Morocco 2025 - Thinking of venturing further south..Dakhla

[DucatoMan2]

I'm in Dakhla right now. The lagoon is a stunning landscape but generally, to me, only really worth the drive for wind sports (tourism here is based on flying in from Paris for that). There is big parkup but no real campsite.
The trip to Tan tan is generally the best, after that it is very flat, stoney, and somewhat industrialised with wind farms and power lines.
Down to laayoune is now dual carriageway and virtually empty - pretty surreal. And diesel is 80/85p per litre.

 

[Palough]

I've just returned from 7 months in Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal down to Cabo Verde across summer and winter.

Almost no MH's in summer (49°C in the Sahara) but suddenly they all appeared as if by magic as soon as winter appeared.

I did both Tanger X-ing (3 times) and Cueta once.

I'd stick with Tænger, it's very easy to pass, whereas in Cueta the streets can be a bit tight, but it's a far more interesting place than Tanger.

Found travelling a breeze with no difficulties whatsoever but lots of corruption.

I used. Campercontact and Park4Night with no problems.

I avoided wild camping and found the majority of camping sites excellent, many old and basic, but acceptable, but remember it's Africa, not Europe so standards not the same.

The resorts were fabulous and inexpensive and scattered throughout Africa.

The majority, if not all camping grounds are essentially high walled compounds for security with locked gates.

I mostly avoided the toll roads and travelled the minor roads to see the real Africa.

There are road blocks every 20, 30, 50km by police, National Guard and Army checking documents.

It's a good idea to have 20 or so photocopies of license, car registration details (green card) passport (and page showing entry to Morocco).

It cuts down the waiting time while they write it all down, roadside check points don't have photocopies

Mostly they wave you through but occasionally stop you for a complete check.

If you travel the Toll Roads you can buy a Toll Reader (cheap) and load it with money.

It makes travelling on the Toll Roads a breeze and inexpensive compared to Europe.

If you don't get a Toll Reader (can be purchased at the Toll Gate after passing through with CASH)

Toll gates don't accept cards, only cash.

But I bought the Toll Reader in the administration office with my debit card

The officer asked how far I was traveling and loaded the Toll Reader with sufficient funds in advance and spoke good English.

If you travel the Toll roads you won't have road check points, only at some Toll gates, but I was never stopped on Toll roads in 7,400km of travel.

I got done for "fine" by a policeman on an arterial national road as he would only accept "original" insurance documents, not electronic renewals, or a printed out cooy without the official stamp and hologram, €100 straight into the pocket

I didn't need an vehicle import document for Morocco but did need a "Carnet en Passant" for entering Mauritania.

Make sure you have it BEFORE crossing the border!!!

It costs about €310 but without it you'll get scammed by the government official who'll give your papers to a "Fixer" and 5 hours later you'll have to pay €600 to retrieve your passport and car documents like me

After the Insurance fine I went to AXA and bought insurance avoiding the local dodgy insurance companies.

AXA insurance was quick to arrange and I felt reliable with breakdown recovery, not expensive.

At a lot of roadside stops I was asked if I had a "Bic" or biro.

I bought 20 or so and handed them out like confetti when asked by the police.

Always have cash!!

Many places, including petrol stations only take cash.

I always showed my card before filling up to know if I was going to be able to use my card.

diesel fuel gauges at filling stations are not reliable so expect to pay a bit extra sometimes

The MH was often half full and I'd buy much more than calculated to fill up

I only once experienced a fuel station not having diesel.

There is a massive influx of fuel companies building new fuel stations in Morocco and down to Dakar, Cepsa, Repsol, Shell, Piro, etc, many of them almost completed when I left in November 2024, and some starting up operation.

But in tiny villages, don't expect your "normal" type Europe filling station.

Gas bottle refills can be a challenge but always possible.

Places like the Dakar boat club can fill any worldwide bottle as they get yachts from all around the world, likewise other yacht clubs.

Small MH repair places can also fill by decanting from a local gas bottle , see photo which was the norm.

There are lots of stories about poor quality fuel and gas but I never had any problems with diesel or gas.

Almost without exception the gas will be Butane, not Propane.

Butane has a higher calorific value so water will boil much quicker

An 11kg gas bottle cost me on average €4 to fill

If you drive at night (to be avoided in my opinion although a couple of times I got caught out and was unavoidable) be prepared for people in black clothing, cows, goats, dogs, camels, donkey drawn carts without any lights to be on the road!!

