How's My Trip Plan?
 

Hi all,

I'm planning an 18 day trip to Morocco with my girlfriend from May 14-June 1 and just secured a BMW F800GS to tour the country. I do not know anyone that has been there before, so I could use some tips and advice about my trip plan and route. Here's the rough plan:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Marr...89!2d31.63!3e0

Thoughts? We are looking for a good, laid back beach destination and selected Taghazout. Are there any that others would recommend instead?

I hear that Merzouga is very touristy. Is there anywhere else that we could arrange a camel trip into the Sahara that is preferable?

I picked Midelt and Ouarzazate as layovers on the way to Merzouga and Chefchaouen, respectively, just because they were larger towns on google maps, but is there anywhere else that you all would suggest to stay? We would rather stay in an enjoyable rustic village than a larger modern city.

I haven't done much research on the northern part of the country at all. Are there any other places that travelers well-versed in Morocco would suggest?

Thank you very much for the assistance.

Here's the rough pace we're considering. Anything too overly ambitious?

Depart US - Day 1
Arrive Marrakesh – Day 2
Marrakesh – Taghazout - 268km, 3:11, Day 3
Layover at the beach – Day 4-5
Tabhazout – Ouarzazate – 393km 5:30 Day 6
Quarzazate – Merzouga – 367km, 8:50, 4:50 Day 7
Saraha Trip - Day 8-9
Merzouga – Midelt – 270km, 3:25 Day 10
Midett – Taza – 293km, 3:53 Day 11
Taza – Chefchaouen – 274km, 3:44, Day 12-13
Chefchaouen – Casablanca 338km, 4:13 – Day 15
Casablanca – Marrakesh – 244km, 2:44 Day 16
Depart Marrakesh– Day 17

Unless you have some specific reason I would not bother with Casa. It's not like the film. Even Rabat is more interesting. If you're going that far north consider Meknes or Fez.

You could do a camel out of Mhamid (south of Zagora - also touristy) but Merzouga dunes are more photogenic.

Are those '3:11' numbers estimated times? I'd add up to 50% in some cases but watch out for radar speed traps, especially in the west.

Alternative to Ozt would be Fint oasis nearby. Easy to get to.
Oasis Fint Reviews - Ouarzazate, Souss-Massa-Draa Region Attractions - TripAdvisor
Not been there myself but hear its good.

Don't know about Midelt. have a scan here:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ntribute-39077

Enjoy your ride in Mk. On arrival our schedule may go up in smoke but you'll have a great time. I'd seek quieter back roads and stay down south (all roads quieter here) rather than try to do it all/go north, but it's your trip.

Ch

I agree.with Chris about missing out the Casa part. I would head back to Marrakech via Meknes and Azrou although if you are in a hurry to get back to Marrakech the new motorway is very smooth apart from a few pot holes near Rabat. I did a camel tour which I was sold by a guy filling petrol at the shell station in Midelt. 50euros and I had to.meet Mustafa at the petrol station just outside Merzouga. He owns a hotel nearby and it was the highlight of my trip. Just me, Abdul the guide and Jimmy Hendrix the camel. Not sure if 50e is a lot but got a nice.Tangine .meal in the desert. Riding a camel is harder work than a bike but was good fun. Ive heard lots of good things about Essaouira on the cost but didn't get that far..

Thanks for the suggestions, keem 'em coming if there is anything else I should know. We will add the Flint Oasis and Meknes and erase Casa.

There's a large market in Midelt (Sunday, Wednesday) we were the only tourists in the whole place, friendly, interesting, zero hassle.

Updated our plan and added 50%+ to indicate realistic riding times:

Arrive Marrakesh – Day 2
Marrakesh – Taghazout - 268km, 4:30, Day 3
Beach Rest days – Day 4-5
Tabhazout – Ouarzazate – 393km 8:00 Day 6
Ouarzazate - Kalaat M'Gouna – 120km 2:00 Day 7
Kalaat M'Gouna – Merzouga – 272km, 5:00 Day 8
Saraha Trip - Day 9
Merzouga – Midelt – 270km, 5:10 Day 10
Midett – Taza – 293km, 5:30 Day 11
Rest day in Taza Day 12
Taza – Chefchaouen – 274km, 5:30, Day 13
Rest day in Chefchaouen Day 14
Chefchaouen – Meknes 194km, 4:20 – Day 15
Rest day in Meknes Day 16
Meknes – Marrakesh – 469km, 7:15 Day 17
Tour Marrakesh Day 18
Depart Marrakesh– Day 19

Taghazout is mainly apartment accommodation, the only hotel I've noticed—and stayed in—is La Point (named after one of the surfing breaks) which was nothing to write home about.

At Finnt Oasis you should descend from the main piste, cross the small stream and carry on. I've had refreshments, but not stayed, at Terasse Des Delices.

At El Kelaa M'Gouna I can thoroughly recommend Kasbah Itran.

Between El Kelaa and Merzouga you should explore the Dades Gorge and Todra Gorge.

If you fancy a swim when you reach Midelt, carry on another 20km to the north to Timnay 4x4 centre.

As you enter the cedar forest on the approach to Azrou, stop and see the wild monkeys, map linked from this page.

Taza wouldn't be my choice for a rest day, you might consider adding another day in Chefchaouen or elsewhere. But see possible side trip to Gouffre Friouato.

Generally my advice would be to get off the busy main 'N' national roads as much as possible and concentrate on 'R' and 'P' regional/provincial roads.

.

