Where we stayed
EUROPE:
FRANCE:
N49° 10' 29.0" E04° 09' 50.6" Aire de Verdun, Truck stop near Rheims
Free
N42° 52' 03.1" E03° 02' 37.9" Port Leucate
Ted & Bene's amazing holiday home on the Med
GERMANY:
N48° 46' 36.8" E08° 13' 28.7" International Youth Hostel, Baden Baden
€26.30 each/night + €3.10 each Int Hostel card + €5.00 refundable key deposit for bunk room, shared shower & early breakfast. Only Youth Hostel in town.
N48° 14' 03.2" E08° 12' 57.9" Bush camp on a farmers field Hornberg / Gutach, Schwarzwaldbahn
Free, but asked for permission
SWITZERLAND:
N46° 35' 17.4" E07° 54' 67.9" Camping Jongfrau, Lauterbrunnen
€15.00 each/night, hot showers, drying room, €5.00 to do a load of washing in a washing machine. Stunning views of mountains.
N46° 27' 41.6" E06° 20' 48.9" Bush camp on side of Lake Geneve, Rolle
Free, campsite closed so no ablutions or water
N46° 24' 42.8" E06° 16' 29.5" Bush camp on roadside near Gland
Free, but noisy
SPAIN:
N41° 41' 25.3" E00° 43' 49.7" Bush camp on roadside near Lerida
Free, noisy and tried to sleep in car
N43° 31' 56.6" W05° 22' 39.8" Villa Nova de la Barca, Villaviciosa
€7.00 each/night was closed but opened up for us, including a hot shower
N36° 04' 34.1" W05° 41' 37.9" Camping Paloma, Tarifa
€13.24/night. Small shop in campsite, one set of ablutions were closed, but others were clean, including hot showers
PORTUGAL:
N40° 38' 21.4" W08° 44' 39.7" Praia da Barra, Aveivo
€3.10 each/night. Very shaded campsite under Pine tree forest, close to the beach, cold showers
N37° 03' 59.2" W08° 05' 05.9" Orbitur Estrada Fonte Sante, Quarteire, Algarve
€5.30 each/night. Lovely ablutions, but a real campervan park, walking distance to beautiful beach
AFRICA:
MOROCCO:
N35° 10' 33.0" E05° 16' 01.3" Camping Asilan, Chefchauoen
Dh110.00/night. Dh10.00 for a clean, hot shower, flush loos. Smallish place. New & freshly painted blue. Slopy forested camping area or camp on flat parking area. Small, well stocked shop at campsite. Walking distance to beautiful town of Chefchaouen in the valley below.
N33° 59' 54.3" W04° 58' 08.0" Camping International, Fes
Dh110.00/night. Disgusting ablutions, Arabic loos. Very unfriendly & felt unsafe with many people loitering around. Freezing showers! Huge. Wouldn't recommend.
N33° 52' 47.1" W05° 33' 19.7" Camping Meknes, Meknes
Dh61.00/night. Big campsite, more like a trailer park inside old city walls. Difficult to find. Noisy with barracks nearby. Limited ablutions, but did change the gas so we could have a hot shower, flush loos.
N32° 45' 08.1" W04° 55' 09.3" Camping Timnay, Midelt
Dh100.00/night. Small partioned campsites separated by rows of trees. Very peaceful looking onto Atlas Mountains, cold. Clean ablutions, flush loos and hot water, if you're lucky. Had a lovely dinner for reasonable price.
N31° 04' 50.9" W04° 00' 24.5" Auberge La Tradition, Erg Chebbe
Free. We camped for free with a dinner included, but then took a nights camel ride into the desert, Dh1 100.00 for both of us, very well worth it. We also paid Barra to be our 'guide' driving with us from Erg Chebbe to Zagora off piste. He wasn't much help at all, getting us stuck in a riverbed after telling us to turn off a really good road. Beautifully located Auberge right on the edge of the sand dunes. We were given a room to shower in, with hot showers and flush loos. Rooms looked lovely too. Nice food, but the owner, Barra, can get a bit much.
N ???? W???? Oasis in Desert, Erg Chebbe
Took a 2 day, 1 night camel ride out into the desert and slept in a Bedouin tent at an oasis. Included a delicious, typical tajine dinner.
