morocco suggestions please

[banjaxed]

Happy new year to all !

I feel the need for some sun and hope to tour Morocco for 2/3 wks in late Feb

My template for a good trip is as follows
- circa 50 miles a day
- total mileage between 500 - 800 miles
- little traffic
- decent road surfaces
- decent overnight accommodation using booking.com which I like to book daily (30 euros ave spend)
- access to good food and a beer
- I plan to arrive and depart from same town so ideally a round trip if not a rail link between start and end points (e.g. Marrakech - Tangier)

A recommended route would be great if not regions which are recommended would help a lot

Thanks in anticipation of your ideas.

[FarOeuf]

I just got back from 5 weeks there (cycled down from Edinburgh). Much nicer cycling in the east, nice roads and pretty good traffic manners (better than here). Beer you'll struggle finding, unless you stay in the main cities which are rubbish for cycling.

'Decent' overnight accommodation I assume means Western style (hence the beer)? There's lots of tourist locations, just get a Lonely Planet guide and plan your route according to the places they list? But, in my experience/opinion, you'll miss out on the really great local food/culture/people. I was paying between €5 and €10 for places (often on booking/hostalworld), and all were pretty reasonable but mostly without hot showers. There were most often more expensive options in the larger towns though.

The roads (and small side roads) round/through the High Atlas are excellent. Down to Erfoud/Merzouga and the Dra valley are all pretty good cycling. It's quite desolate north east of Midelt (the road up to Nador) but really good cycling roads, hotels are easy to find but may not be up to your expectations sometimes (though with a little planning should be fine).

wifi is everywhere so you'll have no trouble booking ahead I think.

my routes here : https://www.strava.com/athletes/791857
some photos: https://www.instagram.com/far_oeuf/

EDIT: I cycled back up from Marrekech to Tangier, and it was ok but not as nice/quiet as Nador down to Erfoud.
EDIT2: of the few cyclists I met, most flew into/out of Marrakech

cheers,

[banjaxed]

Thanks for this. Very useful.

Ive not used strava before. How do I get a map of your overall route in morocco?

Thanks again

[FarOeuf]

Roughly :

Nador -> Saka -> Guercif -> Missour -> Midelt -> Errachidia -> Erfoud -> Merzouga -> Tinghir -> Ouarzazate -> Marrakech -> Settat -> Rabat -> Tangier

into Marrakech and onwards it was a ok but not as good as everything before (traffic, tourist nonsense, prices, etc). If you look at my photos you'll see some of cafes with meat hanging up. If you're a meat eater, these are the best places. If there's meat and some bbq smoke then they are open, and you'll get some fresh brochettes (skewers/kebab) with salad for about €3, great cycling food and available in all but the smallest villages.

[banjaxed]

Thanks for this Doug. I initially thought of tangier - agadir along the coast but I'm having a major re-think now! . May well get back to you if that's ok. Terry

[FarOeuf]

yeah, sure. Tangier is not a particularly nice place, as it's popular with day-tripper tourists (from Spain) which attracts people preying on tourists. Tangier is a bit like London, in the sense it's not representative of the country and attracts all sorts looking to make cash out of tourists. Agadir is a different sort of place, it's very western because it's a magnet for northern European camper vans heading for warmer weather.

Depends what you want out of your trip. Great food, great people, great roads, then it's not the Atlantic coast route in my opinion

[b1ke]

I've cycled from Tangier to Agadir along the coast. It's ok, but flat and unremarkable, apart from the run from Essaouira to Agadir which is more scenic.

[LeBrignall]

I will be flying into Marrakech on friday 19 Feb and touring round the anti-Atlas which is great cycling. Hotels can be great, or a bit poor depending on where you go - I will head south across the Tizi Test pass and down to Tafroute on onto the coast or into the dunes - depending on time. I'm going for 10 days - and did the same trip last year

This is a good blog to check out
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o= ... 12289&v=7R
Great weather and good food. It helps if you have some basic French.
Start with me if you want...

[banjaxed]

Only just spotted this post - sorry for the delay in replying

I will be going later so cant make it. Thanks anyway.

Interestingly I have since read a journal on CGOAB from a guy complaining about hoteliers trying to rip him off and aggressive kids. I've decided to go anyway but interested if you experienced this?

[willswitchengage]

Hi all,

I was bored at the weekend and booked some cheap flights to Morocco for the end of February - I basically intend to copy the 8bar adventure riding Marrakesh to Marrakesh via the Atlas Mountains.

https://8bar-bikes.com/blog/8bar-adventures-high-atlas/

I've read a few threads on here regarding Morocco and nobody has really presented any significant challenges. In the past I've done USA C2C and Transcontinental so happy to just apply my warface and get on with things, but obviously a new country etc so there are a few very practical queries somebody could help me with if possible...

Starting VERY BASICALLY:

Does anyone have a hostel to recommend in Marrakesh that'll accommodate cyclists? The last place I stayed in on a tour wouldn't let us lock up our bikes there, and two of my mates' predictably got nicked (Amsterdam...). I'd also intend to leave my bike box there.

What's the transfer from the airport like? I'd ride it but I have a box to carry... not very practical!

Blogs etc seem to say accommodation in towns is plentiful and they never needed to camp, and weirdly to avoid warmshowers. Not sure I'd want to risk not taking my tent though...

Any other helpful nuggets of information would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[nirakaro]

I flew out of Marrakech in 2011. The airport's not far from the city centre – four/five miles maybe. I had no trouble finding a taxi to carry my boxed bike.
IIRC if you go into the main square of the old city (Jemaa al'Fna) and veer to the right, there's an area with lots of small cheap hotels. The one I chose at random was pleasant and friendly, and was quite happy to let me keep my bike in my room.
I rode down the coast from Tangier to Casablanca, then inland to Marrakech. As others have said, it's not the most inspiring ride. I found that the hotels in small towns were few and far between, and pretty unsalubrious.