What’s It Really Like Visiting Western Sahara? (Dakhla Edition)
From a young age, I remember looking at a globe and picking out all the places I wanted to visit as an adult. Usually, the countries were remote or ones with difficult spelling… and then there was Western Sahara.
A ‘country’ that, on a map, was covered in thin diagonal lines. I didn’t know what these diagonal lines meant and didn’t care – it stood out to me and I wanted to visit.
I eventually found out what those diagonal lines meant and that a complex (and rather recent) history gave Western Sahara the title of ‘disputed territory’ and not ‘country’.
While the geopolitical situation in this region was far more convoluted than I realized (I found out more later), I still wanted to travel there—or at least to the parts of Western Sahara that I could.
So, when an online flight aggregator sent me a message about cheap tickets from Paris to Dakhla, I booked them immediately and found myself planning a trip to Western Sahara.
What is it really like visiting Western Sahara? In this guide, I will share a bit about my time and experience traveling there.
My initial trip had been planned to go to both Dakhla (where I flew into) and Laayoune, but I eventually canceled the Laayoune part of it and only visited Dakhla and its surrounding area.
Please keep that in mind as you read through this (the first part talks about Western Sahara as a whole but then carries on about traveling in Dakhla only).
In this post...
About Western Sahara
Where is Western Sahara?
Western Sahara is located to the south of Morocco and north of Mauritania
As its name suggests, it is located right in the middle of the Sahara Desert. It spans over 272,000 square kilometers (105,000 square miles) and is the most sparsely populated ‘country’ on the continent (and second globally).
Around 620,000 people are living in Western Sahara and most of them (around 40%) live in Laayoune. Dakhla, where I went, is home to around 107,000 people.
Who controls Western Sahara today?
Western Sahara’s history is far more complicated than the surface-level knowledge I have but it was initially settled by an Arab Bedouin tribe called Oulad Delim (originally from Yemen) and the Spanish settlers expanded their empire there in the late 1800s given its proximity to the Canary Islands. In the late 1950s, Morocco reignites their claims to Western Sahara after gaining their own independence.
During this colonization by the Spanish, they made Dakhla the capital of the Spanish Sahara province of Rio de Oro. In 1965, the UN called for Western Sahara to be decolonized by the Spanish.
Fast forward to the 1970s and the Moroccans and Mauritanians had pressured the Spanish to leave and they did in 1975. At the same time, the Polisario Front (a movement toward Sahrawi independence) is founded.
From 1975-1991, there was a war between the Moroccan forces and Polisario Front (run by SADR, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic), ending with a UN-brokered ceasefire in 1991. There is no referendum on independence.
Today, many countries in Africa recognize SADR but in 2020, the US agreed to recognize full Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara if Morocco established relations with Israel.
So, yeah…
This is a very surface-level overview of the situation, so please feel free to do a deep dive into this dispute if you are interested.
Travel is very political and there are a few countries I deem off-limits to myself (one is mentioned above).
While I don’t know the full extent of the situation as well as I’d like to, I do know that I have traveled to Morocco in the past and anytime I travel within my own country (the US), I am funding things I don’t agree with in other parts of the world.
At the end of the day, I travel to understand people, cultures, and history a little bit better. I also like to support small businesses along the way.
That is what I was mostly able to do in Western Sahara (with the exception of where I stayed probably) and I have learned a lot about this region when there and since coming back.
Do people travel to Western Sahara?
Yes, I was quite surprised at how many French travelers I saw kitesurfing there, which is a popular thing to do in Dakhla. It is also a popular destination for Moroccans to visit.
The temperatures in Dakhla are relatively mild compared to other parts of the Sahara and the wind keeps things a bit tolerable, albeit the sand gets everywhere!
How to Get to Dakhla (& Around)
I flew into Dakhla from Paris-Orly direct (on the way there and my flight was changed to have a layover in Casablanca on the way back).
Flights were cheaper than I expected but I also got them on a special. It seems like you can still get them for like $250 roundtrip from Paris-Orly (4-hour flight), however.
The Dakhla Airport (VIL) is around 25 kilometers (15 miles) from many of the hotels in the area. Most tourists coming from Paris are actually coming for kitesurfing these days and are likely going to stay around the lagoon and not in Dakhla city.
You can also take a bus from some of the cities in Morocco but this journey can be well over a day, so I would not advise it unless you’re looking for an adventure (I looked into this years ago and opted against it).
Can you travel around Western Sahara independently?
