Exploring Morocco by Caravan or Motorhome: Adventurous Moroccan Routes

Distances are included for each route, although don’t plan your day around timings given by online maps, as we found such resources to be wildly optimistic. Time can lose all meaning in Morocco. I’ve also included the campsites used, with all but one offering electric hook-up.

Ait-Ben-Haddou to M’Hamid

180 miles

Campsites: Camping Panoramic Nouffla to the Sahara Desert

The roads from Ait-Ben-Haddou are wide and well-surfaced and fail to rattle even the most poorly packed cutlery drawer, although conditions soon change. The gradient is the first notable difference, not surprising due to this being our first taste of The Atlas Mountains.

With the road from Ouarzazate to M’Hamid being a popular ‘in and out’ route to the desert, the traffic is lighter than imagined, and it’s easy to overtake slower vehicles thanks to a selection of passing places on the steeper inclines. As the desert nears,  we share the roads with an increasing number of Dakar motorcycles and zombie apocalypse-style vehicles, either on their way to the Sahara or returning from it.  These roads are how I pictured Morocco, and the day just kept getting better.

Our campsite in the dunes was created especially for our visit and resulted from a chance conversation with a local campsite owner. If you’re looking for a site in this magnificent part of the world, camperconnect.com is a great place to start.

Off-road routes between M’Hamid and Merzouga are a popular playground for sand rails, motorcycles, and various balloon tyre-equipped Toyota Landcruisers. That said, the Avtex sat nav (and the optional Moroccan mapping) covered several routes within the desert itself, and although we seemed to be a million miles from the nearest tarmac road, the off-road routes we chose can be navigated by caravan or motorhome with a mix of care and momentum. Just be careful of washed-out sections, as I broke a jockey wheel when ground clearance suddenly became an issue.

Ouarzazate to Dades Gorge. Dades Gorge to Ouarzazate

180 miles (90 miles each way)

Campsite: Municipal Ouarzazate

M’Hamid was our most southerly point, and even though our journey home would mostly follow a different route, we retraced our footsteps to Ouarzazate before heading towards the Dades Gorge.

The gorge featured highly during the planning phases of the trip, as we discussed the feasibility of negotiating it with two caravans and a motorhome. Also, would the online photos represent the real thing? We didn’t want to set aside an entire day to discover a clever use of camera angle.

If anything, the Dades Gorge is even more breathtaking in real life, and should you follow this route by caravan, campervan, or motorhome, you will not be disappointed. More importantly, the route is relatively easy to navigate regardless of the leisure vehicle you choose to travel in. Once you’ve negotiated a series of 180-degree switchbacks and climbed to the top of the gorge, a restaurant rewards your progress. There’s also plenty of parking for larger vehicles.

This sat nav screen may resemble a bowl of spaghetti as you enter the gorge, but the route is more than manageable. Even if you’re relatively new to caravan or motorhome ownership, it’s a great confidence builder. The scenery is spectacular, it’s well-surfaced, and it’s easy to spot oncoming traffic by glancing upward as you enter each corner.

Ouarzazate to Ouzoud

136 miles

Campsites: Municipal Ouarzazate to Camping Auberge Zebra

This route crosses The High Atlas Mountains, and to quote our pre-trip notes, ‘it’s spectacular, albeit fairly challenging given the road surface’. Unlike the mayhem of Marrakesh and Casablanca, looking towards the High Atlas horizon fails to reveal any sign of civilisation whatsoever.

The rugged nature made this segment my favourite,  although the route must be carefully navigated due to sections that could be particularly unkind to vehicles, leisure or otherwise. However, should you pick your way through rock slides, washed-out areas, and repeated surface changes, you will be rewarded with scenery that has remained the same for millions of years.

While climbing an ear-popping pass, we came across an overland vehicle whose inhabitants were stunned by a pair of UK caravans that had picked their way along the same pass as their £250,000+ vehicle. Unsurprisingly, we didn’t see another caravan until we reached the campsite that evening. A simply stunning route, albeit challenging at times for both driver and vehicle. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Ouzoud to Fez

230 miles

Campsites: Camping Auberge Zebra to Camping Le Diamant Vert

If you’re looking for a mountainous route that’s kinder to your caravan and motorhome, the road between Ouzoud and Fez is worth a look. It contains the obligatory switchbacks and eye-popping drops, although it was well-surfaced for most of the journey, and by Moroccan standards, it was essentially free of other traffic.

The route is 230 miles long – a distance easily covered in France or Spain –  but Moroccan time tends to lose all meaning, so splitting this journey into two is advisable if you have the time. Driving conditions were better than expected, with surfaces that exceeded UK standards for mile-after-mile, but with corkscrew-like roads that wound around The Atlas Mountains, speeds are much lower than a Google Maps prediction. Plus, there are numerous places to admire the view, so if you plan your travelling around elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner, you will appreciate the extra time.