Western Sahara Things to Do

  Place Oum Saad, Laayoune
by maykal
 
  • Place Oum Saad, Laayoune
      Place Oum Saad, Laayoune
    by maykal
  • Dunes, Laayoune
      Dunes, Laayoune
    by maykal
  • Near Dakhla
      Near Dakhla
    by lotharscheer
  • Near Dakhla
      Near Dakhla
    by lotharscheer
  • Near Dakhla
      Near Dakhla
    by lotharscheer
 

Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

From Foum el-Oued to Laayoune

by sachara

Laayoune lies about 22 KM inland from the coast. At the coast lies Foum el-Oued. Here you have a beach, an esplanada and soem accommodations. Foum el Oued is a nice and relaxed place for swimming, but be careful because the waves of the ocean can be a bit dangerous. And there a big difference between season and off-season, when all is closed and empty.We reached Layoune, coming from the Dakhla road from the south. After passing Laayoune-port and Foum el-Oued the road went inland in the east direction. We drove through the sanddunes, which surround Layoune. Allthough we saw allready a lot of sanddunes during our transsahara trip, it is always spectacular again to be in the middle of it. There was hardly any sand on the road, but it looked like the road has to be cleaned from the blowing sands sometimes.

Tip Photo
Entrance and exit Boujdour

by sachara

Crossing Boujdour from the southern roundabout, through the wide mainstreet, a dual carriageway lined with palmtrees, to the entrance-exit arch at the north side took only three minutes. At the mainstreet we saw a busstation and several shops.The towns in Western Sahara and South Morocco all have entrance-exit arches.

Tip Photo
Boujdour

by sachara

Boujdour, 186 KM south of Laayoune is the first town we crossed at our route from the south of Western Sahara to the north.Boujdour is a small town lying at the coast with a fishing harbour and a lighthouse. In Boujdour is no hotel, but there are several shops and you can find some cafés for having a meal.

Tip Photo
Desert and sky

by sachara

All you see along most of the 1000 km road from south to north Western Sahara is desert and sky. The changes in scenes are not big, it tends even to be boring. Sometimes is the desert is sandy, sometimes more rocky, sometimes flat and sometimes there are some mountains or sanddunes. That´s all.Despite the little changes, it is always special to drive in such an immense and empty desert landscape for hours and hours. In the desert the skies can be very spectacular.

Tip Photo
View at the ocean

by sachara

The Atlantic Transsahara Route in Western Sahara is often very close to the Atlantic coast. That doesn´t mean you can see it often, but everytime we got a glimpse at the ocean, it was great. The views at the ocean give some variety en route during our long drive in the desert. We didn´t visit Dakhla - it´s 40 KM from the route-, but we could see the city from far at the peninsula.

Tip Photo
The atlantic transsahara route, 1000 KM by road

by sachara

Most people who visit Western Sahara, will come there to take the Atlantic Transsahara Route from Europe to Mauritania, Senegal and other West African countries. So we did, but we came from the south and travelled to the north.What is anyway a ´must see´, not because you maybe will like it, but because you can cannot avoid to see it for about 1000 KM, is the stripe of asphalt in the inmense desert landscape. Maybe it is boring at the long run, but it is also impressive.If you like to learn more about the transsahara routes, look at the website below.

Tip Photo
Boujdour Coast

by johnsakura

The conqueror of the sea and its legends was Gil Eanes, equerry to Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (in whose honour Boujdour's ancient lighthouse is dedicated). In 1434, enticed by rumours of a legendary 'Golden River' that lay further south, Eanes became the first sailor to round Cap Bojador and return alive to tell the tale. The secret, he found, was to return to the north not along the coastline, which was more or less fatal, but in mid-Atlantic, where the trade winds subsided and the currents from the Americas flowed north.The rounding of Cap Bojador was an achievement that changed the entire course of world exploration. The Gold Coast (modern Ghana) was discovered in 1475, the Congo in 1482, and in 1487 the Cape of Good Hope was rounded for the first time by Bartolomeu Dias, who called it the Cape of Storms. Ten years later - barely half a century after rounding Cap Bojador -...

Tip Photo
Place Mechouar

by fool_moon

Place Mechouar is somethinbg like the main square of Laayoune. It houses the government seat and a kind of monument.Due to the language barrier I was not able to find out the meaning of that monument(?).

Tip Photo
Dakhla police fort

by johnsakura

This fort is located right on the city's centre near the ATM cash machine. Although is full of police outside and also although is a military city, no one even blinked when saw me taking the photo. I like that. Dakhla is very organized and reflects the fact of the army run over the city. Dakhla is the army strategic point fot controling all Western Sahara defense. .

Tip Photo
Dakhla street scene

by johnsakura

This is one of the many street lamps found in Dakhla. Dakhla looks quite nice for what you're actually expecting for a Western Sahara city. But Morocco's governement makes everything looks very clean and clear. Great lesson from the Moroccan governement. For what I got Morocco doesn't want to give Western Sahara back to Saharawis, and keeping everything in good conditions is a step forward for internationl pressure to calm down a little and think. Well they take care of things. Also Dakhla is a huge army base. Lots of different army forts can be notices while driving by the city.

Tip Photo
Fun things to do in Western Sahara
 
Explore the World
Travel Destinations
Travel Highlights

The Place

Reviews and photos of Western Sahara attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Western Sahara sightseeing.

Experience Western Sahara
Things to Do: Cities in Western Sahara
  1. Laayoune Plage Things to Do
  2. Ad Dakhla Things to Do
  3. Laayoune Things to Do
  4. Cabo Bojador Things to Do
  5. Semara Things to Do
  6. Guelta Zemmur Things to Do

More Cities in Western Sahara

 

Questions and Answers

travelthrough profile photo

Q:  Hi, I´d need to know if there is still a ferry service going from Cran Canaria to the area of Western Sahara in... 

pfsmalo profile photo

A: Even the cargo service is interupted at the moment, relations between Morocco and Spain not being at their best. Other than that no normal type of ferry service in... 

Read 4 Replies

postQuestion_button