- Superficie : 710 850 km²
- Number of unhabitants : 34,343 millions (July 2008)
- Capital city : Rabat
- Spoken languages : arab, berber, french
- Political System : Constitutional Monarchy

 

- A little bit of history : One century after the Arabs conquered North Africa in 788, the Moorish dynasties settled in Morocco.
In the sixteenth century, the Saadian Kings, and King Ahmad Al-Mansour (1578-1603) in particular, repelled foreign invaders and a golden age began. In 1860, Spain occupied the North of Morocco and for fifty years our kingdom was the stage for trade wars between European powers. In 1912, Morocco became a French Protectorate and in 1956, she obtained her independence from France. That same year Tangiers, the international city, was returned to Morocco.

You should book your flights from your own country. There are several scheduled and low-cost airlines linking Morocco and Marrakesh in particular with the rest of the world.

Royal Air Maroc : www.royalairmaroc.com
Air France : www.airfrance.fr
British airways : www.BritishAirways.com
Ryanair : www.ryanair.com
Corsair : www.corsair.com
Atlas Blue : www.atlas-blue.com
Jet4you : www.jet4you.com
Transavia : www.transavia.com

Don’t forget that the earlier you book, the better your chances of finding competitively priced tickets and remember that you will need a valid passport to enter Morocco. If you do not have your passport with you, you cannot travel to Morocco.

NB: if you want to bring sharp objects such as knives, scissors, nail files, cork screws and so on, don’t forget to pack them in the luggage you intend to place in the hold, if you do not, they will be confiscated and destroyed before boarding. Your crash helmet must be stowed in the hold!

Our tours are totally different from the typical package holiday. Our aim is to ensure that each individual feels completely at ease throughout the tour. There are no ties or constraints apart from the daily briefing by the tour leader in preparation for the following day’s journey. Apart from the briefing, each member of the group is free to stop and start wherever and whenever he or she wants. Nevertheless, you may be reminded from time to time of certain duties to be performed as part of a group travelling together (arriving on time for picnics, escorted visits to an Amazigh museum etc.).

That is also the way we provide back-up during the tours. We are discreet but we are on hand, ready to offer any assistance you may require.

We can help with refuelling, take care of your luggage, keep you topped up with drinking water, offer advice, repair a puncture, … trust us, we take care of everything!

Participants taking part in our tours must have personal medical insurance as well as policies covering repatriation and death.

This is compulsory. The insurance included in the cost of hiring the bikes is third party liability insurance and only covers damages claimed by third parties. It does not cover any injury to your own person or any damage to your motorbike.

Fuel is not included in the cost of the package (apart from certain packages where one full tank of fuel is included in the cost). You must be responsible for refuelling your machine throughout the tour. Our bikes run on unleaded petrol. Unleaded is available everywhere except occasionally in very remote areas, which is why we always carry cans of petrol for emergency use to get riders to the next petrol station.

The network of petrol stations in Morocco is very extensive and so there is very little risk of running out of petrol.

The motor bikes can travel between 250 to 350 kilometres between refills, according to weather conditions (headwinds etc.) and the route taken (mountains, riding as the crow flies etc.)

Don’t forget that you need to have cash in Moroccan currency (dirhams) to be able to pay for fuel in cash. In some areas it is possible to pay using credit cards.

Morocco has the greatest range of climates of any of the North African countries, due to its double Atlantic and Mediterranean aspects and its majestic mountain ranges.

In this ‘cold country of hot sunshine’, according to its inhabitants, rainfall is mainly in autumn and spring but never lasts very long while summers are hot and dry.

The climate is mainly subtropical and resembles certain other maritime climates, such as that of California or Southern Europe, with certain extremes according to latitude and altitude (coast, desert, mountains) and the influence of winds and ocean currents.

Therefore, it is sensible to bring clothes for hot dry weather but bring some waterproof trousers just in case.

For clients wishing to bring a more complete wardrobe, it is useful to know that PALM ROAD takes care of transporting luggage in our back-up vehicles in the case of packages including back-up.

 

Absolute essentials

• sunglasses
  
• jean-type trousers
  
• jumper/sweater for chilly desert nights
  
• biking leathers or two-piece overalls
  
• biking gloves and helmet
  
• neck protection (scarf, bandana)
  
• shorts
  
• boots
  
• sandals
  
• swimming costume/trunks
  
• sunscreen(total protection)
  
• chapstick
  
• sun hat/cap

The most common voltage is 220 volts but there are still certain areas that are supplied with 110 volts. Sockets (power outlets) usually take two-pin plugs and do not have an earth pin – so please be careful when you use electrical appliances. There is no need to use an adaptor.

The state of roads in Morocco has improved considerably over the past few years. More and more new spurs are being stabilised and metalled – possibly to the chagrin of off-road fans, but improving road safety in the regions concerned and opening formerly inaccessible areas to many types of vehicles.

Nevertheless and despite these improvements to the Moroccan road network (and especially in the Deep South) weather conditions at certain times of the year can do serious damage (rough road surfaces, rivers that burst their banks and mountain roads closed by snow)… which is why you have to trust your back-up team and follow their advice to the letter when it comes advice about the selected itinerary.

Moroccan cuisine is famous throughout the world and has been enriched over the centuries by so many diverse influences.
It was the Amazigh peoples (the so-called Berbers) who contributed the simple country dishes and dates, milk and bread, which are still the staple diet, then the Arabs brought Eastern refinement and elegance and the aroma of spices from faraway.
We inherited our sweet, sticky pastries from the Syrian Omeyyades and their love of honey, almonds and pistachios; while the Moors of Andalusia bequeathed us their sweet and savoury combinations (olives, olive oil, hazel nuts, almonds, fruits and aromatic herbs) … and the English ? … well tea, … what else ?!