I fitted a large LED driving light bar in Scandinavia in 2023 for deer and Moose and it was invaluable for driving at night in Africa.

One other thing, before you cross any border make sure you have tones of CAS for the other side as a lot of procedures only accept cash.

I was short of cash after all the scams in Mauritania and a kindly "Fixed" directed me to an ATM to draw money that didn't dispense any cash.

I walked to the next bank ATM and got the necessary cash.

3 days later €900 was withdrawn from my bank account.

The first bank ATM was a card reading skimmer

Luckily the Portugal bank has said they will refund the money, let's wait and see on that one

Some of the Atlas mountain roads are very steep by Europe standards and the bends very tight.

You almost think you will be able to see your own rear number plate as you turn.

Getting around the corners can be a bit of a challenge but watch out for on coming traffic as sometimes it's impossible to stay on your side of the white line, if one exists

In general, the roads are in reasonable condition and OK.

Coming back to Morocco from Mauritania I had a policeman demanding the Morocco visa fee in Euros.

Refused to give me a visa without payment in Euros.

I told him he had 5 minutes to change his mind as I was going to the MH to phone the Embassy and we'd let the Diplomats work it out.

About 5 minutes later a different policeman came out and beckoned me into the office and I got the visa paid in Morocco currency

Best advice is relax, enjoy the adventure and expect the unexpected

View attachment 996820View attachment 996821View attachment 996822

A couple of other things I forgot to mention

1. If you take a Drone, expect hassles entering and leaving Africa countries.

I was asked half a dozen times at each border if I had a Drone.

Luckily, I don't have a Drone but speaking to other travellers, they either had it removed to collect when they exit or sealed for inspection when leaving the country to make sure the seal wasn't broken.

I dont know the logic of why some are held until exit and some sealed, it may depend on the sophistication of the Drone.

A police officer walked around the MH with what looked like a scanner, might have been trying to excite the Drone transponder if I had one hidden and undeclared?

I did meet a Pole who smuggled a Drone in by disassembling it and stashing the bits behind the dash radio who was in a real panic when he heard on exit they can excite the transponder even if the batteries are removed or when X-Raying the MH.

2. They will also ask about video recorders, why I have no idea as all mobile phones are capable of high quality video these days.

3. They will X-Ray the vehicle looking for drugs, alcohol and stowaways.

X-Raying the MH on the way out, I was stopped and shown the X-Ray and bottles in the fridge that they thought were vodka, when I told them it was sparkling water, they were satisfied and didn't check further.

In Morocco you can readily buy alcohol at almost any Carrefour supermarket.

Google will tell you where as not all Carrefour sell alcohol, it is in a region of the supermarket called "The Cave", often under the supermarket.

The alcohol part of the Carrefour supermarket is often larger than the rest of the supermarket

Morocco produces a lot of good red wines, I didn't go much on the whites.

You can buy wines from almost anywhere in the world along with top brands of Russian vodka all at reasonable prices.

Australian wines are considerably cheaper in Morocco than in Australia.

French wines are everywhere

You won't get alcohol in some of the important religious cities and towns.

But if you ask at the camping grounds they will tell you where it is available, (or even offer to get it for you if you let them have a can or three ) even if the sign says, supermarket and shows pictures of fruit and vegetables, sometimes it only sells wines, beer and spirits

4. Stoways are a problem, which is another reason they X-Ray the MH leaving

There was a young kid concealed under the bike cover leaving Tanger.

A German couple in a huge 4 wheel drive unit had one hidden under the bike cover and another lying across the back axle.

I had one climb onto the bike rack when travelling through Tanger when I stopped at a traffic light and only alerted to it by folk on the sidewalk calling out.

I stopped thinking someywas falling off the back or a flat tyre.

The people dragged the kid off the back and held him while I drove off.

If I think if anything else, I'll add it to this post

 

[billym]

In Morocco you can readily buy alcohol at almost any Carrefour supermarket.

Google will tell you where as not all Carrefour sell alcohol, it is in a region of the supermarket called "The Cave", often under the supermarket.