Yes, but I wouldn’t. Not unless I was with a local or perhaps a Moroccan citizen.
I did see quite a few campervans from Europeans (mostly French) driving down to stay outside kitesurfing camps, but I, as someone who knows no Arabic or French, wouldn’t drive around independently.
There are also many police checkpoints out in the desert. Be sure to carry your passport on you at all times if you are driving or even with a driver.
Where to Stay in Dakhla
Dakhla is known for its kitesurfing so when I planned the trip, I wanted to spend a day or two doing lessons for it. Unfortunately, I tore my ACL two months prior and couldn’t do any activities like this, but I still opted to keep my booking at a hotel known for its kitesurfing.
What I didn’t realize (I’m kind of a poor planner) was that the hotel was an all-inclusive resort located a bit away from Dakhla.
Apparently, this is kind of standard there given its kitesurfing popularity. I stayed at Hotel Dakhla Club which is located on the famous lagoon.
I did no research before this trip and just found them on Booking.com with a good rating and went with it.
I was there for eight nights and it made the trip a lot less stressful as I have no Arabic or French skills under my belt. They also were able to arrange my tours and transportation into Dakhla easily.
Wifi was HORRENDOUS. I was coming here to work at the same time and it was not an option. Upon arrival, I never got a SIM card, so I just took the week off and gave myself a much-needed digital detox.
Some other popular places to stay (both kitesurfing camp places) in Dakhla are:
There are also a few highly-rated options in Dakhla city but I don’t know anyone who has stayed there or written about any of them.
Did I feel safe in Dakhla?
I felt surprisingly safe when there. The ‘surprising’ part is a mixture of how I felt previously in Morocco and how I felt seeing a lot of police stops on the roads in Western Sahara.
Morocco has a reputation for female travelers that isn’t always positive. I never felt unsafe there, but I was with my partner (and comments still came, but a bit sparingly).
I never felt this in Dakhla and my friend (female) was with me in the city. I don’t remember hearing a single catcall or comment that made us feel uncomfortable.
There were a few police checkpoints when we did a trip around the local area that could make travelers feel a little uneasy but they were nothing and just standard procedure.
I never felt threatened as an American tourist or woman traveling around Dakhla and any areas of Western Sahara.
Things to Do in Dakhla (and Nearby)
Most people visit Dakhla to do a little kitesurfing. Since my ACL was torn, this wasn’t an option for me, but I was able to make the trip as enjoyable as possible and see as much as I could in Dakhla and the desert surrounding it.
Here are some popular things to see in and around Dakhla:
- Dune Blanche (a large dune 40 minutes from the city)
- Porto-Rico (a gorgeous beach)
- Asmaa Spring (a natural spring with therapeutic properties)
- Imlili Desert (ancient pools of water called ‘Sebkha’ with a single breed of fish – kind of weird but unique)
- Dragon Island (a beautiful island in the middle of the Dakhla Lagoon)
- Ostrich farm (every tour and driver tends to make a stop here)
- Oyster farm (also has a restaurant called Talha Mar that I ate at – was delicious!)
- Dakhla souk
- Jardin el Moussaoui (garden in the middle of Dakhla)
Dakhla is a city located in the desert but it has a lot of little gardens and greenery that are really beautiful!
Weather in Dakhla
As mentioned above, the weather in Dakhla is pretty mild compared to other places in the Sahara! The average temperature hovers around 18C (64F) in January and 26C (79F) in July and August.
When I was there in February, it was pretty chilly (daily mean of 22C/72F). It gets cold at night so be sure to bring a sweatshirt or jacket with you!
One thing to note is that it is WINDY in Dakhla. Hence the kitesurfing here! And you will be breathing in a lot of sand.
I found this uncomfortable by the end of the trip and it almost felt like it was hanging out in my lungs. Bring a mask with you if you are sensitive to this. And wear clothing that you don’t mind getting sand all over.
Should you travel to Western Sahara?
There is not much to do there but the landscapes look like something out of a sci-fi book to my East Coast American eye which is used to seeing trees and greenery everywhere. So, for me, this was pretty cool!
Geopolitically speaking, I can’t say one way or another.
If you go and try to support some of the small businesses in Dakhla, as well as some of the people in tourism, I think it is fine to take a trip to Western Sahara.
But, please do a little research beforehand (unlike me) to learn a bit more about the territory, its previous colonization, and its current partial occupation.
I plan to write a few more guides giving some travel tips as well as things to do in Dakhla directly. Let me know if you have any questions or comments about travel! Thanks!
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