Road to Morocco

Has anyone here got any experience of riding a motorcycle in Morocco?

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Hi Saul, yes I have. Myself and pillion spent a couple of weeks there in 2017. Rode down through Spain to Algerciras and crossed to Tangier-Med. What can I fill you in on?

We were (emphasis on ā€˜wereā€™) planning a week there in October but it it seems Rachel only has 2 days holiday left this year. :person_facepalming: But I still fancy seeing a bit of the country on two at some point. Most likely hiring bikes when weā€™re out there, probably from Marrakesh.

How would you describe the experience there in two wheels? What are the good and bad points, things to look out for, that sort of thing?

Marrakech is a typical city, full of bad traffic, thieves, grifters etc. the countryside is beautiful, as are most of the people. Food is very good, Tagines are safe to eat, as are skewers of lamb or goat from the street vendors. Bottled water ONLY! beware the equivalent of Delhi belly, it hit me hard after a few days and Immodium is a must for the sponge bag. Roads vary from crap to fantastic, often within metres. Petrol widely available and cheap, but always fill up at every opportunity! The Atlas mountains are breath-taking, Tiziā€™nā€™test pass and Tiziā€™nā€™tichka pass likewise. Towns to visit, Chefchouan (the blue city), Essaouria (coast). Try and make this a several days trip, there is much to see. But you could always treat it as a taster session and come back again. I would love to do it again, but the other half found the heat too much for her, most days in the 30s in October.

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Good post Paul. I would also consider Buscopan as well as lmmodium. Quick working and effective. I did 3 weeks work in Egypt some years ago and was less than eight stone when l got home. Wish lā€™d known about it then. Stomach bugs can hit hard in that part of the worldā€¦

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I donā€™t imagine Iā€™ll be attempting it, but it sounds like a great experience.

PS
I donā€™t know if itā€™s just me, but the title ā€˜Road to Moroccoā€™ makes me think of 1950s films involving Sid James, Hattie Jacques and Barbara Windsor. (OK, it probably is just me.)

If you happen to end up within the city walls of Marrakesh and fancy going out after dark itā€™s a maze of alley ways.
I thought I knew where I was ( ā€œ the Riad is next to the mosque, we canā€™t miss itā€) , unfortunately thereā€™s many mosques in the walled city. We were lost for hoursā€¦!
It was 5 hours on the plane but 500 years backwards in lots of ways. I enjoyed it but wouldnā€™t go again.
It took me two weeks to get my stomach functioning properly after we got backā€¦.

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The Tiziā€™nā€™test pass is exactly where I was thinking of going and the reason I thought about getting bikes out there inthe forst place. I thought Essaouria would be a nive run out as well. As you say, not all doable in one day.

Itā€™s just you. :grin: This is what I had in mindā€¦

Oh well, I suppose I was half right. Mixing up my ā€˜Roadsā€™ with my ā€˜Carry onsā€™. :slightly_smiling_face:

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