Morocco Sept 17
 

Festive cheer to all, hope everyone is feeling just as stuffed as I am.

A group of 4 of us are planning a 10 day trip to Morocco at the start of Sept 17.
Having never been before and a novice to the African continent I'm looking for advice on what to do and where to go at that time of year. I've read Tim's information and have been trawling through as much as I can to get an idea of what to plan, however looking for some guidance on what is a good itinerary for the trip.

We're riding 2 1200 GS's and 2 1200 Tiger's, have some off road experience however not planning on being the next Dakar riders, just yet. Have plenty of travel experience and normally camp.

Any recommendations or guidance greatly appreciated.

Andy

IMO the best riding - good, empty roads and interesting landscapes - is down south, but September will still be pretty hot, and away from the coast, riding slowly on rough tracks will feel hotter still. Carry camelbaks and use High 5 Zero tablets (or salt + sugar). Makes a real difference I find. Ten days in Mk might give you 5 or six down south.
Many riders' off road ambitions exceed their actual ability, especially on big bikes, but of course there's only one way to find that out ;-)
Jebel Sarhro (MH4) north to south is a classic route and a good start: great scenery, rocky but downhill mostly so doable on a big bike. Just sit back and let the suspension do its thing. I would steer clear of any of the Alg border pistes which have sandy sections - not everyone in your group may get the knack. It's no joke biting off more than you can chew and getting stuck down there in 35°C+.
Ouarzazate to Foum Zguid (via Taz) is a brilliant road ride giving a good feel of descending into the desert (20+ kms gravel/repairs before FZ will give you some sport). Come back north via Akka Ighern (easy piste or border road) up to Taliouine and back over the Atlas via the Test pass for Marrakech - all great riding.
I'd also hotel rather than camp. End of the day you'll be hot, sweaty and tired and in Morocco I find its hard to camp wild and not be visited. Sharing a room half-board from 15 quid pp - and there are many more hotels down south than tourists to fill them.
I would also consider dumping the baggage at a hotel and doing day pistes. Less weight (esp. if you still bring camping gear), more fun and less damage if you fall over. I am sure others will chip in with ideas.

Try getting a ferry from Algeciras to Mellila/Nador. That shall save you a whole day of riding. From Nador you cam aim South and expect to be in Boudnib by the end of the first day riding tarmac. For me, it is where South starts. From Boudnib you can aim at Merzouga for some nice off-roading. You have plenty of options depending on your riding skills. Tarmac or dirt.

Get your tracks from here. It's free.
Free worldwide Garmin maps from OpenStreetMap

Bring one liter of water per hour (gonna be hot).

Learn from people's experience by checking tracks on youtube

Get knobbies. TKC 80 would be a minimum.

Be safe

I think Massive Lee means from Almería rather than Algeciras. Your profile doesn't state where you are living; I hope the 10 days doesn't include to and from the UK as this would soak up six days. Tourances or similar would be ok so long as it's dry—if you are riding from the UK you'd shag TKCs before you got there.

Come back with more info. If your time is limited there's good riding in the north.

Thanks for the responses so far guys.

A bit more meat on the bones.

Our 10 days is purely for Morocco, the travel to and from is already planned to give us maximum time to ride.

So with 10 days, and TKC 80s / Heidenau K60s fitted, where should we be going? Have ordered Chris' book and the Rheiss map for planning.

The trip is part of a 3 week ride taking in the Pyrenees as well, so will be ditching camping gear and non essential items in Marbella as well as changing tyres before hitting Morocco.

It may be even hotter, but I'd consider doing Morocco first then seeing if you have the energy to do the Pyrenees on the way back. I'd also fit K60s at home and do the whole ride on them. I found them great do-it-all tyres for Morocco on a 650GS twin.

Well practice set of K60s now fitted and regular trips to Salisbury are in full swing.

Ferry crossing is going to be Algeciras - Tangier Med after some route fettling.

The tracks from Chris have been installed onto the Montana and we plan on heading down to Ourzazete and basing out of the area for a few days. Not too fussed about the big cities, prefer the quieter / natural experience.

If anyone else is going to be around between 5th and 15th Sept then come and say hi.

Andy

PS. Tim and Chris, many thanks for your detailed insight into the country and what to be aiming for.

Tim's website and Chris's book are incredible sources of information.