Planning Our Road Trip to Morocco

We had only been back from our trip to Italy (May 2023) for a few days, when I read an article about a motorcycle trip around Morocco. It sparked an idea and I began to consider Morocco for our next trip. Rather than travelling by bike, my focus was on taking our car from Portugal. Our only previous visit to Morocco was a housesitting assignment, and that was limited to Casablanca. A road trip offered us an opportunity to see so much more of the country. Bev agreed with the idea, so the planning began.

When to Go

The first area to consider was when would be the best time to go. Our primary concern was the weather and we would also prefer not to be in the busiest time for tourists.

Some online research suggested that the two best windows for warm weather, but not unbearably hot, were either between March to May or September – October. May and September were identified as the two best months for good weather and smaller crowds. 

November was suggested as one of the least expensive months to visit. It’s also one of the rainy months in Morocco, with the rainy season running from November to March. Conversely, June through August are the driest months, but also the hottest months.

September and October wouldn’t have given us as much time to prepare, so I began to focus on March. But then I checked on the dates for Ramadan in 2024, which were 10th March to 9th April. Mindful of the fasting that occurs throughout Ramadan, I was concerned that access to cooked food could be limited during daylight hours, so we pushed the trip into April. That also gave us a better chance of avoiding rainy weather. April and May are also some of the busiest tourist months in the country, but you can’t have everything!

Where to Go

Having decided when, the next part of the research was determining where we should visit within the country. For this, I turned to the Internet, searching ‘must see’ locations as well as places ‘off the beaten track’, and compiled a list of places that I thought would appeal to us.

I needed to be able to visualise where all of these places were located, to begin to get an idea of how I might connect some of them together into an enjoyable road trip. Online maps aren’t the best for providing a macro view of the country and the various locations that I had listed. For that, I ordered a couple of maps from Amazon: Michelin 742 – Morocco motoring and tourist map, and National Geographic 3203 – Morocco Adventure Travel Map.

Once the maps arrived, I began to attach little post-it notes showing the potential locations of the various locations on my list. That proved to be a useful exercise, as it allowed me to see which places were close to each other, as well as a rough idea of the driving distances that could be involved. The majority of my places of interest generally fell into two groupings on the map. The first group was in the north, between Tangier and Meknes. The second group were further south and included Marrakesh and other locations to its south-east, around the High Atlas Mountain range. Some locations were even further south than that, and I considered them to be too far to include in this trip, to avoid making the trip much longer.

To gain an accurate understanding of the driving distances between the various towns and cities, I referred to the ViaMichelin website. It’s a fantastic tool for trip planning, as it provides alternate route options from place to place, with the distances between each. But it also provides a rough cost of travel for each route, based on fuel usage and toll roads. To obtain the most accurate gauge of fuel costs, you need to enter details of the make, model and engine size of the car that will be used.

By searching each potential leg of the journey, I was able to determine the optimum route that would allow us to visit our places of interest whilst keeping the daily driving distances at reasonable levels. After a good deal of researching, our final list of places to visit was established:

• Tarifa, Spain (point of ferry departure)
• Tangier (point of ferry arrival)
• Chefchaouen
• Fes/Fez
• Moulay-Idriss
• Volubilis
• Meknes
• Marrakesh/Marrakech
• Aït Benhaddou
• Skoura
• Kalaat M’Gouna – Valley of the Roses
• Dades Gorge
• Tinghir/Tinerhir
• Todra Gorge
• Midelt
• Azrou
• Rabat
• Asilah
• Seville, Spain

The planned route is projected to cover 3,943km (plus any local sightseeing at the locations). Rather than trying to squeeze multiple locations into a pre-set timetable, I plotted the itinerary based on the distances to be driven, whilst also including designated non-driving days in some of the towns. I allowed that method to dictate the length of the trip. It worked out to be 16 days.

Ferry Route

There are several drive-on ferry options that operate between Spain and Morocco. We have opted for the shortest route, which is the FRS ferry between Tarifa and Tangier. The sailing time is only one hour and there are multiple sailings per day. The FRS website doesn’t allow searches or bookings for dates more than six months in advance, so I held off booking the ferry until November.

I opted for morning sailings in each direction that hopefully allow enough time to eat breakfast before heading to the dock, but also leave plenty of time after disembarking to drive to our next destinations. The total cost for a return journey for two adults plus the car was €456.

Where to Stay

I use booking.com for all of our travel accommodation needs. I really appreciate how easy the website is to use and the ability to filter search results based on features that we require for our accommodation, such as parking, private bathroom, free cancellation, etc.

We like to stay in, or close by, the old historic centres of the towns that we visit. But that can present some challenges in Morocco, when arriving by car. The old medinas have very narrow streets and very few of the accommodation options in the medinas have private parking. In many cases, we have opted to stay in small riads (traditional Moroccan homes that have a central garden or courtyard, often with a fountain). We hope that these small family-run operations will give us a better, more authentic Moroccan experience. Where on-site parking isn’t available, we have selected places that have secure public parking within walking distance. We’ll also be staying in some modern hotels that have private underground parking at some locations.

Even though we were making reservations eight months in advance, I noticed that there were many properties that were fully booked for our dates. To get the best options during the busy tourist season, it clearly pays to book well in advance. I was pleased to see that hotel prices in Morocco are quite reasonable.

