Driving – Morocco

Driving in Morocco is an interesting experience. With the construction of new motorways, visitors can move around with far more safety and ease than ever before. Find out more below.

Car is a very popular way to get around Morocco and the road system is fairly well developed, with improvements to major highways currently high on the government’s agenda.

In fact the announcement that a motorway construction programme to build a target 160 km of road per year until 2010 comes as no surprise within the rapidly expanding economic arena of Morocco. The result will be greatly improved communications to all areas of Morocco and a further increase in visitors who regard Morocco as an advanced country that competes well with EU standards. This road construction plan follows an earlier successfully completed project to build 100 km per year for the four years running up to 2004. By 2010, Morocco will be well-equipped with a total of 1,450km of new roads, projecting it further onwards as a leader in the worldwide property investment market place.

The new motorways will cover the following stretches:

Moroccan drivers drive with apparently far less caution than most of us do back home! Particularly in town, they speed and weave from one space to another in a strangely organized frenzy, but crashes are rare. If you are of an adventurous disposition, you will embrace this great experience.

Be aware that:

• The speed limit in town is 50km/hour and on the highways outside town it is 100km/hour.
• Wearing seatbelts is obligatory for drivers and passengers, although this is often not practiced.
• It is illegal to drive at night without lights. However, at below 20 km/hr vehicles are permitted to drive without lights.
• You will have to keep your wits about you as there are also many cyclists without lights as well as animals and hikers out on the roads at night.
• Petrol prices in Morocco are relatively high.

Car Hire

The bigger cities in Morocco have large car rental agencies, as do all the airports.

In general driving is very straightforward and since not many locals have access to vehicles, or have the need to drive long distances, the roads are usually clear and easy to navigate. You should enjoy exploring the country at your own pace.

In order to hire a car, you will need:

• International driver’s license in order to hire a car.

• your own motor insurance

Motorbikes

Motorbikes in Morocco are increasingly popular as a means to visit many far flung and sought after places. You should be careful about your safety at night and you are advised to take a good tool kit and puncture repair kit.