Three weeks in February. Must sees & must dos for a Moto traveller in Morocco

[*Touring Ted*]

Despite my far flung adventures, I have never set tyre or toe in Morocco.

I've set aside February 2023 to travel from the UK to Morocco and back.

I think I should have 2-3 weeks in Morocco.

I've picked up Chris Scott's latest edition of his excellent 'Morocco Overland guide'. However It's five years since it's last print so I'm assuming many things may have changed and of course there is only so much information you can squeeze into a book.

I'd really appreciate any input to places and ideas that I should be scribbling onto my map as MUST SEE.

I'm likely travelling solo on an old XRV750 Africa Twin. Unpaved roads aren't a problem but I won't be riding the dunes on it.

Thanks in advance as always.

Ted

[TheWarden]

2-3 weeks is good for a first time trip, it'll given yo8 plenty of time to explore without being a mad dash around.

Weather should be reasonable but could be cold at night and altitude. There will still be snow in the High Atlas but the spring flowers will be starting to come out.

Have a read through the book and pick out the routes you like the sound of as a start point.

Chefchaouen is a nice first stop (or Asilah if you follow the coast). Then I would do a loop down through the Middle Atlas, Azrou - Midelt then across the High Atlas with the MH route from Agoudal to Dades (theres been a lot of work on this recently and it may be tarmac all the way now but a great ride) Then hop over to the Todra gorge. Here you can head south across the Jebel Sarho mountain range to Merzouga and Erg Chebbi.

From Erg Chebbi head west on the classic piste to Zagora before heading down to Mhamid, Erg Cheggaga and Lac Iriki, Lots of choices from here, head north towards Ouarazazate and Ait Benhaddou before another High Atlas route or continue west to the Anti Atlas and the Atlantic Coast. Or pick up the Assa to Smara route dipping into the Western Sahara, which is one of the best imho.

Plage Blanche is a great day if the tide is right to ride the full length of the beach. Then probably time to start heading north. Nice places to visit enroute - Sidi Ifni, Taroudannt, Essaouira and Marrakech.

The coast road north from Essaouira via Safi to El jadida is mostly a pleasant way along the coast. After El Jadida the coastal route is pretty grim and busy.

A loop like that will have given you a good varied insight across the country and a taste for more adventures

[*Touring Ted*]

Thanks for the input. Great info.

[chris gale]

I shall keep an eye out for you Ted.......I'll b roughly following that route.......but in a hire car

[badou24]

Hi Ted , read loads of your posts over the years , all good advice !
As for Morocco i think the Warden has given some very good advice , but just for my 2p on your trip . I think you will have a fantastic time just stopping on the grey stuff as there is so much to see ! It will be very cold in the atlas and it may even be snow bound , so the plan is dont have one ! Keith

[Tim Cullis]

Spain is Europe's second most mountainous country after Switzerland and riding through Spain can be a challenge with the cold at that time of year. In winter time I always take an electrically-heated jacket plus hand muffs, and sometimes gauchos. The afternoons can be pleasant but it takes hours in the mornings to heat up from the often minus temperatures overnight.

If there's any chance of snow in Morocco, odds on it would be in the Ifrane (pronounced ee'fran) in the Middle Atlas south of Fez. Cheaper hotels often lack efficient heating and if you have room, stick in a fleece-covered hot water bottle.

There's tons of great off-tarmac riding, but spare some time for exploring as well.

My four favourite places in Morocco are (1) Tafraoute in the Anti Atlas, surrounded by pink quartzite peaks, with marvellous walks, scrambles and gorges. Coupled with more than 80 fascinating medieval granaries (agadirs) to explore, perched in the most inaccessible spots. The town is renowned for its slippers (babouche) manufacture and it's a hub for almond, argan oil and amlou (almond and argan mix) production. The local speciality is beef tagine with prunes and almonds. These two videos were both taken in February, which as you can see can be with balmy days with a deep blue sky.





(2) Sidi Ifni, a Spanish art deco-styled town on the Atlantic coast to the west of Tafraoute. I once went planning to spend two nights and stayed eleven. Great sea food.