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N30° 20' 23.7" W05° 50' 13.3" Mohammed Gordito's Garage, Zagora
Free. Had work done on Duzi2 and they weren't finished by late evening so we camped for free in his brand new garage. Used bathroom in his house for Arabic loo.
N30° 19' 43.4" W05° 49' 58.4" Camping L'Jardin de Zagora, Zagora
Dh50.00/night. Nice campsite and location amongst sculptured gardens. Quiet campsite with clean ablutions, flush loos and warm showers. Beware you will be asked to join the family for tea (Berber whisky) and then will be charged a hefty bill for it, so we were told. You do get numerous tea invites and we felt like there were always watching us. Nice new restaurant, but pricey.
N30° 55' 23.4" W06° 53' 13.5" Camping Ouarzazate, Ouarzazate
Dh35.00/night. Noisy as it's right next to the mosque. Dirty, unkept ablutions with cold showers and partly flushing loos.
N31° 43' 13.8" W07° 59' 02.2" Camping Ferdaous, Marrakech
Dh41.00/night. Big campsite with one set of disgusting ablutions. Arabic loos stank and were flooding. Only a few showers worked and were dirty and cold. Has a small shop and do have an expensive campsite taxi service into Marrakech. Wouldn't recommend.
N31° 42' 27.1" W07° 59' 23.0" Camping Le Relais, Marrakech
Dh70.00/night. Beautiful campsite with a swimming pool and sun-lounges. More expensive than Ferdous, but so beautiful. Very friendly staff. Got a free welcome fruit cocktail on arrival. Beautifully done and immaculately clean bathrooms - done like a home. Best hot shower so far and flush loos. Had a yummy breakfast, Dh25.00 each.
N29° 26' 46.8" W10° 06' 55.5" Camping Legzira, Legzira
Can camp on the cliffed hill above for free, with no ablutions. It was pouring and all our stuff was wet so we took a double room with ensuite shower and flush loo for Dh200.00. Really lovely setting and accomodating people. Serve meals, if you require.
N27° 54' 07.3" W12° 53' 41.9" Bush camp near Tarfaya
Weren't hassled, but didn't have much cover. Slept in car, as it was our first ever bush camp.
WESTERN SAHARA:
N23° 28' 31.6" W15° 56' 53.8" Bush camp near Dakhla
Beautiful spot over-looking the sea below. Hidden from the road by parking on a rocky shelf below the road height, between the road and the sea.
MAURITANIA:
N20° 54' 29.6" W17° 03' 13.0" Camping Abba, Nouadhibou
Um1 500 each/night. Awful place. One disgustingly dirty unlit shower. Arabic loos stank and were very unclean. Were hassled constantly by 'guides' for the Parc, people selling jewellry, cigarettes and phonecards and even the restuarant owner acosting Ross before he grabbed his turn in the shower. Changed money at campsite rate Um340 to €1. Didn't feel safe here. One of the worst campsite so far. Wouldn't recommend. BUT would recommend:
N20° 54' 55.9" W17° 03' 30.6" Camping Baie du Levrier
Um2 000 each/night. Lovely, clean and small place. Very friendly staff with a closed gate which keeps the pestering 'guides' etc out. Very popular with overlanders & campers. Do have rooms too for Um2 500 each/night. Have a small, well stocked shop right next door. Changed money at campsite for Um345 to €1. More centrally located and easier to find than Abba. Would definitely recommend.
N18° 06' 10.2" W15° 59' 48.9" Auberge Sahara, Nouakchott
Um1 500 each/night. Easy to find on the left off the main road into Nouakchott. Camped in driveway. Have use of communal kitchen and gas and roof top terrace to eat in during the day to people watch. Three clean showers and 1 flush loo, 2 Arabic loos. Very busy place, which was full every night. Free WIFI. Served breakfast and tagine dinners, if you require. Did have a 'pay-by-unit' phone on site. Good location for embassies - can walk or take a taxi. Taxi's cost Um200 to get to centre and Um300 to get to beach and main fish market. Staff not particularly friendly, favoured French speakers. Good place to meet other travellers.
