Mississippi to Morocco

[SoulFood]

I have an opportunity to go to Morocco on business for a few weeks in December (4 - 17), mainly traveling to cities along the coast to visit golf courses. I had planned on flying into Malaga, Spain and renting a GS1200 and making the entire journey on the bike. The road conditions and security of the bike are all concerns. My job involves being on a golf course for 4-6 hours (taking GPS coordinates) then traveling to the next town to do it again. I have 10 or so courses to do in 10 -11 days. The cities I need to visit are;
Agadir, Tetouan, El-Jadida, Bouznika, Benslimane, Meknes, Essaouira, Ouazazate, Rabat, Tanger, Casablanca.

Could I please get some feedback as to any concerns that those of you who know the area.

 

[Fanum]

Wrap up warm

Security issues......hardly any, big bike theft seems pretty non-existant as there is no market for them, backup etc, very few dealers and no 'take it ride it burn it' culture at all.....don't leave shiny farkles (gps etc) on it outside overnight but mst hotels will sort you out secure parking inside, or at the very least there'll be a 'guardian' who will sit with it overnight for a few Dirhams.

Casablanca could be the exception...it's the centre of a lot of discontent (you'll understand why when you see how crap it is there ) and as an American visiting, take normal sensible precautions......don't go wandering down backstreets etc, don't be flashy, keep your wits about you etc.
I suspect though that if you're doing it for work and looking at golf courses, you probably won't be going anywhere that you should be too worried about

It will be cold, sometimes VERY cold, in some of those areas, so think of the riding kit as if it's winter gear, but have something for warm weather as well.

There are good tarmac roads to and from all of those cities and towns, but ride carefully, as you'll often be hacking along, come round a corner and find large ice-damage holes or washouts..

You're not going to be able to hang around too much either....that's a fair old distance to cover in 10-11 days.

Consider every Moroccan mile to be 1.5 US miles in terms of time and effort to cover them- you may knock off 400 miles in a day easily normally, but you'll feel like you've ridden 6-700 miles over there

Enjoy......it's a fantastic country

(Even if the golf courses are sucking the much needed water out of the ecosystem and wrecking the lives of the locals (old rivers diverted away from barely arable land to suit the needs of the wealthy few), transplanting much needed palm trees and are generally seen as a bad thing by Moroccans )

 

[Rushy]

I have an opportunity to go to Morocco on business for a few weeks in December (4 - 17), mainly traveling to cities along the coast to visit golf courses. I had planned on flying into Malaga, Spain and renting a GS1200 and making the entire journey on the bike. The road conditions and security of the bike are all concerns. My job involves being on a golf course for 4-6 hours (taking GPS coordinates) then traveling to the next town to do it again. I have 10 or so courses to do in 10 -11 days. The cities I need to visit are;
Agadir, Tetouan, El-Jadida, Bouznika, Benslimane, Meknes, Essaouira, Ouazazate, Rabat, Tanger, Casablanca.

Could I please get some feedback as to any concerns that those of you who know the area.

Off topic I know but can I ask if you work for a gaming software company ?

 

[Steptoe]

As someone (fanum ?) has said before - Morocco is a cold country with a hot sun.

Sums it up nicely.

 

[MotoAdvenTours]

morocco & bike rental

If you need a bike or any help with your trip around Morocco, could meet you down in Malaga and give you a hand and/or advice with anything from ferry over hotels etc...about Morocco
Hana