The alcohol part of the Carrefour supermarket is often larger than the rest of the supermarket

Carrefour closed their alcohol ' caves' during Ramadan (2023)
This year it's likely to be pretty much all of March

 

[Palough]

Carrefour closed their alcohol ' caves' during Ramadan (2023)
This year it's likely to be pretty much all of March

Yep, I spent many years working in the Middle East and Asia (Muslim Countries)

It's the same throughout the Middle East and a lot of Asia, a few places still serve during Ramadan, but not many, mainly 5 Star Hotels if they are owned by some politically powerful local, underground, or on International Company Compounds, like the O&G companies I worked with

Visit Carrefour and stock up before Ramadan

 

[DucatoMan2]

If you do decide to go a few comments I would make are

There are reasonable campsites at El Quatia (nice cafe outside camp Atlantic) and Boujdour.

The official parkup on the Khnifis national park is scenic, but dispiriting when seeing all the plastic waste blown in.

There are other great potential beach park ups ; they are safe in the sense the army is always around on the coast, but they may tell you to move on. It is quite a militarised zone. In a BBC podcast following Osprey migration they found themselves in a minefield a little inland......

Well the sun has dropped so I will venture back out now.

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[The Boofles]

I've just returned from 7 months in Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal down to Cabo Verde across summer and winter.

Almost no MH's in summer (49°C in the Sahara) but suddenly they all appeared as if by magic as soon as winter appeared.

I did both Tanger X-ing (3 times) and Cueta once.

I'd stick with Tænger, it's very easy to pass, whereas in Cueta the streets can be a bit tight, but it's a far more interesting place than Tanger.

Found travelling a breeze with no difficulties whatsoever but lots of corruption.

I used. Campercontact and Park4Night with no problems.

I avoided wild camping and found the majority of camping sites excellent, many old and basic, but acceptable, but remember it's Africa, not Europe so standards not the same.

The resorts were fabulous and inexpensive and scattered throughout Africa.

The majority, if not all camping grounds are essentially high walled compounds for security with locked gates.

I mostly avoided the toll roads and travelled the minor roads to see the real Africa.

There are road blocks every 20, 30, 50km by police, National Guard and Army checking documents.

It's a good idea to have 20 or so photocopies of license, car registration details (green card) passport (and page showing entry to Morocco).

It cuts down the waiting time while they write it all down, roadside check points don't have photocopies

Mostly they wave you through but occasionally stop you for a complete check.

If you travel the Toll Roads you can buy a Toll Reader (cheap) and load it with money.

It makes travelling on the Toll Roads a breeze and inexpensive compared to Europe.

If you don't get a Toll Reader (can be purchased at the Toll Gate after passing through with CASH)

Toll gates don't accept cards, only cash.

But I bought the Toll Reader in the administration office with my debit card

The officer asked how far I was traveling and loaded the Toll Reader with sufficient funds in advance and spoke good English.

If you travel the Toll roads you won't have road check points, only at some Toll gates, but I was never stopped on Toll roads in 7,400km of travel.

I got done for "fine" by a policeman on an arterial national road as he would only accept "original" insurance documents, not electronic renewals, or a printed out cooy without the official stamp and hologram, €100 straight into the pocket

I didn't need an vehicle import document for Morocco but did need a "Carnet en Passant" for entering Mauritania.

Make sure you have it BEFORE crossing the border!!!

It costs about €310 but without it you'll get scammed by the government official who'll give your papers to a "Fixer" and 5 hours later you'll have to pay €600 to retrieve your passport and car documents like me

After the Insurance fine I went to AXA and bought insurance avoiding the local dodgy insurance companies.

AXA insurance was quick to arrange and I felt reliable with breakdown recovery, not expensive.

At a lot of roadside stops I was asked if I had a "Bic" or biro.

I bought 20 or so and handed them out like confetti when asked by the police.

Always have cash!!

Many places, including petrol stations only take cash.

I always showed my card before filling up to know if I was going to be able to use my card.

diesel fuel gauges at filling stations are not reliable so expect to pay a bit extra sometimes

The MH was often half full and I'd buy much more than calculated to fill up

I only once experienced a fuel station not having diesel.

There is a massive influx of fuel companies building new fuel stations in Morocco and down to Dakar, Cepsa, Repsol, Shell, Piro, etc, many of them almost completed when I left in November 2024, and some starting up operation.

But in tiny villages, don't expect your "normal" type Europe filling station.

Gas bottle refills can be a challenge but always possible.

Places like the Dakar boat club can fill any worldwide bottle as they get yachts from all around the world, likewise other yacht clubs.

