22-Day Paris Dakar Motorcycle Adventure: Tour to Senegal

Our expedition officially begins in the morning at the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris. Alternatively, you can join our guide in Germany to ride into France together as a group. After a quick meet-and-greet and safety briefing, we hit the road. Today’s destination is Arcachon near Bordeaux, where we will reach the Dune du Pilat—Europe's highest sand dune.

After we have seen the Atlantic for the first time on our journey, which will meet us much warmer thousands of kilometers further south, we head over the foothills of the Pyrenees into Spain. After a small mountain pass, we travel over the Iberian Meseta to Burgos, our day's destination.

You don’t know where you are. Northern Spain is sparsely populated and the vastness of the landscape and the surroundings remind you of images you know from motorcycle trips in America. We need to cover kilometers so that we can reach the destination of the 4th day early and still have a few hours for the beautiful Seville.

In the morning, we cover the last kilometers to the ferry port in Gibraltar. Once across, we clear the bikes through customs and roll onto African soil for the first time. Customs usually takes a while, so we set up camp just past Tanger Med.

We ride the coast to Rabat, then take small roads toward the Atlas Mountains. Traffic here takes some getting used to — riding needs full focus. We move slowly through the Atlas foothills toward Ouzoud. The first mountain passes are already waiting.

On the seventh day, you rest. That's what we do too. Time to hike the hills around Ouzoud, visit the 120-meter waterfalls, or tune up your bike. We've already covered about 2,500 km.

We meet in Assni, at the foot of Jebel Toubkal — the highest peak in North Africa. From there, we head for the Tizi n'Test pass. It's not many kilometers, but it takes almost a full day to reach Taroudant on the other side. On this one-lane road, anything from a donkey to a 40-ton truck can appear around the bend.

We ride through a beautiful valley filled with almond trees toward Tafraoute. The road winds along the valley wall — a rider's dream. The first dromedaries appear, and the desert slowly begins. In Tafraoute, we stock up for the days ahead and check out the huge monoliths that look almost man-made.

The first big off-road stage begins. For two days, we ride the western edge of the Sahara toward the desert town of Smara. Along the way lies the disputed border between Morocco and former Spanish Sahara. You still feel it today — in the people and in the language. Morocco speaks French. Here, Spanish suddenly works better.

We ride a dusty track along the Seguiet el Hamra, which holds water most of the year. El Aaiún isn't far. Once there, you can rest the bike, stretch your legs, or jump in the sea.

For two days, we ride about 500 km on the N1 to Dakhla. The Atlantic stretches to our right. The endless Sahara opens to our left. We stop often along the coast and roll off-road onto sections of beach. If we push the pace, we can take a rest day in the surf town of Dakhla.

Morocco is familiar to most travelers. Mauritania is not — despite its size. From Dakhla, we ride to the border and cross no man's land. The rest of the day goes to Mauritanian entry formalities. There's a local saying: Europeans invented the clock, but Africans invented time. We set up camp just past the border, in peaceful dunes.

We follow the iron ore train route off-road to Atar. The going is tough, and it takes us two days to reach the oasis. Atar was once a key city of the Moors — the people who gave this country its name.

We head back to the sea. One last time, we ride half on-road and half off-road through the Sahara before the Sahel begins. We sleep on the beach — and if you've got even a string, you'll catch fish. The waters off Mauritania are among the richest in the world.

Before the road opened in 2006, the official way to Nouakchott ran along the beach. Thanks to the tides, the sand is smoother and faster than the paved road. We take it. Our goal: Nouakchott, home to half of Mauritania's people.

If you don't know Fech Fech yet, today you will. We ride worn tracks along the Senegal River toward the border. Trees return. Animals become more common. The route cuts through a bird sanctuary where many European birds spend winter. The day ends in Saint-Louis — a town on an island in the Senegal delta, with a beautiful colonial center.

We leave Saint-Louis in the morning and reach Dakar around noon. Like the original rally, we finish at Lac Rose — the pink salt lake on the city's edge. We spend the last evening together with good food and a celebration. The next day, the trip officially ends after we hand the bikes over to customs for shipping.