EDC in Morocco on a Yamaha XTZ660Z Ténéré....amongst others...

Thank you for the kind words Sir....

We rode from Tanger Med over to Asilah to an hotel I know there...next day to Marrakech to campsite/chalets (on the outskirts)

From there next morning to Ouarzazate.... (If you leave Asilah very early you could do Ouarzazate in one full day,thus saving a day)

After that here's the piste to Zagora that you can download direct to your GPS.

http://en.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=2240849

This route is another option to take to Merzouga...we came from Tagounite and joined this same route about half way.....The going is very much the same,kind of 'six of one and half a dozen of the other'

http://en.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=2240866

From Chefchaouen we ride north to Tetuan. We arrive in rain and find an hotel called the Dream Hotel. It was new and modern with B&B €36. We bought a pizza for an evening meal costing €6

Next morning we awake to more rain,crew up and head to the ferry terminal.

We stop for a snack after riding twisties and I scan a panoramic picture of the lowlands only to find that Ken jumps in at the last moment saying I should take a picture of up his nose....I poke him in the eye with my finger.



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En route we navigate through stretches of dense fog and ride around land slides before seeing the crashing waves at the port.

We get processed first and get given directions to the queue....which turned out to be wrong,so half an hour before the boat arrives we get moved again...of course before that they told us to go check our tickets in,somewhat similar to checking in at an airport....take note of this.










We hang around in the wind waiting for the boat watching the crashing white water breakers.......

As I don't get sea sick I start by telling everyone to have a sick bag handy and that these are the most weather beaten straits in the northern hemisphere,there's usually 3 ships per year(at least) sunk in the storms but that they have a press blackout so as not to deter tourism....

I also state that the Algerian Navy sometimes go on exercise with the Swiss Navy and that it's not unknown for them to take potshots for gun practice at civilian ferries.

I tell them that I hope we don't get a small boat as they can get attacked by hump backed whales and capsized......this IS Africa after all....

The EDC starts to get frightened and a solemn mood descends.








The KTM's are parked up first so if they need to be pushed onto the ferry they'll obstruct no one.




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We embark and that's us leaving Africa.

We arrive in Algerciras and bid farewell to the UK contingent.

We ride north and stop at Seville at 2100hrs after finding an hotel for €22.50 per head with breakfast being purchased the morning in the adjoining bar.

Next day we leave bound for Madrid. Usual autoroute guff applies with no rain that whole day!!! The 990i and the Tiger head off to ride on up through Portugal.

I fill up with 17.14litres after 342.8kms at €1.50/litre and costing €25.73.

Next fuel stop at 14053kms on the speedo is...

283.4kms,18.06litres and €27.36 (€1.515/litre)


After that at Madrid

214.9kms,14.58litres costing €21.77 (€1.493/litre) with 14268kms on the speedo

Next...

270.0kms costing €18.72 and with 13.95litres(€1.342/litre)


Finally stopping 70kms from home in Spain

243kms costing €22.21 with 15.23litres (€1.458/litre)

We arrive at my house at about 1930hrs


Speedo.....I left with 9701kms and now there was 14846kms......covering 5145kms from start to finish.

The XTZ had no problems and the oil was relatively clean after after the trip. The panniers stayed put and the welded seams kept everything dry and strong after the odd drop.

(I will post any rogue pictures that turn up ...still waiting on 2 more batches)



To quote an old friend of mine when we were last on holiday together and that quote is still relevant today as it was then




"I thought I was going on holiday with my friends and not the freak'in Marx Brothers!!"



























.

great thread. Funny Sod. Cheers.

Thanks guys,great write up.
Glad yours went better than mine,but i will return one day.Back in Spain rescuing my bike,
not the worst place to spend Xmas,23C days!
Best wishes all,happy travels 2013!
Bill.

Still hiding behind wheels to get out of doing stuff.

Great trip and brilliant write up. Would love to get a piece of that action some day.

Happy Christmas lad!

What happened to your moto?......Regulator per chance?









.

Thanks for that Andy.....Have a good New Year young fella!!

If anyone wants to head to Maroc then here is a rough costing over 15 nights.


FUEL
Two days down through Spain= €96.97

All the time in Maroc= €141.62

Two days back up through Spain= €115.79

Therefore total fuel cost= €354.38 or €22.14 per day on fuel.

