What You Need To Know About Renting A Car In Morocco (Budget-Friendly)
Renting a car in Morocco can seem daunting if you’ve never done it before. And with so many different stories and experiences on the internet to sift through, it can be worry-inducing to read through them all and try to figure out what’s helpful and what’s not. That’s why, in this article, I hope to share about my recent experience renting a car in Morocco that prepares you for obstacles that you could face along the way while still emphasizing the benefits of having a rental car.
Should I Rent A Car in Morocco?
My partner and I recently explored Morocco for 10 days. While this isn’t enough time to become an expert on the driving situation, we did pass through some wildly different areas such as Marrakesh and the High Atlas Mountains – which is considered to be one of the most dangerous roads in Morocco – so we got a solid taste of what the roads and driving culture is like in the cities as well as rural and mountainous areas.
If you’re traveling to Morocco and hoping to see more than the cities and places accessible by public bus, renting a car is the way to go. There are many epic destinations (like Ait-Ben-Haddou, for example) that can be reached by bus, but that option often includes arriving at your destination at the same time as other tourists and having a rushed experience.
Renting A Car On A Budget
I consider renting a car in Morocco to be budget-friendly because on average we paid $19.30 USD per day for the car, including full coverage insurance over a period of 6 days for a manual medium/small sized car. Divide that by two people and it gets even cheaper. In comparison, a round-trip guided day trip from Marrakech to Ait-Ben-Haddou averages $70 USD, and just the train from Tangier to Marrakech costed us around $38 per person. In the end, we found that renting a car provided more comfort, freedom, and flexibility while not costing much more than trains or guided tours would have.
LISTEN TO OUR DRIVING EXPERIENCE IN MOROCCO: Unruly Podcast · #70 All About Morocco: What To Know Before You Go (But Do Go, It’s Awesome)
Keeping Rental Car Costs Low & Protecting Yourself As A Renter
In the following section we will discuss which companies that you can rent from who will be the cheapest (while not sacrificing on reliability). But in general, it’s important to know that renting an automatic will always be more expensive than a stick shift, so opt for a manual if you’re able to. To keep costs low, return the rental to the same location that you picked it up from, or else you’ll have to pay an additional one-way fee.
Additionally, be sure to take photos of the rental vehicle, inside and out, before pulling out of the parking lot with it. You want to make sure that you have any scratches, dings, or imperfections on the car documented and that the rental company makes note of them as well. I’ve heard stories of other people coming back with already-had scratches on the car just to be charged for them because they weren’t documented well. It’s also important to get really clear on what type of fuel the vehicle takes; putting in the wrong type can be a thousand dollar or more mistake.
Lastly, get rental car insurance. (This is separate from traveler’s health insurance.) In places like Morocco where rental cars are cheap the insurance can often double the price, but it’s worth it and will save you more money in the long run if something was to happen to the vehicle. Often times vehicle insurance is available through a third party or the rental company itself and will pop up as an option when renting your car. If not, there are third-party providers that you can find online.
If you have a credit card that offers rental vehicle insurance for free, they’ll ask you to decline any insurance offered by the company and purchase the rental on that specific credit card. If you opt to go this route, call your credit card company ahead of time to make sure that they cover rentals in Morocco and get specific details on what is covered, because most of the time they won’t cover damages to someone else’s vehicle.
Rental Car Companies To Consider
In Morocco, you’ll find the lowest rental costs with a Moroccan-owned company. In this case, because we wanted to pick up our in Marrakesh (and decided to return in there too to pay the lowest price possible) so we rented a car through Locationauto.
Locationauto
On DiscoverCars.com they have a 8/10 rating and you can read reviews from real customers here. I was a little hesitant to rent from them because I knew that there would be a language barrier when we went to pick up the car, making it hard to ask any specific questions that we had. I had also read some reviews that complained about their service or that they didn’t get their deposit back in a timely manner. But those reviews were few and far between so we went forward with the rental.
I had also read online that others had trouble finding the pick-up spot at the airport, and I wasn’t hearing back from the company on WhatsApp about where to meet a representative to find our car. So when we got to the airport we went over to “Arrivals” and found multiple people with red vests sporting the Locationauto logo. They were happy to walk us over to the pick-up location. It ended up being in the the back corner of one of the parking lots and was a little hard to see from afar because there’s only a tiny office with no signage.
Other than that, picking up the car went fine. We could tell that the person who was in charge of getting us set up was taking good notes about the dents and scratches already on the car, but when we went to pull out of the parking lot the car wouldn’t start. They promptly gave us another car which felt a little bit like an upgrade. After that we were on our way and had no issues with the car from start to finish. Drop-off was a breeze; we pulled into the parking lot at the airport, someone rushed over to make sure the car was in good condition, gave us thumbs up, and we left. We got our deposit back on our credit card within 48 hours too.
Europcar
For those who feel uncomfortable with the language barrier and would rather rent a car from a more well-known company, I highly recommend Europcar. I rented from them when I took a road trip around England and Wales and have nothing but good things to say about my experience. If you pay for your rental through your credit card that offers free rental car insurance, Europcar has the lowest prices (that I’ve found after hours of research). The insurance that they offer starts to get pricy, but they’re a reliable company and there’s always and option to get insurance through a third party instead.
