Moroccan ports,advice please.

[lagos36]

I was thinking of visiting some Moroccan ports this summmer but have not met any other sailors that have taken their yacht into a Moroccan port.It would be a great help to me if any of you who have visited Morocco could give me your feed back,thanks ,John.

[Jan]

John,

I've not been there, but friends (dutch) visited some ports in the West: 2 adults and a (blond) very young child. They got a Westsail, quite old. No troubles at all; lots of friendly people.

Jan

[lagos36]

Thanks Jan,the boat does not belong to me ,I am just a crew member aboard,we are sailing over from Nova Scotia on a 25ft gaff rigged boat,the skipper seems keen on visiting Morocco,although I have been there I have never entered on a yacht,thanks for your feed back.

[besemo]

Very nice and friendly place, I was told - but you want to be careful about what you buy - traders of certaikn goods used to be on good terms with european customs...[}: )]

[Gallivanters]

We sailed from Gibraltar to Morocco and took a berth at Restinga Marina (35 deg 45.25 N - 05 deg 20.5 W) on the Med side.

We checked in at a customs house right in the marina and were granted a 72 hour shore pass.

The marina is modern, safe & secure. We shared the dock with the President's Yacht. There are shops and an ATM.

There is also a fishing port a little to the south, I believe.

We did a fun road trip to an old city named Tetuan and had a lovely time sampling the local fare. We were invited to have dinner with a family in their 400 year old "appartment".

We enjoyed a great, yet brief visit before sailing back across the Straits to Spain.

Be sure to keep a sharp lookout - I counted 7 targets on the radar set on a 2 mile range!

Friends stopped into the busy port of Casablanca and were almost immediately damaged by a local fishing boat. They said it wasn't much of a yacht harbor and, try as they might, couldn't find Humphry Bogart managing Rick's Place... or even a cold beer, for that matter.

Morocco is about ten miles across from Spain... but about a thousand years back in time!

By all means - visit!

Kirk

[Holger]

I visited both Mohammedia (10 nm north of Casablanca which is now closed to yachts) and Safi on the Atlantic coast. Both places where great to visit, but Mohammedia was only interesting as a stepstone to Casablanca.

Clearing in by boat takes some time and paperwork, but officials are generally friendly, if you take up their pace and speak some french.

Definitely go and visit, it is worth three times the work to clear in and out. You can find more details at www.noonsite.com, they are based on some of my experiences.

[joao-lisboa]

Hi.

I have been sailing a lot to Marroco and just to say that I find the country and the people very pleasent. I have never experienced any kind of trouble in Morocco. It is a safe place, altough good comuication skills and a bit of people pleasing may be needed.

Someone posted that was in a Marina moored next to the president`s yacht. Well, Marocco his a Monarchy. no president, only a king. I suggest to all people, when visiting other countrys, especcially "different Kind of countries" should get some information about the place. It his my experience that if you get a lot of information about a country and their people, what´s on etc etc, many doors can be open.

Keep safe.

Joao

[nico13]

There's a small Spanish enclave called Ceuta on Morroco. It's worth a one day stop-over if you're heading for Spain or Gibraltar. It's a good 'start off' point for heading into the Med. An ok marina and an interesting little town as everyone speaks Spanish. A decent Morrocan restuarant up the hill about 10 minutes cab ride, can't remember it's name though. Taxi drivers will know it.

Best wishes, fair winds.

[RoaringGirl]

Hi - we spent a month or so cruising Med Morocco last summer, from Tanger to Melilla (actually the otehr Spanish enclave, just west of teh Algerian border.) Very interesting, most people very friendly, very cheap in the main. We left the boat in Tanger dock and travelled overland to Fez which was great.

From Gib on, we kept a blog at www.sailblogs.com/member/roaringgirl which has got quite a lot of info. Also, if you're SSCA members we did a briefing which I think is in September 07 bulletin, which covers Tanger. Will send if you let me have your email.

Really worth a visit. And we had absolutely no official hassle; more bureaucracy in Portugal.

sarah

s/v Roaring Girl

(her Provence, us Wales)

[Lighthouse]

How about adding all this great info to the Morocco page on our Cruising Wiki

[jimthomsen]

In September we enjoyed a short stay in Marina Smir and toured of a couple of local towns. The people were friendly and helpful. When we left Smir, about 2 miles off the coast, we were stopped by a navel ship (we never saw a flag, but did see the big machine gun on the bow). 3 men came over in a RIB and asked to see our papers and to search our boat. They spoke French so we understood a few things. One finally made a call on his mobile phone to the Captain of the ship, who spoke with me in English, explained they needed to search us, and said he was sorry for the hassle. The 3 men on board were very friendly, but did a search under bunks and other storage areas. When they finished we asked if we could take their picture, but of course they said no. In Morocco you are not allowed to take any pictures of anything related to the military.

We enjoyed Morocco and plan to return to spend more time. The staff at Marina Smir were very helpful and friendly and the police/immigration office is next to the marina office. If you plan to leave very early you can check out of the marina the night before, but you need to check out with the police right before departure, but they are open 24 hours.

If you are interested in seeing a few pictures of Smir and the local towns: http://www.tenayatravels.com/Latest%20Upda...tember%204.html

[Lighthouse]

Also see our own WIKI page on Marina Smir.