I've just returned yesterday from 14 days riding 2-up in Morocco, if I were to go again, I would avoid the coastal areas full stop. We stayed in Sidi Ifni which was interesting but the rest of the coast was boring and as others have said, Casablanca, Rabat etc. are perhaps not worth the bother.

Personally, I found the route from Azrou to Khenifra and then on towards Imilchil the best of the trip, you can then head towards Todra and then on towards Merzouga and Erg Chebbi. Erg Chebbi is touristy but fun.

We visited Taroudant and headed south to Tafraoute which was fantastic, the mountain scenery is awesome and the traffic is very thin indeed. My advice would be to cut off the Casablanca section and instead stick to the mountains and the minor roads.

You'll have great fun.

Tazhout is out then. It doesn't look like we can head as far south as Sidi Infi with the more limited 18 days we have, but we would still like to see the beach for a couple days as I'm coming from land locked Colorado. Any other suggestions either north or not quite that far south?

We'll ax Taza as well and plan on searching for some more cool towns in the north.

Try Essaouria. I have heard it is the place to head to on the coast and isn't too far from Marrakech.

Essaouria is worth a visit but quite touristy and busy. I'd reccommend a few places just north of Agadir on the N1 (cant remember the names) that are popular with surfers. We stopped there for a tajine en-route and think they'd be a good place to stop o'night of for a few days

Hello (sorry, I do not know your name):

I'm presently in the midst of my first tour of Morocco. Like you, I don't know anyone who has been here before.

I have found this forum to be a great place to gather info. There is also another site, Morocco Knowledgebase, that is chock full of useful information about motorcycle touring in Morocco. I recommend that you spend a few hours browsing through both of those forums, after doing that, you will feel a lot more at ease. Be aware that there are very wide variations in the interests of those who post - some are die-hard off road riders, others (like me, on my ST1100) are pavement-only types.

I think, after having read your proposed itinerary, that you might be "over-planning" your vacation. In my case, I set aside 21 days - more or less - to poke around the country, and my touring plan could be summed up as "First go south, then go a bit west, then go up north and leave the country." That's all - no dates, no deadlines, certainly no advance hotel reservations.

So far, I have been here 6 days, and have travelled east from Tangier Med along the coast road, then turned back and gone to Chefchaouen, thence south through Fes, through Errachidia, and now I am near Ouarzazate. When I reach the halfway point of time (10 days) on my trip, I'll turn north and start heading back up to exit the country.

Keep in mind that some days, you will be comfortable travelling 300 km, but other days (especially when it is hot out) you might get tired of riding after 150 km, and want to stop and spend a few days in one place for a change.

So, to sum up, don't over-plan your trip, and don't set too many goals and deadlines, otherwise, you will take all the fun out of it.

Michael

The best places on the Atlantic coast are easily El Jadida, Essaouira and Sidi Ifni and a few smaller villages

Taghazout, is grotty personally I wouldn't bother even stopping. South of Casablanca the coast is fantastic if you get off the main roads, except through Agadir

Essaiuira is very touristy now but I always spend time here, have done for the last 15 years :)

Suggestions

Arrive Marrakesh – Day 2
Marrakesh – Essaouira
Beach Rest days – Day 4-5
Essaouira to Tafroute
Tafroute to Zagora
Zagora – Merzouga
Saraha Trip - Day 9
Merzouga – Todra Gorge
Todra Gorge to Midelt

Now you can get from Midelt to Chefchoen in a day but it's a long one so may be stop in Fes?

Rest day in Chefchaouen
Chefchaouen – Asilah
Asilah – Marrakesh
Tour Marrakesh
Depart Marrakesh

That would get you your beach day, a bit of coast, Anti Atlas, Desert Higway across to Merzouga, Sahara trip, Todra Gorge/High Atlas Traverse, MIdlle Atlas and the sights of Marrakech.

You had a lot of rest days which I haven't included in my suggestion but some places you had a rest, probably isn't worth it so use those days some where worthwile :D

Thanks guys, great advice.

We were debating between El Jadida and Essouria because the latter has a huge music fesitval the weekend we'll be there, so we just decided to make both destinations part of the trip. (http://www.festival-gnaoua.net/en/)

We decided to stay in Ifran instead of Midlet on our way from Merzouga to Chefchaouen. We realize this will be a long day in the saddle, but that's one of only two full days riding with rest days on either side, so it should be fine.

Tafroute and Zagora look like they'd add about 4hrs to the trip to Merzouga and we would have to miss the Dades Valley and the Todgha Gorge without backtracking a bit, so we may skip those unless we're convinced otherwise.

Here is our current plan: (I feel schizophrenic for changing it so many times, but we're just going to play it by ear anyway haha)

Marrakesh – Essaouira- 183km, 2:27, Day 1 May 16th
Rest day Essaouira – Music Festival Day 2
Essaouira – El Jadida – 254km 3:24 Day 3
Rest day El Jadida Day 4
El Jadida – Asilah – 394km, 4:05 Day 5
Asilah – Chefchaouen –133km, 2:03 Day 6
Rest day in Chefchaouen (or Asilah day before) Day 7
Chefchaouen – Meknes - 192km, 2:24 – Day 8
Rest day in Meknes (or Ifran a day later) Day 9
Meknes – Ifran –67km, 1:12 Day 10
Ifran – Merzouga –401km, 5:10 Day 11
Saraha Trip - Day 11-12
Merzouga – Tinghir –199km, 2:40 Day 13
Tinghir – Marrakesh – 541km, 7:22 Day 14
Tour Marrakesh Day 15
Depart Marrakesh– Day 16

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Marr...89!2d31.63!3e0