Ever dreamed of touring Morocco? Here’s some of the highlights of a month we spent there with our 3 children in a Classic Hymer motorhome.
From winding medieval market streets, to snow-capped mountains, via wind-swept coastlines and sun-drenched deserts, Morocco is a country of incredible variety and beauty. Perhaps the best way to experience this rich tapestry of sites and sounds is to tour the country in a camper, as we did, enjoying things at your own pace and taking your home along with you. Here is how we, as a family of 5, spent the month of January there in our classic Hymer motorhome, ‘Hazel’.
This is an account of what we did. Based on our time there, I’d say that to really do it justice, be able to visit all corners and experience all of the best things to do in Morocco, you really need 2 months or longer. We got around a lot in a month but it felt rushed at times. For anyone really struggling for time, take a look at these suggestions for how to spend just 1 week in Morocco, or this 1 week Morocco itinerary.
(base map courtesy of Morocco Map Vectors by Vecteezy)
The first thing to say is Morocco is big, much bigger than I’d really anticipated before we arrived. Mixed standards of roads also contribute to longer journey times than you might expect. Don’t let that put you off though, it is a charming and welcoming country, full of colour and adventure. We had a blast!
The adventure started with the fast catamaran ferry from Tarifa in Spain over to Tangier in Morocco. It’s a fast, modern ferry which is great (if overpriced). We made it with only 2 of the 3 kids being sick!
From Tangier, we headed south staying overnight first in Mohammedia, then at the sandy bay of Oualidia, the first two of many campsites that we would come to stay on. This was followed by a trip to Safi for a visit to the famous pottery factories there.
Continuing south along the coast, we spent a couple of nights at the beautiful and bohemian port town of Essaouira, with its spacious and well-designed old town and medina, contrasting with modern seafront bars and restaurants.
The further south we travelled, the better the beaches and more laid-back the vibe, as we stayed on some great family campsites and visited some top international surf spots around the town of Taghazout.
The end of the road south for us was the sun-beaten town of Sidi Ifni, complete with its crumbling Spanish colonial legacy and rugged surrounding beaches. We stopped at the beach at Legzira to watch groups of paragliders descending from the clifftop down to the beach below, framed by the natural sea arch.
We then headed east away from the coast and up into the Anti-Atlas mountains, the smaller brother of the High-Atlas mountains further north, but no less impressive. This is a barren other-worldly landscape of warped rock ridges and scatterings of enormous red granite boulders.
We stopped off in Tafroute, the town at the centre of the region, located in a valley surrounded on all sides by enormous red granite mountains and rock formations. Large areas of the valley permit motorhome parking (for a nominal cost), but are pleasantly unmarked and wild in their feel. The kids loved climbing on the boulders, especially during a trip to the nearby ‘painted rocks’.
Heading east to Tata, we took on arguably the most visually impressive drive (along the worst condition road) of our entire trip, taking on steep winding lanes that would test our poor old van to its limits!
The drive east from the mountains saw the landscape gradually change to the fossil-country of the desert, interspersed by occasional palm filled oasis towns. We eventually reached the town of Merzouga, impressively sitting on the edge of enormous red sand dunes of the Sahara desert, and at the centre of Morocco’s desert tourism industry.
Leaving the van parked for a few days, we opted to stay in a beautiful mud-brick hotel, as well as adventuring on camels into the desert for an overnight stay at a luxury camp.
We left the desert behind and headed northwest towards the snow-topped High Atlas mountains, first visiting Morocco’s 2 most famous gorges along the way.
Then, via Ouarzazate and the much-photographed Ait Benhaddou, at the heart of the Morocco film industry, we continued north towards the high mountains, hoping for a smooth journey over the mountains and down into Marrakech.
Unfortunately, life is never so simple. We instead suffered a pretty major breakdown, high up in the mountains and in the middle of nowhere.
Fortunately, we did eventually make it to Marrakech, to experience a couple of bittersweet days in this tourist hot-spot, dazzled by the sights and sounds, whilst all the time infuriated by the constant hassle and misinformation of the touts. Oh, and driving a large van through the traffic of downtown Marrakech is one thing I will never forget!
Our trip then took us north to the ancient capital city of Meknes, followed by Fes, with its atmospheric medina and ancient tanneries, before a visit to the Roman city of Volubilis. We also detoured to visit the historic but somewhat underwhelming and rubbish-strewn towns of Sefrou and Bhalil located nearby.
Further north we moved into the Rif mountains, to landscapes more reminiscent of Southern Spain, to reach the super pretty and laid-back blue city of Chefchaouen.
Our trip finished with us being rushed onto a ferry back to Spain, as all later sailings that day had been cancelled due to high winds. It meant we missed seeing Tangier as planned, but were relieved to have not been stranded at the port.
We loved our time in Morocco. It really is a very safe and welcoming, family-friendly destination. It is a country full of contrasts and, as shown by the scale of building works taking place nationwide, continues to evolve. Despite hassle in some of the principle tourist locations, and evidence of problems in dealing with waste and rubbish build up away from them, the country is still beautiful, adventurous and continually surprising.
We arrived thinking that a month in the country might be too long. We left wishing we’d given ourselves longer. There is so much to see. It really is perfect for touring and great fun for kids.
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For a round-up of our favourite places in Morocco, check out our 10 Best Cities to Visit in Morocco, written in collaboration with DestGuides.com.
For more about some of our favourite places in Morocco besides Marrakesh, see ‘Morocco – Top 5, excluding Marrakech’, written in collaboration with GapBeetle.
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