Morocco Coast to Coast

There is a fishing port and there is a beach. If you have had an early start and plenty of bends, here you can eat something proper and stretch your legs in a flat place. It is also a good point to refuel if you are low, because the filling stations get further apart to the east.

Park off the sand and away from the port ramp, which is where working vehicles pile up. A loaded bike sinks into soft sand and is then hard to get out.

It is worth looking at the village from the promenade: the boats, the nets and the people working. It is a place of real life, not a prepared viewpoint, and that is exactly why it is better enjoyed slowly.

Carry on east with a full tank and a fresh head: what comes next is the slowest and most beautiful part of the Rif coast. If you set off early in the morning, the sun comes straight off the water and dazzles you in the bends; dropping your visor helps more than it seems.

If you have time and the day is fine, the beach invites a short swim. If you are tight, seeing the shore and eating standing up is enough: the road left towards El Jebha is slow and does not forgive haste.

Seeing the port and eating some fish is the obvious thing: it is a working fishing village, not an excursion spot, and the cooking tends to go that way.

It is also a useful point to check the bike before carrying on. The coast that follows to the east strings together bends with a minimal shoulder, and it is best to leave here with everything in its place.

Parking is scarce and on a slope. Look for a space off the main carriageway and do not leave the bike on the entrance bend: it is a stretch with traffic and poor visibility.

With an east wind it blows harder here than it looks and the water jumps over the promenade. If you have eaten, allow time: leaving El Jebha in a hurry is the worst way to face the bends that follow.

This village is proof that on the Rif coast the interesting things are not at the viewpoints but in the places where people live and work facing the sea. The way in and the way out are the two most delicate bends of the stretch: take them in second, without looking at the view and without hunting for a gap to overtake.

If you only want to stretch, going down to the water and looking at the boats is already worth it.

It is a place of calm, shallow water, good for a short swim if the day is with you and you set off with time. The port and the islets can be seen from the shore itself, so you do not have to walk far to enjoy it.

The descent to the village is short but steep, with blind bends. Go down in first with a light bike; if you meet a vehicle, there is little room for two.

Park in the area of the old campsite or beside the port, never on the sand and never blocking the passage of the boats. At high tide, some parts of the shore are left with no space.

If you are tight on time, do not force it: the detour and the descent eat more minutes than they look and the road that follows does not let you win them back. Seeing it from above and carrying on is a perfectly valid decision.

For the practical things: refuel, drink, eat something and stretch your legs on a transit day. Guercif is not a tourist destination and does not pretend to be; it is a working city with the services you need halfway along.

It is a city with local traffic and a through road, so coming in and going out are the moments that need attention. Park off the carriageway, near the square, and do not leave the bike in an area used by heavy vehicles.

If you are going to eat, allow real time: there is no circuit prepared for the traveller, so the stop depends on how long it takes you to find a place.

If you have time, a short walk around the square is enough to understand the city: it is small and you see it at once. And if you arrive in the heat, here you find shade and water, which on a transit day is exactly what you need to carry on willingly.

If you are tight, sort it out with something quick and carry on.

If you are coming from the coast and heading for the Middle Atlas, this is the logical stop to eat calmly, refuel and check the bike. The square that gives this entry its name is a good landmark to get your bearings and leave the bike nearby.

If you have time, a walk through the medina is worth it: it is a working medina, with neighbourhood shops, not a tourist circuit.

Traffic is dense and the streets in the centre are narrow. Do not ride a loaded bike into the medina: park on the edge and walk. And if your panniers are on the bike, do not lose sight of them on a long stop.

And if you are going to eat, better to do it in the city: between Taza and the Middle Atlas, places with a kitchen are scarce and you will be glad of it later.

And if you are tight, eating and carrying on is enough.

Fuel: look at the tank and work out the stretch ahead with a margin over the reserve, not on the limit. Clothing: take out the layer you have packed away, because there is wind on the pass and the temperature has dropped several degrees compared with the plain. Water: keep it to hand and drink now, not when you are thirsty.

