DIY Moroccan Roadtrip
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Brief Itinerary
COST: £350 (excluding flights)
DURATION: 14 days minimum
•Arrived in Agadir
•4 days in Taghazout
•Car rental from Marrakesh
•10 Day road trip roundtrip
•Departed from Marrakesh
To know before you go
•The main languages are Arabic and French but most people know some English too! USEFUL PHRASES:
Thank you = Shkran (Arabic) = Merci (French)
Hello = Salam = Bonjour
How are you = Labass = Ça va?
Fine, thanks = Labass hamdoullah = Ça va bien
I don’t understand = Ma Fhamtch = Je ne comprend pas
Do you speak English = Katehder neglizia = parlez vous anglais
•Morocco is a dry country so expect to pay a high price for alcohol available at only a few tourist bars
•Bartering is the norm everywhere, you can usually get anything for 1/4 of the price you’re offered
•The country is asleep before 10am each morning so if you need an early breakfast/check out, make sure you inform your accomodation! It’s not uncommon that you have to give them a nudge yourself!
Transport Options
Renting a car is the easiest way to reach everywhere on this itinerary but it’s also possible if you’re willing to combine bus with a little hitch-hiking or a taxi!
Rental Car
Below is the company I used to rent from Marrakesh with the rate you should be charged to make sure you aren’t being ripped off! The staff were lovely and we had no issues at all when returning the car despite its many adventures.
Company: United (based at Marrakesh Airport)
Car: 5 Seater diesel car (Lodgey Dacia)
Price: 2,560 Moroccan Dirham (£200)
TOP TIP! ASK FOR A DIESEL CAR. Diesel is cheaper and will take you further per fill-up than petrol. The company also only have larger diesel cars so you will have more space for the same price as their petrol equivalent offer!
Hitch-hiking
Hitch-hiking comes with extra safety considerations so should please use your own judgement as to what you’re comfortable with and do extra research.
That said, hitch hiking culture is BIG in Rural Morocco, with many locals opting for this as their mode of transport too! This means you are often in good company on the roadside trying to catch a ride, people almost always stop to pick you up, and there regular vans driven by the Nomads that act a little like free local buses/taxis ( seen below ).
I met two girls travelling together by hitch-hiking only who had had only positive experiences their entire trip. They of course did air caution and this is not to say this is always the case.
Bus
Buses or shuttles run between most major stops on this itinerary and tickets can be bought on line with for the companies below or at the bus station in each stop on the itinerary. Used more commonly in Morroco are ‘grand taxis’ which like buses you pay for only your seat but can be found in taxi ranks.
The major bus/shuttle companies are:
Souktosurf - to travel between coastal towns and major cities
Supratours - to travel from marrakesh across the Atlas Mountains to the desert
CTM - alternative to supratours to travel from marrakesh across the Atlas Mountains to the desert
Itinerary
Day 1 - 4 Taghazout (Bus / Car)
Arriving: From landing in Agadir airport you can take the bus outside (AE bus) for 50 MAD (£5) to the bus depot. You can then get the 32 to taghazout for the same price. Alternatively you can pay for a grand taxi all the way to taghazout and can wait to find others at the airport with the help of the taxi drivers. This should cost no more than 470 MAD total for everyone.
TOP TIP! Withdraw cash before heading to taghazout as there is NO ATM there and nowhere accepts card!
Accomodation: locals surf camp hostel (350 MAD/£35 for double room)
*view from our bedroom window in Taghazout*
Description: Taghazout itself is a very small town that’s held it’s Moroccan identity but is now very used to backpackers! From surfing to skateboarding to waterfall walks there is something for everyone. You can watch the pros surf at anchor point, all travellers around gather to watch skate boarders as the sun goes down each evening atop of the hill just opposite my reccomended accomodation, and a stroll through paradise valley with a swimsuit packed is the best way to spend a day!
If you’d like to surf most shops will rent for 80MAD wetsuit included for a day. I’d reccomend the stores on the main street as those off the side roads seemed to hand out broken wetsuits and glued up boards!
My favourite food spot was in the centre on the right of a square where local kids play football. It is a local spot so doesn’t serve the more westernised and expensive foods targeted to tourists. Instead it cost 25 MAD for a tagine or couscous and their avocado smoothies are fantastic!
Extra days?
2 more surf towns further up the coast line are well worth a visit and can be reached using the souktosurf bus company (book online). From there you can continue onto marrakesh without needing to return to Taghazout.
Day 5 Marrakesh (Bus / Car)
Arriving: Marrakesh can also be reached easiest using the souktosurf bus company and you can be dropped near the airport to pick up a car rental!
Accomodation: Equity Point Hostel
*one of the hostels common areas (+roof bar) *
Description:
Our hostel was in the heart of Marrakesh’s Medina (the walled zone in the towns centre full to the brim with bustling markets) but had its own pool, sunbathing area, and restaurant for when you needed to escape the business and was very quiet. The markets overwhelm you with smells, sounds, and sights of all kinds! It is definitely a lot to cope with so I wouldn’t want to spend more than a day wandering them but I would reccomend going during the day and at night to see the contrast. The place comes alive at night as snake charmers and monkey handlers appear to entertain (not sure where I stand on that one but quite incredible to see anyway!). You can find quieter escapes in the mosques and beautiful architectural buildings. I visited the Ben Youssef Madrasa and highly reccomend it. If you ao want to see leather tanneries they are in the Bab Debbagh quarter in the north end of the medina just past this building, but I would move with confidence here as there aren’t as many tourists so people take their opportunity to sell to you more. These tanneries are by no means like the colourful delights of Fes and are much smaller.
