A whole different world is just 90 minutes away from Spain: Morocco. Africa!
In this post I’ll show you how to get from Spain to Morocco with your campervan or motorhome in 6 steps…
1. Go to Algeciras, Spain
This is where the main ferry port is with multiple crossings per day to Morocco.
Park here if you need to spent the night: map location
You’ll see Morocco from here
2a. Get an open return ferry ticket
Get a ferry ticket to Tangier Med, Morocco. Online tickets are usually expensive (I’m not sure why). The first time I came to Morocco I got my ticket directly at the ferry port. This is the option I’d recommend. However, this time I thought I’d try out this guy, Carlos, since everyone raves about him…
2b. This time I got my ticket from Carlos
I hear many people rave about this guy Carlos. He’s a travel agent nearby in Palmones (map location).
What was this guy doing to get so many loyal customers? I wanted to find out, because he appears to have become some sort of van-morocco-mascot.
It seems like a nice family business but I didn’t find Carlos any more helpful, cheap, or efficient than the ferry port. Let me know if I missed something.
3. Leave your drone behind
Drones are banned in Morocco. Apparently someone flew a drone over the King’s house, so he banned them. You can try to sneak it through but you risk losing it and/or getting a fine. Moroccan authorities take this quite seriously and will ask you specifically if you have a drone.
4a. Choose a time, board the ferry
Choose a sailing time from one of the four or five crossings a day. Boarding the ferry on the Spanish side is fairly simple and quick. I recommend not choosing the last boarding if you need to get insurance on the other side, in Morocco – the office closes at 9 or 10pm.
4b. Fill out this form on the ferry
Once you’re on the ferry fill in the visa form on the ferry. For your Moroccan address use the address of a campsite. Don’t say you’ll be free-camping. Join the queue on the ferry (usually in the cafe) to hand your form in. You may be asked a couple of questions.
5. security and customs
When you get off the ferry you have to join the queue to get the van X-rayed. This isn’t obvious and if you miss it you’ll be sent to the back of the queue.
Only after the x-ray can you join the queue for customs. Expect to wait a long time here. The Moroccan authorities are in no rush whatsoever. At this point you hand you van’s registration document. That’s all they need. They’ll return it with a card with your details on. They may ask you questions about your visit and get a dog to sniff your van.
Make a snack
6. Get van insurance
Chances are your van insurance isn’t covered for Morocco. You can get minimal 3rd-party cover for Morocco at the ‘Assurance & Réassurance’ office, about 100m after customs. Make sure they know your van is a camper. If it’s not registered as a camper, they’ll assume it’s for commercial purposes and insurance will cost a lot more. Three months insurance cost 200 Euro.
Welcome to Morocco
Once you’re in Morocco you’ll probably want to get mobile data and internet. I created this post to help you with that: Morocco by van: The best mobile data options