Take the chance to look over the bike calmly: pressure, chain, luggage and fasteners. Doing it here, with the engine off and no traffic, costs two minutes. Doing it in a ditch in a hurry costs quite a lot more.

It is a real stop if you set off late, if you are low on fuel or if you feel the cold and the tiredness piling up. Then it deserves an honest five minutes: regroup, adjust and decide whether the pace of the day holds or gets trimmed.

It deserves nothing more. There is nothing to see here and the day asks you to move on. If time and energy are good, ride past with a glance at the tank and carry on. And if you are riding alone, this is the moment to decide whether to push or to prefer arriving in one piece.

Refuel even if you think you have enough left: to the south the distances between filling stations stretch out and it is not worth pushing them. Take the chance to drink and to eat something sitting down if the day allows, and check the chain and the pressure before the long run.

If you have layers packed away, this is the moment to keep them handy, because the cold here is nothing like the heat you will find two hours further on.

Ifrán is the capital of its province, and for a traveller that means something very concrete: banks, pharmacies, workshops and stations open. On a day of many km, solving a problem in a village is not the same as solving it in a capital, and here almost everything can be solved.

If you have time, a short walk through the centre is worth it: it is a city unlike anything else you have seen on the trip and you can cover it in a while.

It is a short, simple stop: you see the spring, you understand where all that water comes from and you carry on. Do not expect a spectacle or a prepared installation, and that is exactly why it is worth it: it is a natural place on a day of road.

It also serves to get off the bike, drink and adjust your clothing, because here you are still at altitude and the air is cool. With the ground damp, the edges can be soft: park on firm ground.

What is always worth doing is checking the bike and drinking water. It is a natural point of the trip for both, and from here the road drops towards the plain and the heat builds.

It is worth it if you have margin and feel like a quiet pause on a day of many km. You can ride past without a problem if time is tight: there is nothing you must visit and no built viewpoint forcing you to stop.

Stop briefly and well: adjust clothing, drink water and check that the bike is running cleanly. At this altitude the engine loses some power and the response changes, so it is worth noticing that before facing the bends of the defile.

If you have a layer packed away, putting it on here is better than doing it later, when you are already in the shade with cold hands.

It is a mountain area with livestock and with local vehicles that know the road better than you do. Do not trust that the one in front brakes where he should or that the one behind sees what you see.

In rain or fog, visibility drops fast and the surface turns cold. In that case slow down and accept that the stretch will take longer than planned, without trying to make the time up afterwards.

And if you are tight on time, this stop can be reduced to a quick check without getting off the bike.

If the day is going well and there is margin, a ten-minute pause with the engine off feels wonderful: at this altitude your body is grateful to stop riding tense. If it is tight, ride through without stopping and you lose nothing essential.

You go in with a light bike and your head switched on. There are blind bends, shaded sections with a colder surface and slow vehicles that climb or descend without warning. It is no place to overtake at the first chance or to look at the landscape while riding: look at the widening points, and there are some.

If you are loaded, the pace drops by itself, and that is fine. The defile is not enjoyed by racing, it is enjoyed by entering each bend well and coming out with margin.

There are viewpoints and lay-bys where you can leave the bike off the carriageway. There it is worth stopping: the view of the walls from below is the best of the stretch and you see it in two minutes.

What you must not do is stop in the middle of a bend or on a stretch with no visibility to take a photo.

Light changes the gorge a lot. Early on, the walls are in shade and the surface feels cold; at midday the rock gives the heat back and the air stands still between the walls. If you can choose, crossing it in bright light is more comfortable, because you see the bends better and spot oncoming traffic sooner.

And if there are roadworks or lorry traffic, do not force it: the next lay-by comes quickly.

You climb through curves, with stretches of broken surface and shaded areas where the road is colder. There is almost always wind at the top, so if you stop, park in a way that does not leave the bike exposed to a sideways gust.

The descent to the valley is long and you make it on the engine. This is the moment not to get complacent: it is after a pass that you relax most easily and enter a curve too fast.

The wind rules here more than the road. If it blows from the side you feel it in the bike as you come out of every curve and it forces you to correct; with strong gusts the prudent thing is not to stop at the top and to ride down calmly. In the cold months there can be ice in the shaded areas, and that changes the way you ride the pass completely.

