Morocco (again) Advice Required

spigot

spigot

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Thinking of going to Morocco in Feb, I'm a total newbie on this one. We will be in Spain & will most likely will want to go further south for some warmth. Better do it now before we're too old & decrepit

Is Carlos at Algeciras the best way to travel by ferry?

Does one need any special jabs?

What is the green card I've heard talk of?

What about booze?, I've been known to enjoy a beer or three in the evenings & Morocco being a Muslim country, this may be difficult. I can't stock up at Lidl in Algeciras as I've only a 5 metre campervan.

Where is the best to place buy Dirhams?

Can you seasoned travellers recommend some good wilding spots? or is it better to use Campsites, I've heard they're cheap.

Anything I've left out? all advice gratefully received.

Many thanks, Mike & Marguerite.
 
spigot said:
Thinking of going to Morocco in Feb, I'm a total newbie on this one. We will be in Spain & will most likely will want to go further south for some warmth. Better do it now before we're too old & decrepit

Is Carlos at Algeciras the best way to travel by ferry?

Does one need any special jabs?

What is the green card I've heard talk of?

What about booze?, I've been known to enjoy a beer or three in the evenings & Morocco being a Muslim country, this may be difficult. I can't stock up at Lidl in Algeciras as I've only a 5 metre campervan.

Where is the best to place buy Dirhams?

Can you seasoned travellers recommend some good wilding spots? or is it better to use Campsites, I've heard they're cheap.

Anything I've left out? all advice gratefully received.

Many thanks, Mike & Marguerite.
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Carlos was closed (Easter holiday) when we wanted to a book ferry, but there are plenty of ticket sellers across the road from the port.
No inoculations required.
An insurance Green Card is highly desirable. It extends your vehicle insurance to cover you in Morocco, but not many UK companies will issue them. You can buy insurance at ports in Morocco, but it will be in Arabic and possibly not worth the paper it's printed on. Insurance is essential, of course, and you face arrest if you don't have it.
Most 'alcohol' sold in Moroccan shops is in fact alcohol free if you read the label. The real stuff can be found, but not particularly easily. A fairly decent lager is brewed in Casablanca, but I've only found it in England!
Dirhams are readily available at the ports in Morocco and most towns have ATMs.
Plenty of space for wilding in the Sahara ;) Other than that you're probably better off on camp sites, which are very cheap compared to UK and Europe. Hotels are also generally very cheap.
You'd do very well to buy a copy of Camping Morocco. As well as the somewhat outdated site listings there is a wealth of useful info for first time travellers.
To date, Morocco is our favourite destination, and probably the safest, and that includes UK.
 
Steve121 said:
.....................................................................................
To date, Morocco is our favourite destination, and probably the safest, and that includes UK.
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Not sure about that,I have never been to Morocco,by all accounts it is a beautiful country and an excellent motorhome destination,however in the present political climate I think it's too risky for western europeans to travel to a muslim country which follows Islamic laws.The government foreign travel advice confirms there is a high risk of terrorism

Morocco travel advice - GOV.UK

I think all the countries in the N.African region are potentially dangerous for western tourists at the moment,Algeria which borders Morocco is also risky....Algeria travel advice - GOV.UK

and also remember what happened in Tunisia. 2015 Sousse attacks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
A few use Carlos but we went to the port and went inside terminal, did not use the guys outside, inside their are 6-8 kiosks has their were 4 of us we went to 4 and picked the best deal
Yes you will need jabs see your doctor.
Not many insurance companies will do a green card but I am over 65 so used saga who do.
Because I do not drink no interest in booze, but other guys did take wine did not see anywhere that sold it.
You can ask at the kiosk some times they will change your money, if not wait till you get to Morocco.
First night we camped at Chefchaun then in the desert.

