Is driving in Morocco dangerous? Can you drive in Morocco with a UK driving licence? What are the roads, checkpoints, and speed limits like? In this blog post, I'll share my experience and give you useful tips on driving in Morocco.

You've landed on this blog post because you are considering renting a car to explore Morocco on DIY, am I right?

If the answer is yes, you've had an excellent idea!

Having returned from an unforgettable DIY trip in Morocco from south to north, which saw me visit imperial cities like Marrakech and Fès, cross the beautiful High and Middle Atlas mountains, sleep in a tent in the desert, and take a thousand photos in Chefchaouen, I am writing this post to share my driving experience in Morocco and give you some useful tips for renting a car and avoiding fines (spoiler: difficult!).

Let's get started!

Let's get straight to the point: driving in Morocco is NOT dangerous. It's much easier and safer than many think, and it's a fun and relaxing way to see this beautiful country.

I was quite worried too, but as soon as I got in the car, I changed my mind. Here's why: outside the big cities, there's hardly any traffic, the roads are wide and well-paved, the speed limits are very low, and there are lots of checkpoints!

On another note: in Morocco, you drive on the right hand side, just like in many European countries.

Before leaving, I was quite worried about the condition of the roads, especially the mountain ones. The thought of bumpy roads, finding hairpin bends and dangerous curves, and feeling sick made me anxious. I even stocked up on motion sickness pills before leaving. But to my great surprise, I found wide, straight, well-paved roads, with gentle curves even in the mountains. Motion sickness is subjective, but my pack of pills came back home untouched!

We drove for 1200km and found only one secondary road, between Chefchaouen and Tangier, that was a bit bumpy. Just one in 10 days. On those roads, you need to go slow not just because of the speed limits, which I'll talk about in the next paragraphs, but also because, especially near villages, you'll find people and animals, elderly, children, donkeys, walking calmly by the roadside or even in the middle of the road.

But nothing scary!

As for road signs, don't worry because they are almost identical to European ones. Even though most are written in Arabic and French, there's always an English translation for important signs and directions. Otherwise, you can easily understand their meaning from the images.

A tricky part about driving in Morocco is the speed limits.

If you look at the map, you'll notice the distances between points of interest aren't huge, but it takes much longer than expected because the speed limits are quite low. We're talking about 60 km/h in urban areas, 80-100 km/h on rural roads. We rarely saw a 120 km/h limit.

So, my advice is to allow plenty of time, more than you would in Italy, to cover certain distances. Google Maps gives a good idea of the time needed to get from one point to another, but add a few extra hours for possible stops.

One certainty in life is that you'll be stopped by the police while driving in Morocco, as checkpoints are practically everywhere!

Good news is, drivers in Morocco are supportive: if a car coming from the opposite direction flashes their lights, it means there's a checkpoint ahead. You can also spot the police presence by the fact that cars in front of you start slowing down for no apparent reason!

If it happens (actually, when it happens!), just slow down, smile, and be polite. The police officers are polite and friendly with tourists, but that doesn't mean they won't issue fines if necessary.

Be aware that some officers only record your speed and pass it to the next checkpoint, which will stop you and issue the fine.

We noticed there are checkpoints at the entrance and exit of every town, so there are really many.

Tips to avoid fines:

• Don't use your phone while driving; leave the maps to your travel companion;
• Stick to the speed limits, no matter how annoying they are: fines for this violation are the most common;
• Seat belts must be worn by all passengers, even those in the back seats;
• Obviously, don't drink alcohol before driving.

We were fined because the backseat passengers weren't wearing seat belts, but they didn't give us an official fine: they said the fine would be 300 dirhams each, but "out of kindness," they only gave us a warning, so 400 dirhams (about €36) in total. Of course, pocketed without any receipt 😅

Apart from this episode, every other time we were stopped (trust me, many times!), we just had a quick chat (where are you from, oh Italians! Pizza! Nice!) and they let us go.

Foreign citizens can drive in Morocco with a valid driving licence issued abroad for up to 3 months. This means that a UK driving licence is enough to drive in Morocco, or an international one if you have it.

If after reading these paragraphs about driving in Morocco you feel reassured and decide to go ahead with renting a car, here are some tips.

• Use a car rental comparison website like discovercars.com: they have major international rental companies, free cancellation, and clear rental conditions. For example, we were a group of 6 friends and rented a 7-seater Dacia Lodgy, which worked out great.

Click here to check car rental prices in Morocco

• Keep in mind that if the drop-off location is different from the pick-up location, there will be an extra charge. For instance, we picked up the car in Marrakech and dropped it off in Tangier, paying more than if we had returned it to Marrakech. In trips like this, there aren't many alternatives: returning the car to the same point means backtracking or making a loop, so it depends on your budget and time.

• Rent the car at the airport or outside the big cities. I don't recommend driving into the medinas, where traffic and constant honking can make the driving experience quite stressful. For example, we landed in Marrakech, took a taxi organized by the Riad to the Medina, and explored the city on foot for 3 days. Then we took a taxi to the airport and picked up the pre-booked car to head to the desert. It was much more relaxing than driving around the city with a rental car.

• For most roads, you don't need a 4x4: all the roads we traveled, from Marrakech to the Merzouga desert and then up to Fès and Tangier, were easily navigable with a simple two-wheel-drive car.

• Get full insurance: Moroccan roads, though safe, are still mountain and desert roads. The chances of small stones scratching the car and the car getting dirty inside and out are high (sand, mud). Also, I've read that several companies charge extra for cleaning. So, it's always better to add full insurance for peace of mind.

• If possible, add a second driver: if you plan to explore Morocco extensively, know that the journeys are long, and relying on a single driver could slow down your trip even more. If possible, add a second driver to take turns and always have someone "fresh" at the wheel.

Click here to check car rental prices in Morocco

That's all, I hope I've given you all the information (and reassurance) you need to enjoy your road trip in Morocco!

Here are other articles about Morocco that might interest you:

• 10-day Morocco itinerary
• Morocco travel tips: 10 things to know before you go

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at flavia.iarlori@outlook.com.

See you soon!