It is worth a short stop if you have margin: the view of the valley from the top is the best of the stretch and you see it in two minutes. In a strong wind, better not to linger.

You can ride past without a problem if the day is tight, because the descent towards Zagora asks for concentration and getting cold at the top does not help. If you decide to stop, keep it short and park the bike well clear.

Refuel before you park the bike, even if you think you have enough left. Tomorrow you set off early and in more heat, and the first filling station may take a while to appear. With a full tank, the rest of the day is yours.

Use the stop to check that sand and dust from the stretch have not clogged the air filter and that the chain is still tensioned. In the south mechanical wear comes sooner than it looks and you do your checks when you can, not when you feel like it.

Desert heat is not fought by drinking in one go when you arrive, but by drinking in sips throughout the afternoon and the evening. Leave the bottle in sight in the room and take a mouthful every time you walk past it; the next day you will feel it in your hands and in your head, which is where dehydration is paid for first.

Before going to bed, look at tomorrow's distance and work out where the first filling station falls. With that figure and a full tank, tomorrow's start sorts itself out and nobody has to argue about it.

If you arrive with daylight, a short loop through the palm grove is worth it. So is the sign announcing Timbuktu fifty-two days away, which is not a staged attraction but the way the place has of telling you where you are. It is an honest photo and that is enough.

What is not worth it is forcing yourself to see things for the sake of it. If you have come in just as the light goes and your body is tired, having dinner and sleeping is the right decision and there is nothing to regret: tomorrow there is another long day.

The first thing is practical: refuel, drink water and eat something that is not out of your pocket. If you have crossed the long stretch from Zagora, this is where your body comes back together, and it is worth using that before facing what is left.

The main square is the natural stopping point and also where you understand the town: it is a place of ordinary life, with people shopping and cafe terraces. There is nothing special to look for; it is enough to leave the bike in the shade and walk for a while.

You enter on open road with local traffic that knows the area better than you do. Slow down before you arrive: after km of straight road it is easy to keep the same momentum and enter the built-up area too fast.

On the way out the landscape opens again and the road is still long. Refuel and drink before you set off, not halfway through the next stretch, because between Tata and the next important settlement there are few chances and not all of them are open.

Look for parking outside the enclosure, in a visible spot and in the shade if there is any. This is not a small detail: here a bike left in the sun for three hours becomes a problem when you try to start it, and hot panniers put anyone off. Leave what you need outside and walk in.

If your accommodation is inside, ask about access first: there are narrow streets where a loaded bike does not turn comfortably. Better to walk two hundred metres than to manoeuvre in an alley.

The approach across the Souss plain is deceptive: it is straight, it looks easy and it builds up heat and monotony in equal parts. After hours of straight road your head drops its guard, and that is where silly lapses happen. If you notice your attention drifting, stop for a moment even if it is not time; in this area heat rules more than the clock.

If tomorrow's route heads for the coast, it is worth setting off early and using the first cool hours. Whatever you decide tonight — departure time, whether you go into the medina or not — becomes tomorrow's plan, so it is best to decide it with a rested body and not with your luggage already on the bike.

It is worth it if you feel like walking, seeing the souks and sitting down to eat something. You can cover it in a short time and it does not require an early start. If you arrive in daylight, the walk around the wall at sunset is the best moment of the day and costs nothing.

It is not worth it if you arrive worn out or if tomorrow means an early start towards the coast. In that case the wall seen from outside and a quiet dinner cover the essentials, and nobody should feel they have missed anything.

Blind curves, narrow stretches and broken surface in the shaded areas. Slow vehicles come up and loose livestock wanders down the verges, so it is best to go up with the bike light and without the temptation to come down fast afterwards. This is not a road for showing off: it is a road for reading curve by curve.

The surface changes feel where the sun does not reach, and there are stretches with dragged gravel. If you set off early and have many hours behind you, that detail weighs more than the desire to go up.