Small MH repair places can also fill by decanting from a local gas bottle , see photo which was the norm.

There are lots of stories about poor quality fuel and gas but I never had any problems with diesel or gas.

Almost without exception the gas will be Butane, not Propane.

Butane has a higher calorific value so water will boil much quicker

An 11kg gas bottle cost me on average €4 to fill

If you drive at night (to be avoided in my opinion although a couple of times I got caught out and was unavoidable) be prepared for people in black clothing, cows, goats, dogs, camels, donkey drawn carts without any lights to be on the road!!

I fitted a large LED driving light bar in Scandinavia in 2023 for deer and Moose and it was invaluable for driving at night in Africa.

One other thing, before you cross any border make sure you have tones of CAS for the other side as a lot of procedures only accept cash.

I was short of cash after all the scams in Mauritania and a kindly "Fixed" directed me to an ATM to draw money that didn't dispense any cash.

I walked to the next bank ATM and got the necessary cash.

3 days later €900 was withdrawn from my bank account.

The first bank ATM was a card reading skimmer

Luckily the Portugal bank has said they will refund the money, let's wait and see on that one

Some of the Atlas mountain roads are very steep by Europe standards and the bends very tight.

You almost think you will be able to see your own rear number plate as you turn.

Getting around the corners can be a bit of a challenge but watch out for on coming traffic as sometimes it's impossible to stay on your side of the white line, if one exists

In general, the roads are in reasonable condition and OK.

Coming back to Morocco from Mauritania I had a policeman demanding the Morocco visa fee in Euros.

Refused to give me a visa without payment in Euros.

I told him he had 5 minutes to change his mind as I was going to the MH to phone the Embassy and we'd let the Diplomats work it out.

About 5 minutes later a different policeman came out and beckoned me into the office and I got the visa paid in Morocco currency

Best advice is relax, enjoy the adventure and expect the unexpected

View attachment 996820

Palough - please can I ask if your vehicle insurance is through a Portuguese insurer? Ours is but there is no official stamp or hologram. It just all looks very plain
Thanks

 

[Palough]

Yep, I spent many years working in the Middle East and Asia (Muslim Countries)

It's the same throughout the Middle East and a lot of Asia, a few places still serve during Ramadan, but not many, mainly 5 Star Hotels if they are owned by some politically powerful local, underground, or on International Company Compounds, like the O&G companies I worked with

Visit Carrefour and stock up before Ramadan

A further comment.

Make sure your medical insurance has evacuation in the policy in case of an accident.

I unfortunately tripped on some rough paving stones in Dakar fracturing my knee cap with a good gash to the forehead requiring 9 stitches.

Luckily I'd made aquaintence with a high military officer who transported me to the military hospital.

A ships skipper I'd made friends with delivering yachts around the world accompanied me into surgery.

During surgery the nurse opening a surgical packet dropped the scalpel blade onto the floor, proceeded to wash it under a tap ready to use when the ships skipper stepped in and demanded a new scalpel blade.

Even good hospitals in Africa may not always deliver to the standards that we take for granted in our society.

Emergency treatment does not always provide the luxury of a medivac flight out.

But I consider that is an essential after recieving first response medical treatment, especially in Africa.

In normal circumstances, I always only use the clinics that are frequented by the diplomatic community.

Details of these clinics are available from the Embassy or Consul.

Hoping no one ever needs to use this information

 

[Palough]

Palough - please can I ask if your vehicle insurance is through a Portuguese insurer? Ours is but there is no official stamp or hologram. It just all looks very plain
Thanks

Yes, my insurance was through Fidelidade, in Portugal.

But they only gave me the 1st month of insurance and then begrudgingly another month, after that they refused further cover saying I had to get local insurance.

I then took insurance with a local insurance company for a month.

But after meeting fellow travellers who advised local insurance was not worth the paper it was printed on, I took out insurance with AXA.

The cover was comprehensive and service good at a reasonable price.

I felt much more comfortable with AXA insurance cover.

Hope this helps

 

[Barchetta47]

We used AmL via Carlos in 2023, cant remember what we paid but was more than €215. Have you got the ticket yet?

Crossing was fine, nicer boat than Acciona, usual practice of skipping crossings.

Currently in Chateaudun. I’m planning to attempt to get the ferry ticket from the AML office outside Seville on Friday. I’ll let you know how it goes.

