9 Tips for Driving in Morocco: Be Road-Trip Safe and Ready!

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In my humble opinion, Morocco is one of the BEST countries for a good ol’ fashioned road trip. Aside from just being a beautiful country in general, a lot of the cities are so unique and different from each other that having a set of wheels is the most efficient way to see all of what Morocco has to offer. Sure, there are some quirks that come with driving in Morocco, and we’ll get to that in a minute, but overall I highly recommend Morocco as a road trip destination.

I spent about 10 days in Morocco visiting different cities and destinations around the country with my partner and my good friend Aneesa of Expat Panda. It was not entirely spontaneous, but…considering we went from hanging out in Qatar in January with Aneesa to surviving the 115F heat in July…it was a much faster trip turnaround plan then I’m used to haha.

Aneesa did all the hard work of planning out our driving itinerary, I added in a few cute looking restaurants and my partner…well, he did the bulk of the driving.

I’m not usually a passenger princess, but I must admit, it’s pretty luxurious not gonna lie. Anyways, we encountered a lot of interesting things while driving in Morocco, so I’ve compiled a list of tips for driving in Morocco so that you know what to expect during your road trip!

Do You Need an International Permit?

So the answer is….it depends on where your home license is from. I could do a bunch of research to figure out the requirements for every single country and driver’s license on Earth but…I won’t. I’ll just speak on what I know.

For Americans RENTING a car from a rental company, you do not need an additional international driver’s permit. You’ll be good with your American issued driver’s license (make sure it’s valid!!). You also have to be at least 23 years old and have had your license for at least 2 years. Sorry, no newbie drivers!

Best Rental Companies in Morocco

In terms of the best car rental companies, it ultimately boils down to your budget and loyalty status.

Since I take so many road trips and my full time job (not-blogging) offers a nice discount on Hertz, I’m in the Hertz President’s Circle elite group. So naturally, I rented from Hertz and their office was right outside of the airport in the parking lot. While the wait to pick up the car was quite long, overall the customer service was great and we had zero issues with the company or the car during our trip.

There are a lot of car rental companies, but some of the local options do require an international driver’s permit so if you’d rather not go that route then stick to the usual global brands like Hertz, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Europcar, etc. I can’t speak on the quality or service of the other companies though.

Tips for Driving in Morocco

Alright, now that you’ve picked up your car and you’re ready to ride, let’s get into the nitty gritty of driving in Morocco. Chances are that if you’re flying into Morocco, Marrakech will probably be your first destination. Before heading out on your fantabulous road trip, I’d recommend spending a few days exploring Marrakech.

We spent 3 days in Marrakech and it felt like a solid amount of time and we got a pretty good feel for the city. Thankfully, Marrakech is a pretty walkable city if you’re staying within the general central area. While I 100% recommend staying in a riad while in Morocco, not all of the riads within the city centers have free/complimentary parking. That’s totally okay! In fact, most of the cities in Morocco we stayed in were walkable, so we were fine with parking the car in the adjacent riad lot during our time in the city.

Make sure to reach out to the riad for parking fee information so you are aware in advance – most parking lots are cash only! Usually the riad can have an employee meet you at the parking lot and can assist with bags if necessary; it was super helpful in Marrakech and Fes as the city can be a bit disorienting to navigate on your first (or fourth!) day.

Bring Your Glasses

My first tip for driving in Morocco is to bring your glasses! And, yes, of course, if you require glasses to see you should probably always be wearing them as a general rule of thumb. But for those of you who…eh, skate by on pretty-decent-but-not-perfect eyesight, Morocco is not the place to chance it.

The traffic lights are VERY hard to see. They’re small, far away, and depending on the angle can be difficult to decern the color. You also want to keep your eyes peeled for any sudden wildlife crossings…like sheep.

Green Light…YELLOWLIGHTREDLIGHT

As someone who likes to be…efficient when driving, I am no stranger to timing a yellow light. So one of the FIRST things I noticed while driving in Morocco is that their yellow lights turn fast. Extremely fast. Like…two-three seconds fast.

With yellow lights that fast, I would advise you to slow to a stop unless you are ALREADY in the intersection. Best to play it on the safe side, especially in another country. Besides, I didn’t have an issues with lights taking too long to switch back to green, so just wait it out.

Nice Roads You Got There

But in light of their super speedy traffic signals (no pun intended), Morocco has fantastic driving infrastructure. The highways are especially well-maintained, making for easy and safe travel between cities. Between the larger cities, the highways were also wide and well lit, so we didn’t feel wary about driving in late – though since we were staying at riads we tried not to arrive TOO late in the night.

The only less-than-paved roads we found were when we ventured into the less-trafficked destinations like Imlil for our stay in the mountains or our mini day trip to Akchour Waterfall. While they were still in good condition, they were dirt roads and some portions required reduced speeds due to rocks and gravel. But by no means treacherous at all!

I’d say driving in Morocco was one of my smoothest international road-trips in terms of its road infrastructure.

The Lines are Suggestions

Ummm…that said, one quirk you need to look out for when driving in Morocco is other drivers not exactly adhering to the road lines. This is MOSTLY in the city center of Marrakech and Fes where…well, we’ll get to that in a bit, but occasionally you’ll spot someone on the highway driving on the road line.

