There are lots of people who travel. Normal people and of course the lovely Youtubers – who never talk about costs unless you sign up to their club or their mailing list once you subscribe to their patreon. I’ve got nothing to hide so I’m going to outline my costs for the trip.
I saved up for this trip, putting £5k into my piggy bank, with a little bit more set aside as a contingency, but I was determined to stay within the £5k budget.
Although you may think otherwise, when you start travelling you do actually have a lot on your mind – every hour of the day. Where you’ve been, where you’re going next, where you can get food, where you can get fuel, where you can camp next, what’s that funny rattle from the left hand side of the engine… I did intend to log down what I spent, plus my mileage and how much fuel I used, but that fell by the wayside quite quickly as it was just too much hassle because I was there to enjoy myself, not become an accountant.
CASH
West Africa is a CASH society, so you always need to carry cash. In cities like Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier and Marrakesh there is a new revolution of paying by card sweeping through larger businesses, but generally cash is king in smaller businesses. Food, shops, camping and fuel – it’s always cash
I used a Revolut card, usually keeping around £200 to £300 in the account. It was easy to transfer money from my savings account into the Revolut account, and when I made cash withdrawals at ATM’s, it was usually in £100 or £150 amounts depending on where I was going or what I was doing. I my secret wallet, I also also carried 500 Euro’s for emergencies, and 220 US Dollars for the visas I hoped to get in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
MONEY CHANGING
When you cross a border you will always get surrounded by men who want to relieve you of your money – the money changers. As soon as you arrive they will ‘swarm’ you and start waving huge wads of money in front of you. They will also offer sim-cards or even discounts at their cousins nearby shop – and that’s part of the game because while you are so overwhelmed, you almost feel pressurised to change money. I was happy to change some money just to get rid of them, and would usually change enough to get me to the next town with an ATM, usually any excess currency from where I’ve just been or even a 50eu note. Their rates can be good, but sometimes not so good. One thing they are expert at doing is looking into your wallet the moment you open it to see just how much currency you have, so…
When you cross the border, have the amount of currency you want to change in a pocket so they don’t get to glimpse the amount of cash that’s actually in your wallet.
Before crossing a border, try not to have too much of the old currency. Not because of currency restrictions, but because of ‘favourable rates’, as banks will usually give you a better rate. Sometimes not, but I’d sooner deal with a bank than a money changer. I would make sure I had around £20 to £30 of the old currency to change in to the new currency, which was just enough to buy me enough fuel to get to the next ATM. Sometimes the money changer wouldn’t be very impressed when I wanted to change such a small amount, but changing a lower amount meant I didn’t get ripped off too much.
ATM’s
I never had any problems finding ATM’s, and would find them by searching on Google maps. In Morocco there are ATM’s in every large town, and most of them would take a small withdrawal fee. In Mauritania you will only find ATM’s in Nouhadibou and Nouakachott, and although the ATM’s are plentiful, you will find some of them are either out of action or have no money – but you will always find one that does have money.
In Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal you sometimes find the ATM is attached to a bank with a separate entrance. You’ll see a door at the side of the building or near the main entrance, and going through the door will be a small room containing the ATM. Some ATM’s only operate during business hours and sometimes there may even be a security guard outside the ATM.
In Senegal and Gambia the ATM’s are few and far apart so as soon as you cross into Senegal make sure you get enough money at the border to get you to St Louis, or Dakar. In The Gambia there are only ATM’s in Serrakunda and Banjul, so for everywhere else I dipped into my cash reserve and changed Euro’s into local currency at one of the many money-transfer offices in the smaller towns. I would change 50eu at a time and never had any problems. In the Gambia I found it impossible to change US Dollars. They would only change Sterling or Euro’s. I also struggled to change US Dollars in Senegal, too.
FERRIES
The cost of freedom is being able to travel freely and with flexibility – which is why I leave things to the last moment. Also, I’m not very good at planning months in advance, so I was happy to book my crossings at the last minute. The total cost for ferries was £629. I booked all my ferries the day before I travelled, except for my outward UK to Spain ferry – which I booked four months beforehand. For my ferry from Tangier to Spain, I booked two hours before it departed..!
- Plymouth/Santander: £230
- Algeciras/Tangier Med: £60
- Tangier/Tarifa: £80
- Santander/Rosslare: £179
- Belfast/Liverpool: £80
- TOTAL: £629
VISA’S & PERMITS
Morocco. The visa and Passavant (Temporary import Permit) are free. You get your visa on the ferry while making the crossing, and your Passavant at the customs border in the port by showing your V5. Your Passavant is a small credit-sized card. DO NOT LOOSE this card, as you will have severe snags getting your bike out of the country.
