Entry requirements for Senegal by motorcycle

Hi, I’ve read on several forums and blogs that to enter Senegal by motorcycle, some say you need a CPD, others say an ATA carnet, and others say no carnet at all. What’s the real deal? My bike is over 10 years old. Thanks

For a car over 5 years old, yes, an ATA carnet is mandatory. For a motorcycle, a passavant is issued at the border, valid for—if I remember correctly—72 hours?? After that, you need to go to Dakar at the port customs to validate it for 15 days. Avoid Rosso—lots of scams there. Go through Diama instead; that’s what I’ll be doing around December 10th. This year, I’ll be on four wheels. For Mauritania, don’t forget to print a good twenty police forms. I include a photocopy of my passport and vehicle registration. Since I’m doing a round trip via Chinguetti, I have about fifty forms....

Thanks Claude for your reply.

But since you seem to know the route, could you tell me where to make stops (hotels, guesthouses, etc.) for example between Laayoune and Nouakchott, and what minimum range is needed to get between two gas stations?

Thanks and have a great day

Hello, I’ve read on several forums or blogs that to enter Senegal by motorcycle, some say you need a CPD, others say an ATA carnet, and some say no carnet at all. What’s the real deal? My bike is over 10 years old. Thanks

For Senegal, the ATA carnet is only mandatory for cars. For motorcycles, it’s not required. At the border, they’ll give you a temporary pass that you can negotiate to be valid for 4 or 5 days. After that, you need to go to customs in Dakar to get a 10-day extension (or 15 days, I can’t remember exactly), which you can renew once. I think it works like that—the customs officer will explain it to you in detail. They’re really friendly. Just a heads-up about cash in euros: don’t carry more than 1,500 €, otherwise you’ll have to declare it at customs if you have more. It’s free to declare, but I almost got fined for that.