 

[Barchetta47]

I tried booking online with AML and it was 288 one way

According to the French Camping Car forum the €215 offer is only available via their ticket offices. When I say offices I mean the autoroute ticket booths.

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[jongood]

According to the French Camping Car forum the €215 offer is only available via their ticket offices. When I say offices I mean the autoroute ticket booths.

We re currently on the med coast, so will pass a few lower down.

 

[VXman]

A friend of mine has been down as far as Sierra Leone.
I think it wasn’t too bad apart from the borders which were a PITA

Snow and Curt on You Tube (American motorhomers currently in Europe) are planning to go all the way to South Africa down the African coast. Will be interesting to see how they get on. Currently in France and they travel quite slowly so could be a while!

 

[The Boofles]

Yes, my insurance was through Fidelidade, in Portugal.

But they only gave me the 1st month of insurance and then begrudgingly another month, after that they refused further cover saying I had to get local insurance.

I then took insurance with a local insurance company for a month.

But after meeting fellow travellers who advised local insurance was not worth the paper it was printed on, I took out insurance with AXA.

The cover was comprehensive and service good at a reasonable price.

I felt much more comfortable with AXA insurance cover.

Hope this helps

Thanks Palough - ours is with Generali Tranquilidade, brokered through Abbeygate. Morocco has always automatically been on the green card at every renewal. I think I’ll give them a call this morning and see if there is a more ‘official’ version available with stamp/hologram.

 

[DucatoMan2]

Are any of those polices comprehensive? Since the border policy is 3rd party only I haven't worried how good it is in the event of a claim. My main thought is that avoiding the cities massively reduces the chance of any accident. Elsewhere the driving seems quite sane, and the lorries especially good.

 

[The Boofles]

Are any of those polices comprehensive? Since the border policy is 3rd party only I haven't worried how good it is in the event of a claim. My main thought is that avoiding the cities massively reduces the chance of any accident. Elsewhere the driving seems quite sane, and the lorries especially good.

So the broker assures me that everything is in order, no need for stamps or holograms. Maybe being a Portuguese van affects things? Whether that’s the same further down towards Dahkla, I’m not so sure. I think we will worry about that if/when we get there.
DucatoMan2 - our cover is 3rd party only anyway.

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[Barchetta47]

I've just returned from 7 months in Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal down to Cabo Verde across summer and winter.

Almost no MH's in summer (49°C in the Sahara) but suddenly they all appeared as if by magic as soon as winter appeared.

I did both Tanger X-ing (3 times) and Cueta once.

I'd stick with Tænger, it's very easy to pass, whereas in Cueta the streets can be a bit tight, but it's a far more interesting place than Tanger.

Found travelling a breeze with no difficulties whatsoever but lots of corruption.

I used. Campercontact and Park4Night with no problems.

I avoided wild camping and found the majority of camping sites excellent, many old and basic, but acceptable, but remember it's Africa, not Europe so standards not the same.

The resorts were fabulous and inexpensive and scattered throughout Africa.

The majority, if not all camping grounds are essentially high walled compounds for security with locked gates.

I mostly avoided the toll roads and travelled the minor roads to see the real Africa.

There are road blocks every 20, 30, 50km by police, National Guard and Army checking documents.

It's a good idea to have 20 or so photocopies of license, car registration details (green card) passport (and page showing entry to Morocco).

It cuts down the waiting time while they write it all down, roadside check points don't have photocopies

Mostly they wave you through but occasionally stop you for a complete check.

If you travel the Toll Roads you can buy a Toll Reader (cheap) and load it with money.

It makes travelling on the Toll Roads a breeze and inexpensive compared to Europe.

If you don't get a Toll Reader (can be purchased at the Toll Gate after passing through with CASH)

Toll gates don't accept cards, only cash.

But I bought the Toll Reader in the administration office with my debit card

The officer asked how far I was traveling and loaded the Toll Reader with sufficient funds in advance and spoke good English.

If you travel the Toll roads you won't have road check points, only at some Toll gates, but I was never stopped on Toll roads in 7,400km of travel.

I got done for "fine" by a policeman on an arterial national road as he would only accept "original" insurance documents, not electronic renewals, or a printed out cooy without the official stamp and hologram, €100 straight into the pocket

I didn't need an vehicle import document for Morocco but did need a "Carnet en Passant" for entering Mauritania.

Make sure you have it BEFORE crossing the border!!!