SENEGAL:
N15° 59' 50.2" W16° 30' 39.2" Camping Ocean, St Louis
CFA2 500 each/night. Beautiful location right on the beach. Friendly staff. Clean, cold showers and flush loos. On the end of the 3rd island with the Senegal River on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Lovely beach to swim in, warmish water. Easy to catch taxis into town, or can walk in passed the smelly fish market. Has a thatch bar selling drinks, CFA1 000/cooldrink. Could get meals too, if you're lucky. Fresh baguettes sold in the kiosk on the left of the gate or from the restaurant next door. We ate dinner at the restaurant next door, nice, but quite pricey. Could get WIFI, if you were lucky, but not always. Senegal is expensive!
N13° 58' 38.5" W14° 27' 46.2" Bush camp near Koussanar, on the shocking road to Tambacounda
Free. Nice open spot, well hidden by trees, not too far off the road, weren't spotted even by truckers who stopped on the road just infront of us. Right next to the train line, which only ran twice - once in the evening and once in the morning. A welcomed break from this atrocious road.
N12° 49' 17.5" W12° 18' 08.4" African Safari Campment de Mako, Mako
CFA3 500/night. A stunning place. Beautifully located right on the banks of the Gambia River. Lots of thatched huts to stay in dotted around the site. We were given one of these huts, Hippo, to use to shower and change in. Run by a wonderfully friendly French couple. You wake up to all sorts of bird sounds, like you're in a bird park. We saw baboons close to the campsite and heard them barking across the river. They also have a bar, CFA1 000/cooldrink, and a restaurant. There is a pool you can use for CFA1 000each extra, if you chose. Much better value than the gameless Parc National de Niokolo Koba, charging more than this just to enter. You get to drive through the Parc on the way to Mako, but don't require a guide, CFA6 500/day. A piece of paradise which we'd highly recommend.
MALI:
N14° 34' 03.2" W11° 44' 55.3" Bush camp near Kayes
An flat, open spot next to a well used track. Heard people walking passed in the morning, but weren't hassled at all, they just said 'Bonjour' and 'Bon journe' and walked on.
N14° 09' 10.2" W08° 02' 55.0" Bush camp near Didjeni
Pulled off the road construction site and drove off to the right finding a perfect grassy spot blocked by trees.
N12° 37' 20.7" W07° 59' 31.7" Auberge Djamilla, Bamako
CFA2 000 each/night. A shaded small place definitely drawing the rusta crowds. We parked in the small driveway, which couldn't hold more than 2 overland vehicles. There is a bar, CFA350/cooldrink, and a shaded area to relax in under roof-fans. There is a communal kitchen you can use and an inside fanned lounge / library area. Very popular with rusta backpackers as there are dorm rooms on a roof platform. Three cold showers and 2 flush loos.There are guards on the gate, which we felt was to protect the drug dealers inside. We saw lots of drug money changing hands here. Many huge swarms of mosquitoes and a sweeper who sweeps the floor continuously! Had loud rusta parties in the bar every night with drug sales in the lounge. Easy to walk into Bamako's centre from here. Fresh bread sold in the Orange mobile kiosk to the right of the entrance. The tent scraped on the gate frame as we drove in, so vehicle height could be an issue. Wouldn't recommend, unless you're a rusta or enjoy late night, loud drug parties only to be woken up by 4.30am sweeping around your tent.
N12° 37' 04.0" W07° 36' 32.4" Bush camp near Baguineda / Santiguila
Not too far out from Bamako in a forestry reserve. Beautiful spot surrounded by Baobab trees. Stunning views of the stars. Quiet and peaceful.
N13° 06' 33.3" W05° 12' 03.6" Bush camp near San
Beautiful spot, very secluded. Well hidden from the road and the animals that passed by in the evening and early morning. We were spoilt with a meteor shower of shooting stars here.
