride the Iron Ore Train.

I spent a total of £146.83 on transport, averaging £20.98 per day.

This looks higher than most travellers’ because I chose to pay for a private 4×4 from Nouakchott to Dakar (Senegal). This cost £65.82 and was entirely optional as there are buses to the Rosso border for ~500 MRU.

Without that journey, my transport costs drop to £81.01. This averages £11.57 per day, which feels more true to my experience of travelling Mauritania.

My transport costs

*excludes private vehicle from Nouakchott to Dakar.

Transport around Mauritania is relatively simple since there just aren’t many options. You either take public transport (shared buses) or you go with a private vehicle.

I predominantly kept to shared buses between major transit points like Nouakchott, Nouadhibou and Atar. Prices are fixed in these situations, but it’s the cheapest way to get around.

Within Nouakchott, I was pleasantly surprised by the city’s modern public buses. Several journeys across the capital cost me less than 20 MRU, making them by far the cheapest way to get around.

Within cities transport can be very cheap. I got a couple of buses in the capital for less than 20 Ouguiya when making my way to the famous camel market. Across five or six journeys, around the capital I spent a couple of pounds, using their surprisingly fresh bus system!

Taxis, on the other hand, can become expensive, particularly if you’re travelling alone or don’t negotiate beforehand. I even managed to get ripped off once in Nouadhibou (proof that it can happen to anyone). Either way, you’re paying for convenience.

Food Costs

Food was one of the cheapest parts of travelling Mauritania, although my spending was probably lower than average because I visited during Ramadan. Many restaurants were closed throughout the day, so I often ate just one or two larger meals after sunset, with snacks filling the gaps.

In total, I spent £47.33 on food, averaging £6.76 per day.

If I exclude snacks and drinks, my average meal cost came to around 227 MRU (£4.20).

But here’s the breakdown:

Thankfully I had breakfast included by our host in Nouakchott (day 2-3)

Breakfast was included at two of my accommodations, helping to keep my overall food budget low.

Overall, I found Mauritania to be good value, especially if you’re happy eating local food. Meals were generally filling, portions were generous, and it was rare for dinner to cost me more than 300 MRU. My cheapest meal in a restaurant was 70 MRU (~£1.25)!

Outside of Ramadan, you’ll likely find more restaurants open during the day than I did, but prices should remain the same.

Activity Costs

One of the best things about travelling Mauritania is that many of its highlights are completely free. This really kept costs down!

In total, I spent just £3.78 on activities during my week in Mauritania.

There are the only activities in Mauritania that I spent money on:

*The fish market fee was split between the three of us, so I’m not convinced it’s official!
**Chinguetti Library was cheap, but it felt steep given prices elsewhere and given there are other libraries that are free to enter. There is also a rooftop overlooking Chinguetti Mosque where they might ask you to pay for a photo, but I opted to walk around the corner.

Everything else I did in Mauritania was free, including the camel market, Port de Peche, hiking in Terjit, Chinguetti dunes, and the iron ore train!

Aside from that, there was a 200 MRU fee to enter Terjit Oasis (which I have included under accommodation costs).

Miscellaneous Costs

Aside from all of the usual travel expenses, there were only a few additional purchases that are worth factoring into your Mauritania budget.

Some were essential (like VISA or SIM), while others were entirely optional!

These costs won’t affect your day-to-day spending very much, but they’re worth factoring into your overall trip budget before you arrive.

The visa was one of my largest one-off expenses, accounting for almost 15% of my total trip budget.

The SIM card was another must. Rather amusingly, I ended up buying mine on the black market after struggling to find an official retailer during Ramadan. It came with a random amount of data, which I needed to top up soon after.

The blanket and headscarf were both bought specifically for riding the Iron Ore Train. Were they absolutely essential? Probably not. But they made spending the night in an open freight wagon considerably more comfortable. [Check out my guide on what to pack for the iron ore train].

One thing I didn’t spend any money on was laundry. Given it was Ramadan, it was a bit tricky to find open businesses! Instead I waited until I reached Dakar in Senegal.