There is good advice on here for other things.



here are some links to douments needed for Morocco


first is a document for importing your motor

http://www.douane.gov.ma/web/16/45#http://www.douane.gov.ma/d16ter/Presentation.jsf


next an explaination how to fill in, from Chris Scotts book

404 - File or directory not found.


next is a doc to fill in if you have a accident

404 - File or directory not found.


next is a doc to fill in with your name and passport dedails you can give to ploice or hotel instead of passport

you wil find it down the page on Chris Scotts page, fiche.doc


If you can buy one of Chris Scotts books

Sahara overland a route and planning guide *isbn number 1-873756-26-7


Morocco overland isbn978-1-905864-53-9


A nother good book by Chris is Overlanders Handbook isbn
 
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wakk44 said:
Not sure about that,I have never been to Morocco,by all accounts it is a beautiful country and an excellent motorhome destination,however in the present political climate I think it's too risky for western europeans to travel to a muslim country which follows Islamic laws.The government foreign travel advice confirms there is a high risk of terrorism

Morocco travel advice - GOV.UK

I think all the countries in the N.African region are potentially dangerous for western tourists at the moment,Algeria which borders Morocco is also risky....Algeria travel advice - GOV.UK

and also remember what happened in Tunisia. 2015 Sousse attacks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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If you have never been how can you say it is not good, have been twice not a problem.

Morrocons are not the same as other muslin countries, and the people are great very friendly and helpful.
 
roamingman said:
If you have never been how can you say it is not good, have been twice not a problem.

Morrocons are not the same as other muslin countries, and the people are great very friendly and helpful.
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I said ''it is a beautiful country and an excellent motorhome destination'',I have no doubt that the people are friendly.I was pointing out the potential for a terrorist incident.I would love to go to Morocco but in the present political environment am not prepared to take the risk.If you go there then I wish you all the best and hope you enjoy a trouble free trip.
 
wakk44 said:
I said ''it is a beautiful country and an excellent motorhome destination'',I have no doubt that the people are friendly.I was pointing out the potential for a terrorist incident.I would love to go to Morocco but in the present political environment am not prepared to take the risk.If you go there then I wish you all the best and hope you enjoy a trouble free trip.
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Sorry but if you read all the British government says you should not go anywhere.
But unstand your worries.
 
Can recommend this campsite if you are near Marrakech. Good bar, good enough for a few nights stop over.

le-relais

Even if its only a few bits, I'd stock up on beer and wine in France or Spain. You can buy alcohol, but takes a bit of shopping around and it more expensive. Alcohol is easier to get in the Berber areas.
 
The 18 most dangerous countries for British travellers (according to FCO)

wakk44 said:
Not sure about that,I have never been to Morocco,by all accounts it is a beautiful country and an excellent motorhome destination,however in the present political climate I think it's too risky for western europeans to travel to a muslim country which follows Islamic laws.The government foreign travel advice confirms there is a high risk of terrorism

Morocco travel advice - GOV.UK

I think all the countries in the N.African region are potentially dangerous for western tourists at the moment,Algeria which borders Morocco is also risky....Algeria travel advice - GOV.UK

and also remember what happened in Tunisia. 2015 Sousse attacks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Click to expand...

NOTE: Morocco isn't on either list.

The 18 most dangerous countries for British travellers (according to FCO):

Afghanistan
Burundi
Central African Republic
Chad
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Guinea
Iraq
Libya
Mauritania
Niger
Palestinian territories
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Somaliland
South Sudan
Syria
Tunisia
Yemen

The 45 partially dangerous countries for British tourists (according to FCO):

Algeria
Angola
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Burkina Faso
Burma (Myanmar)
Cambodia
Cameroon
Colombia
Djibouti
Ecuador
Egypt
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Georgia
Haiti
India
Iran
Israel
Ivory Coast
Japan
Jordan
Kenya
Kosovo
Lebanon
Madagascar
Malaysia
Mali
Nepal
Nigeria
Pakistan
Philippines
Republic of Congo
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Sudan
Tajikistan
Thailand
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
Venezuela
Western Sahara
 
if i could afford it i'd go again ! loved the place and the people,even after a few misunderstandings and run-ins. very hospitable people- speak a bit of French,it'll help, learn one Arabic word- shukran,thank you, don't ever patronise,but pay your way like a gentleman ! there's an art to bribery and tipping without offending ,and it helps a lot to get it right ! if someone offers to sell you hash, turn them down firmly,but with a smile.or if you want some-negotiate !
if you're going to haggle,don't mess about-if they want a tenner,offer a quid,let them know you're serious !
i can almost guarantee you'll laugh every day- i know we did !
 
