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Gandini guides, worth it? Gandini guides, worth it?
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Morocco Topics specific to Morocco, including Western Sahara west of the berm
Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

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Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  • 1 Post By vrecha
  • 1 Post By Chris Scott

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  #1  
Old 19 May 2021
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Gandini guides, worth it?
I am currently planning my first Morocco motorcycle trip.
Looking at the Gandini guides I see that most .gpx date back to 2016.
Are these still of any use today?
And more general: are the Gandini guides useful for motorcycle travel in the first place?

Thanks for your advice!
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  #2  
Old 19 May 2021
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I can comment only on the part VI (Le sahara "atlantique") as I know the area and people there quite well and can compare the info in the guidebook with my first hand experience.
So for the part VI, I think is worth its weight in gold, especially if you have an ambition to explore inland for the first time. Here I speak about technical info, gathered in the guidebook (gps points, info on various main pistes, collection of POI etc.) Other information, especially historical notes, are heavily biased. One of the most laughable aspects are the descriptions of the life of local Saharawi (semi)nomads and most recommendations on best behaviour for a tourist. That said, I can repeat that from the purely technical viewpoint, the guidebook is very good and very reliable source of info. I wouldn't hesitate to have other guidebooks from the series if I was interested in other parts of Morocco.
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  #3  
Old 19 May 2021
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Used Part III Seguit Al Hamra extensively and found it excellent even though I cannot speak French.But you to spend a little time in the area to get use from it.If you are just passing through on a quick tour then probably not worh it.However,if you are a French reader then its a good book to have anyway.
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Old 19 May 2021
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Jacques is in Morocco at the moment researching new routes for some updated editions. Not sure when they will be published though.

Lot of good background info and history in the guides if your french is good enough.
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Old 17 Jan 2023
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I notice the ever-industrious Editions Extreme-Sud (J Gandini) are experimenting with foreign language editions.
They even seem to produce or sell a GPS Android tablet for €850, but preloaded with all XSud routes.

Last summer they issued 'Jebel Sagho' in English (as well as Sp, DE and IT).
Maybe that's what he was researching in 2021.
Spiral bound, all the historical stuff gets cut out to 140pp compared to the 320pp French version, but for the same unapologetic €36 plus another €20 for the tracklogs download. It's currently on amazon.uk for 40 quid, though I see French reviewers have not been so generous on the full-fat 320pp edition.
I remember trying to use Gandinis in Libya 25 years ago when there was nothing else (apart from German).
Gandini knows his history and so on and travels with a Berber guide/chum, but I'm not convinced he's learned how to lay out a guide book useably. Perhaps it doesn't matter once you buy the tracklogs.
My review of Sagho: https://sahara-overland.com/2023/01/...ff-road-guide/
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Last edited by Chris Scott; 14 Feb 2024 at 11:14.
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Old 18 Jan 2023
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Jacques Gandini is currently researching in preparation for an update to Vol II, "Le Sud, du Tafilalet à l'Atlantique".

My copy of that volume dates back to 2003, I think I must have missed a couple of updates!
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Old 14 Feb 2024
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If you can read German this might be another contender aimed at car and truck drivers.
https://pistenkuh.de/shop/gps-offroa...nbuch-marokko/

For your 50 euros shipped, you get 45 routes - mostly in the desert - and a code to download waypoints (not in the text) and tracklogs for each route.

I would add that Pisteknkuh produces several similar guidebooks RTW (this one was done over 6 months non stop at the end of Covid) so will not have the decades of knowledge and know-how of Gandini or some us here on the HUBB
Last edited by Chris Scott; 14 Feb 2024 at 19:42.
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