Ad Dakhla

1280px “Where to find Halal food or a Halal restaurant in Ad Dakhla, or perform Salat in a mosque in Ad Dakhla?“ “Those are some of the questions Muslim travelers often ask when traveling to Ad Dakhla.“ Ad Dakhla (Dakhla, Dajla) is based in southern Western Sahara. 23.716666666667|-15.95

Travel to Ad Dakhla

===Travel by plane to Ad Dakhla=== Dakhla Airport (IATA Flight Code: VIL) with almost daily flights from/to Casablanca with Royal Air Maroc, once a week to Agadir as well. There is a regular flight to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria with CanaryFly, though only seasonal. There are a few buses daily from as far away as Casablanca and Marrakech. Buses are run by CTM, Supratours and Satas. There are no regional operators. Supratours and CTM buses run to and from Agadir (~20 hours, ~350 dirhams. Supratours has two buses per day, while CTM has one. Be prepared for up to eight checkpoints along the way and, if a Westerner, to be checked thoroughly ===Travel by vehicle to Ad Dakhla=== National Route 1, running the length, of the nation passes by Dakhla It is also the only major road in the vicinity. Distance from the nearest major city in the north, El Aaiun is 535 kilometers}}. This road is in good condition but expect long distances between gas stations. To the south of Dakhla is 440 kilometers of almost uninhabited territory, except for a few tiny fishing villages, until the Mauritanian border and Nouadhibou. Travelling this stretch by vehicle is perfectly feasible but requires some planning and careful preparations. There are only two gas stations along the entire route and breakdown could include hours of wait in scoring temperatures.

Getting around

The downtown is small enough to navigate on foot. Should you want to head further out, petits taxis abound and are metered.

Sightseeing Tips

* Take a road trip to Aoussard: UN base, followed by mine field, followed by Moroccan army base. Take water with you and fill up with gas: it's a 3-hour drive (if you obey speed limits) and it gets hotter with each kilometre.* Take a break at the laguna and watch kite-surfers. They even have a special road sign that says "watch out for kite surfers that sometimes crash on the road".* Drive to the historic lighthouse west of Ad-Dakhla: albeit as of January 2014 climbing it was no longer permitted and the building continues to be one of the most recognisable monuments of Western Sahara due to the black-and-white ring pattern.

FortecolorWestsaharaIII-12 - Ad-Dakhla Lighthouse. FortecolorWestsaharaIII-36 - Kite-Surfing at Ad-Dakhla. FortecolorWestsaharaIII-30 - Ad-Dakhla Lagoon.

What to do as a Muslim in Ad Dakhla

There are windsurfing and quad driving opportunities north of Dakhla. Inquire locally. A kite shop next to the Supratours office at the waterfront is helpful with all the necessary info. You can wind and kitesurf on both the Western (ocean) and eastern (lagoon) side of the peninsula. FortecolorWestsaharaIII-48 - Ad-Dakhla Lagoon (low-tide).

Muslim Friendly Shopping

Halal Restaurants Please be informed that on some destination such as Ad Dakhla we had no local Muslim that has researched some of the area. If you are a Muslim/Muslima and have been to Ad Dakhla or would like to maintain the eHalal Guide to Ad Dakhla, please contact us at guides@ehalal.io and email us your updates.

Many patisseries offer affordable pastry. The restaurant at Sahara Regency hotel has nice European food, though the choice is limited and it is not always fresh. There are also numerous eateries in town.

Where to stay

There are plenty of hotels clustered around the town centre. Due to military presence, most only have twin rooms and you will pay almost the same price if you are alone. Twin rooms cost 60 Dh. Prices, as always, are negotiable. There are a few campsites by the road to the north of Dakhla. Camping Moussafir is a popular spot with overlanders and is located just south of the first checkpoint out of town.* Hotel Dakhla Attitude @itude.ma Pointe du Dragon 23.893685,-15.771217 ☎ +212 661 83 50 10 Offers nautical activities, seafood tasting and desert excursions. The hotel is sheltered from the wind by the mountains. Has three camps gathering seven types of lodging. The hotel's sport center WindfishPro offers all kind of sport activities and kitesurf and windsurf lessons and material rental.

• Hotel Ocean Vagabond PK 27 route d'El Argoub 23.914550,-15.763533 ☎ +212 613 03 78 61 In the style of a beach cabin, with its deckchairs, parasols, musical atmosphere and catering service with good food. Also offers kitesurfing and surfing lessons to beginners and experienced surfers alike, as well as equipment hire, with windsurfing.
• Hotel Riad | in the centre (pedestrian zone) has rooms from 30 dirhams per person. The facilities are shared and a bit disgusting. There are similar places nearby, including Hotel Sahara. }}
• Hotel Sahara Regency - 23.702088,-15.928008 A high-end option in town offering all the modern facilities a desert traveller could long for, including free WiFi and a restaurant serving up soft drinks and spirits.
• Hotel Calipau Sahara - 23.748774,-15.908602 Upscale hotel just at the outer rims of Dakhla. Located at a private bay, has sea-water pools. Good breakfast, extensive dinner menu and serves fruit cocktails. Prices are steep, about 5 times what one pays at supermarkets. Amazing walk-in showers with hot water on demand. Haggling recommended, one can cut the price for a room by about 50%. The posted date for rooms starts at €180. }}

Ad Dakhla Halal Travel Guide

===North=== Ticket for any bus heading north can be purchased at the corresponding agency and they all have offices around the town centre (Satas is a bit further south) ===South=== Supratours runs a bus south to the Mauritania border. The bus leaves from the waterfront office at 8:00 and costs 160 dirhams, arriving at the frontier at 13:00. It returns to Dakhla at 15:00, arriving Dakhla at 20:30. Finding a lift is not a problem. You can try to get a lift from overlanders (ask around at Camping Moussafir) or catch a ride with the Mauritanian traders, who gather on a lot opposite from the first police checkpoint north of Dakhla (take a petit taxi to get there for about 15-20 dirhams, or walk the 7 km). The going rate is 250 dirhams for a car (a minivan) or 350 dirhams for a Mercedes. The cars leave in the morning. You can also organize your ride to Nouadhibou (350-400 dirhams, ~10 hours including border crossing) or Nouakchott (600 dirhams, min. 12 hours) at Hotel Sahara in the centre. Ask for Tawfiq. The cars leave around 7AM. Be prepared to spend several hours on both sides of the border crossing. Copyright 2015 - 2024. All Rights reserved by eHalal Group Co., Ltd.
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