Moroccan cooking has room for our sun-kissed fruits and vegetables, rare, perfumed spices, delicate fish and mouth-watering meals... In short, this, the greatest of all oriental cuisines, famous throughout the world, is a feast for the tastebuds.

Throughout your time in Morocco you will have the chance to sample the thousands of flavours that make up this extraordinary cuisine : tagines, méchouis (meat roasted with herbs), cous-cous, tangia, sweet and savoury pastillas, constellations of salads, pastries...
In fact Moroccans have a thousand different ways to make a tagine, a dish that is named after the earthenware receptacle with a conical top in which meat, fish and vegetables is gently cooked.

Lunches are mainly composed of light dishes - salads, grilled meats, omelettes….which fits in with our motto – save your appetite for your evening meal!

Road signs in Morocco comply with international standards.
In the big towns and on main roads signs, signs are bilingual (Arabic-French).
Away from the main urban areas there are only occasional traces of French colonisation.

Driving in Morocco requires care and attention and can sometimes be dangerous. In the mountains, roads are narrow and tortuous: plan any manoeuvre or decision to overtake.
Adhere at all times to the highway code and follow the advice given out during the briefings.
And watch out for radars!
Crash helmets are compulsory!
In general the speed limit is 100km/h on the open road and 60 km/h in built-up areas.
Never go off alone on your bike, never leave the main roads or set off out into the desert!!!!!
Only people who know the desert well or who live there are able to venture into its vast emptiness.

Moroccan Arabic (derijah) springs from classical Arabic but is different from it in numerous ways, especially when it comes to everyday speech. Arabic pronunciation is difficult. It features the use of diphthongs such as ‘ow’, ‘hey’ and ‘hi’ (as in high). Three consonants are particularly complicated to pronounce for the uninitiated. There is the mute occlusive, or glottal stop, indicated by an apostrophe ('), the ayn voiced fricative which does not have a perfect equivalent in European languages, and thirdly rayn (which sounds similar to a Parisian ‘r’).

But you can rest assured that French is widely used throughout the country (apart from in the North, where Spanish is more widely understood)...

Some useful words and expressions :

 

• Hello : as-salam 'alay koum ( alaïkoum salam is the request)
  
• How are you ? : labès ?
  
• Goodbye : ma'as-salam, b'slama
  
• Thanks : choukran, baraka hallaoufik
  
• You’re welcome : afwan
  
• Yes : iyeh / n'am
  
• No : la
  
• Enough ! Stop it ! : safi, baraka
  
• Okay : wakha or ouakha (kh is spelled like the spanish J, r rauque)
  
• Excuse me : smeh liya
  
• Do you speak english ? : tatkellem englyzia ?
  
• I understand : fhemt
  
• I do not understand : ma fhemtch
  
• What’s your name ? : smitak ?
  
• My name is... : smiti...
  
• Where... ? : ayn...?
  
• Bus : tobîs
  
• Regional bus : kar
  
• Regional bus station : mahatta al-tobîs
  
• Train Station : mahatta al-tren
  
• Left : lisser
  
• Right : limen
  
• The police : al-bolîs
  
• The hotel : al-otêl
  
• The restaurant : al-mat'am
  

 

The local currency is the dirham (DH). Foreign currency can be freely imported but must be converted into dirhams as soon as you enter Moroccan territory.
We advise you to bring a reasonable sum of money with in the form of travellers’ cheques. 

You can also withdraw dirhams from branches representing your own bank or from any cash machine.
Don’t forget you will need an international bank card so request one at least one month before departure if necessary.

NB: Moroccan law forbids unofficial exchange rates. It is possible that someone may offer to change money in the street. We advise you most strongly not to agree to any such transaction, which in any case almost always involves some sort of scam. Don’t forget that in such cases there will be no recourse to the Moroccan police force...

Palm Road has a fleet of 17 motorbikes :

- 7 BMW F 650 GS (mono)
- 4 BMW F 650 GS (twin)
- 4 BMW F 800 GS
- 2 BMW R 1200 GS

There are no compulsory vaccinations to enter Morocco.
If you plan to explore remote areas, we recommend vaccination against tetanus, typhus and hepatitis A and B (2-5% are carriers of the HBV virus).
There is a risk of malaria in certain rural areas and provinces from May to October, but only in its benign Plasmodium vivax form. No preventive measures are necessary.

If you need to take any particular medicine, do not forget to bring a prescription for it from your doctor.

Mains water is drinkable throughout Morocco and theoretically can be consumed safely: however in order to avoid troublesome attacks of diarrhoea that could be a nuisance during the trip, it is better to drink only bottled mineral water, avoid eating raw green vegetables, shellfish and unpeeled fruit.

Avoid bathing in rivers or lakes, which are often infested with parasites.

The country has no particular safety or security problems ….but that does not mean that you should not be watchful and aware that there are bag snatchers in some town and cities.

Police checkpoints on the roads can be fairly frequent. This is for reasons of security and to clamp down on drug-traffickers (especially on the North of Morocco).

Obviously there should be no alcohol or drugs when you are in the saddle; it is a serious offence in Morocco as elsewhere.

Tourists are not welcome in some ksour, (ancient fortified villages); it is better to be escorted by a local guide and to ask the permission of the local mokkadem, the main official in the ksar or the local Caid.