Traveling to Mauritania and wondering what is the best way to stay connected on your trip? This is a complete guide for buying a sim card for Mauritania with where to buy a sim card, best 4G/5G network coverage in Mauritania, up to date prices as per January 2024, my recommendations and my experiences, info about buying a sim card at Nouakchott Airport and even info about international and e-sim cards for Mauritania.
The first thing I do when I get to a new country is buying a prepaid sim card. Since I am a full time nomadic world traveler who is also trying to visit every country in the world I constantly get to a lot of new countries. Therefore on Traveltomtom you can already find more than 200 sim card guides from all over the world: Gambia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Istanbul, Turkey, USA, New York, Spain, Madrid, Barcelona, Portugal, Lisbon, France, Paris, Saudi Arabia and many more.
So next time you are planning your next adventure come check out Traveltomtom for the latest sim card advice for your destination. Bookmark this website!
Why buying a sim card for Mauritania
The best way to avoid high roaming charges is a local prepaid sim card or an international sim card. Also don’t let overseas data roaming plans ruin your trip. These plans limit the internet speed abroad and is in most cases just 3G.
Relying on WiFi is a no-go when traveling in Mauritania. Most hotels and guesthouses simply have no WiFi at all and when there is WiFi it is mostly very slow.
Staying connected when traveling to Mauritania makes everything so much easier. Think about using Google Maps for directions, or using translate apps to overcome the language barrier, search for nearby restaurants or hotels. Or what about emergencies and staying in touch with friends and family?
My recommendation
Traveltomtom recommends a Moov Mauritel prepaid sim card for traveling in Mauritania. They have the best 3G/4G/5G network in Mauritania and they offer affordable prepaid sim card deals for tourists.
Are you traveling to more countries in West Africa then it is worth having a look at a global sim card with data. Check out my comparison of the best global sim cards with data in 2024.
However, the easiest way to stay connected when traveling to Mauritania in 2024 would be an e-sim card.
Best e-sim cards for Mauritania
Arrange everything online within just a couple minutes and keep your own phone number from home that is what an e-sim card does. Unfortunately all the reliable e-sim card providers Traveltomtom recommends for buying e-sim cards like Airalo, SimOptions, Holafly, Nomad, etc. they stopped offering e-sim cards for Mauritania.
As of January 2024 none of the by Traveltomtom recommended e-sim providers offer Mauritania e-sim cards. There is an international physical prepaid sim card for Mauritania available via SimOptions and otherwise the only way to avoid high roaming costs is buying a prepaid sim card on arrival in Mauritania.
Buying a sim card at Nouakchott International Airport
The most convenient place to buy a local prepaid sim card is at the airport on arrival. Despite multiple sim card advertisement around thee airport there is unfortunately no shop that sells prepaid sim cards at Nouakchott Airport. I checked everywhere and asked around but everyone told me to buy my prepaid sim card for Mauritania in Nouakchott city center.
If you are traveling in Mauritania on a tour then simply ask your tour guide to buy prepaid sim cards for you and he will have them ready when he picks you up at the airport or at the start of your tour.
Mobile internet operators in Mauritania
There are 3 main mobile internet providers in Mauritania: Mattel, Chinguitel and Moov Mauritel. All of them sell prepaid sim cards for tourists.
Prices for Mauritania sim cards for tourists are pretty cheap. What is way more important is the network coverage, especially in such a less populated country as Mauritania.
Best 3G/4G/5G network in Mauritania in 2024
Therefore let’s have a look at the 3G/4G/5G coverage maps for Mauritania and things will get clear straight away.
Is there 5G in Mauritania?
No, as of 2024 there is no 5G in Mauritania yet. As you can see from the below mobile internet coverage maps you can already be happy if you find a 3G signal away from Nouakchott, the capital city.
Chinguitel 4G/5G network coverage map
Mattel 4G/5G network coverage map
Moov Mauritel Mobile 4G/5G network coverage map
When looking for the best sim card for Mauritania it all comes down to the network coverage! It is a very simple conclusion that Moov Mauritel has the best 3G/4G/5G network in Mauritania in 2024.
And great news is that the 2024 mobile data network coverage of Moov/Mauritel compared to 2023 has significantly improved, which means staying connected when traveling in Mauritania got much easier and better.
Prices Mauritania sim cards in 2024
At the time of research in January 2024 the Mauritanian Ouguiya to the USD currency exchange was 100 MRU = $2.53 USD and $1 USD = 39.55 MRU.
Chinguitel
With a Chinguitel prepaid sim card you can activate one of the following data plans:
- 2 GB data for 30 days = 100 MRU - $2.5 USD
- 4 GB data for 30 days = 200 MRU
- 7 GB data for 30 days = 300 MRU
For more info see the Chinguitel Mauritania website.
Mattel
A Mattel prepaid sim card gives you the following data plan options:
- 2.5 GB data for 7 days = 100 MRU - $2.5 USD
- 6 GB data for 30 days = 200 MRU
- 15 GB data for 30 days = 400 MRU
For more info see the Mattel Mauritania website.
Moov Mauritel
A Moov Mauritel prepaid sim card has the following data plans available:
- 2.5 GB data for 7 days = 100 MRU - $2.5 USD
- 6 GB data for 30 days = 200 MRU
- 10 GB data for 30 days = 300 MRU
- 20 GB data for 30 days = 500 MRU
For more info check the Moov Mauritel website.
Best sim card for Mauritania
Prices for prepaid sim cards and data plans in Mauritania are pretty cheap and for just a couple dollars you already get a decent data bundle. However, as shown before the 3G/4G/5G network strength is what makes a difference between the mobile internet operators in Mauritania.
And therefore it is a very simple conclusion that Moov Mauritel is the best sim card for Mauritania in 2024. Especially for people traveling around the country, but also for those business travelers that only stay in Nouakchott and are looking for the fastest data speed in Mauritania. Moov Mauritel is the only operator offering a 4G/LTE phone signal in the best places to visit in Mauritania.
Buying a prepaid sim card for Mauritania online
As of January 2024 there is now also the possibility to buy a physical prepaid sim card for Mauritania on the internet.
The Orange Holiday World sim card with 5 GB data for 14 days now includes Mauritania.
- 5 GB data for 14 days = $49.90 USD
It is valid in 22 countries around the world including Mauritania. When you order this physical prepaid sim card it will be delivered to your home address and it is plug and play. These international prepaid sim cards are pre-activated. Basically, as soon as the plane lands you are online and connected.
Click here to order this international prepaid sim card for Mauritania directly online via SimOptions.
Also a last reminder for those looking for an e-sim card that as per January 2024 there are no more e-sim cards for Mauritania available. As soon as they come back I will update the article and inform you were to buy an e-sim card for Mauritania.
I hope all the above tips for buying a sim card for Mauritania were helpful for your upcoming trip. If you have any questions please leave me a comment below.
Curious what it looks like trying to visit every country in the world? Go check out my Instagram account @traveltomtom and follow along. As of January 2024 I have visited more than 155 countries, so still a long way to go.
Enjoy your trip to Mauritania!