The descent asks for more attention than the climb. With the engine braking and the brakes hot, blind curves read worse and the temptation appears to let the bike run because you already know the line. Do not do it: the surface is the same as on the way up and the livestock is still there. Come down as calmly as you went up and you will be glad you did when you reach the plain.

Down below the heat of the Souss is waiting again, dry and sticky at the same time. Drink before you set off again towards the coast and take off the layer that served you at the top: going from cool air to humid heat with your body sweating is the fastest way to lose concentration in the first hour of straight road.

The waterfall, known as the bride's veil, carries much less water in the dry season than its name suggests. Seeing it with little water is not a trick: it is the reality of the place at that date, and it is worth knowing before you climb so you are not disappointed.

Even with little flow, the climb and the change in temperature justify the detour if you have margin. It is the last chance of the day to ride real curves before the landscape opens towards the Atlantic and everything turns into straight road.

The medina is covered on foot and seen in an unhurried afternoon: walls, fishing port and streets with real trade. If you are coming from days of desert and mountains, the change in temperature and humidity is a pleasant surprise.

You leave the bike at the edge and walk. Inside there are narrow streets and plenty of people, and a surface of sand and damp is no place to manoeuvre a loaded bike. Look for parking outside and go in as you are.

Park facing into the wind and with the bike secured: gusts here can move a bike with panniers. If the parking is in an open area, check that it is not left exposed side-on before you walk away.

As you head north the wind stays with you on the coastal road and you feel it on the straights and when overtaking. In strong gusts you ride with more margin and give up overtaking in exposed places.

Eating. Oualidia is known for fish and seafood, and it is one of the places on the trip where sitting down at a table really makes sense. Allow real time: between parking, ordering and eating, a stop here does not get done in twenty minutes.

It also serves to get off the bike and look at the water. The lagoon is visible from the road itself, so you do not need to walk or look for a prepared viewpoint.

In high season the village fills up and parking near the lagoon gets difficult. If you do not find a space first time, do not insist on the same spot: there are areas a little further out where the bike is fine and you reach the water on foot in two minutes.

Park away from the sand and from the slipway down to the water. Soft sand and a loaded bike are a bad combination, and the damp in the air leaves the surface slippery on some ramps.

If you have time, the walk along the shore is the best part: you walk along the sandbar and see the ocean on one side and the still water on the other. It is a contrast you only understand by being there, and it costs nothing.

The bike stays outside the enclosure. The streets within are not designed for vehicles and there are plenty of people walking. Look for parking near the main entrance and go in as you are.

Arriving traffic is dense and full of roundabouts: come in calmly, without trying to make up time in the last km. And if you are going to refuel, do it on the way out, before you take the motorway, because inside the city the filling stations get complicated.

If you have time, it is worth going down to the port and looking at the wall from the water: it is the perspective that explains why it was built there. And if you arrive in the evening light, the stone changes colour and the visit becomes more pleasant than at midday, when the sun hits streets with no shade head-on.

The walled complex preserves the Portuguese layout: walls, bastions and short streets. You cover it on foot in a long hour and without effort. If you have time, it is worth it; if you are tight, the wall from outside already gives you the measure of the place.

Your documents, to hand and without searching: passport, vehicle registration, insurance and green card. Nothing gets fixed in a port queue and hunting for papers with your gloves on is the fastest way to lose half an hour.

A full tank before entering the port area. And the clock, with real margin: not just enough time, but time to spare. Here you wait, and waiting in a hurry is the worst thing you can do.

The port's own passenger service publishes the timing you have to plan around, and it is the number that decides your morning: present yourself at least three hours before departure for check-in and security, and four hours before if you are travelling with a vehicle, which is your case. It also states that access to the port is granted only to passengers holding a confirmed ticket, and it lists a border insurance office among the services in the vehicle access zone, which is the point to confirm before the boat if your cover for Morocco is not already in order.

Follow the ferry company's signs and go through the checkpoint with the bike running, without getting off until they tell you. Inside the complex there are separate lanes and areas: do not improvise a lane change to jump the queue, it achieves nothing.

Once on board, leave the bike where the crew tells you and strap it down well. Keep whatever you need for the crossing in a bag you can carry with you, because going back down to the hold is not always possible.