Hi Mike & Marguerite
We are entering Morocco on Fri. We will be there for 90days like last year. Heading to Tafroute to laze about in the hot sun:) I have limited wifi at present but will be online fri with Maroc telecoms data sim and will post then, most of the questions have already been answered by our great community, you can pm me if you have any reservations can point you in the right direction. As I said we will be there till April if you want to meet up, also I am meeting several others we met last year. Great time here
Chat soon
Marc & Sam
P.s make sure you bring your stash of Funtador in don't want you guys drinking all my Poetuguese fire water
We are in Rota tonight will be in Algerciras tomorrow. Safe travels
 
Vehicle Documents

Do I need customs clearance for the vehicle?, or do the ferry operators arrange this.
 
spigot said:
Do I need customs clearance for the vehicle?, or do the ferry operators arrange this.
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You must complete a declaration of temporary importation form (D16TER) before leaving the ferry and entering Morocco.
This document is more important than your passport as you'll discover if you try to leave the country without it.
The ferry ticket agents will have the forms and some may complete it for you. Some understanding of the French language will be extremely useful. Motorhomes and Campervans are called Camping Cars.
You'll also need to complete a very basic visa/passport form; again these are available on board the ferry and possibly at ticket agents.
 
Doesn't matter much which crossing you do, expect getting in to Morocco to be a pain in the butt. Nothing you can do about it, just relax and enjoy the mayhem. If you get through in about 40 minutes, you've done well, expect an hour or even 90 mins though.

If you go the Tangier route, you'll exit ferry straight into border/cutoms, the Ceuta route, you have a few KM's before you get to border. At both you will have blokes waving bits of paper at you, some may be in hi vis, some even have home made badges, all to make them look official. None of them are.

Here you have an option, take the papers from them, in which case you have entered some sort of agreement, and they will help you through the process in return of around €20, which you only give them at the very last minute before exiting border control.

Or, you go to the various custom kiosks yourself, and just work the whole process out for yourself. It's not hard, if you have the right head on, although it can be massively infuriating too, just keep smiling. :)

I have done both methods, and paying for papers does make the process easier, only you can decide whether it's worth €20.

I have a bit of additional hassle, because my van is still registered as a van. The first bloke does the paperwork according to reg documents, stamps and signs the bit of paper and sends you to another bloke. He looks at the vehicle, see's it's a camper, stamps and signs the bit of paper and sends you back to the first bloke, he then looks at the reg documents again, stamps and signs the paper and sends you back. This continues till there is no room left on the paper to stamp, and then two bloke decide to walk the 20 metres and chat to each other. Then you go on your way, sorted.

On my last visit (Tangier) I spent around an hour trying to get the vehicle papers from the official customs men, they had me going from one person to the next like an idiot, in the end I went to one of the touts, paperwork got done in 10 minute. They are all in it together, lol, Look at it as a tourist tax. :)

You will be met by touts when leaving too, absolutely no reason to use them, as the exiting is a much easier.
 
In March 2015 we sailed Algeciras - Tanger Med. Our ticket agent had completed our D16TER, although we could easily have done it ourselves. If entering by this port you MUST have your passports stamped on board at the Customs desk.
Once on dry land we drove the short distance to the Customs post and after about 30 mins we were driving in Morocco. No hassles whatsoever and no money handed over.
Worth getting a timetable for the return journey - these can be obtained from any of the ticket offices.
Boarding the return ferry can be quite entertaining. Sniffer dogs sent into vehicle, which itself was X-Rayed along with all the other motorhomes.
In 2007 we sailed Algeciras - Ceuta where it took a lot longer to clear Customs and it was swarming with touts.
Touts are banned from entering the actual port at Tanger Med, but you'll see plenty of them on the access road. Ignore them and just drive past.
 
Just shows you, I did the Tarifa-Tangier crossing Dec 14 and there were a few touts there, nothing like Ceuta though. Thats why I said "they are all in it together" because it is a secured area.
 
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