Renting through a company like Europcar means that you’ll have constant access to service representatives who speak multiple languages should problems arise, and they’re an established and credited company, so the risk of being over charged if things go wrong is little to none.
Whoever you decide to rent with, know that they’re going to put a temporary charge on your credit card which will most likely be for $1,000 USD or more. Once you return the car in good condition they’ll refund your money.
What To Know About Driving In Morocco
Before we set off on the open road we were quite nervous about driving in a new country and were warned multiple times about police officers forcing bribes out of unsuspecting tourists. While we were getting in a taxi to make our way to the Marrakesh airport to pick up our rental car we witnessed a car side-swipe our taxi that was parked on the side of the road. For a moment I wondered if it was a bad omen, but the driver who did the swiping promptly pulled over to inspect the damage and make amends.
If you live in the US or the UK driving in the bigger cities of Morocco might be overwhelming to you. But if you’ve ever driven in other parts of Africa, Asia, or Latin America then it might just feel like another day on the road.
Don’t Be Timid
In the cities people are driving fast and you’ll find motorbikes, donkeys, families, and other obstacles popping in and out of your path. But once you get into rural areas it’s a little bit more relaxed and you’ll find less commotion on the side of the road. If you find yourself in a peculiar situation, remember that sometimes you need to take a tip from the locals and match their energy to ride the (sometimes hectic) waves of the traffic.
Be Ready To Be Passed & Honked At
With that being said, wherever you’re driving, be prepared to get passed. Driving the speed limit is important to minimize potential fines and interaction with police, and regardless of the speed you’re going you’ll especially notice taxis zooming by you (even if it’s in a no pass zones). Let them pass with ease and don’t be offended if people are honking at you. In the US this is usually a sign of aggression or anger, but in Morocco it’s friendly more often than not and a way of letting you know that someone is passing or saying thanks. Almost every time that we heard a honk directed towards us it was followed up by a huge, beaming smile and accompanied by a thumbs up.
Road Conditions, 2 Wheel Vs 4 Wheel, & Maps
As soon as we got to town after taking the ferry from Spain to Morocco we purchased a local SIM card. It was $7 for 10 GB of data. We needed the service so that we could use Google Maps during our road trip, and it led is in the right direction most of the time. (We also heard that Waze works better in some cases.) Once or twice it took us up questionable ands small one-way road that slowly climbed their way through tiny villages before we realized that it was leading us astray. If you don’t purchase any local data, the Maps.me app is a great free resource that allows you to download large maps and use them offline.
As for road conditions, most of the roads were well-maintained and offered two lanes. Every once in a while the road would transition into one lane, and we never ran into more than 4 lanes in busier areas. If you’re wanting to go off-roading or off the beaten path in the High Atlas Mountains in less-than-ideal weather conditions, it is in your best interest to opt for a four wheel drive vehicle. If you’re just coasting between cities and weaving in and out of rural areas, you should be just fine in a regular two wheel drive vehicle.
We sported a small-ish two wheel drive vehicle and had no problem taking it up and through the High Atlas Mountains despite heavy construction, random sections of the road being part-dirt part-pavement, and rockslides along the way. It’s important to note that we took this road when weather conditions were ideal and there were no major issues blocking the road at the time. Check out our full guide to driving in the High Atlas Mountains to learn more.
Avoid Police Bribes
Before setting out on our rental car adventure we read multiple blogposts online that warned of the “inevitable” pull-over by police that can only be resolved by a bribe. We heard that it wasn’t “if” you’ll get pulled over, but “when”. Additionally, we heard second-hand that many tourists in Morocco even have to pay multiple bribes in one day while driving, which can really start to add up. So you can imagine we were really worried when we started and had felt a lot of anxiety around this issue. Alas, we never got pulled over. Not even once. While we were careful to follow the speed limit, we never encountered a police officer in the rural areas or outside of the cities. If we did see them, it was always at a checkpoint leading into a city or town and they simply waved us through. Approaching driving with caution is the way to go; don’t worry yourself sick wondering what could happen.
Giving Rides To Locals
As you traverse the country you’ll notice that hitchhiking is a normal means of getting around. Even in the most rural of areas we saw people, young and old, standing out by the side of the road waiting to catch a ride. We never ended up picking anyone up because we had so many anxieties around driving, but if I could do it all again I totally would.
Children In The Road
The biggest scare that we had while driving happened in a more rural area on the stretch somewhere between Ait-Ben-Haddou and Marrakech. The sides of the roads were unusually calm, with hardly anyone walking along or posted up with their thumb out. We lazily wound around the curves of the mountains when suddenly we had to slam on the brakes and bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
Two children had ran out in front of the car from opposite sides of the road. They stood there intentionally and made sure we were fully stopped before rushing up to the windows, asking for us to buy something from them, and then proceeding to try and open the doors. Not wanting to encourage this dangerous behavior we declined and one of the children struck the window.
It’s a tricky situation because if a child is really in need and feels they have to resort to this, it takes almost nothing on a traveler’s part to hand over some cash. But the children looked well-fed and well-cared for (as far as we could tell). As we kept driving we barely avoided this situation again, and this time what looked to be the children’s parents were hanging out on the side of the road nearby, under a tree, being social with friends and family. I’m not sure if this is a common thing in Morocco but it’s something to be aware of to prevent a potentially fatal accident.
