MOROCCO
December 2009
The border with Algeria have been closed for years and won't open any time soon
Morocco Overland ~ new book and online resource
Currency
Dirham. 11dh
= 1 euro; 12dh = £1. In some places you can pay in . euros.
Price
of fuel
7.4 dh for diesel,
11.4 dh for unleaded petrol (where available).
Western Sahara
(south of Tan-Tan): diesel
5.2dh; leaded about 8dh (no unleaded down here yet, but it's coming).
In the
Mediterranean Spanish port enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla
the price of duty free fuel is now about the same
as northern Morocco, certainly for diesel which is €0.68 or about 20 cents
less than mainland Spain where unleaded petrol is almost the same price. In other words unleaded may be cheaper in the enclaves than Morocco.
Costs
Moderate
Languages
French,
Arabic, English
Visas
In most cases not required in advance. New Zealand and South Africa are among the exceptions.
Border
formalities
Relatively straightforward
from Spain or Mauritania.
Fill out an immigration card (sometimes found on the boat). Show to police and get passport stamped plus get 'CIN' ID number stamped in passport if you've not been to Morocco before on that passport.
No carnet needed;
they issue a green, white, yellow A5 carbon copied
temporary vehicle import permit: 'TVIP' or Declaration
d'admission temporaire de moyens de transport - or D16. Instructions and link on how to fill it out online in advance are here,
A Green Card extension to your EU motor insurance is valid in Morocco but is hard to get from many UK insurers these days (motorhomes are an exception). You can buy local insurance ('assurance') at most ports or the first town for 876dh
a month for a car or bike.
The border with Algeria has been closed since 1994 and although Morocco may wish otherwise, it's unlikely to open anytime soon.
Desert
pistes
Morocco
is more popular than ever these days and
rightly so; it's the best
place to explore the fringes of the Sahara without a trans-Saharan
commitment and while not long, some of
the routes as as impressive in their
own way as anything elsewhere in the Sahara. My new book: Morocco Overland - from the Atlas to the Sahara supercedes the 13 routes in Sahara Overland II, reprinted in 2005.
The ability to roam
through the Western
Sahara area south of Tan-Tan is restricted.
All you can really do here is transit
past Layounne and Dakhla to the Mauritanian
border north of Nouadhibou along the Atlantic highway; mostly cliffs but
a bit more interesting and with easier
beach access after Cape Boujdour (it's fully described in the new book). Try
to go inland you'll come across the
militarized 'Berm' which
separates the Moroccan-controlled coastal
portion from the Polisario Free Zone inland
(see p.458 of Sahara Overland for more details).
In the Western Sahara checkpoints are frequent and handing out a pre-printed form with your details saves time, although one hears they are getting less strict with tourists. You can download a Word template by clicking this.
From
Morocco to Mauritania
The new fuel station right on the frontier at N21° 21.8' W16° 57.6', will be open by September 2009, 80-odd kms south of Motel Barabas
where there is also fuel and food. The next fuel is up to double
the price in Nouadhibou or on the road
south to Nouakchott after Bou Lanouar. Because of this the Mauritanians may not take well to Moroccan fuel in jerricans.
As you near the Mauritanian border you
pass the fort and then
get to the actual border compound itself (N21° 20.0' W16° 56.8'). Park
up and go to the police (furthest on
the right) to fill out an exit card and
get passport stamped, then go to the
Customs next door who'll come to your
vehicle and take the green part of your TVIP off you (you
keep the white bit). Then drive forward
to the gendarmerie who will check your
passport and docs and let you out onto
the winding rubble road which ends in
5kms at the Mauritanian frontier.
For
full details on the Moroccan-Mauritanian
border see the bottom
of the Mauritania page.
