What is it like Driving In Morocco as a Tourist

Here's our experiencing driving on the streets in Morocco, specifically around Fes, Chefchaouen, Ifrane and surrounds. In short.. watch out for lots of police traps!

[whereisant]

I suppose I agree that if I followed or respected every single rule, I would not have been fined 3 times in 2 days. As a tourist though, I guess I'm trying to illustrate that it's not easy to do especially if it's your first time driving here! There were plenty of other drivers clearly not following those rules, and I was just following them! Clearly those drivers knew where and when to dodge those police!

As mentioned in the video, I was in Spain driving for 2 weeks just prior and had zero issues at all. Clearly there is a difference. In the order of the offences mentioned in the video, these were the questions in my mind for each of them:

1. The stop sign was actually placed on a roundabout. Why am I expected to stop completely entering a roundabout? Apparently, I am suppose to stop completely until a police comes over to wave me pass. For me, I did stop at the entrance to the roundabout. I just didn't know I had to wait for a police to wave me pass!
2. The speed sign changes a LOT. On the span of 100m, sometimes I see speed changing from 80 to 60 to 40 and back to 80 again. NOT kidding nor exaggerating! I suppose I "zoned out" with so many speed changes and missed one of the sign that needed me to slow down to 60. Why are there so many speed changes?
3. Why is there a white line (no overtaking) on a perfectly straight road that stretches at least 2 km? Am I really expected to follow a tractor going at 10km/h for a road that has a speed limit well over that? In other countries, the "slow" driver would have been fined for obstructing traffic!

Anyway.. yes I get it.. rules are rules, and I did learn it the hard way after 3 fines.

[maxpower]

I've watched dozens of travel videos this week, and this is the first one that made me laugh. Great vid, very informative :)

[kevingoots]

Well what can I say. First of all, your video saved me a lot of trouble. We went for a 2 week trip in Morocco, driving. Police everywhere but got stopped only once entering a city for a standard check. Everyone who says you should follow the rules, well, WhereisAnt is right. The rules sometimes dont make sense at all. Its a 60km/h road which goes on for miles and miles, straight, then just before a curb, where normally you should wanna lower your speed, it says 80, to go behind the curb 60 again. Sometimes speed goes from 60 to 80 to 60 - 40 -60 -40- 20- 60- 80 in a few hundred metres, No joke, and the road doesnt change at all, its the same straight road lol. Doesnt make sense at all, but like you said, we followed every rule ( expect when it said 20 sometimes i was driving 30 or 35, 20 is really dead slow), cars overtaking me, ( on a straight line i didnt overtake anyone) but i stuck to every little rule, how strange it was. On our 2 week trip I think we saw 3 times police behind a tree or behind somewhere else checking the speed, so for sure, if you violate the rules, they will one time or another cath you. In the end the police is actually really polite and nice. Had to lower speed but only once stopped us to check our papers. Then made some small talk and tell me enjoy Morocco. Again, thanks to this video the whole experience was actually really nice. Our car rental agency was good, people are nice, food was nice, quite an amazing trip. And if people doubt if they should rent a car or not i would say rent one, its way easier to go around, go to certain places, and as long as you follow the rules ( it takes a while to adapt, driving on a road where its easy to drive 100 only drive 40 or 60 is a bit difficult, but after a day youre already used to it) its a nice way to discover the country

[ginjinha]

I'm Moroccan and I fully agree with you. The road signs are insane and make no sense. They are meant to keep you on your toes or confuse you. You did great... except for the bribery part: I pay in full and ask for proof of payment, so at least it's not just a personal incentive for the guys to keep scamming you. And I try to avoid them even more :)

[cpicassoh]

Probably the funniest thing I watch today

[whereverwemayroamblog]

Sorry you had this experience! We spent over two weeks driving in Morocco and didn't have a single bad experience with the police. Not saying you're wrong, but hopefully the situation has now improved.

[Billabongoz]

A lot of people are vary of hiring cars in Morocco because of fear of getting scammed. How was your experience with the rental company?

[wojuji]

Thanks for the video. What website did you use for the rental car? how was your overall experience with the rental car company? Thanks.

[SuperServentofAllah]

I'm going to fes in a few weeks with my mum for 1 week .i'm going from London..I'm thinking of hiring out a small car . will that be okay for the roads there? .i'm sure your video will help me stay away from unnecessary trouble with the police. So a big thank you for uploading and benefiting others.

1) How was parking around the tourist sites in fes and the blue city u visited?

.2) Would u reccomend a day trip there from fes or stay for the night or 2 in the hotel there (in blue city) ?.

3) was parking easy in the tourist sites and hotels/riads.?

4)Was the parking free in some places and when u paid was it expensive or cheap. does it have clear signs where to park the car ?

5) how did u navigate just on road signs . can u reccomend any local navigation for someone ho has no internet .

6) is internet data cheap and how much do u think I ill need for 1 week .

7) how did u communicate with people there. Did u use google translate or anything like it?

[chaimamohammed]

A lot of cops lies to hé wave at us, and told us we had a phone while driving he was lying and we kept discussing in 20 min - He thought I was recording and demand that he wants to see through my pictures but I didn’t allow him, he said if u pay me personally 300 dirham I will let you go! So advice to everyone, record the conversation, all of it, don’t give him money just let them give u a recipe of the ticket, ans do not give him your passport - he finally let us go and told us that it’s our first time in Morocco we should enjoy it but be “careful”

[mopmap]

If you just respect the rules, nobody will bother you! And it's better to pay the fines if you broke the rules, rather than supporting corruption!

[TheInfinityTravel]

Corruption. Even the local suffers from the same issue.

[adamdavies]

This is a very common scam here. If you ask for paperwork, the cops almost always let you go. Because they are not really giving you a fine--no revenue is going to the state--they are just taking some cash from tourists for themselves. It happens a lot, alas. And not just to tourists.

[jroar]

I lived in Kenitra for years and always took taxi’s. They were all over the place 24/7 and only 10 dehram. Tourists are always prime targets for the police.

[mounimstar]

As a Moroccan I know police are on the hunt for silly mistakes to make you pay, they are more focused on money making than safety for sure . Sadly That’s the system in Morocco

[Astro]

The guy on the scooter thing driving on the road xd so funny laughed a lot

[ElectroDrives]

Does everyone follow the roads properly, or is it like driving in Mumbai?

[khaaaaaled]

amazing! waiting for next episode in morocco 😄

[Untoldtruth-fy]

Yup that’s Morocco, crooked cops standing at places where you’re likely to break that specific silly rule.

[Smoletss]

what would it be to take my car over, would it make worse on foreign number plates etc?