Driving in Morocco by Motorhome – Part 2
Last Winter we took the ferry from Algeciras in Spain to Tanger Med in North Africa. Our trip took place in March and April, towards the end of the Winter. Now we’re sharing our experiences of driving in Morocco by Motorhome in Part 2 of this travel experience series.
First of all, here’s a few pieces of information to fill readers in on our own trip, before reaching Morocco itself.
The Basics of driving across to Morocco
Our trip was part of a longer 3-month trip through Spain and Portugal, with little in the way of planning involved.
For us, planning is never much in the travel equation and that may not be for everyone. However, it’s just our way of travelling, since our motorhome travels began 20 years or so ago.
Ferry crossing to Morocco
With this in mind, we didn’t really know when we’d be taking the crossing from Spain to Morocco, although we were almost certain we’d be buying our ferry tickets from the well known “Carlos” in Algeciras.
So once we were ready to cross to Morocco, we went in person to buy our ferry tickets just a couple of days before boarding the ferry.
You can read all about buying the ferry tickets to Morocco in our blog post here.
Motorhome Insurance for Morocco
Before leaving home we were able to buy an add on Green Card for driving in Morocco.
Many of you will know, after having an accident in Croatia a couple of years ago, we are more alert to the importance of fully comprehensive insurance than ever.
Fortunately, our insurance offers a fully comprehensive Green Card for countries such as Albania and Morocco.
The Green Card was sent to us before leaving home for a small extra fee. You can read about buying motorhome insurance for Morocco here.
International Driving Permit
Morocco is a country where an International Driving Permit is required. The IDP which we have for Albania, also covers Morocco.
The International Driving Permit is easy to buy from a main Post Office and costs about £5.50.
Travel Insurance for Morocco
We buy travel insurance for all trips, as you never know when you may have to use it.
Fortunately, our insurance is with a bank account which allows for longer trips in a variety of countries. So, we were able to pay extra to have more than the standard 30 days cover for the duration of the trip.
Driving in Morocco by Motorhome
Driving across Morocco was easier than we thought with long stretches of new, modern roads in many places.
Of course, there are some very poor roads too, especially in the mountains and off the main roads, where the surface can be particularly bumpy.
FAQ – Driving in Morocco by Motorhome
Are there regular Fuel stations?
Yes, there are lots of fuel stations across Morocco. There are also new petrol stations under construction too, which look similar to a service station. You can also expect numerous old small garages in some towns.
Can you buy Ad Blue?
Yes, but one motorhome couple we spoke to who bought Ad Blue, said it contained water which damaged their new motorhome. So maybe double check before pouring!
Are there speed cameras?
Yes, there are frequent speed cameras, especially police using a hand held device.
Did we see any Police road blocks/check points?
Yes, we came across check points all the time. Almost every town or village and sometimes roundabouts seem to have road blocks with police stopping drivers.
Did we get stopped by police?
Remarkably, we were always waved on, despite countless police check points.
How do you know if you have to stop at a police check point?
There are usually signs to say if you need to stop. At some road blocks you have to stop regardless and await instructions, whilst others are a matter of slowing down and watching for police to signal for you to stop or drive on.
Are there many lorries?
Yes, there are numerous very old, slow lorries, sometimes with large amounts of goods balancing on the roof. As these travel very slowly, driving behind one can add a lot of extra time to a journey.
What about Mopeds or motorbikes?
All sorts of transport can be seen, but old mopeds and motorbikes/scooters are commonplace on every road. They’ll often be carrying more than one person, we saw some with 4 people and helmets are rare. Some have a side car with extra passenger and goods being transported.
Some scooters have adaptions of a trailer where goods are transported on the back.
What other transport uses the roads?
Donkeys are regular modes of transport and carry an array of goods, from stacks of gas bottles to food and crops. Some donkeys have wooden carts to transport goods.
Bikes are everywhere, often used by children and seen in the most remote of places, but generally a common source of transport with many.