Mind you, they aren’t swerving or drifting, so it isn’t scary or unsafe. They are just smoothly and deliberately driving not-centered.

I don’t know why.

But you get used to it.

Be Cautious in Marrakech

Okay, back to Marrakech.

It’s a WILD place to drive. Out of all the driving in Morocco, Marrakech was the only city that really had me a tad worried. To a smaller degree, Fes had a pinch of the same energy, but Marrakech was the main driving red flag. Again, we didn’t have any incidents thankfully, but if you aren’t cautious, you can find yourself in a pickle.

For one, there are a lot of people and a lot of cars and a lot of folks always trying to get somewhere. While it wasn’t the most aggression I’ve seen on the road, it can be intimidating for some drivers. Ignore the honks and drive safely.

Second, do not try to drive into suspiciously small roads in Marrakech – yes, even if you GPS is leading you there. You might accidentally drive onto a pedestrian road, a one-way street, or even the souk itself. Take it from me, there’s nothing more embarrassing than having to reverse slowly for five minutes while shop owners laugh and shake their head at you.

Howdy Neighbor

That last point might’ve scared you off from driving in Morocco, but don’t worry!! Outside of Marrakech, the drivers are all super courteous and level-headed.

You’ll also notice that many residents are super helpful too, pointing out directions or giving you a heads up if you’re driving down the wrong street. Speaking of helpfulness, when using parking lots, you’ll notice people that wave you down to show you where to park in the lot. Then they’ll suggest (or outright ask) for a small tip. This is usually only in lots that aren’t metered or have a toll in front.

To this day, I haven’t figured out if they’re legit parking attendant workers, or if they just take it upon themselves to show you where to park in an otherwise free lot. It could go either way. For the most part though, they were helpful so we didn’t mind tipping them small bills and change, but if the parking was too high, we also stood our ground and left to find another spot (sometimes they’d negotiate lower).

Watch Your Speed

This one is short and sweet. For all you speed racers out there, Morocco is not the place to set new records. While you’re driving in Morocco, you’ll notice speed cameras positioned along the highway routes that will automatically grab a picture if you are driving above the posted speed limit.

Thankfully, we didn’t get any speeding tickets, but I would assume it would probably get billed to your rental company and then you would pay through them (plus your rental company’s processing fee).

If you are American or live somewhere that uses mph, pleaseee note that Morocco uses kph. Your rental car will probably be set to that speed metric, but just in case.

We’ll Get That for Ya!

Another fun quirk about driving in Morocco – you don’t pump your own gas! Since I live in Oregon (USA), this wasn’t new to me, but it was still nice to have the gas station attendant do all the work while we could chill in the car.

We had a super fuel efficient car, so we only stopped two or three times to fill up (including when we turned the car in), but all of the gas stations we went to had 24/7 service. While I still recommend traveling during daylight, it was comforting to know you weren’t totally stranded if you needed gas outside of standard working hours.

Tolls Add Up

And my last tip for driving in Morocco is that there are toll roads. As a west coaster, this is not something I’m used to, but maybe I’m in the minority for not expecting this. MOST if not all of the highways we drove on between cities were tolled (which probably explains why they’re so nice), and by the end of the trip it did start to add up. To give you an idea, here were the tolls we paid while driving in Morocco:

• Marrakech to Casablanca: 80drh
• Casablanca to Bouznika: 10drh
• Bouznika to Rabat: 23drh
• Rabat to Fes: 50drh
• Fes to Chefchouen: no highway tolls
• Chefchouen to Casablanca: 58drh
• Casablanca to Imil (Marrakech): 80drh

In total, we paid 301DRH (~30USD) in just tolls. Split between three people, that wasn’t so bad, but if you are traveling solo or will be spending an extended time driving in Morocco, it’s something to be aware of.

Do You Need Additional Rental Insurance?

Okay, with all that said, you might be thinking to yourself that additional rental insurance might be a good idea, especially considering the hectic driving (and parking) in Marrakech and Fes. Understandable, because while driving in Morocco is 99% seamless, those two cities alone can have you on the edge of your seat.

That said, in my humble opinion, I don’t think additional rental insurance (through the rental company) is necessary. Many credit cards – especially travel credit cards – offer their own supplemental rental insurance if you pay with that card.

That said, if you do have a major incident (accident, serious injury, etc) then there is the potential for the credit card to relay their coverage to your primary car insurance back home, which could increase your rates. No bueno 🙁

However, two travel credit cards offer primary insurance as an included perk, meaning anything covered by the card will not be reported to your home car insurance! These cards are the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the American Express Platinum Card. These are referral links so if you decide to apply through my links, we both get extra points!

While we were driving in Morocco, we were under the primary insurance offered by our Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. While we didn’t have any incidents (woohoo!), it was great peace of mind to know we were completely covered and our home rates wouldn’t be affected if we did need to file a claim.

Conclusion: Driving in Morocco

Alrighty folks, that’s all the tips I have for driving in Morocco! Hopefully I’ve covered most things that you may encounter while driving in Morocco, at least to get you started! If you’ve done a Moroccan road trip, is there anything I missed about driving in Morocco or the experience in general?

Let me know in the comments below!

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