What do you think about this route?

[Wheelie]

Please look at this route:
https://www.adventurebikerider.com/m...cycling-route/

Full description here: https://www.hispania-tours.de/filead...kko_mdo_en.pdf


Say you have 2 weeks, possibly as much as 3, including one day of flight in and out of spain and possible overnight in both directions on the spanish main land (bikes will be shipped and stored in Alicante awaiting our arrival, and dropped off on our return - no crating necesssary, just leave the keys and go).

If you were starting and ending in Alicante. if you were riding a Tenere 700 Rally with your girlfriend tagging along on a KTM 390 Adventure - with her having no prior offroad experience and one tear riding experience - but a ton of guts (she is a major in the military). What would you change on this itinerary?

I am conscidering entering Morocco via Melilla and Exiting via Ceuta - for both logisitsical reasons and for not having to cover the same ground twice. I am open for other options as long as the trip becomes better.

I've only been in Morocco once - and then rushed it as it was in a rally to Guinea Bissau (entered Morocco via Ceuta and headed straight for the Atlas, then down to Merzouga, offroad through the desert, rode vest on some pistes under construction, then south into western shara. All in about 4 days if I can remember correctly.

On this trip I want some easy riding, some offroad, some pistes, some cities, some romance, some relaxation, some sightseeing, some city markets, some comfort - and a ton of adventure. Atlas mountains and Merzouga again for sure.

When I was far younger, I once rode with a girl from Cape Town to Nairobi - it was her first time ever riding a motorbike besides her test. I have no worries about my GF learning on the fly in Morocco - it is as good of a place as any. I am also somewhat experienced in managing long distance adventure rides to suit beginner riders - including the hard stuff.

[TheWarden]

Its a good varied introduction to most of the highlights of Morocco. Unclear from the info how much time is spent on tarmac or piste (given the route and daily distances I suspect its more tarmac)

Are you thinking of doing this tour or using the itinerary as a start point for a DIY trip?

If it was me, I would go from Fes to Midelt then upto Imichil and down into the Dades taking 2 days and enjoying some of the back roads in the Middle Atlas.

Then from Erg Chebbi take the piste to Zagora. From Zagora head west to Tata then up to Taliouine - Taroudannt and the Tizi N Test before a stop in Marrakech.

You miss the best bits of the Atlantic coast but with 2-3 weeks you won't see everything even putting in long days

[Wheelie]

Update regarding crossing of the Gibraltar Strait
Ok, so after more research (I don't remember this being an option the last time I went)...

The Tarifa (Spain) to Tangier (Morocco) ferry (operated by FRS and Inter Shipping) takes less than one hour (fastest crossing across the Strait of Gibraltar).

There are supposedly 12 crossings per day, with the first departing at 08:00 and the last at 20:00. Because of Korona, FRS has halted all crossings. Hopefully they will return to normal.

I've also come to understand that the border crossings is far less hectic, twice as quick, and has no local fixers - as compared to Ceuta where 4 hours even with local fixers is the norm.

It makes sense then for me to cross at Tangier both directions - and drop both Melilla and Ceuta. Ride from Alicante and possibly have one stop over closer to Tarifa, or Tangier (I try not to ride after sun set).

Morebackground input on type of riding we are looking for:
I am no expert offroad rider, though I have traversed some really difficult terrain - sometimes having to carry the bike across obstacles. If following the PSSOR rating system (1-5), it is my opinion that a novice rider transitioning to levels 2 or 4, can with the assistance of at lest one other rider with a higher proficiency level than one's own - can challenge levels upwards to category 4 - as long as the most difficult levels have stretches that are; very short, few, spaced far appart, and constitute less than 1% of the entire distance covered on the trip. The rider will of course be riding far outside their skill level, but if taken slow - it can not only be manageable, but also fun, challenging and with lots of knowledge gained.



I put my girfriend at level 1 and myself at level 3.

[TheWarden]

The Spain ferries are all on hold at the moment with no news when they might resume. I usually use Algerciras to Tanger Med (Tanger Ville is in the city Tanger Med is the modern easy port east of Tangier ) the slow ferry is 90 minutes or so but the ferries often don't leave on time.

If you catch a 10am ferry you'll be in Chefchaouen early afternoon with enough time for sight seeing

[Wheelie]

I wonder if these ferry companies will survive or how long it will take to return to a full time table...

[TheWarden]

They'll survive, they operate a number of routes and the ferries to Morocco are still running for freight but not tourists

[Tim Cullis]

It makes more sense for me to comment when you know what time of year you will be going.

But yes, don't go via Ceuta. Algeciras to Tanger Med tends to be the best value crossing.

[mossproof]

+1 for the Algeciras T/Med route. Quick and easy and hardly any hassle (some "fixers" try to help with exit procedures when you're leaving) and they won't confiscate your torque wrench unless it's attached to a drone;-)


As far as difficulty off-tarmac: You have to search for tough routes! Stony pistes are the norm, gnarly single track is not. Sand in anything other than short manageable stretches is most common in the far south (Chris Scott's "MS" designated routes) or the Plage Blanche.


We're all just waiting for the starting gun...

[Wheelie]

I have ordered Christ Scott's book Morocco Overland that I hope can fill in a few gaps.

I've also ordered a new Michelin map (ok for initial planning). Not sure what other maps I should get. Last time I found all my maps to be very inaccurate - seemingly with every brand copying eachothers mistakes. Pistes that the government had in its plans to build made it into the map years before construction was supposed to start - and years later after it should have been completed the construction had barely begun - and many years between every map revision, the maps were only really reliable for the main roads. Some pistes that were marked as paved were not, and vice versa. Pists that existed in real life were not on the map, and vice versa. What are the best paper maps?