(3) Essaouira on the Atlantic coast further north, a rather Bohemian fishing port town with lots of history and again, great sea food.

(4) But the one I fell in love with first is Azrou in the Middle Atlas. On motorbike trips a couple of decades back I found I was going through Azrou twice on each trip as it's set at a crossroads. One road (N13) leads from Meknes via Azrou to the desert around Merzouga, the other road (N8) leads from Fez via Azrou to Marrakech. Azrou is a one day ride from the ports of Tanger and Ceuta and many years ago I seriously considered buying some land and building a motorbiking base there. I spent six weeks investigating and negotiating before deciding I didn't want to be in charge of a building project, so ended up buying a cave in Spain instead.

It's a fabulous area with cedar forests, wild monkeys, lakes, springs, waterfalls, limestone karst scenery and even volcanos, the caldera of one now used as a ski resort. More information

[*Touring Ted*]

Originally Posted by chris gale

I shall keep an eye out for you Ted.......I'll b roughly following that route.......but in a hire car

Can you carry my luggage then ??

Originally Posted by badou24

Hi Ted , read loads of your posts over the years , all good advice !
As for Morocco i think the Warden has given some very good advice , but just for my 2p on your trip . I think you will have a fantastic time just stopping on the grey stuff as there is so much to see ! It will be very cold in the atlas and it may even be snow bound , so the plan is dont have one ! Keith

No plan is always a great plan. I like to have destinations and a rough guide of places I should head to though. As always, a mix of both is perfect.

Originally Posted by Tim Cullis

Spain is Europe's second most mountainous country after Switzerland and riding through Spain can be a challenge with the cold at that time of year. In winter time I always take an electrically-heated jacket plus hand muffs, and sometimes gauchos. The afternoons can be pleasant but it takes hours in the mornings to heat up from the often minus temperatures overnight.

If there's any chance of snow in Morocco, odds on it would be in the Ifrane (pronounced ee'fran) in the Middle Atlas south of Fez. Cheaper hotels often lack efficient heating and if you have room, stick in a fleece-covered hot water bottle.

There's tons of great off-tarmac riding, but spare some time for exploring as well.

My four favourite places in Morocco are (1) Tafraoute in the Anti Atlas, surrounded by pink quartzite peaks, with marvellous walks, scrambles and gorges. Coupled with more than 80 fascinating medieval granaries (agadirs) to explore, perched in the most inaccessible spots. The town is renowned for its slippers (babouche) manufacture and it's a hub for almond, argan oil and amlou (almond and argan mix) production. The local speciality is beef tagine with prunes and almonds. These two videos were both taken in February, which as you can see can be with balmy days with a deep blue sky.





(2) Sidi Ifni, a Spanish art deco-styled town on the Atlantic coast to the west of Tafraoute. I once went planning to spend two nights and stayed eleven. Great sea food.

(3) Essaouira on the Atlantic coast further north, a rather Bohemian fishing port town with lots of history and again, great sea food.

(4) But the one I fell in love with first is Azrou in the Middle Atlas. On motorbike trips a couple of decades back I found I was going through Azrou twice on each trip as it's set at a crossroads. One road (N13) leads from Meknes via Azrou to the desert around Merzouga, the other road (N8) leads from Fez via Azrou to Marrakech. Azrou is a one day ride from the ports of Tanger and Ceuta and many years ago I seriously considered buying some land and building a motorbiking base there. I spent six weeks investigating and negotiating before deciding I didn't want to be in charge of a building project, so ended up buying a cave in Spain instead.

It's a fabulous area with cedar forests, wild monkeys, lakes, springs, waterfalls, limestone karst scenery and even volcanos, the caldera of one now used as a ski resort. More information

Thanks Tim. I know you are one of the best people to ask about Morocco.

I know it will be a cold ride down so I will pack appropriately.

Videos look great. Great camping I bet.

Any advice regarding which port to head for ? customs procedures etc ?

[Tim Cullis]

Tanger Ville and Tanger Med have the easiest entry as you land directly in Morocco and passport control is done on board the ferry, so the only formality is temporary vehicle import at customs which they do for you. Ceuta is cheaper as it's subsidised but then you might be jumping through hoops at the border with Morocco.

