Morocco May/June 2011

I'm wanting to go on a 2-3 week expedition to Morocco around May 2011. The group I was hoping to go with has fallen through, and I'd rather not pay for a company tour, and internet searches didn't come up with anything promising, so now I'm going to start posting on various forums looking for other people that might be interested.

I have absolutely no experience leading or planning an expedition, but since I'd need to do it for myself anyway, I'm willing to do it for a small group. I'm not looking for any cash, only fellow travellers. You can judge for yourself the wisdom of joining up with a newb. I'll be driving a 1997 Defender 110 300tdi but am open to any capable vehicle.

If you're interested in this then PM me or reply here. Feel free to pass this information around to others as well.

- Andrew

AndrewPrior said:

I'm wanting to go on a 2-3 week expedition to Morocco around May 2011. The group I was hoping to go with has fallen through, and I'd rather not pay for a company tour, and internet searches didn't come up with anything promising, so now I'm going to start posting on various forums looking for other people that might be interested.

I have absolutely no experience leading or planning an expedition, but since I'd need to do it for myself anyway, I'm willing to do it for a small group. I'm not looking for any cash, only fellow travellers. You can judge for yourself the wisdom of joining up with a newb. I'll be driving a 1997 Defender 110 300tdi but am open to any capable vehicle.

If you're interested in this then PM me or reply here. Feel free to pass this information around to others as well.

- Andrew

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Let me know if you need any help with the planning

G

Have a look at Chris Scott's book Morocco Overland, everything you need planning wise is in there. The is also a web site for updates, and worth checking out the Hubb Forum, lot's of updates from people doing his routes.

It's a great trip, have fun

Giffdowg: thanks, I'll keep that in mind

Booger:

Booger said:

Have a look at Chris Scott's book Morocco Overland

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I'm reading his "Sahara Overland" right now as part of my prep for a year long trans Africa expedition, didn't realize there was a Morocco specific one! Just checked and it seems it has several more routes in it, so I guess I should pick it up. Thanks for the tip!

- Andrew

I might be interested in going but I have no idea how much it might cost and therefore don't know if I could do it in May. Perhaps someone with previous experience could help with a figure somewhere close to what it might cost (excluding the vehicle preparation)

Thanks
Jack

Bear in mind that the overland books only cover a very small percentage of the routes...I say use it as a waypoint but find your own paths...each to their own I guess.

Cost wise it can be as little or as much as you like. Fuel costs were the biggest for us.

You could just do it on your own

I've generally read $40 (USD?) per person per day as a rough budget for Africa Overlanding. I think this was assuming two people per car, so maybe $60 per day for a solo traveller. Assuming inflation and the exchange rate cancel each other out, I guess we can just use the same numbers but in pounds.... so 80 GBP/day for a couple or 60 GBP/day for an individual. For three weeks that's 1700 GBP for a couple or 1300 for a single.

That should cover camping, fuel, food, and all the main costs. Diesel should be around 80p/litre if I've done my conversions right.

Can anybody who's done it before say if this is reasonable? Since I've not acutally done it I'm just going to leave myself a large reserve and "it costs what it costs". That will work for me, but I can see that others might want more detail of expected costs.

- Andrew

AndrewPrior said:

I've generally read $40 (USD?) per person per day as a rough budget for Africa Overlanding. I think this was assuming two people per car, so maybe $60 per day for a solo traveller. Assuming inflation and the exchange rate cancel each other out, I guess we can just use the same numbers but in pounds.... so 80 GBP/day for a couple or 60 GBP/day for an individual. For three weeks that's 1700 GBP for a couple or 1300 for a single.

That should cover camping, fuel, food, and all the main costs. Diesel should be around 80p/litre if I've done my conversions right.

Can anybody who's done it before say if this is reasonable? Since I've not acutally done it I'm just going to leave myself a large reserve and "it costs what it costs". That will work for me, but I can see that others might want more detail of expected costs.

- Andrew

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£1700 for a couple will be about right. it was 2k for us over 4 weeks. It also depends how far you drive. we drove 4350 miles on that.

As a single person, I think it would be more than 1300 as everything will be the same except food. which is cheap(ish) anyway. If you budget 1500 for the 3 weeks with 500 reserve, you will be fine!

