Morocco 2007

An account of a trip with Desert Detours - specialists in guided motorhome tours in Morocco

When we crossed the border, leaving Morocco for the unknowns of Algeria, we said to ourselves "One day we'll go back" .

That was back in 1979 - little did we realise that it would be 28 years before the opportunity arose for a return visit.

January 2007 was the date set, and, as we had been to Morocco previously, even though it was a long time ago, we felt reasonably confident that we could manage on our own, and had more or less decided to do that. We had already heard of Desert Detours and looking at their website for info on Morocco, decided to ask for more information on the tour. We thought that the whole package seemed quite attractive, not least the backup that would be available in case of any problems (we found it impossible to get breakdown cover for Morocco). Also, although we most often travel on our own, we thought it would be good, on this occasion, to travel with some, hopefully, like-minded people. We contacted Ray and he managed to fit us on the tour starting in mid January 2007.

First a little background on Desert Detours, which is the main company offering guided motorhome tours in Morocco for UK owners.

Desert Detours is a family business owned and run by Ray Monteith-Smith with now more than a little help from wife Debbie and daughter Becky. From a background of journalism in the Adventure Travel sector, he sub-edited on a few UK based national publications and is now freelance, emerged Trailmasters Int Ltd, a world-wide 4x4 based adventure touring company. The major part of the business, Trailmasters, was sold off when Ray decided he was getting too old for the deep desert expedition stuff, and continues to prosper as a leader in its field, leaving him free to concentrate wholly on the Motorhome and Caravan tour side of the business.

The whole tour was due to be 19 days long, but we wanted more time in Morocco so decided that we would stay on in the country for about 6 weeks, after the rest of the group headed back north from Essaouira to catch the ferry. The ferry tickets that Ray organises are 'open return' so it's possible to use them at any time, without making a booking for the return crossing.

The meeting point near San Roque

The tour meeting point was at a roadside restaurant/filling station on the A7 at San Roque, a few kilometers east of Algeciras. We had been told to meet there on the Sunday afternoon for a briefing and meal at the restaurant. We met the other members of the tour - 13 motorhomes in all, including 2 USRVs, and hung around for the afternoon. Sadly the restaurant was closed, so when Ray arrived we all sat outside for the briefing.

Ray explained how the tour would work, we would drive more or less in convoy with each van responsible for checking that the one behind was in sight. We also had brief information of the border crossing procedure, and a sketch map of Ceuta. We were due to pick up the ferry tickets that evening but it seemed that the ticket office's printer had run out of ink, so it would have to be the next morning. We settled down for the, rather noisy, night.

First impressions were that Ray seemed very laid back and somewhat disorganised, certainly it would have been helpful to have had the basic briefing details, contact phone numbers, etc on a printed sheet.

Next morning Ray told us that we had to go "just down the road" to pick up the tickets - in fact it was virtually next door to the filling station. A couple of tour members didn't realise this and set off straight down the A7... Once that was sorted we hung around while the tickets were issued, then set off for the port of Algeciras to get the ferry to Ceuta.

Boarding the ferry

One advantage of the convoy system is that it does make it easier to get through the maze of roads to and in the port - without having to constantly look out for signs. So it was that we arrived at the queue for the ferry, there was only a slight panic when the port officials decided that they wanted us to move to another lane! Once that was sorted we were soon on board. We were on the Euroferrys fast ferry and the crossing took about 45 minutes, once in Ceuta we had the opportunity to fill up with fuel at duty free rates, we had also been advised by Ray to change our Euros to Moroccan currency (Dirham: £1 = approx 16Dh) before crossing the border. We had Euros, but some people had UK Pounds and found that the exchange kiosks wouldn't accept them, they could only be changed at a bank. It had been suggested that we shouldn't trust ATMs in Morocco as they were liable to keep your card! In fact we didn't have a problem withdrawing money at them, however we only used the ATMs at major banks in large towns. Credit/debit cards are not widely accepted for purchases in Morocco, often not even at places showing the Visa sign! We only managed to pay for fuel once using a card (at the Marjam supermarket in Agadir), but it was accepted at the large supermarkets and some places catering for tourists.

Anyway, after buying fuel, changing money and picking up some supplies at the supermarket we drove through the town to a large car park about half a mile before the border. There are are signs to Morocco from Ceuta port but it's still possible to get lost if you are not careful, Ray had a call from one member who had taken a wrong turn in the town and got lost! It's not much better going back the other way - we got lost on the return trip!

Ray had asked us to stop at a big car park about half a mile before the border so that all the paperwork could be sorted. We needed to have the vehicle registration document (V5) and our Green Card, you can buy insurance at the border if your insurers won't provide a Green Card for Morocco but I believe it only provided third party cover. Ray had copies of the 3 official forms: Police form for entry; Police form for exit (not actually needed till you leave the country); temporary vehicle import form. This last is the most important, it is in triplicate and is handed in with the vehicle registration document (V5) at the border Customs post so that the vehicle detail get entered on the computer and in your passport. You get two copies back which you MUST NOT LOSE! One copy is handed in when you leave Morocco with the vehicle and the third copy is given back to you, it is your proof that you have taken your vehicle out of the country.

Queueing at the border

Once we had got the paperwork sorted it was on to the border, Ray pretty much sorted everything for us, the only thing we had to do individually was get the temporary vehicle import forms processed. For those thinking about making their own way to Morocco, it's not a difficult border to cross, it just seems a bit chaotic. There are several touts who pester you, offering to 'help' in return for a small payment. It is not necessary to use these people, though some may wish to as they can help make sense of what seems to be a confusing free for all! Being able to speak a bit of French will help, as you can then ask for help from the officials should you need it.

In this account of our tour I'm not going to present a tourist guide to Morocco and the places we visited, you'll find all you need in the Lonely Planet, Rough Guide or any number of other sources, I just want to describe the sort of tour that Ray runs, so that anyone thinking about it will get an idea of what to expect. Also it should be noted that tour itineraries may vary because of changing road or weather conditions, and that campsites change from year to year.

Restaurant at Tetouan

Once through the border it was on to our first night stop in Morocco, a restaurant on the edge of Tetouan, around 40km from Ceuta, where we were also to meet Hassan and Hamid, Ray's Moroccan staff, who travel with the group in a second support vehicle. Here, at least, they did seem ready for us. There was a large room with a long table for us all to sit at. Having been promised a 'traditional Moroccan meal' I have to say that it was a bit of a disappointment, we had mixed salad, grilled meats (lamb, kofta (meatballs) and chicken) accompanied by chips. The meat was mostly dry and overdone and the chips were cold (cold chips, we were to discover, was pretty standard in Morocco!). This was followed by fruit salad. However we were all cheered up by supplies of Spanish wine that we'd brought with us. We had been warned that, as Morocco is a Muslim country, alcohol would not be readily available, and not served in restaurants. Fortunately it was often accepted for diners to bring their own alcohol into a restaurant, providing that it was agreed with the restaurant and done discreetly. This sometimes meant not having the bottles on view, and in one restaurant, later in the trip, we were provided with a coffee jug to put our wine in and cups to drink it from! The meal, including a tip, cost us 100Dh each, we didn't think that it was particularly good value for money. Still, tomorrow was another day and we were heading for the Imperial city of Meknes.

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