I think this route looks good in general, but I am uncertain about the route conditions (mix and magnitude on the different legs). I would like to do a bit of novice to intermediate level (level 1-3 on the PSSOR-rating system), but not any longer stretches of level 2 or 3 on any given day than an hour or two of riding for a beginner. I'll be happy to do some side tracks to get a taste of isolated wilderness and a bit of challenge.

I am not sure what time of year I will go, but I will avoid november through february (rainy season as well as snow in the mountains). If I was to guess, late september or maybe easter, maybe even mid summer.

In this itinerary, nights are spendt in the following locations:
Chefchaouen
Fez
Errachida
Merzouga x2
Dades
Ait Ben Haddou
Taroudant x 2 (round trip in the mountains)
Marrakesh x 2
Rabat
Tanger

We would probably also spend a night in Tarifa so that we could make the 08:00 ferry to Tangier and be able to make it to Chefchaouen the first day. Ofcourse - this itinerary is only a starting point for planning - that I expect to adjust with the input I get

[badou24]

look at tiznit and sidi ifini

[Tim Cullis]

Reise Knowhow map of Morocco is far better than the Michelin, it's double sided so just over half the size, and no-tear.

Errachidia doesn't have much to offer, better to spend a night in Azrou which will allow you to play on the pistes nearby, then go straight to Merzouga.

[TheWarden]

There isn't any map that fully details all the pistes. Road building is moving fast and often you'll find something marked as a piste is new tarmac now. A lot of pistes will move slightly after bad weather, this winter has been particularly bad and with the decreased traffic with COVID requirements it may be sometime before things get repaired unless its a busy route. The most detailed maps are the old french IGN maps or the russian military maps but these are decades old now

The best maps available are the OSM maps,available as free downloads for Garmin sat navs and also used by many navigation apps now. Added advantage is they are updated far more frequently than any paper maps.

A I mentioned above I would take a day from Fez down to Midelt on the pistes of the Middle Atlas then up over the top of the High Atlas, you could possibly do Midelt to the bottom of the dades in a day on bikes, or stop for the night in either Imichil or Agoudal.

Then drop into the Todra Gorge and down to Merzouga in a day. From Merzouga to Ait Benhaddou you could either take the N12 or spend a bit of time on the pistes to Zagora. From Ait Benhaddou to Taroudannt,consider doing MH7 from Chris' book. Work is underway at the moment and it may be tarmac soon, if not its an easy route. Currently the route is blocked about halfway but bikes maybe able to get through.

For your loop from Taroudant head south into the Anti Atlas, then take the Tizi N Test across to Marrakesh

[Chris Scott]

I agree the least bad paper map is RK-H; better than the Mich.
Both are great for big picture planning, but neither keep up and never will so once there you'll want something more reliable.
(Unlike the Sahara, unless you're looking for obsolete routes and places, Morocco has changed too much to make the old IGNs much use today.
I never could get on with the old Soviet maps.)

OSM maps are free, but last time I looked, for 20-quid the Garmin North Africa Topo was much more readable. Use and switch between both.
All my book's routes and loads more are on those maps.

I find November or February to be ideal weather down south where most of the interest is.
Depends what you're used to, but before October or after April may be a nice ride across Europe, but once in Morocco, it gets too hot to be banging around off-road. Snow only affects the highest pistes, and rarely/briefly the roads. I find on a bike, the effects and consequent risks of summer's heat are much more limiting than what there is of winter's cold.
No matter how much you think you like the heat, mid-summer off-highway on a bike would be nuts down south. The margin of error is much reduced. Bikers and drivers very occasionally die of the heat – you can imagine many more have close shaves. I've never heard of any freezing to death.

Wrt Route MS7: I've not looked recently but got the feeling a tarmac route is being built round to the north via a few villages, avoiding the highest passes. Is this right?

[Wheelie]

This is good input. I tried to get that map that you and Tim Collins recommend a while back, but 5hey were sold out (in Norway). I'll reach further..

I can't wait to get my hands on your Morocco Overland book Chris. I remember way back, when I first got into this - when info on www was both limited and sketchy - your Adventure Motorcycling Handbook really helped set things straight. Since then I've bought many copies and gifted to others getting into this - I always recommend everyone who are curious about overlanding to get that book, as well as Lois Pryce's books, and the Achievable Dream DVDs. Come to think about it, I need to get a copy of the Adv Moto Handb. for my GF as my copy never found its way back home from the last guy who borrowed it.

Any how, I was caught in a snow storm in the atlas once. I can deal with extreme cold - but black ice, not so much.

How is the iOverland app for Morocco?

[TheWarden]

iOverlander is pretty well populated for Morocco, just watch for some of the listed wildcamping spots, there are few listed in places where wildcamping isnt permitted and despite them being reported the iOverlander people haven't removed them.

Generally, wildcamping is very easy, ask if its private property, clear up after yourself and try to keep out of sight. Strictly speaking wildcamping isn't allowed in National Park, but is often tolerated or so remote nobody knows you are there, hunting reserves are an absolute no for camping, they are normally fenced and signposted, some will have security present (they can be aggressive if its a reserved owned by the middle eastern hunters). The coast from Safi down to Sidi Ifni is not a good place to wildcamp either.

(@Chris Scott, I'll post some info on MH7 in the route thread)