N14° 30' 49.0" W04° 05' 59.2" Mac's Refuge, Sevare
CFA4 500each/night plus CFA400 'stamp tax'. Ridiculously expensive, but it includes breakfast of pancakes, home-made yoghurt etc, not really worth it's money. NOT allowed to cook here and he sells themed dinners for CFA5 000each. Saturday night theme is Mexican. If you don't like his option you have to find an alternative in the town, somewhere! Camped in a driveway parked in with very little room to move. He does have rooms, but they weren't recommended by people staying in them. A scam artist riding on the fact his parents were the first missionaries in Mali. He tried to charge us for extra things, so watch your bill closely. Has a small swimming pool. Disgustingly dirty and neglected shower and only one flush loo. A total rip off. Were hassled by Dogan 'guides' and people selling all sorts of wares. Wouldn't recommend, but sadly there doesn't seem to be much other option. We did pass an Auberge on the road to Bandiagara, which looked much better and advertised camping.
N14° 10' 02.8" W03° 35' 24.2" Bush camp on Bandiagara Escarpment, near Teli
Wow, such a beautiful spot. The perfect bush camp hidden behind rocks with a full view of the area below. Open and clean, on a rock shelf. Just off the paved road before you decend to Teli. Typical Lion King setting like where Simba was held up for all the animals to see.
BURKINA FASO:
N12° 20' 07.1" W01° 30' 49.8" Hotel OK-INN, Ouagadougou
Free, but they encourage you to use the hotel facilities. We had one dinner in the restuarant, CFA4 300each, which was heavenly with beef melting in your mouth. A great, quiet, fairly shaded and safe place to stay, with full use of the wonderful hotel swimming pool. There is WIFI if you're lucky, otherwise it's expensive at CFA1 000/hr from the reception. Cooldrinks are CFA1 000 each, but you a bowl of peanuts and a bowl of seseme covered snacks. Easy to catch a taxi to Ghanaian embassy and city centre. Walked around the hotel area safely and found 2 bakeries and reasonable shops for supplies. We could use the pool flush loo and cold showers, which are unlit. The night guard, Shaka, tries his luck to get a tip from you the night before you leave, tell him you'll still be there another day.
GHANA:
N10° 03' 30.7" W00° 49' 09.7" Bush camp near Pigu
Drove quite far off the road as much of the ground had been burnt and the vegetation was quite thin. Was very dusty, so much so that the huge herd of cattle walked passed with herd boys, didn't see us due to the dust and ash cloud they kicked up.
N09° 15' 34.5" W01° 51' 20.6" Mole National Park, Larabanga
GhC3.50 each/night + 40pes entrance for Duzi2 + GhC4.00 each/entrance fee. Nice spot to camp over-looking the water-hole, but hot and many opportunistic baboons around. No water for loos or showers. Do have a swimming pool, with hundreds of rules, which everyone uses to bathe in. Restuarant is VERY slow and expensive. Baboons are a real problem.
N09° 44' 11.5" W02° 46' 12.7" Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary, Ga
GhC3.00 each/night + each/entrance. Camped at the Lodge, where we were proudly shown their rooms. Have long-drop type loos and bucket showers - a big bucket of water with a small cup to pour the water over yourself with. Went for a 2hr pirogue ride, GhC3.00each/hr, in search of hippo's, but were unsuccessful. Worth the pirogue ride anyway, as it's so tranquil and beautiful to see so much greenery along the Black Volta River.
N07° 32' 44.0" W01° 56' 15.6" Goil Petrol Station, Techiman
Free. Very kindly allowed us to camp here on Christmas Eve. The staff were so welcoming and accomodating. They allowed us to use their newly built shower and loo. The whole station was only 3 months old, with an inspection pit still in progress. They were very proud of their station and were honoured to have us camp there. A very welcomed safe nights sleep after a long days drive, eventually ending here after 9pm while locals were partying in the streets.
N05° 03' 41.1" W01° 26' 25.8" KO-SA, Elina near Elmina
GhC10.00/night. A nice spot on a palm treed beach. Friendly new Dutch owners, one couple having done an overland trip of parts of East Africa before and are quite nostalgic. Had clean cold showers and flush loos. Fairly clean beach, with a swimming rockbay which was protected from the dangerous sea currents. Water got a bit dirty with rubbish during high tide. Good, fairly pricy meals(starting from GhC5 upwards) form a set dayly menu, which needed to be ordered in the mid-afternoon. Hot and humid spot to camp as the bushes block the sea breeze. They hire a night guard, Ibriham, to patrol when they have campers.
