Vacation to Morocco

​The best tips for driving in Morocco!

The following post is all about driving in Morocco, particularly on southern routes on N1, N9, N10, plus some detours and smaller roads in the region.
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Driving in Morocco may appear far more than what you imagine. There are adorable towns along its coastline, wonderfully chaotic cities, incredibly impressive mountain terrain including among the tallest mountains within the continent of Africa (topped with snow!), not to mention, the Sahara Desert.
While every one of these spots are possible and not using a car and accessible using or buses and booking tours, nothing may appear close to doing the work yourself.
The roads are very decent, some are even completely new! And some, are still being built.
Sure, a number of the mountain passes certainly are a little hairy because the roads are narrow, sure you could possibly come across a rural road that all of an sudden turns right into a dirt path and you could even encounter a bridge that was washed away causing to deal while using logistics of driving more than a stream having a car that shouldn’t drive by using a stream…

The main point is, driving in Morocco is not very scary and it’s a wonderful experience.
Below are tips for driving in Morocco: 
  • ​​Renting A Car and Parking
  1. Unlike many places about the world, leasing a car in Morocco incorporates little gas.Don’t start your journey until you refill! And when it’s time for it to return, don’t allow them to have a full tank, a half an army tank, or just a they gave it for you with. Gas in Morocco isn’t cheap!
  2. Before even starting your ignition, takes numerous pictures and video from the car as well as its condition. Point out every scratch, mark, and dent. Make sure your papers reflect it at the same time. This is usually a rule for throughout the world.
  3. Always have some small change for you because parking 90% with the time costs money. Anywhere from 2-30 MAD depending if it’s an enormous city or otherwise not, overnight parking, or merely a quick parking area for an hour or two which “requires” that you tip the dude who watched your automobile.​
  • Speed Limits and Signs​
  1. Signage is in fact pretty good! Everything is in English, or as a minimum French, that is easy enough to know.
  2. Speed signs can be a bit a wild. Sometimes you won’t see one for miles, and quite often you’ll see three inside a mile. Usually, the interest rate signs change from fast to slow quickly whenever you’re entering a major city. Just take notice.​​
  • ​Police Checkpoints
  1. When someone flashes their brights at you, slow. It likely means we have a checkpoint up ahead.
  2. When you will find checkpoints don’t go the interest rate limit. Go significantly under the pace limit. There are often operate stop signs around the side and you also definitely don’t desire to blow by using a checkpoint.
  3. Speaking of checkpoints, you will discover TONS ones. Taghazout to Essaouira is under a three-hour drive and that we encountered four checkpoints. But donrrrt worry on getting pulled over.
  4. Be careful what roads maps tell that you take! If you can go on a highway most in the way and cut in through on the smaller road, it will be better doing this than using smaller roads completely.
For example, Essuarai to Sidi Kaouki, maps told us to look at P2201 substantially reality, taking N1 and flipping on P2216 would have been a FAR better choice, for all of us and the car. Alternatively, sometimes taking the from the track roads is usually fun. Choose your adventures wisely whilst keeping time and potential car damage under consideration!
  • Hope you don’t get car sick!​
  1. Always. Not only does it offer paths, walking trails, and frequently better routes than Google maps, it is usually used offline, which means you don’t deplete all your data. Don’t forget to download the maps throughout wifi before your journey. It’s also beneficial to pointing out dirt roads that Google Maps totally eliminates!
  2. On the same note, Maps.Me is often a fun tool to seek out things. Click “sites” to look at what’s who are around you. There are viewpoints, castles, ruins and much more that are for this map which will not be on Google Maps. Not every sight is worth it nevertheless it’s fun to experience!
  3. Take directions having a grain of salt because it sometimes says “turn left/right” and it’s really a sharp turn because roads are windy. So always make certain your routes and don’t make hasty turns.
  4. Always grab the maps estimated time that has a weary side eye, comparable to that look your mom gave you once you said you're “sleeping your friend’s house” as being a teenager. It’s by and large going to be more than it says. Stops, road conditions, donkey traffic… lots sometimes happens. Always overestimate and turn into especially careful once you’re cutting it near to driving through the night.
