I'm hoping to visit Morocco in the summer for 4-5 weeks and am confused about 3rd party bike insurance.

I can get annual 3rd party insurance (that's all I want for being at home in the UK as well) that covers me for Morocco but it's quite a bit more than excluding Morocco...

Would the 3rd party cover offered by travel insurance be likely to cover me for damage done while on the bike, meaning that "normal" bike insurance would be enough?

Or, I've heard that it's possible to buy 3rd party insurance when I get there. Is this likely to be a major hassle or prevent me getting into Morocco in the 1st place?

Or, could I just get special bike 3rd party insurance just for the duration of my time in Morocco for a reasonable price?

Anyhelp would be appreciated, as I'm determined to make this trip, but am determined not to bankrupt myself in the process!

Thanks, Matt

Hi Matt,
I'm having exactly the same problem. I'm heading to Morocco in May. Have you came to a decision? I'm going to try and buy 3rd party insurance when I get there but I've no idea how! I'll let you know what happens,

Paul

Acccording to Chris Scotts Sahara Overland book insurance for a mercedes in 2004 cost 490dh for 10 days or 815dh for a month. it is simple to get it from the border (see pg 419)
Andy

TLC H60x2
landy 101 Ambie
1968 morris minor traveller
www.plymouth-dakar.com

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1990 Landcruiser H60. Full rebuild completed 2014

If you're entering through Ceuta it's straightforward - there's an insurance office about 30m from the immigration windows. Two years ago it was about 50 € for a month on a bike.

British citizens don't need a VISA or Carnet for Morocco, but must have the original motor registration document (V5) plus your passport. If you don't have green card cover for Morocco you can purchase it per below.

When purchasing your ferry tickets at Algeciras, ask for white Moroccan immigration forms. You need two varients of these, one for entry, one for exit. Use the time on the ferry to complete them.

As you leave Spanish Morocco, you will be directed into a holding area for processing your entry into Morocco. You can safely ignore anyone not wearing either a gun or a pale blue customs uniform. There are lots of touts who are there to relieve you of money in exchange for smoothing your entry, but it's much more of an achievement to get through without 'help'. Also it's often quicker as the touts make everything seem very complex to show you how you need their help.

As of May 2005 the holding area consisted of admin buildings on the left and parking on the right, per plan below (you are entering from the bottom of the plan).

^
|
| Assurance
| Frontiere
|
^
|
| B.M.C.E.
| (bank)
|
^
|
| Passport
| windows
|
^
|
| Portacabin
| offices
|
|


1. Go to the portacabin and get a temporary import form for the bike (Declaration d’Importation Temporaire de Moyens de Transport). This is green and in triplicate. Write down your name (first, family), your nationality, passport number, and number of nights you are staying. Then the bike registration and country (GB), the manufacturer and model, and the chassis number from your V5.

2. Go to the passport window and hand in your passport and white immigration form. You will get a stamp and a number in the passport. Add the number onto the green import form after your nationality (second line).

3. Go to the BMCE bank and change some money. If you don't already have green card cover go to the Assurance Frontiere office to arrange. This will cost 59€ or 558MAD for 10 days and about 80€ for a month.

4. Now go back to the portacabin and hand in the passport, green import form, your V5 and either the green card or the border insurance. The forms will be stamped.

5. Now find the head honcho in the pale blue uniform (probably sitting down somewhere in the shade) to let him see and initial everything.

6. You can now ride forward to the actual customs post, but don't put anything away as you'll need to show everything again.

The return trip is much easier. You need to queue with your passport and white exit form. Then queue again to hand in the two remaining sheets of the temporary import form, one of which will be returned to you.

Tim

__________________
"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've just returned from Morocco yesterday and can add a couple of updates on this from the Algeseras-Tangier border viewpoint....
When you get on the ferry pick up a white form from the rearmost cafe desk(don't ask me...??).You'll need to fill this in with your details as you wait in the first que for the police/passport desk.Here they'll stamp your passport with your visitor number.Then go to the vehicle registration desk(one guy on his own with a laptop)and fill in the temporary vehicle registration paper(triplicate copy as mentioned above) as you'll need your visitor number they have just given you for this.Once you've done this on the boat you can relax a bit and get a coffee....you'll need it when you get to shore! We were in a group so all passports were processed by one of the guys who's been there before,but we met a Dutch guy who had come on his own and just asked the coppers what to do and where to go.Seems they were very helpful and actually took him to each individual desk and he was cleared within the hour.It's a hectic and very inefficient system but if you are patient you'll get there.

