Travel

A New Adventure: 3 Weeks Down Morocco’s Coastline

Our original plan was to spend a few weeks travelling down Morocco’s coastline, visiting the desert, and then returning to the ferry port via the mountains.

However, in the days before the ferry, we felt anxious about our upcoming trip. We were concerned about the heat, how different it would be, whether it would be difficult to travel in a campervan, whether we would enjoy it, and whether we would be stranded if we didn’t.

So, how have we got on? Have we adapted to life in Morocco, or are we struggling to adjust?

This post covers our first three weeks as we travelled down Morocco’s coastline to Essaouira, including where we stayed in our camper and our thoughts about Morocco after our first few weeks/

Our first impressions of Morocco:

Lots of donkeys.
People walk on main roads when there are empty footpaths.
More greenery than we expected.
A mix of bigger houses and corrugated shacks.
There is a lot of rubbish everywhere—on the roads, in the trees, and piled up around bins.
People seem genuine and friendly.
Stray dogs roam the streets, either on their own or in packs.
Quite a lot of young men seemingly aimlessly hang around on the roads.

Briech

We went straight to a recommended campsite and spent a few days there reorganising the van and getting laundry done.

The campsite needed some TLC, and the toilet and shower facilities weren’t the cleanest. Still, reviews said it was one of the better campsites. We clearly had to adjust our expectations for maintenance and cleanliness!

The campsite had 17 swings and a kids’ ride graveyard. There were also lots of weird animal statues around.

We visited the beach over the road, but it was covered in rubbish and packs of wild dogs were hanging around.

Asilah

Asilah was a pretty town that seemed like a gentle introduction to Morocco. The shop owners weren’t pushy (like we’d been told they’d be), and everything was chilled. We wondered if this relaxed vibe had anything to do with Ramadan.

The call to prayer in town was lovely; the guy had a beautiful voice, and the call sounded like a song. All the ones we’d heard until then sounded like shouting!

We took Moo to a playpark, but it was a tetanus nightmare. There was so much broken glass, jagged edges, rotten wood, and frayed rope.

After that, we went to a restaurant, where we had our first tagine and cous cous. The whole meal cost 110MAD/£8.80. There weren’t many places open, as it was Ramadan.

We had our first experience buying vegetables at the market. It was very overwhelming because it was super busy with people, vehicles, donkeys, and carts. I felt we got reasonable prices, although we have nothing to compare it to!

It rained quite heavily for a day, but Moo enjoyed playing in the puddles at the campsite.

Mouley Bousselham

The journey to Mohammadia was long, so we broke up the journey with a night at a homestay. It was down some winding streets that didn’t look like proper roads. The place was impoverished, with piles of rubbish and trash cows everywhere.

But the parking was secure, the family was friendly, and Moo could play among the avocado trees. There was a little house with a toilet, shower, and a small seating area outside.

By this point, we were already adjusting to Morocco’s relaxed standards.

Mohammadia

At this point, we weren’t confident market-goers, so we went to a supermarket to save time. It was good to see the prices of everything to get a feel for what was a reasonable amount to pay. The Moroccan supermarket (Marjane) was FANCY!

We went to a campsite on the beach but couldn’t let Moo run around and explore the beachfront as there was too much rubbish and there were wild dogs roaming around.

We chilled out for a couple of days, did some work and made some biscuits.

We were camped near Sarah and Gavin from Away With The Steiners. They advised us to get to the desert before going to the coast because it gets so hot after April.

Tiflet

We changed course and headed inland. We stopped in Tiflet, where there was a free stop at a vineyard.

There, we met Rose, Albert and TT (2) and Laya, Dan, A (5) and F (3). Our van was the most spacious, and as it rained nearly the whole time, Vandertramp became the local creche!

As we all got on so well (adults and kids alike), we decided to turn around and follow our new gang back to Mohammadia.

Mohammadia (Again!)

We returned to the same campsite we’d left only a few days before. We wanted to wild camp more, but we’d heard it’s difficult along the coastline; we’d hate to be moved on in the middle of the night and need to disturb Moo.

Before settling in, we explored the local shops to buy some fruit and vegetables. By this point, feeling more confident and started enjoying the local shopping experience.

We lost Laya and Dan en route, but they promised to catch up to us soon.

We’d heard that it suddenly gets very hot in April. Sure enough, on April 1st, the temperature rose, and the sun started staying out all day. We took advantage of the free water at the campsite for a few days.

Various sellers regularly came around. There were several fish guys, and fruit and veg guys, but our favourite was this chap and his donkey selling fruit and veg.

We visited Mohammadia souk with Rose and Albert. We travelled there by taxi, in true Moroccan style with the kids sitting on our laps.

It was such a vibrant and friendly local souk. Although it was super busy, and like a rabbit warren, it wasn’t stressful. It was a really hot day and all the cafes were closed because of Ramadan. Despite it being a thirsty trip, we all had a lovely day together!

