Morocco bikepacking?

Next year the mother in-law is treating us to a holiday in Kenya to go on safari. By us I mean them and not me! So I will have a week free to do as I please next February. I like a bit of bikepacking/touring but not in shite weather so I thought Morocco might be just the ticket, maybe 5 days. Anyone done anything similar? Any hints or tips or any other advice appreciated.

I found this which looks like it might be a decent starting point

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitness/morocco-atlas-mountains#section-how-to-do-things-better

Did you read the latest mag? You could ask JKB for his best bits? Also, he went in March…

https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/international-adventure-choosing-the-right-path/

And there’s this, which is more on the rad side:

https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/singletrack-magazine-issue-112-morocco-blues/

Did you read the latest mag

There’s a mag 😄😄😄😱

Thanks I’ll have a look!!

I lived and moved round in Morocco for a few years on a big engineering job.
I’d avoid the big cities on a bike – there is no provision for cycling and driving standards are poor compared to UK. I only spotted a few decent bikes (and an immaculate Mk1 Raleigh Chopper) and one decent bike shop in Casablanca so take spares.
The routes/roads leading out of Fez/Meknes heading up to Ifrane and then south from there are nice and quiet. We’d heard a few bad things about being in Rif valley/mountains but we never ventured there so can’t comment first hand.

February will be cold, the coast will be okay but it’s populated and wouldn’t be great for bike touring. Inland is mountainous/fairly high altitude so is colder but less populated.

Nice people and country but it is a culture shock if you are used to just being in Europe.

Nice people and country but it is a culture shock if you are used to just being in Europe.

I’ve done a couple of 4×4 treks to Morocco, and would completely agree with the above. It was a huge culture shock for us. As already said – busy cities/towns are chaotic and the driving standards are awful, but out in the countryside the roads are quieter. We never had any trouble with anyone but you will be hassled by kids, stray dogs and the odd person trying to sell you something.

Personally i’d not go on my own, i’d be happier in a small group. Be aware that out in the mountains/countryside you’re a long way from help if anything goes wrong – we drove 5 hours to hospital in Zagora after my mate cut his hand in the back end of nowhere.

The rewards are great though – its like being in another world, the people are generally great and the scenery/landscapes are incredible.

Atlas mountains in February will be very cold! As I understand it, less snow these days due to climate change, but still likely to be some about!

Maybe bikepacking you’d be low enough to avoid the worst of it?

If you’ve not been before, I personally would limit/eliminate time spent in Marrakech, others may be of a different opinion.

Ive not biked packed around Morocco but have been there for 3 driving/touring holidays and think its great!

As said above it will be chilly in the Atlas in Feb, but there’s plenty of uphill to keep you warm.

I’ve always flown into Marrakech (it’s the easiest place to get to with a direct flight) but as Tom-B said it’s not a nice cit. In fact I’ve found that the country, and people tend to improve the further from the urban centres you go. Get over the Atlas and the ethnically Berber population are a really friendly bunch and not so completely obsessed with selling you something as the city dwellers.

That said, the Ben Youssef Madrasa in Marrakech is one of the most stunning buildings I have ever seen. 

Once your over the Atlas there are large expanses of country with nothing in them. This comes with a vaguely Wild West/end of the world vibe which I quite like but I suspect bike packing east of the palmaries would be a fairly desolate experience. The passes over the Atlas would be great however. 

I like Fes, much better than Marrakech for hassle/scamming, but the hills around Chefchaouen in the north are stunning and a little greener than the rest of the country to the south. 

The public transport networks aren’t too bad (once you wrap our head around the language barrier) so you could ‘cheat’ and take a bus or a grand taxi out of Marrakech to the foot of the atlas to save some time. 

Having a basic grasp of French is helpful, but I got by with hand gestures in places where English isn’t spoken and my pigeon French failed me. 

Ive travelled alone (albeit as a male) twice and never had any trouble beyond the usual scammers who try their luck.

Costs wise it’s cheap, you can stay in perfectly suitable accommodation with breakfast/bottomless hot water for <£20/night, and a decent evening meal will be <£10. It’s a dry country though, or as good as, so an evening beer will be replaced with mint tea. 

Lots of good points above, i used to have a company taking people on 5 week tours round Morocco.

(Morocco isn’t anywhere near as “dry” any more, lots of places to buy beer, although i’d avoid the local wine)

Do not go any where near Tangiers, it is money-changing/ drugs entry and exit point, but other than there, pretty safe place.

The big towns can be hard work for the first time, as a lot of places are set up to try and extract tourist money. But still it interesting to observe it, all hotels and hostels will be fine with you taking bike and locking in room.

The main interest for me was always the desert and the mountains, you can be in the heat of the desert in the morning and climbing highest mountain in north africa in the afternoon.

Places to see i would include Chefchaouen in the north, coming down into Fez and Meknes. Up in to the mountains at Todra and Dades gorges, see Ait Ben Haddou,  Mount Toubkal if you fancy the hike, out into the desert on a day trip somewhere like Errachidia, and along the coast through Agadir and one of my favourite places, Essaouira.

I have rarely been as cold as I was in Morocco in November. It might have been partly bad luck with the weather and less than perfect clothing. But I think I was in 6 layers, all the cloths I had with me.

There was a good GCN video on YouTube a few years ago of a four day bikepacking trip – got me thinking about a trip. Worth seeing if you can find it – looked great.

Morocco is my least favourite country to travel independently in because of the hassle. Most people are fine of course, but there’s enough who aren’t to make it slightly unpleasant. It’s not surprising as they’re pressed up against Europe but aren’t allowed to travel freely like we are to their home. Some fantastic landscapes and cities if you can get past the grief.

You could do worse than to get a guide. I did a week’s guided riding in the Atlas (staying in village hotels rather than bike packing) some years ago which was amazing. The guide was worth every penny.

If you fancied something organised, then the Exodous ‘Atlas Descent’ trip was excellent. Absolutely no hassle, great guides, fantastic scenery,  and… beer.

https://www.exodus.co.uk/trips/morocco-holidays/cycling/atlas-descent/mma

Been bikepacking to Morocco in November 2022 and March 2023. When I say bikepacking, what I mean is that we were self supported in that we carried all our own gear but stayed in riads of varying standards. Some great some less so, which might bother some but I’m happy as long as I can get a wash and my head down for a few hours, but either way they were really cheap. Fantastic trips overall but as someone said above, if something goes wrong then you can be in serious trouble because you can be in the middle nowhere.
We flew into Marrakesh from Edinburgh and rode from there. First trip was a loop and the second was a point to point which required us to organise transport back to Marrakesh. We went over the Tizi n’ Telouet pass on both trips. The first riding up the road and the second over the trail. The latter was definitely a challenge as we had to trudge through the remnants of the snow which was about knee deep until it gave way under foot and you found yourself up to your waist in snow. That was rather unnerving to be honest as we could hear running water but had no idea where it was!! Another less memorable occasion was running short of water during another stage with a 40km to go, only to be helped out by a Scotsman on a motorbike with his two French friends supporting him in a properly equiped off-road vehicle. A mate’s AXS rear mech packed in with a couple of days to go. Didn’t end his ride but made it a tough few days being stuck in one gear.

Personally, I loved the country and the people were friendly, however ,  some of the towns and villages we travelled through or stayed definitely had an ‘edge’ to them. That said we never felt that we were in danger but there’s always the possibility, but that can happen anywhere.

anagallis_arvensis, I’ve sent you a message where you’ll find details of both these routes along with the route we have planned for this coming March.

@duane is not long back from a Morocco trip – looked amazing!