It costs about €310 but without it you'll get scammed by the government official who'll give your papers to a "Fixer" and 5 hours later you'll have to pay €600 to retrieve your passport and car documents like me

After the Insurance fine I went to AXA and bought insurance avoiding the local dodgy insurance companies.

AXA insurance was quick to arrange and I felt reliable with breakdown recovery, not expensive.

At a lot of roadside stops I was asked if I had a "Bic" or biro.

I bought 20 or so and handed them out like confetti when asked by the police.

Always have cash!!

Many places, including petrol stations only take cash.

I always showed my card before filling up to know if I was going to be able to use my card.

diesel fuel gauges at filling stations are not reliable so expect to pay a bit extra sometimes

The MH was often half full and I'd buy much more than calculated to fill up

I only once experienced a fuel station not having diesel.

There is a massive influx of fuel companies building new fuel stations in Morocco and down to Dakar, Cepsa, Repsol, Shell, Piro, etc, many of them almost completed when I left in November 2024, and some starting up operation.

But in tiny villages, don't expect your "normal" type Europe filling station.

Gas bottle refills can be a challenge but always possible.

Places like the Dakar boat club can fill any worldwide bottle as they get yachts from all around the world, likewise other yacht clubs.

Small MH repair places can also fill by decanting from a local gas bottle , see photo which was the norm.

There are lots of stories about poor quality fuel and gas but I never had any problems with diesel or gas.

Almost without exception the gas will be Butane, not Propane.

Butane has a higher calorific value so water will boil much quicker

An 11kg gas bottle cost me on average €4 to fill

If you drive at night (to be avoided in my opinion although a couple of times I got caught out and was unavoidable) be prepared for people in black clothing, cows, goats, dogs, camels, donkey drawn carts without any lights to be on the road!!

I fitted a large LED driving light bar in Scandinavia in 2023 for deer and Moose and it was invaluable for driving at night in Africa.

One other thing, before you cross any border make sure you have tones of CAS for the other side as a lot of procedures only accept cash.

I was short of cash after all the scams in Mauritania and a kindly "Fixed" directed me to an ATM to draw money that didn't dispense any cash.

I walked to the next bank ATM and got the necessary cash.

3 days later €900 was withdrawn from my bank account.

The first bank ATM was a card reading skimmer

Luckily the Portugal bank has said they will refund the money, let's wait and see on that one

Some of the Atlas mountain roads are very steep by Europe standards and the bends very tight.

You almost think you will be able to see your own rear number plate as you turn.

Getting around the corners can be a bit of a challenge but watch out for on coming traffic as sometimes it's impossible to stay on your side of the white line, if one exists

In general, the roads are in reasonable condition and OK.

Coming back to Morocco from Mauritania I had a policeman demanding the Morocco visa fee in Euros.

Refused to give me a visa without payment in Euros.

I told him he had 5 minutes to change his mind as I was going to the MH to phone the Embassy and we'd let the Diplomats work it out.

About 5 minutes later a different policeman came out and beckoned me into the office and I got the visa paid in Morocco currency

Best advice is relax, enjoy the adventure and expect the unexpected

View attachment 996820View attachment 996821View attachment 996822

A couple of other things I forgot to mention

1. If you take a Drone, expect hassles entering and leaving Africa countries.

I was asked half a dozen times at each border if I had a Drone.

Luckily, I don't have a Drone but speaking to other travellers, they either had it removed to collect when they exit or sealed for inspection when leaving the country to make sure the seal wasn't broken.

I dont know the logic of why some are held until exit and some sealed, it may depend on the sophistication of the Drone.

A police officer walked around the MH with what looked like a scanner, might have been trying to excite the Drone transponder if I had one hidden and undeclared?

I did meet a Pole who smuggled a Drone in by disassembling it and stashing the bits behind the dash radio who was in a real panic when he heard on exit they can excite the transponder even if the batteries are removed or when X-Raying the MH.

2. They will also ask about video recorders, why I have no idea as all mobile phones are capable of high quality video these days.

3. They will X-Ray the vehicle looking for drugs, alcohol and stowaways.

X-Raying the MH on the way out, I was stopped and shown the X-Ray and bottles in the fridge that they thought were vodka, when I told them it was sparkling water, they were satisfied and didn't check further.

In Morocco you can readily buy alcohol at almost any Carrefour supermarket.

