How to visit Morocco in a motorhome or converted van?
Visiting a country by motorhome, van or camper van always offers more freedom than relying on public transport and hotel infrastructure. Why not visit Morocco in a camper van or van van and sleep almost under the stars, in a breathtaking natural environment? You won’t have to look up the rates and opening hours of Moroccan hotels and riads, and you can stop wherever you like (as long as you park in places authorized or tolerated by the local authorities).
Morocco is one of the most popular tourist destinations for the French. And tourism is the second-largest contributor to Morocco’s GDP, with 12.3 million tourists visiting the country in 2018. And for good reason: with its natural capital, architecture, historical and cultural heritage, Morocco – between the cities of Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Fès Agadir, Meknes, the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert – is replete with wonders to see.
Here’s our mini-guide to Morocco by motorhome and converted van!
Route ideas in Morocco by motorhome
Photo credit: Shutterstock / Balate Dorin
Morocco is a vast country covering 446,550 km², and its culture is so rich that several trips are possible in a single stay in Morocco. Your trip will be different depending on whether you visit Morocco by motorhome for its cultural sites, its sublime sandy beaches, its unspoilt wilderness, its Berber villages dyed ochre and red in the middle of the desert, its imperial cities, medinas or souks. Morocco is a bridge between tradition and modernity. There’s so much to see and do in Morocco, you’ll need several visits to explore all its secrets.
Between Marrakech, the Atlas mountains, Meknes, Fez, Essaouira, Casablanca, the Erg Chebbi dunes, Chefchaouen, the Dades gorges, Tafraout, the Drâa valley, Ouarzazate, Rabat and Agadir, it’s hard to put together a comprehensive itinerary for visiting Morocco in a motorhome or van.
FromSpain, or by renting a motorhome (van or camper van) locally, you’ll find that there are as many possible itineraries as there are tastes. You can either cover the whole country, racking up the sights from north to south and east to west – but that’s going to be a race – or you can narrow down your area. But it’s only by staying for several weeks that you’ll have the time to discover an authentic Morocco, and meet its people.
Here are some ideas for routes along Moroccan roads:
- 1 week: Fez (souks, medina, medersas), Sefrou, Meknes and the imperial city, Moulay-Idriss, the Roman ruins of Volubilis, Casablanca,
- 15 days: same itinerary, plus the south with the Ourika valley, Marrakech, Ouarzazate, hikes in the Atlas mountains, El Jadida, Essaouira, Agadir, Tafraout and Taroudant,
- 1 month: same itinerary, plus Drâa Valley, Tizi-n-Tichka road, Todgha gorges, Dadès gorges, Merzouga, Ouzoud and Béni Mellal waterfalls, Aït-Bougmez valley, Chefchaouen, Tangier.
Photo Credit : Caramaps
Photo Credit : Caramaps
Photo Credit : Caramaps
Please note: Of course, these stage ideas are only indicative, and you can prune this program as you wish. Your itinerary will differ according to whether you wish to follow a tourist itinerary or spend longer in the villages to get to know the local population.
How and where to rent a motorhome in France?
Would you like to discover Morocco by ferry from France with your camper van, for example? It’s now easy to rent a motorhome in France. How can you do this? By using platforms such as Yescapa to put renters in touch with private owners of motorhomes.
How does it work?
- First, you need to choose the motorhome in your city (e.g. Bordeaux, Nantes, Toulouse, Paris, Montpellier or Marseille).
- Make sure you choose unlimited mileage, check the number of berths available and whether international travel is possible.
- Make your rental request online and share your travel information (dates, rental options, mileage, etc.) with the owner.
- If your request is accepted and after payment, you will have access to the owner’s contact details to arrange a first meeting.
- On the day, present your driver’s license and pay the deposit.
- An inventory of fixtures is drawn up and a rental contract signed by both parties. On your return, after having traveled the Moroccan roads, you sign the return inventory and that’s it!
How and where to rent a motorhome in Morocco?
Photo credit: Shutterstock / Laurens Hoddenbagh
Would you like to discover all the different facets of Morocco, all aboard a motorhome? If you prefer to rent one directly on site, it’s advisable to make an online reservation in advance to ensure that there are vehicles available on your arrival.
To buy a motorhome, we recommend you use an online motorhome and converted van rental platform. These sites are now legion on the road-trip and wild camping market. The principle is simple: you choose the vehicle you want – based on the daily price, the type of camper/van/convertible van and the vehicle’s equipment – and send a rental request to the owner.
A final step awaits you: the receipt of a confirmation e-mail after your online payment. You can then set off on your Morocco Road Trip with complete peace of mind!
Book your motorhome for Morocco
Driving a motorhome in Morocco: traffic rules you need to know
Photo credit: Shutterstock / Adwo
Are you wondering whether it’s safe or difficult to drive in Morocco to visit it in a motorhome or converted van? If people say that driving in Morocco is dangerous, it’s a prejudice: it’s only dangerous in the big cities. But the Cherifian Empire is an excellent country to visit by motorhome.
Before getting into the subject, here’s some good news: there are plenty of petrol stations in the country, and prices are much lower than in France (around €1 per liter). Please note that, to drive and visit Morocco in a motorhome, a French driving license is sufficient. What’s more, there’s no need to apply for a visa for stays of less than 90 days (only a passport is required).
Safety and equipment
The vehicle must be equipped with a reflective vest, a spare wheel and a warning triangle in the event of an accident. Seatbelts must be fastened for all passengers.
Traffic
As in France, driving is on the right-hand lane, with overtaking on the left. The state of the road network is constantly improving, as the government is investing heavily in road infrastructure. However, you need to be extra careful, as motorists (scooters and motorcyclists) can be dangerous.