N04° 45' 30.4" W02° 01' 19.5" Green Turtle Lodge, Akwidaa near Dixcove
GhC2.00 each/night. An AMAZING place to camp. Overlanders get to camp right on the beach between the palm trees overlooking the sea, in full onshore breeze. The views and whole spot are very hard to beat. They provide really good food - breakfasts GhC1.50-GhC3.00 including a huge pot of tea or coffee, lunches- around GhC2.50 and dinners - GhC 4.50 - GhC6.00 with puddings GhC2.50. Self-composting drop loos, which got a bit smelly after rain. Exquisite open air cold showers. Lots of mosquitoes, but they do burn coils under the tables at meal times. Is a communal seating area where you can sit, play games and chat. There is also a permanent volleyball net up on the beach. Lovely beach to swim in and try to ride the waves. The bar sold all sorts of drinks - fresh juices 70pes, cooldrinks 60pes. We saw green turtles come up in the late evenings to lay their eggs(Dec). There is about a 3 1/2hr walk to an amazing beach called The Secret Beach, which is full of whole shells, and cowries, we recommend doing this early in the morning, leaving at about 6am. They do have ensuite double rooms, CFA20 000/night, and dorm rooms for less, as well as tents which backpackers can stay in if they are vacant. They seem to try to make a plan to accomodate you if you are flexible and prepared to move, as an American family were, even when they were totally full over Christmas and New Year. They are always full, so check before arriving if you need accomodation. Overlanders are always welcome and don't need to worry about the FULL sign along the road. The road to Green Turtle is quite rough. There is a very good and well-equipped Medical Clinic / Hospital in Dixcove, which we went to.
N05° 18' 55.0" W01° 22' 29.2" Monkey Forest Resort, Kakum
Free, but we were asked to make a donation in the duck. Eccentric Dutch couple running this animal rescue zoo. Their hearts are in the right place, but seem to be struggling with planning and support. No camping or accomodation facilities, and DEFINITELY NOT what the Bradt guide says. 3km from Kakum National Park, which was very convenient for an early mornings canopy walk. Wouldn't recommend at all, rather stay at Hans Cottage, closer to Cape Coast. We were their first ever camping guests.
N05° 09' 24.6" W01° 09' 27.0" Biriwa Beach Hotel, Biriwa
GhC2.00/night. Were given a room to shower, change and use the loo in. Nice place, German-run, but very quiet. Internet access is available, but if for longer than 1/2hr they frown and request payment 50pes/half hr. Had a nice omlette and fresh bread breakfast.
N05° 29' 49.4" W00° 21' 46.4" Andy's Akwaaba Lodge, Kokrobite
GhC2.50each/night. Nice, lawned place. German-run with some speciality German dishes. A safe haven in a VERY dodgey and unsafe area. Were warned not to go out the gates with anything valuable and weren't recommended to go onto the beach at all. Big Millies charged fellow overlanders to camp outside in the street, with no security. It is now a real dive with rustas, drugs and noise. Andy's was recommended and is a much better option to Big Millies.
N05° 37' 05.4" W00° 11' 13.5" The Bester's House, Accra
Our wonderful home from home in the centre of Accra. Accra doesn't have camping facilities. Piet Bester, from the SA High Commission in Accra, very kindly invited us to camp in his garden and Dierdre, his wife, welcomed us in to their home. We were so spoilt by this wonderful family and are deeply indebted to them for their generosity.
N05° 34' 09.9" W00° 12' 18.9" Pitstop / Ian's Car Garage, Accra
Free. Ian damaged a seal taking the swivel housing off, which immobolised us and Duzi2. We were parked too close to where his labourers families stay. They cook and prepare food making a lot of noise, so he offered us his mosquito infested flatlet to stay in.
N06° 16' 07.3" E00° 04' 35.8" Afrikiko River Front Resort, Akosombo Dam
GhC4.75 each/night, this includes breakfast according to their receptionist and printer price flyer, but they tried to charge us GhC5.00 each. A beautiful spot, with a swimming pool, for GhC3 000 each! Cooldrinks were GhC1.00 each. Gave us a room to shower, change and use the loo in. We even got WIFI in here. Sharks and try to bill you for things you don't need to pay for. Didn't feel welcome here and wouldn't recommend.