Generally use http://www.aferry.to to check out prices, stick in for example Tarifa to Tanger Ville and it will give you prices for all three crossing options and all the companies. But then book direct with the companies as then you can have an open return. I think 'Carlos Gutierrez' is still in operation, his office is close to Lidl and Carrefour in Algeciras (come off the E15 at junction 112), but check the official ferry prices first. Website: https://www.viajesnormandie.net/quienes-somos/

Hotels are so inexpensive that I don't recommend camping, especially in February. Sunrise and sunset for mid February will be 0815 and 1915, so that's 13 hours of darkness in a tent. Most campsites are designed for 'camping cars' which is French for motorhomes, so hardstanding.

[*Touring Ted*]

Originally Posted by Tim Cullis

Tanger Ville and Tanger Med have the easiest entry as you land directly in Morocco and passport control is done on board the ferry, so the only formality is temporary vehicle import at customs which they do for you. Ceuta is cheaper as it's subsidised but then you might be jumping through hoops at the border with Morocco.

Generally use http://www.aferry.to to check out prices, stick in for example Tarifa to Tanger Ville and it will give you prices for all three crossing options and all the companies. But then book direct with the companies as then you can have an open return. I think 'Carlos Gutierrez' is still in operation, his office is close to Lidl and Carrefour in Algeciras (come off the E15 at junction 112), but check the official ferry prices first. Website: https://www.viajesnormandie.net/quienes-somos/

Hotels are so inexpensive that I don't recommend camping, especially in February. Sunrise and sunset for mid February will be 0815 and 1915, so that's 13 hours of darkness in a tent. Most campsites are designed for 'camping cars' which is French for motorhomes, so hardstanding.

Thanks so much. Great info

[chris gale]

If we cross paths I don't mind carrying ur bags for a few days before we say ta ta . Not sure what rental I'll have last time was a pale blue 206 with white trim everywhere but it did do nearly 70 to a gallon after I blew the air filter out.........ur bike will b alot easier to spot . All Moroccan cars flashing their headlites at you are not necessarily trying to sell u cherries or weed

[Peter Girling]

Ferry prices from Carlos today, 18 August 2022:
Algeciras-Ceuta €225.00
Algeciras-TangerMed €250.00

Open return, Car plus 2Pax.

Thinking of trying Ceuta again as it's a fast ferry and you enter Morocco on the corniche just a few km from the motorway/Tetouan/Rif.
Anybody done Ceuta since the new border facilities opened? Any hassle? Insurance booth at the border?

Happy trails,

Peter

[TheWarden]

Originally Posted by Peter Girling

Ferry prices from Carlos today, 18 September 2022:
Algeciras-Ceuta €225.00
Algeciras-TangerMed €250.00

Open return, Car plus 2Pax.

Thinking of trying Ceuta again as it's a fast ferry and you enter Morocco on the corniche just a few km from the motorway/Tetouan/Rif.
Anybody done Ceuta since the new border facilities opened? Any hassle? Insurance booth at the border?

Happy trails,

Peter

Hi Pete,

Reports of long delays at Ceuta but it's still Operation Marhaba so extra traffic. It should calm down after the 15th September

Prices from Carlos seem more favourable than the beginning of the Summer, people were reporting over 300euro return.

[anotherrick]

Every time I've planned a trip to Morocco something always happened to stop it. The last time being the pandemic. So unfortunately I've nothing constructive to add other than if you want a riding buddy this time round let me know

[maria41]

Hi Ted, we are also planning a trip to Morocco next spring. A couple of months. Maybe push to Mauritania ( not decided yet).
Would be great to bump into you but unfortunately we plan to go around April / May so not good on timing. Would have been cool though.
Maybe next time.

[Pedro Rocha]

Originally Posted by TheWarden

MH route from Agoudal to Dades (theres been a lot of work on this recently and it may be tarmac all the way now

I went through there a couple of days ago and there’s still a very scenic part of it that’s dirtroad. To me it was well worth it, but they are making it tarmac from both ends and building it wide. Might be finished in 2024 I would say.