Hi Lord Snooty
Registrations on Morocco Knowledgebase were only needed to post contributions, and I was getting so much spam I closed it off.
I would
strongly encourage you to plan your own trip. The research will mean you will have a much better idea of where you are travelling through and it means you can stay flexible. Plenty of people on here will chip in and give advice on where to go, where to stay, and so on.
April/May is a great time to visit and you will be amazed at how green the country is, though in early April it can still be chilly in the mornings in the north or in the mountains. Try to avoid Semana Santa (holy week) running 9 to 17 April 2017 as Morocco will be inundated with Spanish visitors and their 4x4 clubs.
As far as ferries are concerned, Brittany from Portsmouth to Santander is really relaxing and a great way to start the holiday. PM me and I will give you my Club Voyage number which gives you 10% off bikes and passenger rates. I tend to use the Economié service on the Baie de Seine, but the wives might prefer the flagship Pont Aven ferry. Algeciras to Tanger Med is the easiest crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar and you can check rates at
aferry.to which will give you all the companies and all the route options.
Allow one and a half days for a leisurely crossing of Spain on the excellent (and mostly free) autovias, see
routes and ferry information.
I always do a lot of research about places I *could* visit on the next trip, but I tend to then make things up as I go along. It helps that I normally ride solo and don't have to worry about pleasing other people or having—in your case—to book three sets of rooms. But I would still suggest you stay loose with arrangements rather than booking things more than one day ahead and trying to unravel arrangements when a bike breaks down or when you change your minds. Wifi (pronounced wee-fee) is widely available for free at cafes and it's easy to use booking.com to check out places that you could stay and then book for that night.
My main guidelines for visiting Morocco are to get off the major roads (minor ones are quieter, safer, often more scenic) and not to be too ambitious with distances. I guess the wives would agree with the latter, especially as you will have done some major milage crossing Spain. Chill out, stop often for coffee at the pavement cafes and engage in people watching. The speed limit on non-motorway roads is 100 kph and I tend to ride at 80-85 kph and take in all the scenery.
Don't bother with major cities such as Fez or Marrakech unless you are planning to stop there for a rest day, otherwise you will go through all the hassle of fighting your way through the evening traffic just to fight your way out again the next morning. Leave these for weekend city break flights.
The roads are well-signed so you don't need GPS unless you are planning off-tarmac routes. Get the plasticised
Reise KnowHow map of Morocco from Stanfords or Amazon and try to plan your routes using green-edge scenic side roads.
For example, stop overnight at Hotel Panorama in Azrou (80km south of Fez) then in the morning
visit the wild monkeys and volcanos, then take the side roads heading south through the cedar forests and limestone karst scenery of the Middle Atlas. Stop off and walk uphill to the spectacular
Source of the Oum er Rbia river. Overnight at Hotel Atlas Zayane at Khenifra, then over the top of the High Atlas to Imilchil and overnight at
Auberge Amellago, then on to
Hotel Kanz Erremal in Merzouga. I'd take three days on this which is so much more interesting than just blatting down the busy main N13 road which most bikers take in one day.
Google Maps version of the above route.
Happy to help more.