Mauritania. You buy your visa at the border for cash, which you can pay in local currency or Euro’s. You also have to buy a Passavant for your vehicle in Dirhams (Moroccan money) or Ouiga’s (Mauritanian money). When you are leaving Mauritania at the southern border, if you leave via the Diamer Road you cross the national park so you have to pay a community tax and a national park fee. About 5km before the border there is a small hut, and this is where you pay your community tax and national park fee. You can pay in Dirhams, Ouiga’s or Euro’s. Have the right money ready as they don’t carry alot of cash. DO NOT HAVE YOUR GO-PRO RUNNING. They don’t like it.
- Visa. 55eu
- Passavant. 10eu
- Community Tax. 2eu (100 Ouiga)
- National Park. 4eu (200 Ouiga)
Senegal. Again, you buy your visa and Passavant at the border for cash, either in the local currency or Euro’s. As you cross from Mauritania into Senegal there is also a bridge toll which you have to pay for in cash.
- Passavant £6 (5000 XOF) for 5 days. If you want to extend your Passavant you have to do this at St Loius or Dakar, and this should be free…
- Bridge toll £5 (4000 CFA)
The Gambia. There were no fees for both my visa and vehicle permit in The Gambia.
I did spend 45eu on buying a E-visa for Guinea but never used it. I also had cash to buy a visa’s for Sierra Leone and Liberia but I never made it that far so on the way back I slowly changed my cash into local currency. In the Gambia no one would change my US dollars, but I managed to change the rest of the dollars in Senegal and Mauritania. My total visa and permit fee’s were:
- Mauritania (going South): £58 (69eu)
- Mauritania (going North): £58 (69eu)
- Senegal: £11
- Gambia: £0
- Guinea: £38 (45eu)
- Total: £165
VEHICLE INSURANCE
As you pass through a border there is always someone nearby who sells insurance. As you arrive at Tangier-Med there is a SANLAM office just past the customs check. If you only get one-week of Insurance but want to extend your insurance, you can find SANLAM offices all over Morocco. Insurance costs through West Africa are standard prices so don’t even think of shopping about, as there is no competition.
As you go through the Morocco/Mauritania border there is an insurance office on the Mauritania side. About 100m after the border on the right-hand side is the Customs building (where you get your Passavant), and about 50m further on the left hand side is the insurance agent, next to a café.
At the Mauritania/Senegal border there is a guy outside the Mauritania border building with a clipboard who sells insurance, and on the Senegal side, just next to the Customs office is a guy who sells insurance, but you have to ask for him. At the Senegal border you will get surrounded by people wanting to change money, sell sim-cards or sell you things. DO NOT BUY A SIM-CARD. You’ll be offered a 5gb sim, but probably with 1gb of data loaded.
At the Senegal border I bought BROWN CARD INSURANCE, which means the insurance is good for Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote De Ivorie.
- Morocco (out): £80 (96 eu) for four weeks insurance.
- Morocco (return): £80 (96 eu) for four weeks insurance.
- Mauritania (out): £12.50 (15eu) for one month insurance.
- Mauritania (return): £12.50 (15eu) for one month insurance.
- Senegal/Gambia: £21 (25eu) for one month insurance.
- Total Insurance: £238
UNEXPECTED COSTS
My biggest repair cost was tyres when I got to Spain when my rear tyre died. I bought two new tyres for the bike, and I also got them to change all four pads on the front brakes and remove what was left of my rear hugger. On top of that I bought a new Bluetooth intercom as well as oil and a bearing puller in Agadir.
Total cost: £550
SIM CARDS AND DATA
When I first got to Morocco I bought a Sim-card which cost 50eu. Yes, I did over pay – but I knew no different at that time and would NOT do it again. 40 Eu was for the sim-card and 10eu was for 10gb of data. They saw me coming… If you are going to Morocco or even further – use an E-sim. Soon after my data ran out I discovered Holafly, so after that used their E-sim, costing 69eu for 30 days (or 47eu for 15 days) for unlimited data and calls within Morocco. The 4G is brilliant in Morocco, better than the UK, and I never struggled for a signal wherever I travelled.
In Mauritania I forgot to get an E-sim and when I tried to buy a sim-card I was told that you can only buy a sim-card if you are a resident. You can buy sim-cards and data (just ask your host wherever you are staying) but for my time in Mauritania I lived without data, just using wi-fi wherever I could.
In Senegal I again used an E-sim by Orange Holiday World, which worked out at $40 US for 10Gb of data over 14 days. I used this service twice.
