Ouahigouya is about 182 km northwest of Ouagadougou, served by bush taxis and SOTRACO buses that depart from the gare routière in Ouagadougou. The journey takes around 3–4 hours on the paved road, which is in reasonable condition. There is a small airport (IATA: OUG) but it has limited scheduled service.
The road north from Ouagadougou passes through the Sahel transition zone — the vegetation becomes sparser and the landscape flatter as you travel north. From Ouahigouya, bush taxis continue toward the Mali border and the town of Djibo.