  • ​​Driving Etiquette, or Lack Thereof
  1. ​Sometimes people drive inside middle with the road. I’m likely to go ahead and say it’s since the sides in the road might get a bit crumbly but I think they simply drive this way anyway! The lines are simply decoration. Just weave, wave, and become the defensive driver-always!
  1. On a similar note, it’s very likely that you’ll function as one to move over when driving. They move over on the last possible minute or sometimes hardly in any way! Just reduce early and move over.
  2. When you’re on mountain passes or roads where it’s challenging to see to pass through someone, it’s kind to help out using a hand gesture out of the window that it’s safe for your car behind to feed you while you decelerate a bit and consider the shoulder when they pass. And of course, if you’re trying to pass through, you’ll now understand when someone does this for you.
  3. When dealing with towns and cities it’s common to the right-hand lane to be used to be a parking area. When driving because lane, be mindful as cars sometimes literally stop by the lane all of any sudden.
  • Road Conditions
  1. Be careful around rainy season! Are the roads washed away? Have rocks fallen? Just be watchful about some roads and have around. We even encountered a road washed away if we went too far off of the path (#noregrets). It became a dirt path for around a mile but luckily still OK enough they are driving down. Some rocks about the mountain passes are about to fall every day now plus the rains can speed that process up!
  2. All roads will have at the very least one lane for every single side nevertheless it doesn’t mean it’s actually sufficient for two cars. Some roads, even about the slightly scary mountains passes are sufficient for 1.5 cars at best. The main highways are definitely more “normal.”
  3. Before going on very long stretches of drives, particularly the “tizis” ask! The Tizi n ‘Test road is at bad condition earlier (potholes galore using a mountain pass-no thanks!). We asked a nearby, our friend Brahim from the awesome desert tour, bed mattress it now and that he said it’s fixed and ready to go.
  • Planning Your Morocco Road Trip… or Not
  1. ​​Only plan about 50% from the trip. Get a couple of ideas sorted and then try to book accommodation per day or so out as the cheaper places can fill a bit. The last thing you would like to do inside a new city, after driving around Morocco throughout the day, is usually to go hotel hunting.
  2. On a similar note, only plan about 50% in the places you would like to go since there will be a lot of surprise stops as you go along. Guaranteed. A dusty click while driving around Morocco.
  • Other Driving in Morocco Tips
  1. Don’t stop for children flagging you down within the side in the road, particularly across the road heading north from Ait Ben Haddou. They simply want someone to stop so that you can hand them some change.
  2. Remain vigilant ALWAYS. Around sharp turns, inside the cities, when animals are around… You’re destined to be fine nevertheless, you also need to take notice a bit more than you’re employed to.
  3. The main road letters and which road they can be:
- N roads will be the main highways as well as the easiest to push with reasonably new tar drive an automobile on.
- R roads really are a bit less reliable. R106 towards Taliouine will be where we experienced several dirt road patches and even some watched away bridges (however the river was dry). Everything was fine, but something to keep under consideration!
- P roads include the smaller roads which are often designed for a car, maybe an automobile and half to adjust to on. The conditions were decent enough though.
  • Renting a Car in Morocco
Grabbing a vehicle rental in Morocco is decently easy, just be aware where you understand. We always find our deals on Auto Europe or Holiday Autos, it’s where find the cheapest rentals. It´s certainly an important advise, booking one ahead of your energy as well depending on if you come over.
When picking your automobile up, like my tip mentioned previously, check almost every nook and cranny. Get it on video as well as the papers, even film the inspection while using worker. Do anything you can to avoid wasting your butt.

Grab a vehicle and just GO! On that note, ensure that you’re actually obtaining the car you booked and don’t fall victim to their tricks. Blaming a scratch you, seeking to guilt you into a coverage add-on after you prebooked insurance… They will do it if they can! Just put your foot down, have it recorded, and triple check everything.

Are you thinking about taking a Morocco journey? Where? Let us know your plans from the comments!


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