MOROCCO

June 2010

 

The border with Algeria has been closed for years and won't open any time soon

Morocco Overland
2009 book and online resource

 

Moroccan dirham exchage rates
In some places you can pay in euros.

Price of fuel
7.5dh for diesel,
10.4dh for unleaded 95-octane petrol (widely available now it seems).
Western Sahara (south of Tan-Tan): diesel 5.5dh; leaded about 7.5dh (no unleaded down here yet, but it's coming).
In the Spanish port enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla the price of diesel is now more than northern Morocco, €0.92 or 10.1dh. Unleaded petrol is almost the same as Morocco, €0.99 or 10.9dh. In other words diesel is cheaper in Morocco, petrol is the same.

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 2009 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.