Several times, people stopped for a chat and commented on how relaxed everything is because of Ramadan. IS everything going to turn crazy after Eid?!

Casablanca

Although we wanted to see the mosque, as it’s the largest in Morocco and the only one non-Muslims are allowed to visit, when we discovered it was 140 MAD/£11 a ticket, we decided to skip it.

We didn’t want to visit a busy city, but we stayed one night because Moo needed to wriggle. We took her to a park, but it was a bit sad, and she preferred climbing the walls.

We walked down the Corniche to see the mosque from the outside but couldn’t see the whole thing as a heavy mist rolled in off the sea.

El Jadida

El Jadida was only supposed to be a stop-off for a break from driving, but we found a place to park right by the beach and decided to stay.

The beach was pretty, and council workers kept it clean. There were lots of big bags of rubbish, though. Without the cleaners, it’d probably be another trash beach.

I was unsure whether wearing shorts and a vest top was okay. There weren’t many women on the beach, but they wore long-sleeved tops and trousers. I wimped out of showing shoulder but needed my legs out to paddle in the sea!

This was a great stop, but the beach was packed at sundown, when Muslims break their fast. People stayed until late, so it was LOUD.

Laaouamra

Espace Familial/Family Camping

This was the only campsite we stayed at because of the campsite itself rather than its proximity to other things.

Rose and Albert had gone ahead and were already there. We also met Bex, Henry and R (2), who quickly became the newest members of our crew.

It was the first place we’d camped on grass, so we had a few days off from dusty footprints inside the van. From the camp, you walked through some eucalyptus trees and up a sand dune onto a huge, empty beach.

We spent a few days there with our new little family. We all spent time together; we were outside all day, we shared meals together, and the kids all played together. Lovely.

The camp is run by two brothers who take great pride in their site. It was a few days of paradise and only cost 40 MAD/£3.20 a night.

Oualidia

We headed to Oualidia for the first day of Eid. I expected it to be quiet (like Christmas in the UK), but there was loads of activity. It was mainly boys and young men hanging around or racing up and down the roads on bikes and motorbikes.

Moo and I went to a lagoon beach while Jolly worked.

The beach was full of boisterous boys, large groups of young men and smaller groups of older men. Some families came later in the afternoon, but having so many men around felt a bit intimidating.

Essaouira

We wanted to experience the second day of Eid in a bigger town, so we went to Essaouira. The journey was only supposed to take 2 hours, but it took over 3, so we only had a couple of hours to explore Essaouira for Eid.

But there wasn’t anything special happening anyway. It seemed like a regular day, although we wondered whether the evening (which we’d miss because of Moo’s bedtime) would hold more festivities.

We’ll tell you more about Essaouira in the next post. We’ll let you know if everything turned hectic once Ramadan and Eid were finished!

Thoughts On Morocco

In three weeks, we feel settled into Moroccan life. Everything we were anxious about hasn’t been an issue.

The people here are friendly and helpful. Occasionally, someone will be friendly and hope for some money, but we don’t think that means their friendliness was false or forced. Most people we’ve encountered aren’t expecting anything in return for their kindness.

So far, the only person we feel screwed over by is the owner of the first campsite. We thought he’d helped us out with a gas bottle, but he overcharged us (and only gave us half a canister) for a dodgy bottle. We think he’s taking advantage of being one of the first campsites and having campers who don’t know the Moroccan ropes.

The hustle and bustle in markets seems overwhelming, but we’d not find this so jarring if we had more market culture in the UK. Also, (this is Albert’s wisdom) in the UK, you’re still being shouted at all the time; you don’t realise it because you’re being shouted at by billboards, signs, chalkboards, shop names etc.

The country’s money is clearly funnelled towards cities, creating a massive contrast between rural and urban areas. The countryside seems much poorer; there is so much rubbish and many stray animals. On the other hand, the cities are landscaped, the roads are in good condition, there’s very little rubbish, and you often see council workers litter picking.

It is difficult to see all the stray animals; however, their condition has improved as we’ve travelled south. Approaching Essaouira, many more dogs have had tags on their ears.

I thought we’d feel like fish out of water for our first few weeks, but we haven’t. It’s been relatively easy for us to slip into Moroccan life and to feel comfortable here. We’re getting a bit bored of the coast now, so although we planned to go beyond Agadir, we’ll start heading inland soon.

We miss being able to let Moo run off and explore. There’s so much litter and broken glass everywhere that letting her roam independently feels quite negligent.

Where We Stayed

Here’s a list of places we stayed, along with a brief description of each. When we stayed in campsites, the listed price is for a van with two adults (children up to 2 are free) without electricity. This included all the facilities too.

Electic hook-up was usually an additional 20MAD/£1.59 a night.