Bab Sahara

Bab Sahara is a little hidden gem just a 10 minute walk from the centre. The place is very quiet and relaxed. Our room was clean and so were the shared toilets and showers. Hot water is a real plus, although water pressure is a bit low (but remind yourself that you're in the desert). Food was good and can be prepared vegetarian upon request. Recommended!

This place is fantastic- best place I stayed in Mauritania. Leonie and Justus are wonderful hosts with a lot of knowledge of the area. I stayed in one of the stone bungalows which was bigger than expected and super clean. The grounds were so relaxing, like a little oasis with cute ducks running around, shaded sitting areas, and bird sounds to enjoy. They offer dinner for an additional charge, and their chef was fantastic.

I recommend Bab Sahara 100 %. It is situated in a very calm and very safe area. It is a 10 minute walk from town with its market and restaurants (safe to walk even at night), small shops are just around the corner. It is beautifully decorated with attention to detail and lots of trees that provide much-needed shade. It is clean, there’s hot and cold water, soap and toilet paper are provided. And, most importantly, staff is as friendly and welcoming as you can imagine. Whatever you need, whatever you are looking for, they will help you. I have stayed for a while and they have become like a family to me. Thank you!

This place is epic. As an ex overland truck driver, Bab Sahara brought back some awesome memories. Juste and Leonnie are awesome hosts and there is a ton of space for parking and camping. We stayed in an AC room with a great bathroom and in May, this was a blessing. They invited us to eat dinner with them and Seydou the chef knocked it out of the park. My friend is a vegetarian and Leonie sais they'd try their best to put something together for her. Their best turned out to be her best meal of the trip. With the borders opening and overlanders starting to head south again, I'm hopeful Bab Sahara gets the business they deserve. Good luck guys and thanks for a great stay.

Pros: nicely decorated, good vibe, hot water showers! (though not great pressure, but this is the sahara), basic but comfortable, very accommodating cook, nice to have a hammock, and compared to some of the other places we stayed in Mauritania, a comfortable stay.||Cons: the owners are pretty rude and militantly unhelpful - at first I gave them the benefit of the doubt and thought they were just being Dutch. Having lived in Amsterdam myself, I put it down to cultural directness, but very quickly I realised that no, they are just rude. I do understand that it must get repetitive answering questions from new travellers, but the forcefulness with which they shut down any questions saying "we are NOT a tour agency - stop asking questions and organise yourselves!" was a bit much - especially as at that point I'd asked .... one question. About whether they had a local taxi number. ||I've heard they want to sell up and move on, and it seems that it's a good time for them to leave the hospitality business, as they are clearly fed up with it.

Well managed property by a foreigner. We had a bad experience running around various hostels in town that seemed shady. We then walked the 10 minutes to get here. It is a secured campground with some overlanders staying. Rooms were basic. Outdoor shared showers. Food kitchen was prompt and decent. Good place for a quick rest before Chinguetti.

We stayed here for three nights 11/15-11/17. On arrival the place was fully booked, but they let us squeeze in anyway. We pulled in and parked and then quickly set up our tents. However, the electricity went out once, hot water only worked at random intervals, and the wifi was bad (it was on a Sim card and once the data was out, the manager didn't buy more for the campsite; 4Gigs split between 30 users is not much data). Later when we tried to book a trip to Ouadane and Chenguetti, the manager of the campsite helped us, but they tried to charge us €100 per person. This was extortion and we said no. Then he dropped it down to €44 so obviously there was some fowl play here. Please don't pay more than 1750 MRU for a trip to both cities and don't pay extra for gas! Finally, when we went to leave the campsite, the manager came up to our group and tried to extort more money out of us. He wanted to charge an extra €100 for each person on top of what we already paid for the campsite. This is when we realized that the argument between him and the drivers of our trip only happened because he tried to charge us above market value for that trip and keep the extra money for himself. My advice is DO NOT COME HERE! There are other campsites in town with more honorable campsite managers. I get that life is hard here and everyone is out to make some quick cash over everything, but this camp manager Mohammed single handedly ruined the experience for us. You have to be patient in Africa, but you shouldn't have to worry about extortion at a Westernized campsite. Hope this helps somebody. Also, be careful when you drive here. The local kids threw rocks at our vehicles and broke a friend's rear window out. Side note: Trip from Atar to Ouadane from Ouadane to Chenguetti, from Chenguetti to Atar should be 1750 MRU per person. Entrance to Ouadane should be 200 MRU per person. And entrance to the Chenguetti library should be 100 MRU per person. Do not take guides if you don't speak French or Arabic. Everyone will expect a tip for their help. So be careful as no one here will offer free help or guidance for anything. That's all. It's worth the visit to the area, but please be careful who you pay and how much.

We spent 3 nights at Bab Sahara. The Auberge is really nice and friendly. We had the 🛖 huts with A/C and private bathrooms. Perfect as a starting point for Chinguetti, Ouadane and Tergit Oasis.