In The Gambia I could not get an E-sim at that time so bought a Sim-card from a small shop in a village with 10gb of data for around 20eu – 10 for data and 10 for the card.
- Morocco Sim-card. £42 (50eu) for card and 10gb data.
- Morocco E-sim (out). £58 (Holafly – unlimited data 30 days).
- Senegal E-sim (out). £31 ($40) for 10gb of data.
- The Gambia Sim-card. £17 for 10GB of data.
- Senegal E-sim (return). £31 ($40) for 10gb of data.
- Morocco E-sim (return). £58 (Holafly – unlimited data 30 days).
- Total Spend on data: £237
ACCOMMODATION & FOOD COSTS
I would camp whenever I could, wild camping where possible and only booked into an Auberge, Hotel or Hostel when I needed to, either because there were no nearby campsites or it was just too sketchy to camp. Campsite costs did vary, anywhere from £5 to £10 a night, but usually it was around the £10 a night if they had showers and wi-fi.
As for Hotels/Auberge, generally I would pay anywhere between £15 to £25 a night depending on the location, which is quite normal for West Africa.
For food I would always buy my food from shops when passing through towns and villages, and I would always cook my own food.
I did carry some emergency tins of food, as well as pasta and rice, and would generally stop in the afternoon when passing through a town or village to buy food, bread and UHT milk for the evening and morning. There is fresh meat available from butchers, but it tends to be mutton or camel meat, and is usually hanging on a hook outside with lots of flies buzzing around, so I never bought fresh meat – always tinned food.
Bread is always available and cheap, and if I was passing through a town and saw a boulangerie, I would buy bread and sometimes pastries, which are great for afternoon or evening snack. As for fruit, street markets are always good for fresh fruit and I was always buying oranges or bananas. I would also buy nuts quite often, as they make good snacks.
TIP: Buy fruit that needs peeling, so you don’t have to use your precious water to wash the fruit.
As for entertainment, I’m a guy of simple needs and I’m most happy when sitting under a shady tree reading my kindle while drinking tea. With the exception of buying a pair of sunglasses in the Gambia, going to a Safari Park and going on a boat ride in Senegal, I didn’t really spend a lot on myself, and if I did it was usually a coffee, some chocolate or some snacks.
Accommodation, food & Entertainment: £1766
FUEL COSTS
My total mileage was 12314 miles (19,817 km). For most of my trip, I was never in haste so my fuel consumption was always good, especially for this bike.
I would constantly watch my fuel consumption, and my fuel averages were always around 45 to 48 MPG. So, averaging between the worst and the best I have used 46.5 mpg (74.8 km) as my total average. The prices for fuel in west Africa did vary from around £1.10 to £1.50 per litre, though in the Western Sahara this went down to around 90 pence per litre. Taking into account fuel in the EU, I have rounded this up to £1.30 per litre and worked out the following:
- Total Miles: 12314 miles (19,817 km)
- Total Fuel used: 265 gallons (1204 litres)
- Fuel Cost: £1565
FINAL COSTS
When I arrived in Ireland, my Revolut card was empty so I had to transfer £150 onto my card, and used that to get through Ireland and back to the UK. When I got back home, besides lots of shrapnel (coins), all I had left in foreign currency was 10 Euro’s.
- Cash on Hand. £590 (500 EU & $220 US)
- Money drawn on my Revolut Card. £4410
- Money drawn when arriving in Ireland. £150
- Total. £5150
- Ferries: £629
- Visa’s & Permits: £165
- Motorcycle Insurance: £238
- Simcards and Data: £237
- Tyres, Oil & Repairs: £550
- Accom/Food/Entertainment: £1766
- Fuel: £1565
- Total: £5150
AVERAGE DAILY COST (22 weeks): £33.45 per day.
I started with £5k so I felt quite pleased with myself when I lived within that budget. Travelling to West Africa was not as cheap as I expected, but that was mainly due to visa’s, permits and the data I kept buying. But, it was still cheaper than travelling in Europe.
When it came to food, I certainly didn’t live like a monk as I love food. I like to try different things and would have no problem buying extra food for myself. If I was to make the trip again, yes – I could probably spend less on food, accommodation and DATA – and especially if I wild-camped a lot more, but in all honesty, not much. Having to buy new tyres in Spain also didn’t help, but, you have to be prepared for some mishaps – otherwise it wouldn’t be a memorable trip…!
Hopefully, this will inspire and encourage YOU to get packed, get the bike loaded and get on the road because there is a big wide world out there.