Pedestrians and Animals on the road – Driving in Morocco by Motorhome
Driving in Morocco often means sharing the road with pedestrians, animals and anything and everything in between. We saw many shepherds with herds of goats or sheep as well as donkeys and camels.
Sometimes animals will be wondering along or may run out into the road, so it’s always a good idea to be on full alert.
Another common sight is people carrying goods, either on their backs or with a cart, bike or donkey and cart. Most modes of transport are adapted to carry a wide range of crops and products.
Other animals we saw were monkey’s, plenty of dogs and several tortoise!
People Waving
Probably every road journey in Morocco saw us come across children waving, sometimes running very close to the camper or stepping out into the road, so it’s never uneventful. Often, hand gestures are shown too, with us usually unsure quite what was being asked, but spare coins or sweets being one!
On one occasion a young girl came to the window asking for a pen and paper, so many different experiences were had.
Selling Goods
Another experience comes from people selling goods in the most unlikely of places, be it on a remote mountain road or quiet lay-by, there is usually something for sale. No sooner are we popping the kettle on and someone will appear with hand-made offerings for sale. Examples range from clothes to wooden carvings or colourful pieces of rock, fossils or even bread!
Directions on offer
Quite often when approaching a town, village or campsite someone was appearing alongside us on a scooter, signalling to follow them! We weren’t always sure where they wanted us to go and in the hustle and bustle of busy towns, we were a little busy concentrating on the driving to take our eyes off the road!
Scenery – Driving in Morocco by Motorhome
Morocco has some of the most incredible scenery, ranging from vast desert roads to high mountain passes. Views can be breathtaking and opportunity for seeing remarkable sights along the way are endless.
Swathes of palm oasis or unusual rock formations to the flat desert plains are just some of the incredible parts of a journey.
Towns
Driving through towns can be a hair-raising experience due to the sheer number of different modes of transport and people. There isn’t much in the way of Highway Code, more like anything goes, so we found we were on full driving alert all the time. Both of us would look and listen at everything going on around us, to try and avoid any collision! Yes, driving in a town in Morocco can be a hectic but a visual experience in itself, where life is a colourful, chaotic mix.
Motorways
We were surprised at how good some of the road networks are across Morocco. Especially good are the motorways which have tolls, payable at toll booths where payment is with MAD in cash (cash is king in Morocco).
On one toll, we realised we’d run out of local currency, but the toll booth person took our payment in Euro instead, thank goodness!
Tourist Areas
Some tourist areas are particularly Western in appearance, especially around Agadir. Here modern buildings, large hotel complexes and even McDonald’s can be seen.
Elsewhere, a more traditional, untouched landscape can be found with basic facilities and almost untouched way of life.
Campsites
There are plenty of campsites across Morocco, these are usually basic but have flushing toilets (toilet paper goes into a waste bin), hot showers and good parking.
We didn’t book any campsites but our trip was going into the quieter season, so many campsites were often very empty.
Prices on average were around 60-100 MAD equating to between £6-£10 per night with electric usually extra.
Finding Campsites
We use Apps such as Park4Night and Campercontact but downloaded their Morocco database onto the App before arriving in Morocco.
We also have a Garmin Sat Nav which has campsites included.
Garages and Tyre Repairs
Thankfully, we didn’t need a garage or tyre repair but we did notice there were quite a lot of these around.
Most fuel service areas have indoor car washing which are large enough for lorries in many cases.
Gas Bottles
There are gas bottle sellers pretty much in every town, usually French style gas bottles are for sale.
Supermarkets
Supermarkets are rare, but we did see Carrefour in some major towns, usually within a shopping complex. Unfortunately for us, we were unable to park so missed the chance for a big supermarket shop!
Otherwise, we found a couple of small supermarkets during our trip, these were in large towns and had a parking area outside.
Maps
We made a mistake not taking a paper road map with us to Morocco. Usually you can buy maps at a variety of outlets but we just couldn’t find any for sale in Morocco! Finally when we did find one, it was right at the end of our trip.
