Western Sahara 7 Day Itinerary

Any honest itinerary for Western Sahara has to begin with the political reality: this is a disputed territory, not a recognised independent state. Morocco administers the northern two-thirds, including the cities of Laayoune and Dakhla. The Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, controls a thin strip of desert east of the sand-and-stone barrier known as “the Berm.” The UK, US, Canadian, and Australian governments all advise against travel within 30 kilometres of the Berm on either side, citing unexploded ordnance from the 1975-1991 war and continuing periodic armed incidents. Landmine fatalities in the eastern zone occur every year. The coastal towns (Dakhla, Laayoune, Boujdour, Tarfaya) sit well inside Moroccan-controlled territory and are as safe as comparable Moroccan cities for visitors. The desert interior east of the main north-south road is a different matter, and this itinerary stays on the western side.

Entry to Western Sahara is via Morocco, using Moroccan immigration and entry procedures. Visas are the same as for Morocco: most Western passport holders do not require one. You will be registered with Moroccan police at accommodation in each town, which is routine and standard.

Day 1: Arrive Dakhla

Dakhla-Oued-Iriri Airport receives direct flights from Casablanca (Royal Air Maroc, about two hours) and seasonal charter flights from Europe. The airport is small; taxis to the town centre cost around 50 to 100 dirhams for the five-kilometre journey. Dakhla town sits at the tip of a 40-kilometre peninsula, with the Atlantic Ocean on the west side and the Dakhla Lagoon (45 kilometres long and extraordinarily flat) sheltered on the east. The wind blows consistently from the north, which is why kitesurfers discovered Dakhla before ordinary tourists did.

Get your bearings by walking the corniche in the late afternoon. The fish market near the harbour is active before sunset and worth seeing: Western Sahara’s Atlantic coast produces some of the most abundant wild fish stocks in the world, and the variety on display reflects that. Dinner at any of the small restaurants near the port running on 50 to 100 dirham menus will be predominantly fresh fish: gilt-head bream, sole, and octopus are all typical.

Stay in town rather than at one of the lagoon resort hotels for the first night; the resort area is 25 kilometres out of town on the peninsula and requires a car or prearranged transfer to access anything beyond the resort itself.

Day 2: The Dakhla Lagoon

The lagoon is the main reason most people come to Dakhla. The water averages less than a metre deep across much of its 45-kilometre length, the bottom is sand, and the north wind blows steadily enough that kitesurfers rate it among the top five flat-water spots in the world. You do not have to kite to appreciate it: kayaking on the lagoon at dawn is genuinely peaceful, the pink flamingos and spoonbills that feed in the shallows are present year-round, and the dune landscape on the eastern shore is photogenic without requiring effort.

Kite lesson packages at the lagoon camps run around 400 to 600 dirhams per hour including equipment; three-day introductory courses for complete beginners start around 4,000 dirhams. The main cluster of kite camps and boutique hotels sits at PK25; a stretch of the lagoon shore 25 kilometres south of town. PK25 Boutique Hotel has 32 bungalows directly on the water; La Crique Nature and Spa offers cliff-top suites with lagoon views and a seafood restaurant.

If you are not kitesurfing, a half-day jeep or quad tour to the dunes on the lagoon’s eastern shore, arranged through your accommodation, costs around 300 to 400 dirhams per person and gives the full desert-meets-ocean landscape that makes this place distinctive.

Day 3: Dakhla; Beaches and Bird Sanctuary

Spend a morning at Plage Blanche, the white sand beach on the Atlantic side of the peninsula. It is the windward side and the waves are not calm, but the stretch of beach is long and largely empty. The Portuguese fort (Fort Bourgedieu, a remnant of the colonial era) sits near the northern end of town and is worth 20 minutes.

Dakhla is on the East Atlantic Flyway, one of the major migratory bird routes connecting Europe to sub-Saharan Africa. The lagoon and its associated wetlands host significant populations of migrating waders and wildfowl, particularly between October and March. Oystercatchers, dunlin, ringed plover, and greater flamingo are year-round residents. A local guide who knows the best birdwatching spots can be arranged through your guesthouse for around 200 dirhams for a half-day.

Day 4: Drive North to Laayoune

The N1 highway runs 539 kilometres north from Dakhla to Laayoune through some of the most sparsely inhabited desert landscape on the Atlantic coast. The road is good, there is an occasional checkpoint where your passport will be noted, and the drive takes around five to six hours without stops. There is very little between the two cities. Carry water, snacks, and more fuel than you think you need; the distances between petrol stations are substantial.

Laayoune (also spelled El-Aaiun) is the largest city in Western Sahara with a population of around 250,000. It has the feel of a provincial Moroccan city; covered markets, a central square, cafes with mint tea and shisha; without any particular tourist infrastructure. The Spanish Sahara War Cemetery contains the graves of Spanish soldiers from the colonial period. The central market sells Sahrawi handicrafts including leather goods and woven textiles at prices that are reasonable compared to anything sold in Marrakech or Agadir.

Laayoune has hotels in the two and three-star range, mostly catering to commercial travellers and Moroccan civil servants. The Atlas Laayoune and Hotel Parador are reliable options in the 500 to 900 dirham range per night.

Day 5: Laayoune; Local Culture and Sahrawi Cuisine

Sahrawi cooking is distinct from Moroccan cooking and rarely reaches a menu in the cities where most tourists travel. The staple is hout (fish) prepared simply; grilled or baked; with flat bread and argan oil for dipping. Mechoui (slow-roasted lamb) is eaten at communal gatherings. Atai, the Sahrawi version of mint tea, is prepared with more sugar and fewer leaves than the Moroccan version and is served in three small glasses with a deliberate ritual of pouring from height to create froth. Being offered tea and declining is a significant social slight.

The Sahrawi population of Laayoune and Dakhla has its own cultural and political identity distinct from both Morocco and the Polisario-affiliated communities in the Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria. Political conversation on this subject is sensitive. Local guides are willing to discuss the region’s history but the depth of that conversation depends significantly on trust built over time and not on a first encounter.

Day 6: Tarfaya

Tarfaya sits 235 kilometres north of Laayoune on the coast, opposite the Canary Islands; the nearest point to the Canaries on the African mainland. Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the author of The Little Prince, flew the Casablanca-Dakar air mail route in the 1920s and was based here for a period; there is a small museum and a replica of his plane on the seafront. The town itself is small and quiet, with a lighthouse, a ruined British fort in the sea (accessible at low tide), and long empty beaches in both directions.

The drive from Laayoune to Tarfaya follows the coast for much of its length. Stop at Akhfennir if you have time; a small fishing settlement with no tourist facilities and a bay where the Atlantic light in the late afternoon is exceptional.

Day 7: Departure from Laayoune or North to Agadir

Laayoune has the largest airport in Western Sahara with direct connections to Casablanca and occasionally to the Canary Islands. If you have time, the coast road north from Tarfaya through Tan-Tan to Agadir passes through the most dramatically empty stretch of coast in North Africa; four or five hours of driving with almost no population, dunes meeting the Atlantic, and occasional fishing camps. Agadir Airport connects to Europe directly with budget carriers.

Practical considerations for the whole trip: Mobile coverage on the N1 between Dakhla and Laayoune is inconsistent; download offline maps before you leave. Police checkpoints on the main road are routine; have your passport accessible rather than packed. The Moroccan dirham is the currency in use throughout; change money before leaving Agadir or Casablanca as ATMs in Laayoune and Dakhla can run out of cash. Stay strictly on paved roads; the desert interior east of the N1 is mined in places, and the risk is real.