The route to Marrakesh

[kiroh]

Not sure if this is the right forum - but here are the questions: I'm planning a tour to Morocco next March and need more information/advise on how to get there. The final destination is Marrakesh and I would like to hear from anyone who has ventured that way.

o how many days would I need for my trip?

o what ferries should I use?

o should I be sticking to the main roads or small ones are fine too?

o do I really, really need a GPS?????

o how to arrange visas/insurance/tax/etc. ?

Cheers

[YEN_POWELL]

Ferry from Spain (Algeciris) takes about 20 minutes to Ceuta (costs about £25 return), then another 20 minutes to the Spanish/Moroccan border, then anywhere between 1 and 3 hours to get through that. Funny how Spain moan about Gibralter when they have 2 pieces of Morocco opposite it.

A normal Michelin map will get you around Morocco, GPS is more a comfort than a necessity.You could get from the border to Marrakech in a fast day or a leisurely 2 days. Leisurly gives you less chance of taking out a donkey. Marrakech is a brilliant place, but easy to get lost in. A compass is good to get around the markets without getting too lost. Also stop and ask anyone if you're not sure of the way, quite friendly people once you learn to smile at beggars and wannabe guides and say no.

Small roads are good and twisty, but a pain if in a hurry.

Spain can be done north to south in 2 days very easily, it looks big on a map but didn't seem to be.

[Robster]

Ferry from Spain (Algeciris) takes about 20 minutes to Ceuta (costs about £25 return), then another 20 minutes to the Spanish/Moroccan border, then anywhere between 1 and 3 hours to get through that. Funny how Spain moan about Gibralter when they have 2 pieces of Morocco opposite it.

A normal Michelin map will get you around Morocco, GPS is more a comfort than a necessity.You could get from the border to Marrakech in a fast day or a leisurely 2 days. Leisurly gives you less chance of taking out a donkey. Marrakech is a brilliant place, but easy to get lost in. A compass is good to get around the markets without getting too lost. Also stop and ask anyone if you're not sure of the way, quite friendly people once you learn to smile at beggars and wannabe guides and say no.

Small roads are good and twisty, but a pain if in a hurry.

Spain can be done north to south in 2 days very easily, it looks big on a map but didn't seem to be.

I'd just add that the ferry from Tarifa to Tanger is worth a look too, another fast crossing and puts you pretty much on the main coastal route south to Rabat and Casablanca and eventually Marakesh. Casablanca's a comfortable days ride and a good place to overnight en-route.

As far as paperwork is concerned, just make sure you've got all your bike docs (V5 registration, MOT etc) and Insurance papers including your Green Card. I think, if my memory serves me right, we had to buy temporary insurance as we didn't have the physical green card in our posession at that time, but it was only a few £.

Do be prepared for a fairly lengthy immigration process, think it took us about 2 hours beginning at 1am...so also try and arrive at a more sensible time! And as Yen said, also be prepared for a barrage of "guides", beggars, bike watchmen and even the passport officials themselves asking for handouts. Just part of the culture there, but takes a little getting used to.

[Whealie]

be prepared for a barrage of "guides", beggars, bike watchmen and even the passport officials themselves asking for handouts

Can you bribe in Euros now or are US dollars still the international currency of the corrupt?

[YEN_POWELL]

be prepared for a barrage of "guides", beggars, bike watchmen and even the passport officials themselves asking for handouts

Can you bribe in Euros now or are US dollars still the international currency of the corrupt?

They prefer their own currency actually, the Dirham. One bloke insisted on filling out my forms and put that I was Irish (read what it says in a British passport and see why). They are easy to fill out yourself as they are in English and French. The worst bit was leaving the customs post passing the soldier with the machine gun and getting through the crowd just outside. Just keep going, you can outrun them.

[Robster]

They'll take pretty much anything! We used Euros!

I had a "fistful of dollars" that I'd had at the ready for bribery in Albania but never used!

We also had "Irish" put down on a lot of our forms too!

We came out of a bar in Casablanca one night, to find this lanky youth hanging around the bikes with a sort of lab coat on. As we prepared to leave he approached us and said "You give me money". We asked him why and he replied "I am the guardian of the bikes". I declined and rode off.

Got back to the campsite to find my mates unfeasibly stinky bike boots had vanished from outside his tent. Five minutes later while he was stil stamping around and swearing, this little guy comes up holding the boots. "You give me money, I am the guardian of the boots!" he said. I left my mate swearing uncontrollably at him and went to bed!

[YEN_POWELL]

Anytime we came out the front door of our hotel in Marrakech you could guarantee a man would march straight up to us and say "I am Mohamed, come, we go!" Or a man will follow you round the stalls and if you look at anything he will say, "that one is good" a few times then ask for payment for his personal shopping service. It was brilliant!!!! Also I hate shopping, but haggling is the best fun you can have without taking your clothes off and procuring a kipper and some wellingtons.

[cabbage2404]

Loosely based on this post, take a look at www.catchthepig.co.uk , some nice photos.

[Dee Duble Yuh]

There's a (fullsome) report of my trip here: Road (bike) to Morocco

There's a detailed explanation of how to cross the border here: Border crossing

Generic information on preparations are in the Wiki here: Preparing for a big trip

[kiroh]

Thanks for the info guys. Will read trough the articles as soon as I get a free evening. Following extra questions popped up:

Do I need to book accommodation in advance?

What is the best basic style accommodation - hotels or private houses?

Is it easy to get petrol and is it good quality?

Cheers