Take care when driving at night, as obstacles are often invisible. Beware, too, of mountain roads. Some of them – with a significant overhang – have no guardrails. Another tip: when crossing the road, if the traffic lights malfunction, listen to the horns to know what to do.
Blood alcohol
The blood alcohol level is 0. As Morocco is a Muslim country, the government has no tolerance for alcohol. It’s best not to try even one drink before driving, as penalties can include imprisonment.
Speed limits
In Morocco, speed limits are as follows:
- 40 km/h in city centers,
- 60 km/h in built-up areas,
- 100 km/h outside built-up areas,
- 120 km/h on freeways.
Make sure you keep to the speed limit, as there are plenty of police officers equipped with speed cameras and binoculars, even in remote areas: fines abound in Morocco!
Freeway tolls in Morocco: what price for your category of motorhome?
Photo Credit: Shutterstock / Ambasador
As the Moroccan system is inspired by the French « model », there are toll freeways in Morocco, particularly on the highways linking the country’s major cities. If you’re visiting Morocco by motorhome, you’ll pay class 2 tolls if your 2-axle vehicle is over 130 cm high.
The Moroccan motorway network measures 1,839 kilometers and the network of free expressways 1,093 kilometers, making it one of the densest networks on the African continent.
The freeways, marked with blue signs, are as follows:
- A1: Tangier-Kenitra-Rabat-Casablanca-El Jadida-Safi,
- A2: Rabat-Meknès-Fès-Taza-Oujda,
- A3: Casablanca urban freeway,
- A4: Tanger Med-Tanger,
- A5: Rabat bypass,
- A6: Fnideq-Tetouan,
- A7: Casablanca-Marrakech-Agadir,
- A8: Berrechid-Khourribga-Béni Mellal.
Here is a range of rates for the busiest stretches of freeway, in class 2:
- Casablanca-Rabat: 34 DH (€3.18),
- Rabat-Tanger: 120 DH (€11.24),
- Casablanca-Marrakech: 120 DH (€11.24),
- Rabat-Fès: 76 DH (€7.12)
- Marrakech-Agadir: 152 DH (€14.23).
Rates are actually much lower than in France!
RV parks in Morocco: where to park?
Photo Credit : Caramaps
Backcountry camping
In Morocco, as in France, wild camping is forbidden. But there are some nuances: visiting Morocco in a camper van or van and stopping at a parking space (for example) is less like wild camping than free bivouac. Provided, however, that you don’t set up tables, chairs, gas stoves and deckchairs on the public highway. In any case, you’ll find more and more campsites in Morocco, even if the pitches can be very rudimentary, consisting of a dry, rocky area with simple access to sanitary facilities.
Parking
As in France, you can park in all regular parking spaces, but avoid parking to sleep in built-up areas, city centers and isolated spots, especially near the borders with Mauritania andAlgeria .
You can always try our favorite road-trip app: Park4night. This mobile application is quite simply a road-trip bible for visiting Morocco by motorhome, van or camper van (and for all other European countries). It’s a tool for sharing the places where travelers in vans and motorhomes have bivouacked. You’ll no longer have to spend long hours wandering around to find THE « spot » to spend a night, sometimes with the stress of being turned away by the police or a night cut short by a late arrival.
The application references a multitude of places: campsites, motorhome parks, free or paid parking spaces, outdoor activities. You compare the comments and reviews (rated out of 5 stars) and can use the GPS coordinates to guide you to the location indicated on an interactive map, provided you have a mobile data network. And that’s not guaranteed outside Moroccan urban areas!
How do I get to Morocco in a motorhome?
Photo credit: Shutterstock / Mikadun
Morocco and its wide open spaces are easy to discover by motorhome. There are two ways to get to Morocco by motorhome: one with many ferries, the other with few.
Ferrying to Morocco from France is possible from Marseille with a ferry company. However, the journey is not always insured and, above all, the bill usually comes to over €1,000 for two people and a vehicle! In other words, this is not really the most advisable option.
By far the best option, depending on your departure city, is to cross France and thenSpain. The main cost will be petrol, and you should expect to pay between €160 and €210 per crossing, depending on the speed and fuel consumption of your vehicle.
From Spain, you can reach Ceuta or Tangier Med. Ceuta is one of two Spanish enclaves in Morocco. The crossing between Algeciras and Ceuta has the advantage of being quick, but the disadvantage of being more complex. It is therefore advisable to go to Tanger Med, still from Algeciras, or from Tarifa, further south. Allow around €200 per crossing, all inclusive.
When is the best time to travel by camper van in Morocco?
Photo Credit: Shutterstock / Steve Photography
When should you visit Morocco in a motorhome or van? Morocco has a wide range of climates, due to its great geographical diversity. Summer can be torrid, especially when there’s a sirocco wind, and there can be a wide range of temperatures in the desert (cold nights, torrid days). Rainfall can be heavy in the mountains of the Rif and Middle Atlas, except in summer.
Although Morocco’s climate is generally Mediterranean, the country is also influenced by Atlantic currents, with a hot, dry season combined with a cold, wet one. In southern Morocco and the Saharan regions, on the other hand, the climate is dry and desert-like. Depending on the region visited, the climate is balanced by oceanic, Mediterranean, mountain, continental and Saharan influences.
Spring (April and May) and early autumn (October) are the best times to visit Morocco in a camper van or van. The weather is dry, and temperatures are neither suffocating nor freezing.
However, even in winter, you can visit Morocco by motorhome. But without climbing to the snow-covered heights of the Atlas Mountains. Days can be pleasant (25°C) on the plains, and the weather is mild all year round along the Atlantic coast. For example, average temperatures in Agadir are 21°C in December, 20°C in January and 21.5°C in February. Beware, however, that it will logically be much cooler in the north.