Despite my far flung adventures, I have never set tyre or toe in Morocco.

I've set aside February 2023 to travel from the UK to Morocco and back.

I think I should have 2-3 weeks in Morocco.

I've picked up Chris Scott's latest edition of his excellent 'Morocco Overland guide'. However It's five years since it's last print so I'm assuming many things may have changed and of course there is only so much information you can squeeze into a book.

I'd really appreciate any input to places and ideas that I should be scribbling onto my map as MUST SEE.

I'm likely travelling solo on an old XRV750 Africa Twin. Unpaved roads aren't a problem but I won't be riding the dunes on it.

Thanks in advance as always.

Ted

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

2-3 weeks is good for a first time trip, it'll given yo8 plenty of time to explore without being a mad dash around.

Weather should be reasonable but could be cold at night and altitude. There will still be snow in the High Atlas but the spring flowers will be starting to come out.

Have a read through the book and pick out the routes you like the sound of as a start point.

Chefchaouen is a nice first stop (or Asilah if you follow the coast). Then I would do a loop down through the Middle Atlas, Azrou - Midelt then across the High Atlas with the MH route from Agoudal to Dades (theres been a lot of work on this recently and it may be tarmac all the way now but a great ride) Then hop over to the Todra gorge. Here you can head south across the Jebel Sarho mountain range to Merzouga and Erg Chebbi.

From Erg Chebbi head west on the classic piste to Zagora before heading down to Mhamid, Erg Cheggaga and Lac Iriki, Lots of choices from here, head north towards Ouarazazate and Ait Benhaddou before another High Atlas route or continue west to the Anti Atlas and the Atlantic Coast. Or pick up the Assa to Smara route dipping into the Western Sahara, which is one of the best imho.

Plage Blanche is a great day if the tide is right to ride the full length of the beach. Then probably time to start heading north. Nice places to visit enroute - Sidi Ifni, Taroudannt, Essaouira and Marrakech.

The coast road north from Essaouira via Safi to El jadida is mostly a pleasant way along the coast. After El Jadida the coastal route is pretty grim and busy.

A loop like that will have given you a good varied insight across the country and a taste for more adventures

Thanks for the input. Great info.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I shall keep an eye out for you Ted.......I'll b roughly following that route.......but in a hire car

Hi Ted , read loads of your posts over the years , all good advice !
As for Morocco i think the Warden has given some very good advice , but just for my 2p on your trip . I think you will have a fantastic time just stopping on the grey stuff as there is so much to see ! It will be very cold in the atlas and it may even be snow bound , so the plan is dont have one ! Keith

Spain is Europe's second most mountainous country after Switzerland and riding through Spain can be a challenge with the cold at that time of year. In winter time I always take an electrically-heated jacket plus hand muffs, and sometimes gauchos. The afternoons can be pleasant but it takes hours in the mornings to heat up from the often minus temperatures overnight.

If there's any chance of snow in Morocco, odds on it would be in the Ifrane (pronounced ee'fran) in the Middle Atlas south of Fez. Cheaper hotels often lack efficient heating and if you have room, stick in a fleece-covered hot water bottle.

There's tons of great off-tarmac riding, but spare some time for exploring as well.

My four favourite places in Morocco are (1) Tafraoute in the Anti Atlas, surrounded by pink quartzite peaks, with marvellous walks, scrambles and gorges. Coupled with more than 80 fascinating medieval granaries (agadirs) to explore, perched in the most inaccessible spots. The town is renowned for its slippers (babouche) manufacture and it's a hub for almond, argan oil and amlou (almond and argan mix) production. The local speciality is beef tagine with prunes and almonds. These two videos were both taken in February, which as you can see can be with balmy days with a deep blue sky.





(2) Sidi Ifni, a Spanish art deco-styled town on the Atlantic coast to the west of Tafraoute. I once went planning to spend two nights and stayed eleven. Great sea food.

(3) Essaouira on the Atlantic coast further north, a rather Bohemian fishing port town with lots of history and again, great sea food.

(4) But the one I fell in love with first is Azrou in the Middle Atlas. On motorbike trips a couple of decades back I found I was going through Azrou twice on each trip as it's set at a crossroads. One road (N13) leads from Meknes via Azrou to the desert around Merzouga, the other road (N8) leads from Fez via Azrou to Marrakech. Azrou is a one day ride from the ports of Tanger and Ceuta and many years ago I seriously considered buying some land and building a motorbiking base there. I spent six weeks investigating and negotiating before deciding I didn't want to be in charge of a building project, so ended up buying a cave in Spain instead.

It's a fabulous area with cedar forests, wild monkeys, lakes, springs, waterfalls, limestone karst scenery and even volcanos, the caldera of one now used as a ski resort. More information

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

I went through there a couple of days ago and there’s still a very scenic part of it that’s dirtroad. To me it was well worth it, but they are making it tarmac from both ends and building it wide. Might be finished in 2024 I would say.

I’m in Erg Chebbi right now, leaving tomorrow probably heading to Guelmim. I am on a GS1200 and worried that might be too much of a sand trap for me? I love a good dirtroad but soft sand except the odd patch is too much.