morroco

[kevinhancock750]

going to morocco for a ride in late september/early october for approximately 3 wks. .i'm understanding by reading other threads that i dont need carnet and can buy insurance on the border? is it wise camping wild? how safe ? although i imagine hotels to be cheap there? taking my ex-girlfriend for a ride! (actually her idea!). although i'm in france my bike and all paperwork is british i'm just working here. will be riding from south of france down through spain. will i be needing gps or is the country well posted? this is my first time out of the normal european travels that everyone does and would like to get it right! any help appreciated. do i need injections etc? also if anyone interested in coming your . cannot go till middle september though due to work commitments.

[Dazzerrtw]

Hi.If IT help's
You can buy your bike insurance at the boarder,it should cost about 50e for 10 day's
I would not camp in the Ketama area,I would say this area between Chaouen and Ketama in the Rif is best avoided.

I have camped wild in Morocco with no problem other than that you do get the local's wanting to stand and watch your every move ..Better then TV for them

There are a lot of good cheap hotel's ,I was paying about 150 to 200 D,per room per night, that was for a clean hotel with Good food .
If they asked for 500,I started to walk away and then the price came down.
I did have a GPS with me but to be Honest I only used it for the off road section's I planned to ride,and I don't think I will take it on my next trip to Morocco.

I may have been lucky ,but I have never had any bother with the police or the local's in Morocco.
They have aways been helpfull and the further south you go in Morocco the more welcoming the people seem to be.

Have a great trip,and it you need anymore info on Morocco,there is a load of good stuff here.
Morocco GS Knowledgebase - ::. UKGS'er.com .::

All The best
Dazzer

[reggwensie]

We're just back from three weeks in Morocco with a group of Land Rovers and we had an amazing time. If you do the routes in Sahara Overland, the descriptions are so good that you probably could get by without a GPS, but it was nice to have one for security.

We soon learned to camp well off the pistes to get a bit of privacy, but the locals are generally friendly anyway - except in Rissani which is a tourist trap and therefore full of touts and "guides", and Larache on the way home which turned out to be a bit of a drug den!

We found the auberges so cheap and so friendly that we didn't bother camping as much as we'd planned to. They were cheaper than the hotels, and surprisingly, generally of a better standard.

[Eric DN]

Hi
I don't understand why you have to buy insurance. British insurance are not available in Morocco.
I'm french, I have been twice in Morocco and no problem with my french bike insurance.
Morocco is safe, you can go every where. If you still ride on tarmac a GPS is not Mandatory, if you want to ride off road it's more confortable to have one. Nine years ago we did without GPS but we lost time looking for the good track, but it can be a good experience.
I've got a lot of data for morocco, if you want I can share.
Eric
Some information there ( in french )
Deux 400XR au MAROC
In english
Two 400 XR in Morocco - ADVrider

[demito]

I am just back from 3 superb weeks in Morrocco. I was there with a british guy and he just bought an insurance at the border. It was about 90 EUR if I remember well. No injections, no carnet needed.
Wild camping is no problem in the South but in the North/Rif area I would not recommend it. People are pretty pushy over there and will not leave you alone. Even if you think no one's near, all of a sudden they pop up from everywhere.
Hotels can be pretty cheap and most of the time you're able to find a decent place to stay for no money. But be prepared for remote towns with one single lousy hotel, no tourists and no way back: they will rip you off. Same for petrol by the way. We only used our tent once and it wasn't even necessary. Next time I will just take a themarest and a sleeping bag, which I used mostly indoors when auberges weren't that clean. Also if you're in very non tourist rural areas, auberges can be cheap but quality and hygiene standards are near zero...
Food quality varies a lot and is very monotoneous. If you don't like Tajine, you will have a hard time over there. I didn't have any intestinal problems though but I was so happy with that McArabia in Marrakech ;-)
Does your girlfriend go pillion? If yes, I don't think you will be doing any pistes then.

Have fun!

T

[MarkLG]

This is an excellent starting place if your researching for a trip to Morocco:

Morocco GS Knowledgebase - ::. UKGS'er.com .::

You only need insurance if your usual policy doesn't cover Morocco. GPS is useful if you're venturing off road, otherwise it's just a nice luxury.
If you're travelling with a pillion then it's probably not worth taking camping kit - there always seems to be somewhere to stay, so it's really not worth carrying the extra weight. Just take a lightweight sleeping bag for use in aubgerges, hostels, etc.

[JulianVoelcker]

Originally Posted by reggwensie

We soon learned to camp well off the pistes to get a bit of privacy, but the locals are generally friendly anyway - except in Rissani which is a tourist trap and therefore full of touts and "guides", and Larache on the way home which turned out to be a bit of a drug den!

I'm glad we weren't eh only ones that hated Rissani, unfortunately ended up there for half a day a few weeks ago trying to sort various things and got non stop hassle - even ended up with one shop keeper leading our friend's 7 year old daughter off to his shop in the market.