Cost of getting to Mauritania

I have kept the cost of getting to Mauritania separate because this varies from person to person, and there’s no ‘right’ way.

I was overlanding across West Africa, so I crossed from the land border with Morocco after getting a cheap flight from Madrid to Dakhla. This worked for me and saved me some money, but it won’t work for everyone.

If you are flying directly into Mauritania, costs vary depending where you’re coming from.

From Europe, expect to pay £400 upwards for a return ticket. Elsewhere, prepare to pay a few hundred more!

Typical Prices in Mauritania

To help you plan your own budget, here are some of the prices I came across while travelling Mauritania in 2026.

These are all based on my own experience, so prices may vary slightly depending on where you travel and your ability to negotiate.

I usually like to track beer prices wherever I travel. But Mauritania is a largely Muslim country and I visited during Ramadan so there was unsurprisingly no sign of any alcohol!

FAQs

How much does it cost to travel Mauritania?

Based on my experience travelling for 1 week in Mauritania without a guide, I’d recommend budgeting around £30-40 per day.

For a 1 week trip in Mauritania, works out at around £245 in total. Then if you include the VISA, it works out at around £300 for everything.

Of course, exact costs will vary depending on your group size, and preferences for food, transport and accommodation.

How much is the iron ore train?

Put simply the iron ore train is free to ride (unless you’re in the official passenger cabin).

But in reality, what did I spend money on to do it?

• Transport: Shared transport from Atar to Choum. Then a taxi to my hotel in Nouadhibou.
• Supplies: Food and water for the duration of a 12+ hour journey.
• Accomodation: I stayed in Auberge de Choum Guesthouse which offered a place to sleep, eat and relax before the train arrived.
• Bribes/Extortion: I’ve heard people might try to catch you and extort money out of you for riding the train. Thankfully this didn’t happen to me, but perhaps it’s wise to have a little cash aside to ease any potentially difficult situations.

Is Mauritania expensive?

If you’re comparing Mauritania with Southeast Asia then yes, you’ll probably spend more, but not much more!

I’ve already mentioned a daily budget of around £30-40 per day in Mauritania, which makes it one of the more affordable countries to travel in North and West Africa.

And compared with what I’d expected before arriving, Mauritania turned out to be much less expensive.

How to travel Mauritania on a budget

Honestly, Mauritania is pretty easy to travel on a budget. Or rather, it’s difficult to blow the budget (unless you spend on a tour)!

But here’s a few things that helped me save money:

• Using public transport: Public transport shares the cost, while private is much more expensive!
• Booking accommodation on arrival: Booking online often works out more expensive.
• Eating the local food: Local restaurants are much cheaper than anything included with your accommodation.
• Hitchhiking: Not always possible as people often ask for money, but definitely an option.

What surprised me about travel costs in Mauritania

• Transport was my biggest expense! Costing much more than accommodation.
• The Iron Ore Train itself was essentially free.
• Accommodation in the capital (Nouakchott) was cheaper than expected.
• Water and basic groceries were very affordable.
• Mauritania felt significantly cheaper than neighbouring countries (Senegal and Morocco). I expected it to be much more similar.

What I’d do differently?

If I were to go back and travel Mauritania all over again, there are only two things I’d change.

Firstly, I’d skip the private transfer into Senegal and use shared transport instead. There’s a perfectly viable bus from Nouakchott to the Rosso border for ~500 MRU.

Secondly, I’d buy my SIM card from an official shop. Then, if not, I’d probably use an eSIM. I found my black-market SIM card was a bit of a pain to top up.

Before you go

Thank you for reading my breakdown of how much I spent in Mauritania and overview of general Mauritania travel cost. If guides, itineraries and travel content like this interest you, head over to my Homepage to find out more.

If you are new to Matt’s Next Steps, check out my About page to find out a bit more about who I am, my travel adventures, and why I wanted to become a travel writer.

Please comment below and let me know your thoughts and experiences, or if there is anything else you want information on.

Happy travelling!