Once the route was confirmed and the hotels were booked, I began to turn my attention to any other requirements for driving in Morocco, as well as any issues that might make the trip safer or less problematic.

Driving Rules in Morocco

One of the first questions I had was whether or not I would require an International Driving Permit (IDP), which is essentially a translation of an official driving licence. Websites of companies who sell a type of IDP suggest that one is required but the Moroccan consular services website says that you don’t need one.

Further, a Carnet de Passages en Douane is not required for entering Morocco with a foreign car. I understand that the vehicle details will, however, be noted in the driver’s passport and must be with the driver when he/she leaves the country.

The website Blondie in Morocco provides a useful description of what to expect when driving in the country. It also states that no IDP is required for those with an EU driving licence.

Tourist Related Crime and Scams

When travelling, it’s always useful to be forewarned of crime or scams that are prevalent in the country that you plan to visit, so that you can be vigilant.

The Must Visit Morocco website highlights seven most common tourist scams. I have listed them below, but visit the website for detailed explanations.

• Women who attempt to trap tourists into paying for henna tattoos
• ‘Guides’ who scam tourists for unsolicited directions
• Taxi drivers (a problem in many countries)
• Fake fossils and minerals
• Inflated prices for camel rides
• Aggressive photographers and their monkeys or snakes
• Restaurant scams overcharging for meals

Journal of Nomads adds to this list, with its own list of twelve common scams. Amongst these are:

• Fake items sold in markets (argan oil, saffron and carpets/rugs)
• Pickpockets
• Tannery scams
• Illegal drug scams – dealer in cohoots with police to scam buyers
• Fake beggars

Several of the scams are variations on themes that exist elsewhere, but it is certainly useful to have an idea of the prevalent issues, so that we can recognise them and respond appropriately.

Dash Camera

It occurred to me that a dash camera would be a useful device to have in the car for the trip, for two reasons. The camera could prove very handy if we were to find ourselves involved in an accident, as it could provide some evidence to settle who was at fault. With a GPS feature included, such a camera could also be used to disprove any untrue claims of speeding or other traffic infractions by less-than-honest police officers – I found this could be an issue in Central Asia but I haven’t seen anything to indicate it is a problem in Morocco. But the primary advantage would be to capture interesting footage from our drive, in some of the regions that we find ourselves.

Having decided to buy one, I set about checking online reviews for a variety of brands and models, to narrow down my choice. After doing a deep-dive into the pros and cons of nine different cameras, I settled on the Viofo A139 Pro (two channels – front and rear).

The Viofo A139 Pro is one of the few cameras (at the time of looking) that has a 4K front camera with the latest Sony Starvis 2 processor. It includes a GPS logger and has a CPL (polarising) lens to minimise glare from the windscreen. In his excellent, detailed review, Vortex Radar called the A139 Pro the best dash camera he has ever tested. That YouTube review sealed my decision and I ordered one from AliExpress, with the optional hardwire kit and remote control.

Travel Insurance

We don’t generally bother with travel insurance. When we are within the EU, we can get emergency medical care through our EHIC card. As this trip would be outside the EU, and considering that we would be driving, I thought it prudent to get some insurance to cover for medical care should it become necessary. We took out an annual travel policy with Europesure Travel Insurance, and hope that we don’t need it.

Spare Wheel

Our Nissan Qashqai didn’t come with a spare wheel. Instead, it just had a small air pump and a bottle of ‘goo’ to pump into a flat tyre. Not wanting to rely on that in the event of a puncture, I bought a spare wheel kit. Again, something that we hope that we don’t need, but it’s good insurance to get us to a tyre repair centre (or a tyre shop).

Automóvel Club de Portugal

For an additional layer of protection, in the event of any mechanical issues with the car, I joined the Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP). Similar in concept to the RAC or AA in the United Kingdom, the ACP provides a range of benefits to its members, including breakdown assistance and towing, vehicle repatriation, hotel costs while awaiting vehicle repair, occupant transportation/repatriation, legal defence (abroad), medical assistance, and more. And it provides these services in 49 countries, including Morocco.

Lumbar Support Back Cushion

When driving the car on long journeys, I have experienced lower back pain after a few hours. To minimise that, I bought a lumbar support back cushion from ad’just. It has an air bladder that provides lower back support. The volume of air in the bladder can be adjusted using an integral hand pump and its location can be adjusted vertically using its velcro fastenings. There are also two side ‘wings’ for lateral support. They can also be adjusted to different positions, both vertically and horizontally, utilising the velcro strips. I’ve noticed an improvement on the drives that I’ve done since installing the cushion. The big test will come on the first day of the trip, which will also be the longest daily drive of the trip at 777km and over 9 hours.

Vehicle Insurance

One of the last steps in the preparation for the trip was to get an extension on the car insurance. Our insurance policy covers the car in Portugal and the rest of the EU – but not Morocco. For €31, we were able to get the insurance company to provide an extension on the policy, that will give us third-party insurance in Morocco during the period that we will be there.

TomTom Settings

For ease of navigation, I have pre-set each of our destinations into my TomTom device. In addition, for the days when I have a specific route in mind (rather than the fastest route between two points), I have plotted those routes and saved them to the TomTom.

All that is left to do now is pack our bags and get started. I’ll report on the trip when we get back.