I returned on average 5.41Litres/100kms, i.e. 53.25mpg UK and 44.35mpg US


ACCOMMODATION

One night going,staying in Spain was €37 per head.

Boat was €83 return. (Just turn up...no need to book)

Maroc,most places as stated were 200Dhms (€17.94)per night to include evening meal and breakfast. The least we payed was 150Dhms(€13.46) I never ate any lunch...only drank water all day.

Unusual prices after that were one night at 360Dhms B&B only(€32.30) and one night at 600Dhms(€53.84)

The more expensive rate could've been avoided by arriving in daylight thus having more time to scoot about and look,and not having to take the first we came to as it were.

As an aside and with town hotels pay about 40-50Dhms per night for a dude to watch over your motos. Desert hotels are OK to leave your motos at.

One night in Spain coming back was €22.50 per head.


So...roughly I spent €446 on accommodation,€354 on petrol and €83 for boat and small gifts for family approx €25.

(As an aside,once in Maroc,it was costing about €40 per day for accommodation(food included) and petrol)


TOTAL COST =€910 ($1200; £748; 5,128,068 Paraguayan Guarani's or 105,827 Nepalese Rupee's)






















.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread I have a few questions regarding riding in Morocco.

As a Christmas present my girlfriend gave me the Michelin road map of Morocco (742).
Besides that I'm looking for a routable map for my GPS (garmin Zumo 660) - do you have any recommendations?

Do you have recommendations for places to stay with secure parking - I'll be riding solo so security is an issue for me, especially related to the prevention of theft.

Any heads up for a Morocco rookie on two wheels would be appreciated


Regards
Tonny

Nice trip. Another one of the places I want to ride.




#does the guy one tiger 800 have a youtube channel or his videos anywhere else?

HI..

If you look for Guilty Party on the forums you can PM him and see what he has?...... I know he's not afraid to take the Tiger out into the forests and muddy trails etc...

ok thanks ill have a look

Hi Tonny and anyone else that may be interested in taking their first steps to Africa!

When do you plan on traveling and with what moto?

Depending on what moto you're riding and when,will depend on what type of riding you can do.... e.g. peak summertime on a big trailie in sand is not what I would advise at all

( e.g. I didn't take my XTZ660 into the dunes on my trip at all just because I couldn't be bothered digging it out or picking it up lol...Give me a Honda CRF450 and I can ride all day in the sand lol.)

The Michelin 742 map is good to have to show you where's where for sure. There's quite a lot of pistes and villages missing etc but it's worth having in case a GPS malfunctions. I had heard a rumour that Michelin are currently updating that map and a new one will be out in 2013...again it's only a rumour at present unless anyone else can state other wise. Having said that it'll be interesting to see if there are a lot of changes to same. The GPS will have main routes etc in it and will be like just having a map.



If you check here you'll get addition stuff. Once you get to Maroc you'll be able to ask at each fuel station how long it will take to get to A to B to give some sort of real time indication.

http://www.island-olaf.de/travel/marokko/gps.html


www.wikiloc.com will give you a whole list of pistes of which to download if you so desire.

In respect of getting to Maroc itself you can either take Tarifa to Tanger or Algeciras to Tanger Med..... You can buy your ticket at the ticket booths at the Spanish port by just turning up like one would do to wait for a bus.

When you board the boat you'll be directed to go straight to passport control. You can't miss it...there'll be a queue.

You'll be given a form to fill out with all the usual details,name address etc.so don't forget to bring a pen. There'll be a section asking where you'll be staying... I write Hotel Fes..Fes each time. When you hand your passport over the dude will stamp it with a serial number. This is now your 'registration number' as it were. When you disembark you'll arrive at customs. You will then fill out another form to get your moto into Maroc. The customs dudes will give your moto a cursory glance over if at all and hand you back a carbon copy of your moto entry. Keep this as this will enable you to get your moto back out when you come to leave....You'll also have to go to the police booth to show them your passport and for them to note your 'registration number' along with your details.

(The beauty about traveling there on a moto is the fact that they always wave you to the head of the queue and put you onto the boat first!!)

As I had been before they just entered my existing number on the computer,it flagged up as all OK and sent me on my way...20 mins only...On this trip the other first timers were 2 or 3 hours from memory.....


