Doing DIY roadtrip or going with an Tour agent?
We initially did not planned to do a DIY road trip in Morocco. We consulted several Moroccan tour agencies and many came back with a 12 to 15 days trip covering the major attractions. What we did not like about their proposals was the “dash” travelling everyday with long hours on the road of over 400 to 700km. If we were to extend the days the cost went up by alot.
In the end we decided to do a DIY road trip on our own. Morocco seemed like a very “wild” country and “running” around on our own, we were a bit apprehensive concerning the safety and comfort.
After much research and planning we “constructed” a 25 day DIY road trip.
With 25 days, we were able to completed the trip at a relaxing pace. Each morning we set out only after a relaxing breakfast and usually not earlier than 10.30am. Many afternoons we arrived at our stays/hotels early, rest and relax before going out to explore. At some scenic places we stayed more than one day to give us time and space to fully appreciate their beauty.
Our roadtrip started and ended in Casablanca. From Casablanca was a clockwise loop to the eastern most end, Mezouga, before looping back to Casablanca.
|
day 1 |
Getting to Casablanca |
day 11,12 |
Merzouga – Sahara Desert |
|
day 2 |
Casablanca, Rabat |
day 13 |
Todgha Gorge |
|
day 3 |
Rabat, Asilah |
day 14 |
Dades Gorges |
|
day 4,5 |
Hercules Caves, Chefchaouen |
day 15 |
Skoura |
|
day 6 |
Ouezzane, Volubilis Ruins |
day 16 |
Ait Ben Haddou |
|
day 7 |
Meknes, Fes |
day 17,18,19,20 |
Marrakesh, Ouzoud Falls |
|
day 8 |
Fez |
day 21,22 |
Essaouira |
|
day 9 |
Midelt |
day 23 |
safi, Oualidia |
|
day 10 |
Errachidia |
day 24,25 |
Le Jadida, Casablanca |
Sahara Desert of Merzouga was the farthest point of our travel in Morocco, to include it in our plan increased the total number of days by a lot. Many times we thought of leaving it out but we were only too glad that we did not! It was our first time visiting a desert and the Sahara Desert was the absolute best part of this trip.
Sahara Desert of MerzougaIn many of the proposals from the agencies going to the Sahara desert was a 1 day dash from Fez or Marrakesh to Merzouga (Sahara Desert) then a one day/night desert exploration and then another one day dash from Merzouga back to Fez or Marrakesh. The trip to the desert and back took at most 3 to four days.
Doing the trip on our own allowed us to make it a 8/9 days starting from Fez to Merzouga (Sahara Desert) and ending in Marrakesh. This gave us plentiful of time to rest and relax and it made travelling in the harsh and dry environment of Moroccan pleasant.
The westward route from Merzouga( Sahara Desert) to Marrakesh were more memorable then the eastward route from Fez to Merzouga (Sahara Desert). Ait Ben Haddou was impressive!
In these 25 days other sights that made an impression on us were Chefchaouen, Tannery of Fez, Jemaa el Fna of Marakesh, Ouzoud Waterfalls, Essaouira, Hassan II Mosque of Casablanca.
Our trip brought us through the big Moroccan cities like Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes, Fes and Marrakesh. In these cities the main attractions were palaces, mausoleums, mosques, medinas, souks and madrasa which after a while looked similar. One Kasbah looked like another, one Ait looked like another, one Oasis looked like another. But in every cities/villages/Aits/Oasis we visited there would be something unique, something worth making it all the way there to see.
Traffic Violiation
In Morocco we were hit with three traffic fines. Each fine was about 300 MAD, During the second violation after we paid the fine to the policeman he issued us a receipt, that was when we realised that the policeman of the first fine did not issued us a receipt. Oh dear, how would one know if the fine itself was done legally!
It seemed like the primary “job” of the Moroccan Policemen was to collect fines. There were always out monitoring vehicle speed at intersection. According to one of our hosts, he exclaimed that the police was corrupted when we told him about being fined!
While driving we did observe the speed limit and when the speed limit dropped we would slow down, unfortunately in Morocco the Policeman expected the drivers to immediate reduce the car speed to the new level. Slowing the car down to the new speed limit seemed not acceptable!
In the 25 days we were fined three times and let off one time after “pleading” with the policeman. We were coming to a stop at an intersection. There was a couple of policemen standing at the intersection and we were very careful with our vehicle speed . One of policemen waved at us to come forward so we drove forward to his position and then he said we did not do a complete stop at the stopline at the intersection!
We were shocked when he wanted to issue a fine, so we “pleaded” and told him that we were practically stopping when he waved us forward.. it was a misunderstanding….etc etc. After more than 15 minutes he finally let us off!
We were really not sure if this country was all about seriously making sure that all drivers adhered to the driving rule strictly or about generating “revenue”!
Expenditure
The total expenditure our our 25 days DIY trip in Morocco was SGD$10,000 for two person. The breakdown were as below.
|
Airfare to Casablanca |
32.5% |
|
rental car |
17.5% |
|
Accommodation |
25.0% |
|
all others (food, petrol, etc) |
25% |