5 MOROCCO

5 April 2008

For up to date Maroc chat check out the forum

Much useful info (including entry forms) also on Tim Cullis' thread/page

Currency
Dirham 11dh = 1 euro
; £1 = 14

Price of fuel
7.4 dh diesel, about 10.5 dh petrol.
Western Sahara (south of Tan Tan) prices: diesel 4.25dh; unleaded 6.2dh.
In the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilia the price of is now about the same as northern Morocco and not much less than mainland Spain.

Costs
Moderate

Languages
French, Arabic, English

Visas
In most cases obtained at the border.

Border formalities
Relatively straightforward from Spain or Mauritania and contrary to what the book says I am told arriving at Tangiers port can now be smooth and hustler free (or at least they all have numbered badges now) with clear signed access to the city or the motorway south.
No carnet needed; they issue a green + white A5 carbon copied temporary import document (Declaration d'admission temporaire de moyens de transport).
A Green Card extension to your EU motor insurance is valid in Morocco, or buy at most ports at about 2 euros a day for a car.
The border with Algeria has been closed since 1994 and although Morocco would 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 spectacular in their own way as anything elsewhere in the Sahara.
The 1500km traversal of the Moroccan Sahara from Tan Tan on the Atlantic past Erg Chebbi and up to Figuig is as good as it gets (it's all in the current edition), especially with excursions north into the wonderful Anti Atlas, Jebel Sarhro, etc.

Access throught the Western Sahara area south of Tan Tan (formerly Spanish Sahara) is more restricted; essentially occupied by Morocco after the Spanish dropped the colony in the late 1970s. All you can really do here is transit past Layounne and Dakhla to the Mauritanian border north of Nouadhibou along the rather dull Atlantic highway; mostly cliffs but a bit more interesting and with easier beach access after Cape Boujdour. Try to go inland you'll soon come across the militarized 'Berm' (a sand wall) which separates the Moroccan-controlled coastal portion from the Polisario Free Zone inland (see p.458 of the book for more details). A good read about the gruelling aftermath of an 1812 American shipwreck in this area is Skeletons on the Zahara.

From Morocco to Mauritania
The last fuel is a hotel/shop/cafe about 86kms before the actual frontier at N22 03.2 W14 44.8, well after Dakhla junction (also fuel). The next fuel is up to double the price in Nouadhibou or on the road to Nouakchott after Bou Lanouar. On the way to the frontier there is easy beach access in a 4WD for camping. On the way to the frontier there is good beach access for camping. As you near the border you pass the fort and old convoy assembly point (orange taxis waiting) and then get to the border compound itself. 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 will come to your car and take the green form 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


© Chris Scott, 1998-2008. Important Notice: These websites operate on Fijian Standard Time (FST)