Tent camping

[rydz]

Hello All,

In my planning to (eventually) head to Morocco,I have been trying to work out if tent camping is a thing at the organised camp areas.

If you travel by motorcycle with a small tent,can you stay at most of the campgrounds? Or are you only able to wild camp (where possible or permitted/acceptable).

For those of you that have been, what are the tent pitches like? reasonable large or quite small ?(corded like firewood?).

I do plan to use some of the smaller hotels as well, but at this point having additional information is always good.

Thanks

Paul

[badou24]

its not worth camping.............
Hotels are cheap
campsites are grim

[Peter Girling]

There are plenty of good campsites. Motorcyclists are welcome and if you're outside the main tourist season, you'll have plenty of room.

Here's hoping we can all return soon,

Peter

[Chris Scott]

Down south from my experience I'd agree with badou.
I'd sooner wild camp (with likely visits by the curious) or aim to stay in the scores of inexpensive hotels from €15-25 half board.
Meet the locals, have a good wash, feed, recharge and sleep.

No probs with space or welcome for motos, but the campsites I recall are just car parks or similar cleared patches of wasteland more suited to rooftent car camping.

[tony johnston]

The best way to experience southern Morocco is to wild camp.I have a fully rigged Defender designed for this.However,if you are on a limited time on/offroad tour then small hotels and good campsites will probably suit better with the odd night in the desert.
We are usually in Maroc for 1 or two months and some time on one of the good campsites is social and fun:we are not complete hermits yet but as we get older we are working on it

[badou24]

Think there is confusion in the CAMP !!
Wild camping and camp sites in a motor home is fine !
But.................
if you have had a hard day in the saddle ( motor bike ) you dont really want to pitch your tent on hard rough ground , when you can "hotel it " for about £9 !

[Flipflop]

BTW don’t book your hotel on sites like booking.com before you go as you’ll be charged European rates.

[badou24]

Originally Posted by Flipflop

BTW don’t book your hotel on sites like booking.com before you go as you’ll be charged European rates.

I have never pre booked a hotel in Morocco , You can always find one .
I always start looking about 4 o'clock ,
Always get parking sorted for bike first. then view room .. then barter ! Cheapest was 40 dr in atlas ..most 80/120 dr. most ever paid was 200 dr
Keith

[TheWarden]

Worth noting that like all accommodation in Morocco, hotels and campsites vary in quality and price, expensive doesn't always result in good quality and vice versa.

A lot of campsites will have rooms to rent that can be exceptionally good for the price. The rooms at Camp Serdraa, for example, are better than hotels at 3x the price.

If you camping in a ground tent you'll find that most campsites are set up for the campervan brigade with hard standing pitches. You'll be best off with a self supporting tent and a good mattress if you use these regularly

Its getting harder to find good budget hotels at the lower end of the pricing range every year unless you have fairly low standards.

Cheapest I've paid was 30dH in Smara but in all honesty it was the worst hotel I've ever stayed in and the police cells we were offered looked much more comfortable

[Chris Scott]

Cheapest I've paid was 30dH in Smara but in all honesty it was the worst hotel I've ever stayed in and the police cells we were offered looked much more comfortable

I tried that place. It was so bad they asked me to leave in shame ;-)
I've since heard there is a normal hotel on the road in.

[Peter Girling]

They wouldn't let us use the cells at the police station in Ain Benimathar near the Alg border, they were so shudderingly awful.

It was very late and very dark and they insisted we camp across the road in "le jungle". Woke up to find we were camping on a roundabout.

[Shugs]

Originally Posted by Chris Scott

Down south from my experience I'd agree with badou.
I'd sooner wild camp (with likely visits by the curious) or aim to stay in the scores of inexpensive hotels from €15-25 half board.
Meet the locals, have a good wash, feed, recharge and sleep.

No probs with space or welcome for motos, but the campsites I recall are just car parks or similar cleared patches of wasteland more suited to rooftent car camping.

Hey Chris

What's it like to wild camp half way through MS6, are you likely to be visited by the curious down there?

What's the best response protocol, offer to make them some tea in my trangia?

[TheWarden]

MS6 is a busy route in normal times so very liekly to see people. Quite well populated with locals.

That said I've not been visited by anyone along the route when wild camping. But the locals are good at appearing out of nowhere. I always try and select a discrete camp spot to minimise the possibility of a visit. If I do get a visit its just part of the experience

[Peter Girling]

As Mark says, tuck yourself out of the way, well away from obvious signs of habitation. Aim to get at least few hundred metres off the main track. If you've got a tent, don't erect it until it's time for bed, then it's easy to move on if you have to. Make a cup of tea and see what happens.

Usually, it's kids that will find you. Generally they'll stand at a distance and just watch you, the bolder ones will approach and hang about for a biscuit. It's up to you if you want to share food or water.

In years of travelling this route, we've never felt threatened or even uncomfortable. We've had several impromptu games of football that usually end in chaos & loads of laughing.

happy trails,

Peter