Trip Report

FJ Cruiser - definitely THE car for a Morocco road trip. The locals were basically salivating over it. The only disadvantage is the lack of luggage space, but since camping is optional in Morocco as perfectly fine hotels appear to be in all kinds of middle of nowhere, I don't think this is a problem. The short wheelbase makes it easy to maneuver, it doesn't catch crests, it has great entry and exit angles stock without modifications, is light, has the spare wheel on the back stock, and the 4.0l V6 gives it LOTS of power for its weight.

The weather was awesome, and quite frankly it was just barely there and a part of me wished we had come later in the season. Had plenty of hotels with a pool and it was too cold to get in. The other side of that coin is it was never too hot.

Day 1: Drive from Marrakesh to Taroudant via Tizi n'Test. This road is definitely falling apart, and given the earthquake damage, flood damage, bad condition and the amount of traffic (plenty) this actually felt like on of the worst roads of the whole trip. Felty plenty adeventurous for day 1.



Day 2: Taroudant to Igherm, then MA14 until MA3, then the MA3 until Tizerkine gorge, on to Tafraoute.

A fantastic drive, not sure if I can pick out the highlight. The MA3 part was all sealed, and only the Tizerkine gorge was unsealed, but good condition. The sealed roads were very scenic though.







Day 3: Ait Mansour gorge, drove the piste past the gold mine until R109, then a long, but scenic desert road drive until Zagora.

Ait Mansour felt like the most interesting gorge we visited, I would put it above Dades or Todra.







Day 4: Slow day. Drove down to Mhamid and then drove in the direction of Erg Chegaga. Car performed flawlessly and we definitely gained some confidence.

Also after the super quiet Anti-Atlas roads where we were basically alone, we realized just how many people are here in Morocco driving these routes. A lot, basically, and breaking down may not be quite the issue, as there are a lot of people around.







Day 5: We decided that while offroading is awesome, it is not so awesome for the passangers in the car, so we drove to Merzouga via tarmac, but we did make a scenic stop at Gara Medouar, which was one of the top viewpoints of the whole trip.











Erg Chebbi is in a league of its own when it comes to the scenic beauty and the color of the sand. Not a desert wilderness though.

Definitely wanted to do the MS3, and the car could have easily, and I mean easily done the MS6. How do I know? Because...

Day 6: We got a guy to guide us in his own LC120 and we crossed Erg Chebbi. Just blasted through the sand dunes, with huge drop offs, screaming passengers, sweaty palms and a massive grin on my face. Also had my first experience digging the car out of sand and using the mats. Definitely the top day in Morocco. Later in the evening drove to Boulmane Dades.

Unfortunately, this day is almost entirely on video which I am not able to post right now.





Day 7: Day off, didn't do anything.

Day 8: Drove Dades Gorge up to Agoudal, and then down back via Todra gorge. What another fantastic drive! The road is still unsealed in Dades gorge and a fun, fast drive in the FJ. They are working on it though, and I guess it will be a sealed road soon.





Day 9: We crossed the Atlas mountains via Tizi n'Ait Hmed, 3005m alt. We did the detour via the gorge in Amejgag, which was quite frankly a highlight of the drive. Don't get me wrong, still loved the drive over the Atlas, but the long V shaped valleys with lack of cliff dropoffs means it won't make my top list of mountain ranges.

Drove to Cascade d'Ouzoud









Day 10: Drove to Fes via locals roads

What I would do differently

Honestly, I think this is the max we could have done given that I'm here with my wife and my 6 year old daughter. Driving off road is not easy on the passengers and there's bugger all to do for kids sitting in the car all day.

Knowing what I know now, I would have dropped the day with Dades/Todra gorges, not done the Atlas crossing, skipped Ouzoud Falls, and spent more time around Erg Chegaga, Erg Chebbi and possibly driven MS3/MS6 in between. This area seemed the most exotic - Anti-Atlas and deserts is where it is at. It is like a whole world removed from Europe.

Given that we are European road trippers since our daughter was born, we had completely forgotten our 3rd world skills and thus didn't have any cooking equipment. Unlike camping equipment, which is I think is very optional, being able to cook a basic midday meal, like pasta or something, is something I really missed - especially for those scenic spots. Those roadside cafes landed me on anti-diarrhea drugs for 4-5 days, and quite frankly at the end I was tired of tajines and couscous. Also, cooking a mid-day meal gives you a nice break from driving.

Also, since this was part of a longer trip, I would have also dropped days in Spain in favor of more days in Morocco (we had a total of 18 including Marrakesh, Fes and Chefchaouen). We are in Spain now, and everything just feels so... sterile, LOL.