Google will tell you where as not all Carrefour sell alcohol, it is in a region of the supermarket called "The Cave", often under the supermarket.

The alcohol part of the Carrefour supermarket is often larger than the rest of the supermarket

Morocco produces a lot of good red wines, I didn't go much on the whites.

You can buy wines from almost anywhere in the world along with top brands of Russian vodka all at reasonable prices.

Australian wines are considerably cheaper in Morocco than in Australia.

French wines are everywhere

You won't get alcohol in some of the important religious cities and towns.

But if you ask at the camping grounds they will tell you where it is available, (or even offer to get it for you if you let them have a can or three ) even if the sign says, supermarket and shows pictures of fruit and vegetables, sometimes it only sells wines, beer and spirits

4. Stoways are a problem, which is another reason they X-Ray the MH leaving

There was a young kid concealed under the bike cover leaving Tanger.

A German couple in a huge 4 wheel drive unit had one hidden under the bike cover and another lying across the back axle.

I had one climb onto the bike rack when travelling through Tanger when I stopped at a traffic light and only alerted to it by folk on the sidewalk calling out.

I stopped thinking someywas falling off the back or a flat tyre.

The people dragged the kid off the back and held him while I drove off.

If I think if anything else, I'll add it to this post

Thank you so much for taking the time to write down, it’s very much appreciated. I have a time constraint this year, I’m returning for my daughter’s 40 birthday but for 2026 this is definitely on the agenda. I will be going down to Dakhla this year though.

Could I just ask you what vehicle did you take? Do you think a Burstner FWD Fiat A Class would be a suitable vehicle?

 

[Barchetta47]

Some pictures of our trip down to Dakhla with Mike and Gwen Makems. It was 2016 though time does not cgange things as quickly as other places. The only advice I would give is make sure your tyres are in very good condition and you have a spare. Our experiance was the metal road

For us 4, (Mike & Gwen Makems), Mena and myself it was a magical trip in 2016 that was unplanned and just happened on a whim when we accidently met up in a Moroccan campsite. As best as I can recall, we met up in Camping Bakanou when we were on our way down to El Quatia for a visit. It took us about 5 days to get down to Dakhla on the N1 and the journey was awesome. The road was in an absolute mess with only the centre remaining and both sides destroyed with repeated use of HGV and no maintenance. Good tyres, a spare and your ability to judge your vehicle width to the millimeter is essential. We often if not always had to move over onto the shoulder to miss oncoming vehicles. Moroccan HGV's were not an issue the drivers were brilliant at judging widths when passing. The problem we both encountered was French motorhome drivers. Useless, useless and dangerous. Gwen, who is a brilliant driver lost her wing mirror to a Frog who could not make a simple judgment. Anyhow, the journet was fantastic, some amazing stops and very scenic places. As It happened, the KIng was also visiting Dakla at around the same time so lots of flags and people making there way down there in the hope of seeing him. I wont go on. Here are a few pictures of our journey down there. An amazing adventure for us all.View attachment 996899View attachment 996900View attachment 996901View attachment 996902View attachment 996903View attachment 996904View attachment 996905View attachment 996906View attachment 996907View attachment 996908View attachment 996909View attachment 996910View attachment 996911View attachment 996912

Thanks for your help on this, I rather think I’ll be going to Dakhla!!

 

[Palough]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write down, it’s very much appreciated. I have a time constraint this year, I’m returning for my daughter’s 40 birthday but for 2026 this is definitely on the agenda. I will be going down to Dakhla this year though.

Could I just ask you what vehicle did you take? Do you think a Burstner FWD Fiat A Class would be a suitable vehicle?

Hi, I drive a 2006 Knaus Renault Master II and had absolutely no difficulties.

The only thing to remember is if you encounter sand, deflate the tyres to spread the load.

I was running the tyres at the recommended 5.0 KPa and got stuck in some sand on one of my off-road adventures.

After digging the sand away from in front of the 4 wheels, and deflating the tyres to 1.8 KPa, the MH drove out easily.

Also, some of the tarmac highway is badly crazed and to stop everything in the cupboards rattling like crazy, I deflated the tyres to 3.0 KPa to get a smooth ride.

My MH is approximately 6.5 metres and I had zero problems with the roads.

I saw many MH's, 7.5 metres and bigger on the roads.

I run a chunky tread pattern, which I think might help a little.

Hope this assists.

Cheers