Travel within Morocco
Private road transfers
Road transfers are the most commonly used form of transport within Morocco. Return airport transfers are always included in the per person price (unless you opt for car hire for the full duration of your holiday), as well as transfers between hotels for multi-centre holidays without car hire.
Taxi
Petit Taxi – used within the town or city limits. They are cheap and fit up to 3 people.
Grande Taxi – used for trips outside of the city limits between towns, or for larger groups of people.
Prices for petit taxi are reasonable and it’s the law that taxis in town should have a meter – although they are not always on. You can insist that the driver starts the meter, or ask for the fare before getting in.
The grand taxi has a fixed rate for specific route. Taxi owners vie with each other to add extras such as sunshades. A clean vehicle and smart driver is usually a good sign of a well maintained vehicle.
Car Hire
We offer a selection of small, medium and larger cars with air-conditioning as well as 4-wheel-drive and mini-bus with driver. The prices include unlimited mileage, CDW, PAI and all local taxes. Delivery and collection is arranged to and from any hotel we featured and is free in most major towns. A charge is made to some of the remoter places when a rental is for less than 7 days.
Driving in Morocco is safe and offers travellers a lot of fun. The country has an excellent network of good tarmac roads linking all the main towns and cities covering the north, the three main passes over the High Atlas Mountains and much of the Sahara Desert. Road signs are clearly visible and are in French. For covering more than two or three destinations a large-scale road map is essential.
A full driving license is required for any rental (International license is not needed). If you are just two people travelling, an inexpensive group A car will take you to almost anywhere you will stay in Morocco. Larger cars obviously have more power and greater comfort and the group C has the added benefit of air-conditioning which is preferable from April/May till the end of September/October. Roof racks and child seats are available on request.
4 X 4 cars
A Toyota RAV 4 (4-seater) or Toyota Land Cruiser (6-seater) can obviously add another dimension to your holiday as they will enable you to get off some of the main roads and explore small hamlets and villages, mountain tracks and desert pistes. They are are air-conditioned and are great fun to drive, but are really not necessary for getting between e.g. Marrakech and Essaouira.
Car hire with driver
For those who just want to sit back and enjoy the wonderful Moroccoan scenery, we can provide an experienced English speaking driver. He should not be considered as a guide for your stay in Morocco but will of course have a reasonable knowledge of the country. The driver will make his own sleeping and eating arrangements at each location. By having a driver, you are still liable for fuel costs. The additional cost of the driver is £35 per day.
Trains and buses
These, of course, have the advantage of bringing you closer to the daily life of Morocco, as well as potentially being cheaper than the private transfers on a longer routes. Please note that it is NOT possible to book either the train or the bus outside of Morocco, or much before the date of travel. You can ask your hotel to help you book the tickets at the time; we are unable to pre-book them for you. Trains are operated by ONCF, coaches by an ONCF subsidiary, Supratours. It is possible to book one ticket for a route that covers both rail and coach.
Helicopter Flights
We can arrange helicopters and light planes for transfers, short rides and personalised desert camps. The aircraft and pilots we use are high quality, working on everything from medical evacuations, rally coverage, load transportation, VIP transfers and air taxis.
Heli-transfers
Morocco is a surprisingly large country and when driving a car it is not possible to cover different aspects (eg Marrakech and the Sahara) in one holiday. A helicopter or light plane will add greater flexibility to your itinerary. A helicopter transfer is the perfect way to arrive in style at some of the more inaccessible places such as the Kasbah Tamadot.
Short trips
The varied landscapes and villages of Morocco make for an interesting view from the sky.
Desert camps
The flexibility of the helicopter combined with the expanse of the desert make a perfect combination. We can set-up a camp for you in the desert with cook, mess tent and toilet tent. The helicopter will drop you directly at the camp where you will be met by your guide. It is possible to combine this with one of our Walking Treks, Camel Treks or a Landrover Safari.
Prices
The price will vary depend on your itinerary, and is around £1,700 per hour for a Ecureuil AS 350 B2 helicopter seating up to 6 passengers. From Marrakech to the Kasbah Tamadot is 25 minutes; Marrakech to the dunes at Merzouga is 4.5 hours.
