Boggy's BLOG...... Travelling in Morocco: Tips, Tricks & the Border Dance

It took less than five minutes in Morocco before I was utterly enchanted — and slightly overwhelmed. That first waft of spice and Cedar wood, the choreography of honking scooters weaving around donkey carts, and a heat that felt like someone had dropped me into a tagine dish. Welcome to Morocco.

If you’re heading here on two wheels (or four, I suppose), there are a few things worth knowing. Consider this your personal cheat sheet, scribbled in the margins of my memory somewhere between Chefchaouen and the Sahara.

Border Crossings – The Art of Patience

Crossing into Morocco, especially from Spain via Ceuta or Melilla, is less of a procedure and more of a performance. Expect confusion. Expect shouting. Expect paperwork.

'Muscles' demonstrating the best way to deal with border bureaucracy in Morocco

Here’s how to survive it:

• Don’t arrive in a rush — borders aren’t the place for a tight ferry connection. Give yourself plenty of time… the border staff will take theirs. Getting frustrated with them will only slow them down.

• Documents ready: Passport and vehicle registration (V5c). You will be asked to present your passport and documents 2 or 3 times at separate control points.

• D16 form – This is for your vehicle’s temporary import. You can fill it in on the ferry or at the border as you enter Morocco. Don’t lose it. Take a photo of it and keep it in your phone as backup. Its a very unassuming looking little piece of paper but very important!

• Insurance, Cash and SIM - Once through border control you will need cash to buy your insurance. There will be booths for this. Cash first, then insurance (Just shy of £100 for 30 days motorcycle cover in March 2025). If you want to use a Moroccan SIM I’d suggest using an e-sim. A few £’s more expensive but a lot less hassle. If you have a Revolut account for foreign currency, they supply e-sims too. Using a local physical SIM card means handing your phone over to the seller for them to install it and results in a bombardment of spam text messages once the sim is activated. They will also do their best to upsell you a higher data package. You are unlikely to need it.

• Watch for ‘helpers’ – You’ll be offered “assistance” for a fee. Sometimes useful, sometimes just a distraction in a hi-vis vest.

Keep your cool, smile a lot, and remember: the louder they shout, the less urgent it usually is.

Roads: A Mix of Magic and Mayhem

Moroccan roads are a glorious contradiction. One minute you’re carving race circuit style corners through the High Atlas, the next you’re dodging goats, kids, and potholes the size of small hammams.

Sublime tarmac in the High Atlas mountains decending into Midelt

• Road signs can be vague. Trust your instincts and maybe your GPS. (Paper maps don’t get heatstroke.)

• Speed traps are real — especially on long straight stretches. Locals flash headlights to warn you. There are many Police patrols doing spot checks, usually when entering urban areas. Be respectful and sensible. Motorcycle groups will often be waved through without being stopped.

• Fuel is more readily available in 2025 than it was last time I was there in 2010. In the more remote villages you will still be buying it in old coke and wine bottles from the village store. If you are aiming for a long desert transit carry extra fuel. You will probably need it.

Wild Camping & Riads

Camping is generally tolerated and sometimes even welcomed — especially if you ask first or tuck yourself out of sight.

• Wild camping in the desert is a dream. Just make sure you’re self-sufficient and not parked on someone’s camel track.

• Riads are the hidden jewels of Moroccan towns — traditional guesthouses tucked behind unassuming walls. Think mosaic courtyards, mint tea, and towels folded into swans. Affordable, too.

A beautifully tiled Riad in Ouarzazate

Just don’t expect a lie-in if you’re near a mosque. The evocative call to prayer at dawn doesn’t come with a snooze button.

Food, Water & Belly Karma

The food is spectacular — tagines bubbling away at roadside cafés, street vendors selling fresh bread, and the ever-present couscous.

• Avoid salad, it will most likely have been washed in tap water

• Drink bottled water only unless your stomach is made of reinforced optimism. Check to see if the bottle top seal has already been broken. If it has change it for one that hasn’t.

• Carry snacks — once you hit the remote tracks, options dwindle to biscuits and warm fizzy drinks.

People & Culture

This might be the most generous country I’ve ridden through. People will stop to help before you ask, and half the time, they’ll invite you for tea just for looking lost.

Moroccan Tea. Always served with a smile (or a toothless grin) and sometimes a song too.

• A few words of French or Arabic go a long way. Even a badly pronounced “shukran” (thank you) earns smiles.

• Women riders – you’ll get looks, but rarely hassle. Dress respectfully, keep shoulders and knees covered in towns, and ride on.

• Alcohol - With this being a Muslim culture alcohol is generally frowned upon. Having said that it is available if you know where to look. Google can be useful in locating bars and hotels that serve alcohol.

On our 2025 tour we arrived in Chefchaouen with a very poorly motorcycle. Within minutes our Riad owner (the friendliest man I think I have ever met) had arranged space in a workshop over the road for us to work on the bike and was already making calls to locate the part we needed.

Final Thoughts

Morocco is a place that seeps under your skin. It dazzles, confuses, and rewards the bold. The key to enjoying it? Flexibility. Patience. And a bit of bravado.

There’ll be days when the wind is fierce and the traffic irrational, but then you’ll crest a ridge and see the dunes stretched out like a painting — and it’ll all be worth it.

Buying a few gifts at Gara Medouar

In the high Atlas mountains it will get chilly, especially at night. You will need riding gear that will cope with hot and cold conditions. In remote towns, villages and plains you will meet locals selling their wares. You can buy a few trinkets or smile with a polite ‘no thanks’ but don’t get frustrated with them. It is their living.

If you are thinking about exploring Morocco, get up and do it - you will fall in love with this amazing country as I did on my first visit in 2010. You will see the landscape and the faces change day by day as you pass from the green north to the stunning desert landscapes further towards the equator.

The view of the dunes at Erg Chebbi from Nomad Palace

Just watch out for eagles with snakes and piki-pikis going the wrong way. But hey, where’s the fun in predictable?

If you want to get in touch and find out more about exploring Morocco by Motorcycle, drop me a line at petebog@motojunkies.co.uk

Book yourself onto the next Moto Junkies tour to Morocco HERE.