Driving around Morocco
There are few real problems driving in Morocco, but accident rates are high, largely because motorists routinely ignore traffic regulations and drive aggressively and dangerously. Do not expect other drivers to indicate or observe lane discipline. Beware when coming up to blind curves or hills where vehicles coming in the other direction may be trying to overtake without a full view of the road ahead. Treat all pedestrians with the suspicion that they will cross in front of you, and all cyclists with the idea that they may suddenly swerve into the middle of the road. All this makes driving a particularly hair-raising experience in towns, and even experienced drivers may find city driving quite stressful. The difficulty of finding places in cities due to the lack of street signs adds to the problem. Be particularly wary about driving after dark, as it is legal to drive up to 20km/h without lights, which allows all cyclists and mopeds to wander at will. Wild animals may also pose an extra danger when driving at night.
With all that in mind, daytime and certainly long-distance driving can be as good as anywhere. Good road surfaces, long straight roads, and little traffic between inhabited areas allow for high average speeds.
Rules of the road
The usual speed limit outside towns is 40km/h (25mph) in built-up areas, 100km/h (62mph) on ordinary roads, and 120km/h (75mph) on motorways. There are on-the-spot fines for speeding, and oncoming motorists flashing their headlights at you may well be warning you to slow down for a police check ahead (radar speed traps are common).
The French rule of giving priority to traffic from the right is observed at roundabouts and junctions – meaning that cars coming onto a roundabout have priority over those already on it.
By law, drivers and passengers are required to wear seat belts. Almost no one does, but if you follow suit and are stopped by the police, you may have a small (possibly unofficial) fine extracted. Given Morocco’s high road accident rate, it is foolhardy not to wear a seat belt anyway. You drive on the right.
Driving requirements
The minimum age for driving in Morocco is 21 years. EU, North American and Australasian driving licences are recognized and valid in Morocco, though an International Driving Licence, with its French translations (available from the
AA or equivalent motoring organizations) is a worthwhile investment, especially if your domestic licence doesn’t have a photograph on it (Moroccan police will find that strange). You must carry your driving licence and passport at all times.
Equipment
Whether you rent a car or drive your own, always make sure you’re carrying a spare tyre in good condition (plus a jack and tools). Flat tyres occur very frequently, even on fairly major roads, and you can often be in for a long wait until someone drives along with a possible replacement. Carrying an emergency windscreen is also useful, especially if driving your own car for a long period of time. There are lots of loose stones on the hard shoulders of single-lane roads and they can fly all over the place. If you’re not mechanically minded, be sure to bring a car maintenance manual – a useful item, too, for anyone planning to rent a vehicle.
Fuel and breakdowns
Filling stations can be few and far between in rural areas: always fill your tank to the limit. Unleaded fuel is available in most places nowadays, but it’s always worth filling up when you have the chance as supplies can be sporadic. Fuel prices are generally lower than in Western Europe, at 10.11dh (€0.91/82p/$1.07) a litre for unleaded (
sans plomb or
bidoun rasas), and 11.60dh (€1.05/95p/$1.24) for diesel (
gasoil, pronounced “
gazwaal”). In the Saharan provinces (basically the Western Sahara), fuel is subsidized, and costs about a third less. Fuel in the duty-free Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla is cheaper than it is on the Spanish mainland, but slightly more for petrol than in Morocco proper, at around €1.22 (£1.09/$1.40) for unleaded (
sin plomo) and €1.13 (£1.01/$1.29) for diesel (
gasóleo).
Moroccan mechanics are usually excellent at coping with breakdowns and all medium-sized towns have garages (most with an extensive range of spare parts for most French cars, and usually for Fiats too). However, if you break down miles from anywhere you’ll probably end up paying a fortune to get a truck to tow you to the nearest town.
If you are driving your own vehicle, there is also the problem of having to re-export any car that you bring into the country (even a wreck). You can’t just write off a car: you’ll have to take it out of Morocco with you.
Insurance
Insurance must by law be sold along with all rental agreements. Driving your own vehicle, you should obtain Green Card cover from your insurers. If you don’t have it on arrival, you can buy it from
Assurance Frontière at around €145 (£130/$166) a month for a car or camper van, at Tangier port, Nador port, or the land frontiers at Ceuta and Melilla, or online, or contact the
Fédération Marocaine des Sociétés d’Assurances et de Réassurance.
Parking
Parking in almost any town, you will find a
gardien de voitures, usually licensed by local authorities to look after cars, and claiming a couple of dirhams by way of parking fees. Alternatively, most of the larger hotels in the Ville Nouvelle quarters of cities have parking spaces (and occasionally garaging). It’s always worth paying for a
gardien or parking in a garage, as new or well-looked-after cars attract a certain level of vandalism. Red-and-white-striped kerbs mean no parking is allowed.
Getting around via shared taxi in Morocco
Shared
grands taxis are one of the best ways to travel in Morocco. They operate on a wide variety of routes, are much quicker than buses (usually quicker than trains, too), and fares vary from slightly more than the bus to around twice as much.
The taxis are usually big Peugeot or Mercedes cars carrying six passengers. Most business is along specific routes, and the most popular routes have more or less continuous departures throughout the day. You just show up at the terminal and ask for a place to a specific destination.