My favourite places to eat:
TOP TIP! People will try to guide you with directions to your accomodation or to tanneries. Ignore them or say you do not want help. Even if you’re kind they will be persistent and guide you along then demand money when you arrive somewhere.
Day 6 Ouzoud falls and Tabant (Car)
Drive: 5 hours
Accomodation: Gîte Tawanda
* ‘Gite’ common area (+rooftop +TV lounge)*
Description:
Ouzoud falls are well worth to the visit: with monkeys in the trees, boats to get right up to the falls and a lovely walk to the falls base on the opposite side of the gorge to the carpark. TOP TIP! Don’t park where guided to, there is a really relaxed guy left of the entrance charging only 19 MAD who I reccomend parking with. He kept the vehicle safe for us.
TOP TIP! Again, ignore offers for guides as they’re often leading you to their shops or will charge you and you really don’t need one to get down to the falls!
Tabant is further in from Ouzoud and is where we stayed the night. It is a small rural village with only a handful of places to stay and is untouched by tourism. The drive across has a beautiful mountain in view the entire way.
TOP TIP! Stick to the main roads and ignore Google’s encouragement to go off-roading down dirt tracks!
Day 7 Todra Gorge (Car)
Drive: 4 hours 30 mins
Accomodation: hôtel étoiles des gorges
*view of the gorge if stood outside the hotel*
Description:
Todra Gorge was the highlight of my trip. It’s towering red cliffs surround a narrow gorge with a fresh spring water source. If you enjoy climbing as I do then I reccomend the jardin D’été wall or for those just looking to try out a little adventure there is AFRICA’S ONLY VIA FERATTA! Gear is available to rent in the nearby towns. You can also hike the area and even go on organised hikes to meet the High plain nomadic Berber people living in rock caves there.
*us exploring the via ferrata*
I’d recommend eating in the main town en route as this is cheaper but staying at the gorge itself. The drive in is over four very high mountain passes with beautiful views of landscapes resembling everything from Utah to Austria. Must be comfortable driving with a drop on one side but it’s well paved most the way and I never felt unsafe. If you stay any extra nights in the gorge then a nearer place to eat is Happy nomad, a 15min walk from the hotel. All handmade food with excellent quality ingredients made with thought by the owner who takes pride in his speciality dish - Moussaka!
*said roads*
Day 9 Moulay Ali Sharif Hotspring (Car)
Drive: 3 hours
Accomodation: For once I would not reccomend where I stayed as although the rooms were nice and food was good the boss treated his family questionably in front of us!
Description:
This hot spring was recommended to us by other backpackers along the route and were relatively unvisited. We saw no other tourists whilst we were there. It is one large, very warm pool by a cool river at the edge of a small town with striped mountains surrounding it.
TOP TIP! Respect the locals by not taking photos of the springs and following their set-up for Men and women to bathe separately every alternate hour as locals use the space too to wash
Day 10 - 11 Merzouga and Sahara Desert (Bus / Car)
Drive: 2 hours 30 minutes
Accomodation: Desert Berber Fire-Camp
*the camp with each tent you can sleep in*
Description:
Merzouga is a town close to the desert where you can leave your car with the company you choose to go into the desert with. I went with to the accomodation above. Most companies have tents in the desert, all camps are in close proximity to one another and have food available. I spent the night in the desert in a tent house with a shower, evening music entertainment and food for 380 MAD (£30). This also included dune boarding whilst there and the transport into the desert by either camel or four by four. I took one each way! TOP TIP! The camps are all basically the same thing so don’t be fooled by the deals to upgrade to luxury camps! They don’t change really.
*music campfire each evening at the camp*
Day 12 Ouarzazate and Aït Benhaddou (Bus / Car)
Drive: 5 hours 30 minutes
Accomodation: Our accomodation was too far out of town and I would recommend paying a little more to stay near Ait Benhaddou.
Description:
One for the movie lovers! Ouatzazate’s two movie studios have produced Prince of Arabia, Gladiator, and many more classics. You can tour the studios, or save your pennies and see the filming location at the giant Kasbah UNESCO World Heritage site. Previousky perfectly preserved, it has now seen a little damage from the recent earthquakes but is still well worth seeing. The quiet bustle of the local markets is far more pleasant than those of the marrakesh medina so could be a better location to get your souvenirs!
*looking out from the top of Aid Benhaddou*
Day 13 Ourika valley and Imlil (Car)
Drive: 5 hours 30 minutes
Accomodation: Try to find somewhere you can park your car right next to like in the actual town as we had ours damaged when staying up the hill from the car park.
Description:
The valley is on the approach to Imlil and the heart of the Atlas Mountains. We drive through the valley to see terrace farming with a river flowing along the bottom. You can park in ouzoud to walk to waterfalls nearby.
We then drove the directly connecting road which isn’t recommended by Google to Asni then Imlil. It was paved and had beautiful views but we didn’t see another soul the whole way so the more popular route is that back out the valley and round to Imlil.
Imlil is a small village centred around one main highstreet of shops and hiking/adventure businesses. In December the leaves were just turning and the sur had a lovely mountain crispness. There are many beautiful hikes from Imlil, which you can find online or ask about in local shops but the main one here is to hike Toubkal peak. A guide is required for this but there is more information when you arrive into the town. The trip takes two days so there is another accomodation halfw
TOP TIP! You could 1hr off driving by missing ourika valley, it was similar to places visited in the itinerary already.
*towns around Imlil recovering from the earthquakes*
Day 14 Return to Marrakesh (Car)
Drive: 1 hour 30 minutes to the airport
If you need to have the rental car cleaned get it done just outside of Marrakesh as it will be cheaper (we paid 50 MAD for external and internal clean).
Hope this little run-down of my experiences can help you on your trip or inspire a future visit!
Get in touch on Instagram with any questions.
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