TOGO:
N06° 53' 30.2" E00° 38' 22.8" Grand Hotel du 30 Aout, Kpalime
CFA5 000/night. We took a chance asking here as we didn't have accomodation recommendations for Kpalime and it was late and dark. They allowed us to use the loo and basin, but we needed to ask them to unlock it each time and they gave us a room to shower in. We were able to fill up with water.
N06° 10' 04.7" E01° 20' 25.6" Chez Alice, Avepozo, Lome
CFA3 500/room or CFA1 000 each/night to camp. We went for the room option as we then had a bucket shower and a ceiling fan with a mozzi net over the bed. We felt the camping area shown to us would be like camping in the staff quarters, far from the main Chez Alice's building and facilities, and far from the beach. We had a huge schnitzel dinner one with chips and one with salad, for CFA 3 800 each.
N06° 13' 01.3" E01° 27' 00.3" Aubegre du Lac, Ahem
We never stayed here, but stopped here to have a look. Looks lovely. CFA 2 500p/p to camp or CFA 10 000/room.
BENIN:
N07° 11' 51.6" E01° 58' 49.3" Chez Monique, Abomey
N09° 53' 37.0" E03° 17' 15.1" Bush camp near Tchikandou
NIGERIA:
N09° 03' 49.1" E07° 29' 05.8" Sheraton Hotel, Abuja
N04° 58' 15.3" E08° 19' 42.3" Metropolitan Hotel, Calabar
CAMEROON:
N05° 45' 06.5" E09° 19' 15.5" Data Hotel, Mumfe
N04° 00' 43.0" E09° 12' 00.2" Park Hotel Mirimare, Limbe
N04° 09' 41.7" E09° 13' 58.5" Presbyterian Mission, Buea
N02° 54' 20.7" E09° 54' 06.6" Auberge Tara Plage, Kribi
N03° 52' 47.6" E11° 31' 21.1" Foyer International de L'Eglise Presbyterian Mission, Yaounde
GABON:
N02° 17' 23.2" E11° 26' 48.5" Gabonese border, Eboro
S00° 08' 43.9" E11° 55' 49.2" Jungle camp, across the river from Booue
S00° 06' 44.3" E11° 36' 04.4" Lope National Park, Lope
S00° 03' 46.8" E11° 09' 59.6" Bush camp near Alembe
N00° 24' 12.5" E09° 26' 19.9" Catholic Mission Beatitude, Libreville
Free. This is such a beautifully tranquil place in the middle of Libreville's busyness. Sister Anastassi and Sarah are so wonderfully gentle, smiley and generous. Everyone at the Mission welcomed us in and made us feel so comfortable. Many came over to us asking us about our trip. We were given a room to shower and use the flush loo, with a blasting fan, which we used to cool off. We camped in the car park outside of the Mission's church hall and were woken up each morning to the harmonious angelic singing of the monks and sisters. On our arrival they brought us a tray of juice and snacks to enjoy while they prepared our room for us. They even offered us meals. The Mission was a calm safe haven in an expensive, busy city, which lacks camping ammenities. Well located behind the big church on the main beach road in Libreville, about 5min drive from the Angolan embassy. We would highly recommend Mission Beatitude. We couldn't find Maison Liebermann, after lots of searching and enquiring with the locals.
N00° 37' 05.9" E09° 19' 24.3" Auberge La Maree, Cap Esterias
Free. Camped on Francoise's lawn and she gave us a room to shower in and a flush loo. We had the whole place to ourselves during the week, with the cool, shaded restaurant area to relax in, which overlooks the beach. She is right on the beach. The restaurant is closed during the week and busy on Saturdays and VERY busy on Sundays. Francoise is wonderfully cheerful French company and is a hugely envious wanna-be overlander. She loves having overlanders to stay and is extremely welcoming. We ate a delicious Sunday chicken lunch, CFA5 000 each, and she gave us a free traditional pudding, while we were choosing from the other rather pricey pudds. We had all our washing done by the other very lovely lady who works there, who even found and prepared a coconut for us.