Security Concerns:
Current security advice is to avoid "all but essential travel to the country". See the FCO website for the official statement.
There is a high risk of terror attacks. The area near Western Sahara is heavily mined and travel through this area is highly unadvised. Border areas lining Algeria and Mali are notorious for banditry and jihadism. There is a general threat of kidnap throughout Mauritania from these terrorist groups.
Crime levels are reported to be moderate but steadily increasing.
Maritime Issues:
Cruisers reported in February 2026 being permitted to stopover here for storm refuge and anchor until the weather had cleared without having to clear in. See comments.
There has been a sharp rise in the number of migrants arriving in the Canary Islands with the Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands being increasingly used by smugglers who launch boats from Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal and even the Gambia.
See this report for more details and what do do if you encounter a migrant boat.
Last updated: March 2026
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Posted on behalf of Lane Finlay – SV Maitai
Mai Tai just made a stop at Nouadhibou, Mauritania, to hide from weather on our passage from Canaries to Cape Verde.
The anchorage at Nouadhibou, Mauritania is not pretty, no resorts or bars along the beach here. However, if a storm is coming from the north, it is a perfect safe-harbour with excellent holding in a mud bottom. It is a very friendly fishing port and because of the incoming weather, the whole fleet was anchored here and there was plenty of room for all. Even the big freighters anchor outside the harbour but inside the peninsula, which forms a barrier from the Atlantic.
We didn’t need to check in to the country and we did not go ashore. We dropped anchor at 1630 and at 1900 we were boarded by a friendly official, who took pictures of our passports and left us to it. They spoke mainly French. Only a few words in English. We told him we did not wish to check in, only anchor, so we did not ask about costs. He did tell us that if we needed anything to flash our flashlight towards shore – and he pointed in the direction, and he would come out immediately. They only have one radio and it is down near cape Blanco.
We spent three days inside the cabin as the wind blew.
It is important to call the Port Authority on vhf 11 or 16 when rounding Cape Blanco because that is the location of the only radio they have and they can’t hear you if you call from the port, 7 miles further up.
We were very happy to be safely anchored here while the wind and sea raged. The one major down-side for us is that the storm that came through became a horrible Sahara dust storm, which covered everything in a fine dust and cut visibility to 100 metres. We will be weeks getting rid of it all. We had dust masks onboard from a recent painting project and we wore those whenever we went on deck. We were able to keep the interior fairly clean.
Starlink is available in Mauratania. We had a good connection.
No one came close to our boat, even with curiosity. However, when passing a boat, if we waved they waved back, usually with a thumbs up. One boatman did a little dance on deck for us. There are two types of boats in the harbour, big steel 80-100 metre fishing boat and small local wooded dories 15-20 metres.
I believe we are the only boat stopping here in more than a year.
Hope this information helps others in the future.