How to find safe motorcycle parking in Morocco
 

Hello there, I'm new here, my name is Giuseppe. Nice to be part of this community!

I'm planning an offroad trip with another 3 friends in Marocco on our parallel twin dual sport bikes around December\January 2022-23.

It's the first time in Morocco for all of us. We'll be moving across many different areas in the country and we're starting to look for some accomodation around.

We wouldn't want to leave our bikes out in the street overnight in cities such as Chefchaouen, Marrakech, Fes, Meknes etc. So I was wondering if people here had some tips on how to find safe parking in cities.
Do riads normally have space for parking motorcycle inside? Or do you normally have to ask locally to find safe parking near your stay?

Thanks everyone for any tips you'll want to share! bier

Many hotels will have enough secure parking for four motos, if not they will be able to advise on parking garages.

Hotels, riads, guest houses, etc. will always be able to find a place for you to securely store your motorcycles.

Having said that, I would not be overly concerned about motorcycle theft in Morocco, except perhaps if I was parking in the downtown area of big cities. First of all, large touring or off-road motorcycles are uncommon in Morocco, except for the ones tourists ride, and second, Morocco is generally a pretty law-abiding and safe place to be. It is well policed.

All in all, I think you would have far less chance of having a motorcycle stolen in Morocco than you would in Palermo. (I've ridden in both Morocco and Sicily many times, so this is the voice of experience, my comment is not meant to disparage Palermo).

Michael

Thanks lads, appreciate the help. I guess that makes sense. I was a bit nervous about parking as being the first time for us, I didn't really know how easy/difficult that would be.

No worries at all. I know how some large european cities can be really bad with motorcycle theft. Glad to hear that moroccan cities are fairly safe in comparison.

I echo Michael's comments. Bike theft isn't the problem, but theft from soft luggage can be.

The one concern nobody mentions is that if you have an accident the bike needs to be transported out of the country before the temporary importation period (six months) is up otherwise serious amounts of taxes are due/confiscation. I've known situations where the rider has broken an arm but the bike undamaged, and the only solution is to take it in a van to the ferry ports. So be careful until you get used to the unique hazards of Morocco (such as sheep on autostrada).

On the positive side, Morocco is a fantastic biking country and I always recommend people get off the main N (national) roads where possible and ride on the quieter and often prettier R (regional) and P (provincial) roads. There are many easy off-tarmac routes you can explore as well. I've visited many times in Dec/Jan when I used to follow the Dakar Rally in Morocco.

The problem is you are usually only insured for third party . So parking you bike is more important than your room !
I have parked inside resterants . hotel lobby , gift shops phone booths and my bed room !
:scooter: