Driving in Morocco
This article represents the first in a series regarding transportation in Morocco.
Updated October 19, 2022
My Experience Driving in Morocco
“What have we gotten ourselves into?” I asked myself as our car scraped the rocks beneath us. We were traversing a dried river bed in search of our lodging for the night, and my mind was racing to the reaction of the rental car company when we returned the car in a few days. “How much is it going to cost if we total the vehicle?” I continued wondering.
I was driving a Toyota Yaris hybrid with automatic transmission in the outskirts of Skoura. Four of us were packed into the vehicle as part of our week-long trek to the desert in Merzouga. Earlier in the day we had crossed the mountains from Marrakech to Ouarzazate, enjoying the majestic views along the route.
This is a real road sign in Southern Morocco!
N9 had been our principal road for the start of the day, until we branched off to P1506 in search of Aït-Ben-Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has been used as a setting in various films. I wasn’t sure what to expect from highway N9, but soon after leaving Marrakech I discovered a winding, two-lane road through the Atlas Mountains. In some spots, it was evident that construction crews had recently laid pristine new pavement. In other areas, I maneuvered through active construction zones on dusty, rocky soil. Once we arrived at the intersection between P1506 and N9 we had a decision to make. I parked the car along the side of the road to inspect what I could see of the side road. “It looks good,” I thought to myself. I wanted to make sure that P1506 to Aït-Ben-Haddou wouldn’t give us any issues, as some bloggers had mentioned there were great views but it could use some “tender love and care.” As I peered across the valley, a local man approached me. I asked him which road was best to take to the ancient ksar, and he assured me that the side road would be fine…“better than the main road,” he said.
Once I sat back in the car, I informed my traveling companions that we would be taking the side road P1506. For the first few kilometers, the road conditions were great. Then, as we continued along, I noticed that the pavement only covered the middle of the road. Technically this was a two-lane road, but only the middle half was paved. As such, as cars approached us, I would slow down and move the right side of the car off the pavement onto the gravel shoulder. Such it was as we drove to Aït-Ben-Haddou. There was one curve where the vehicle traveling toward us did not slow down as much as it should have, and it veered into our lane. This did scare my passengers and myself. Thankfully, this was the only truly scary moment of the road trip, but I do agree with the bloggers that the road could use some “tender love and care.” I recommend staying on N9 even if your map app states that P1506 is a shorter distance to Aït-Ben-Haddou.
After enjoying lunch with a view of the ancient city, walking through the ruins, and then driving through Ouarzazate, we were close to our lodging for the night, L’Ma Lodge. Having now successfully crossed the river bed, we continued to follow the directions on Google Maps. We had been told by our travel agent that our lodging for the night was a little off the main road, so we were hopeful to reach our destination soon. As I drove down gravel roads through the date palm oasis, I hoped that there wouldn’t be much more off-roading. I stopped to ask for directions a few times. At one point, a young guy on a motorcycle halted his current activities to lead us to the lodge. For 20 minutes we followed this complete stranger, he himself asking for directions at one point, until we arrived at our destination. Grateful for his help, we thanked him profusely as he rode back to whatever he had been doing previously. That evening we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at L’Ma Lodge, a true oasis in the middle of a date palm grove.
This experience was only my second time driving in Morocco. My wife and I find that while a personal vehicle gives more independence and flexibility we are able to get most places in the city on our own. In Casablanca, we get around using small taxis (red in color), and sometimes on the tramway. When traveling between cities, we enjoy taking trains. For this trip to the desert, it made sense for us to rent a vehicle from a local company. For anyone considering driving in Morocco, I would encourage you do to so. As a word of caution, you do need to pay attention more than you would otherwise, especially for pedestrians. I discovered that after awhile, I adjusted to people and their pack animals entering and leaving the roadway. I consider myself a good driver, and overall I felt that I needed to be more assertive than usual, but not to the point of being reckless.
About a year and a half later, I rode through the mountains between Ouarzazate and Marrakech once again, but this time entirely on N9. Road construction continues on the Ouarzazate side of the mountains but appears to be completed on the Marrakech side.
On this most recent road trip, we stayed a few days in Marrakech then continued on to Essaouira. The route via N8 between the two cities is in good condition, but is tw0-lane with a decent amount of traffic. As we neared Essaouira, we were pleasantly surprised to pass a stretch where goats were perched in argan trees. We did not stop, but there were multiple pull-outs for tourists to take pictures. Shortly after we did stop at a women’s co-op, where we were offered a short tour in English explaining the process to make various argan products, along with an opportunity to taste some products. The ladies were very friendly, and laughed when I asked if the argan was first “processed” through the goats - the answer is no, thankfully.
There are many ways to get around Morocco, and renting a vehicle is one of them. Hiring a personal driver is also a possibility. If you would like more information regarding transportation options in Morocco, please leave a comment below or contact us directly.
Everything You Need to Know about Driving and Renting a Car in Morocco
Driving is on the right-hand side
Street signs and traffic indications are in both Arabic and French most of the time. Sometimes you will see signs that are also written in Tamazight.
Police checkpoints are a common occurrence in Morocco. During our road-trip spanning over 1,500 km we probably passed through 8-10 active police checkpoints. This does not count places where police had set up a stop but were sitting in their vehicles. At the active checkpoints, we were stopped about four times. I was asked to show the documents of the car as well as my driving license.
Tolls are found on national, A-numbered routes (autoroutes). After our road trip, I realized that N-routes are more similar to US State routes, and A-routes are most similar to interstate highways. At toll booths it is not necessary to pay with exact change, but paying with cash (as opposed to credit card) is necessary. Expect to pay anywhere from 20-80 dirhams depending on how long you are on the road. When you approach a toll booth, make sure you are in the lane that accepts cash and not the automatic J-lane.
Roundabouts/closeness of vehicles - My biggest fear when driving in Morocco has been driving through roundabouts and turning at large intersections, as these situations seem most chaotic. At times, there are 4 separate lanes (or more!) created by drivers to make turns. These lanes are created out of thin air, with little space between vehicles.
We used the company Europcar to rent the vehicle, and picked it up and returned it in downtown Casablanca. We found many options on Expedia, and this location offered an automatic vehicle for a good price. Pay close attention to the size of the vehicle you are choosing. Mini and compact are small for most Americans. Our vehicle was classified as Economy size, and it was a bit cramped for the four of us and all of our luggage; we could not fit all of the luggage in the trunk, and that was with us having four carry-on size bags. Car rental options are available at many airports. Morocco is a land of manual transmissions, so you will find that the choice of automatic vehicles is limited.
Renting a car in Morocco might be right for you if…
—You aren’t afraid to get behind the wheel in a foreign country
—You want to take things slow, or just want to make your own schedule
—You want to get off the beaten path