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Driving and Driving Standards
The driving standards in Morocco are generally dire! The highway code is only recently introduced and not many follow it. Expect the unexpected and you won’t be far wrong. However, with care its not that bad.
- Never assume you have priority and always be prepared to stop. This applies to junctins and roundabouts. Some people give way to cars on roundabouts (as per UK) – and some people give way to cars entering a roundabout. Even when priority is “obvious” assume the others will not give way.
- Donkies, camels,animals, and people all have no road sense and will walk across you at some point.
- A “beep” usually indicates “I am coming past” – and is also good to use to move cars/donkies/kids out of your way.
- A “flash” usually indicates “I am coming through so move your ass!” rather than “after you” as per UK.
- Expect something to appear the wrong way on a dual carraige way
- Expect to be overtaken around roundabouts (so be careful not to cut the lanes)
- Expect to be squeezed….
- Be very defensive, but I’d say don’t be too over cautious as any hesitation is rewarded with everyone else taking advantage!
- Towns are especially fun…
- Expect to get beeped 0.1s after traffic lights change to green!
Tolls
Some motorways are toll roads and these are vastly quicker than the other roads. Quite dull, dual carraige ways, but you still get people walking across and grazing animals in the central reservation. Fes to Meknes is about 20dh, and Essouaria to Ceuta is 240dh ish.
Road quality
Most main roads are quite good, but off the main roads they can quickly become dire and unpaved. Huge holes, water over road, road washed away are not uncommon. Always double expected time for a Moroccan road and you will be more accurate. Road works and changes are badly signed and just appear. Speed bumps can be unmarked and viscous. To be fair, overall much better than expected.
Fuel Prices/ Availability
Fuel is dirt cheap – 7.2dh for diesel (Q1 2011) which is 56p compared to around £1.35 in UK. Loads of fuel stations. Try and use branded (Shell/Afriqua) and pay cash.
LPG cannot be bought for gaslow type systems though moroccan cylinders are plentiful
Parking
Parking is okay – expect to be nabbed by a “guardian” who is actually official and will charge you – also he may permit overnight parking. He will also expect a tip when you leave… 20dh is about the norm,
Best Aires/Campsite Guides
All the Aires Morocco is okay but far from complete with campsites.
Availability and quality of Aires/Campsites
Erm – dire. We never used any loos or showers at any campsites – they ranged from grim to rancid. We would suggest you treat all campsites as “aires” – and if anything works then consider yourself lucky. Even new sites are grim and badly maintained. Water isn’t drinkable (at own risk!) – WC disposal is okay – grey waste is limited – have to dump discreetly somewhere. Electric is unreliable and intermittant – maybe 180v on a bad day if it works at all. Remember you are in Africa and, really, in a 3rd world country. Campsites are cheap – 70-100dh
Around most tourist areas there are loads of campsites mentioned – the Vicarious books Morocco guide is a good starting base but far from complete.
Overall View of Motorhome trip in Morocco
Flipping fantastic. Best ever trip. Mainly due to where we went with Desert Detours tour. By ourselves we’d never have seen or experienced half of it. Most people who DIY do the Atlantic coast – and honestly this was the most boring part – it could be anywhere… The inland parts, Meknes, Fes, Marrakech, Sahara, Chefchaouene to name but a few were stunning. If you fancy a DIY then you will need to do a huge amount of work to get the same level of experience we got (and paid for) with DD. Worth chatting to Desert Detours anyway.
Which trips detail Morocco
Trip 8 – Snowboarding & Sahara
Is Wildcamping permitted
Hmmm. Probably if you can find it, but it is likely to be discouraged. Not easy to find and you are likely to get hassled by kids/locals/land owners/sheep/goats/guardian. We’d not recommend it. Guess you could get away with it but we’d not try very often
WiFI / Internet Availability
Very tough – not much around unless you are in big towns/cities
Other tips
- Beer hard to get
- Cakes and bread are cheap (1-2dh)
- Markets great
- Only drink bottled water!
- Meals out are cheap
- Kids always beg – I guess its because x% of motorhomers give toys/sweets/money to kids and, sadly, they now think its worth bothering all motorhomers. Like a badly trained dog. I would suggest not giving anything – just maybe giving direct to a school instead – but unless everyone does this then the kids will always annoy.
- Any conversation that starts off. “Hello – English? First time here in Morocco? Having a good time?” is someone trying to sell something. They are not trying to be nice. Getting a free tea isn’t good for you…. Everyone is after something off you lol! Pretend to be Russian and ignore everyone….
- Dissinfect water tanks when back to mainland Europe – see http://www.doyourdream.co.uk/2010/05/cleaning-fresh-water-tank/ for details
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