G

ps. 2k does not include carpets or tea

Forget working it out like that. Work out how many miles you do through Europe depending on how you are getting down there and the rough fuel cost depending on your MPG. Then do the same for Morocco. Factor in ferry crossings and then this is your base cost. If you are camping then pretty much everything else is a luxury - food is cheap in Morocco if you are not taking your own food.

*edit* realised that sounded like me telling you how to do it...didn't quite mean it to come across like that...just saying how I figure out costs.

rustyrhinos said:

*edit* realised that sounded like me telling you how to do it...didn't quite mean it to come across like that...just saying how I figure out costs.

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No problem, all suggestions are welcome! I always appreciate having more advice than I expected.

Since the exact times/routes/activities and such will be negotiated with whoever comes along, the cost will obviously vary. I'm glad to hear that 2k is in the right ballpark though.

- Andrew

I feel for ya...I had planned on going as a group of three trucks and the others dropped out. Had to change my route over the atlas mountains and desert as was not a good idea to do original route as a solo vehicle...having said that the isolation was fantastic.

Here are some figures I have been playing with after a trip in September this year. These are my figures for next years recce, as I plan on taking punters next sept. Consider also that if you have mechanical issues you need dollar in your bank to get it resloved.

DRIVE Kent - Portsmouth £80 return

FERRY Portsmouth - Bilbao £550 return

DRIVE Bilbao - Algeciras £260 return 1300 miles

Cost to Algeciras £890 return

If you drive the 1500 miles from Kent - Algeciras (return) it is £600 fuel + £240 Tolls + £120 Hotel.

FERRY Algeciras - Cueta £250 return

MOROCCO FUEL £400 (approx 2000 miles)



Total travel cost to Algeciras £890 return
FERRY Algeciras - Cueta £250 return
MOROCCO FUEL £400 (approx 2000 miles)

Total Travel Costs £1540

European Recovery £150

10 nights camping 2 persons + Tent + 4x4 £150 Maximum

4 nights in hotel 4/5* (twin room) £240

Before commenting on these figures please see blog. I know you can get some of these prices cheaper. I think you need £2250 for two people to have a blast.

www.saharaoverland.co.uk

Top Tip - Buy yourself a Garmin 2620 or 2610 on ebay(276c if you can afford it). Download olafs morocco Map to it (without contours).....you will never be lost.

May I just add...beware of spanish truck drivers near Algeciras..they are coming to the end of a long journey to fetch/deliver oil products and are focused totally on a siesta...i had one cut me up so badly i had a choice between going under the middle of his wagon or luckily for me, taking the slip road....i chose wisely but my female passenger shat a pancake.

muddyfox said:

Top Tip - Buy yourself a Garmin 2620 or 2610 on ebay(276c if you can afford it). Download olafs morocco Map to it (without contours).....you will never be lost.

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OK, now I'm curious.... why those specific Garmin units? I have a nuvi that I'm pretty sure I can load maps on to... is that not enough?

- Andrew

Try to download it 1st andrew.

link on my website should you need it.

G

I only have first hand experience of 2620 - 2610 Streetpilot 3 and 276c.

All of those models can accept routes and cordinates from mapsource, and so can be planned on your computer prior to the trip.

If you have an emergency those devices can tell you your exact position even in remote areas (co-ordinates) at the push of a button. I don't know if the nuvi can?

The 2620, 2610, and 276c also have a tracking facility. So if you come across an obstruction, or get lost and need to retrace your steps....you can. Very handy in the middle of no-where.

We're talking about 40-50 quid for a 2620 a tad more for the 2610. So even if your nuvi works...it's a great back-up. Remember that the 2610 is designed for motorbikes, so it is very rugged and water/dust proof.

I had one of these for a long while and found it brilliant. and you get the added advantage of point to point tomtom style navigation if ya want it...

We did 3wk solo trip in october this year and used Garmin 7200 same as G4 teams expensive but very good loaded with Olaf never get lost even when you think you are it will tell you the way out .We also took maps just incase Have a great trip we did Bob

Hi, Andrew... not going to spam here... well not really...

If you need a safety tracking system I have spares that we can talk about loaning to you for your first trip. PM Rusty, he has used one and will be able to help you decide whether it was worthwhile.

I and a couple of others were thinking about a trip to Morocco over the summer - although it would have to be later since we won't be free until after the end of June.

I have a 300Tdi 110 CSW as well and might be able to get hold of one or two other 110s for free (although it's a remote possibility).

I'm very interested in this. Have you any routes planned (even roughly)?