When you've been used to the EEC and the free movement you'll need to adjust to a good bit of organised chaos....IF you find yourself getting frustrated just think to yourself that this is Morocco and tomorrow it will only be a memory.

If you need insurance you can buy it at a booth on the way out .....not far from the main bus/train terminal.....if they try and make you pay for it in Euros(more attractive for them)tell them that it is for sale in the country of Morocco therefore you can pay in Dirhams....do locals pay in Euros???????..

....if they want Euros dander over to the police and report them for trying to scam you.....a tourist coming to Maroc for the first time is not getting a very good impression etc.

In the terminal you'll find a money distributor along with a cafe etc....you can get Dirhams here from your normal bank card...just make sure to inform your bank of your holiday dates so that it'll not flag up as 'stolen' thus allowing them to put a stop on it.

This time in the cafe when food was bought the dudes insisted they had no change.....I logically pointed out that I would pay for my food when they had change and that what were they doing running a business without a 'float' of change??..

I ate my food and when I returned they had miraculously found change. It was not much money but as a matter of principle I don't like getting fleeced so soon upon arrival!!!!....This I would stress is the kind of isolated incident that you get periodically....if a silly tourist is stupid enough to fall for it then they deserve it.....we all had to learn once!!!

When I go to Maroc I always allow a day to get through the port and to travel on to an hotel(the same for the return)

The real road trip starts the next day as it were!! I usually head for an hotel I know at Asilah prefering to keep away from the industrial and commercial port of Tanger...it's only a gate way to get where you need to be IMO. More village/small town hotels (auberges) will be easier to sleep in for your conscience ref.moto getting stolen.

This leads on to the subject of hotel check in.
When you arrive in most bigger towns there'll be a dude who'll approach you on a moped. Don't be alarmed..he's only scouting for the hotels and will guide you to any hotel at any budget you ask for.

When you arrive negotiate a price. Don't be afraid to offer 20 or 30 dirhamsIf favourable then you fill out a form with the same details that you filled out on the boat.
You might get annoyed of having to go through such a mundane a seemingly pointless exercise,but hey,it's Maroc. ( At the end of the day if something were to happen to you in the form of e.g.an accident the police can trace your last whereabouts)

Each hotel in the more built up areas,if no off street parking is available, will have a night watch man who,for about 4 or 5 euros will watch over any vehicles. On that,the last time I was in Fès I stayed in a riad about 200 metres from where I was only able to park in the street. No problem with anything getting stolen.....you just have to take off what you would in Europe.
These dudes will have a gillet on and usually have a baseball bat in the town centres to act as a deterrent to others. It works for us tourists brilliantly.

I never even brought my U lock.

As a guide a disc loaf of bread there is about €0.20 so if you think that giving 'only' €3.00 to the guardian is a lot it's not really...especially when other hotel patrons are doing the same...It's quite a money earner for any local person employed by the hotel or sitting in the street.

I have to log off now...but if you can think of anything else you might need clarified just ask.

:)

.

Thanks for taking the time and trouble writing this report.I was proud to be part of it and was the most challenging and best time I have spent on a bike and I've been riding (legally) 37 years.
For me the off road stuff was the greatest, you, Christophe, Ricky and Craig made it look so easy, obviously Noah as well but he had the better tool for the job anyway. I for one want to repeat the trip next year.
For those going on pretend trail bikes like my 955 Tiger or even proper trail bikes and going off route for any amount of time I can recommend putting on some decent tyres, not the Tourances like I had! Another thing I would do next time is take a camel-pak or something similar because although you might have plenty of water on the bike there is nothing like having it available all the time without stopping. Washing powder is also a good idea plus a plug for the sink would make it easier for washing your clothes, and make sure everything you take will dry overnight, they don't half stink when put away damp for a day or two! Lastly I will take less stuff and try to travel light. All the aforementioned things I think you advised on but I didn't listen well enough!

I did advise not to wash your stockings with your g-strings...that's why the clothes end up smelly....I usually wash my thongs all at once and stockings the next day...

As Super Hunky used tp say "You really should've known"


:)

No GPS on your list of things needed for going into the desert? :huh

D'oh!!!

Just finished reading, good report, well done on the trip.

Got sidetracked to Noahs thread halfway through and read all of that too




Nice to see the trip done on bigger bikes, and especially one that i own