As for the rest of Morocco, great place, be careful with the guide books, many are out of date and show old phone numbers etc (many have codes have changed recently). If you are planning on camping, get a copy of the Gandini camping guide that provides a good up to date review of campsites in main traveling areas.

[kevinhancock750]

thanks to everyone for your information .think i'll stay away from the rif area! my ex-girlfriend will be riding pillion so i'll be staying mainly on the roads. eric- that was a wonderful link and i enjoyed reading it, thank you. i believe that your in the nimes area (dept 31)? and if so maybe we could meet up for a chat so i can pick your brains a little more. any idea's on tyre choice there? will normal road tyre's be ok? once again thank you everyone for your advice and happy travels .

[Eric DN]

Originally Posted by kevinhancock750

thanks to everyone for your information .think i'll stay away from the rif area! my ex-girlfriend will be riding pillion so i'll be staying mainly on the roads. eric- that was a wonderful link and i enjoyed reading it, thank you. i believe that your in the nimes area (dept 31)? and if so maybe we could meet up for a chat so i can pick your brains a little more. any idea's on tyre choice there? will normal road tyre's be ok? once again thank you everyone for your advice and happy travels .

Hi
I'm in Toulouse ( Nimes is in dept 30 around 300km from Toulouse) my email is edn400(at)free.fr

[mustaphapint]

Hi Kevin
My wife and I are planning a similiar trip to your's in October. We're crossing to Santander and riding down thru Spain. Our first trip to Morocco as well.
Maybe our paths will cross at some point.
All the best.
Paul

[kevinhancock750]

hopefully they will. will be riding back to uk for the winter when i finished. maybe we can arrange ameet closer to the date.

[RussellT]

Its funny how people can have different expreriences , I liked both Rissani and Larache. On my first trip to Morocco I got a bit freaked out by the Hustlers but when I last went I found that I was able to deal with them fairly easily by being relaxed and good humoured and resolutley refusing to enter their shop!. I loved Larache because its one of the few places where I found that people let you alone.
I can't get onto the Morocco knowledge base from my computer , I am going again in a couple of weeks , does anyone know whether you can get a map with grid references that relate to GPS map datums?

[Joost Z]

The Reise Know How, World Mapping Project map of Marocco Map contains a WGS84 Grid. However it is still 1:1 000 000 so not very accurate.

Last week we drove 2400 Km on our enduro bikes in the east and south of Marocco. We mainly used the free GPS-map for Garmin Mapsource which can be found on : GPS Vector Map Morocco
This Map is very accurate and perfect to prepare routes in advance.

I hardly used the paper Map because this GPS map is so good.

Joost

[eruschetta]

Hi Chaps

Just coming back from Morocco.
Following some comments:

1) Roads are fine, currently there are works in progress between Ceuta and Tanger.
If you don't have much time and want to travel fast they have built motorways between Tanger-Rabat-Casablanca-Marrakesh. Completely empty. No petrol stations between Casablanca and Marrakesh. You better fill up before Casablanca.
I personally prefer A roads!
2) Morocco is a safe country. I never felt threatened once. If you are concerned about overnight parking, most hotels will provide you with overnight parkng which is pretty cheap.
Of course people will hassle you in the souks....if you can't bear that, simply avoid the touristic spots.
3) There are petrol station with 95 unleaded pretty much in any town with more than 20,000 people.
4) Carry plenty of water with you. It's soooooo hot
5) Places I loved:
Tiz and Test pass. Great road
Dades Gorges: You can sleep overnight here at the "atlas" hotel. They are friendly and cheap. Plus you can have breakfast on the veranda with the river 3 mts away from you. Fantastic
Todra Gorge. You can litterally drive your bike in the cliff
Ziz Valley. Road between El-rachidia and Midelt. The canyon is awsome
Chefcheouen. Spend the night at Casa Hassan. They serve good food. If they have no rooms in the main hotel ask for a room in one of the other houses....even better
Marrakesh. Enjoy a drink or dinner at "chez Chegrouni" with a view on El fna square
6) You don't need a carnet. All you need is insurance. If yours does not cover morocco you can buy one at the border.
7) When you cross the border you need to fill in 2 forms, a green one and a white one (for bike and people). Keep a copy that you will need to present when you leave the country

If you don't have much time and have to chose between the countryside and big cities go for the 1st option
The contrast between mountains and deserts is fantastic.

Enjoy

Paolo

[cihb55]

HI, if you get round to reading this after all the other replies. I went last month, but sailed from Almeria to Mellila, it leaves daily at 1159hrs and arrives at 0800, you get a good night sleep, and costs less than trailing down to Gibralter area. The firm is Transmedditerrania, look it up on google, you can book on line.
Like most have said hotels are evrywhere, but we used the Lonely Planet, i have used in many countries, and it lets you focus on where your heading instead of wondering around aimesly looking for some where.
on enetering the border, don't let the hustlers do the paper work for you. Do it yourself and enjoy the experience. It will take an hour or two, but you will emerge feeling like a harden traveller.
Have fun, its a great country and pay only 33% only of whatever they are asking for it!!
CIHB55