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Just going for a short ride on my bike....

I seem to have got side tracked a bit....
Insurance.I got mine through Carole Nash for my trip.Norwich Union do a week at a time for about £15 a week for the green card,though you can get cover at the border anywhere.At Tangier the insurance kiosk is on the left as you leave the passport holding area,and they take Euros so no need to change money at the port.You'll get a better exchange rate if you go into the city centre to either the Banc du Maroc or the Banc Populare.One tip is take GBpounds and not Euros as the exchange rate is quite a bit better for sterling(we didn't know this).Another thing to note is that when you leave the country you'll need to re-change all your remaining Dirahms back as you won't be able to do this anywhere outside of Marocco.And Banc du Maroc is the only place you can do this,the other banks won't want to know.Opening times are 8.30am-3pm only.You can do it via the black market at the exit port but you'll get a really crap rate.

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Just going for a short ride on my bike....

Hi Stubby

Are you sure about needing extra Carol Nash insurance ? I went to Morocco recently and 3rd Party insurance was already included -so I think you wasted your money there. Are you sure you get a better rate for sterling? I dont think so; I believe youre wrong there. Also the rate changes only by a tiny amount as you move around Morocco, so you may want to revise your comments about exchange rates. Maybe not.

Next time you go to Morocco, consider avoiding going in a group. If you go in a group, you talk to the group; if you go on your own or with one other, you speak to the people. Only if you want that, of course; possibly you may not wish to speak to Moroccans. Do you speak French or Arabic?-I cant remember. Was Dolly your girlfriend with you this trip?
Anyway, Ill catch you later!

A salaam o alaikum
your pal
Denis

I think Carole Nash are just brokers - I'm insured with them and I DON'T have any coverage for Morocco with my policy's underwriter... ask me how I know lol..!! Like a burk I declined the policy that could have given coverage in Maroc - all for the sake of 35 quid ..ah well, we live and learn!

Greg

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I wish my wheelies were intentional...

Tim brilliant description, very helpful.
Is that describing entry via Ceuta or Tangers?

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Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

Thanks for the replies everyone, it's really helpful. Buying it on the border it is then! Has anyone been in through Melilla like I'm going to? I'm also going to leave from Tangers: hopefully leaving from somewhere different won't be a problem?!?
Thanks, Matt

Hi everybody,

Does anybody know what it's like coming in from the other side (Western Sahara)? Especially concerning insurance.

Thanks,

Mana

Meililla is easy and not so busy as Cueta. Try the pages I have on my site:

http://www.roamingyak.org/morocco/di...y2melilla.html

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Kiwi, 7 years around Africa. Overlanding channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/roamingyak

We entered through Melilla and exited at Cueta. I think what was nice on entering via Melilla is that we were immediately in Morocco. The boat ride over was an adventure in and of itself!

Mellila had roughly the same setup as Tim described. Maybe more Moroccans used this entry point (it was a Morrocan boat) so we were shown some special treatment and ushered to the head of the line. When we went to the insurance office we were put off a bit by the price (80 euro per bike sounds familiar) so thought we could bet a better deal in town. Everything in town was still closed at 8:00 AM on a Sunday morning so we rode to Fes and eventually forgot all about the insurance. Good thing nothing bad happened!

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Ekke Kok

'84 R100RT 141,000 km (Dad's!)
'89 R100GS 250,000 km (and ready for another continent)
'07 R1200GS Adventure 100,000 km (just finished Circumnavigating Asia)
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

www.ekke-audrey.ca

I went through Ceuta again last week and they've changed the layout, so the offices are in different places. But the procedures are the same. I'm doing a better write-up as part of my presentation at the HUBB meeting in the UK in June and will post it when it's ready.

You can't take photos at the border, but nobody told Google Earth, so if you want to see the layout from above, the coordinates for the Ceuta (Fnedeq) customs are N35 52.167 W5 20.695

I've found Tanger a good alternative to Ceuta, however I exited from Tanger this trip on Easter Sunday and it was complete and utter bedlam. One guy in the passport queue had 40 passports to be processed and I missed my boat--which had been grossly oversold anyway!

Tim

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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)