Duration: 45 min
Our impression: piece of cake
Costs involved: 0€

Step 1: Driving out of Spain: put on your friendliest smile, show your passport and off you go!

 

Step 2: Once on the Moroccan side of the border, you better kindly refuse the services offered by several fixers who seem to roam around at the border. We have passed the border between Spain and Morocco about 10 times now at different locations and we have never used a fixer. They will kindly offer you the immigration forms you need but bear in mind that these are free and you don’t need to pay for them.

 

Step 3: Find a uniformed Moroccan and ask him where you can find the immigration office. Try to look as impressive as you can and queue at the office window. Try to remember who was in front and who was behind. It can get a bit chaotic at times and chances are high someone will try to jump the queue. A gentle tap on the shoulder and a gesture that he has to queue like everybody else kind of solves this problem in most cases. Remain friendly but be firm. Immigration will stamp your passport.

 

Step 4: Hold your breath for just another while and try to keep looking as impressive as you can because you have to queue again. At the customs office window this time. If your vehicle is not your property, make sure to have a power of attorney with you. English has proven to be sufficient, no need for a translation in French or Arabic. In case of a problem, just kindly ask to speak to the chef and try to explain you’re only a tourist. He will most definitely be glad to solve any blocking issue.

 

Step 5: Get on your bike, show your paperwork a few more times when you’re asked for it and about 45 minutes later you should be on Moroccan soil.

 

Advice: if you would ever try to enter Morocco at the end of the Ramadan, just like we once did, and you see a row of cars, several kilometers long, in front of you, wave at the drivers as you pass them all. This seems to be a generally accepted practice and avoids you baking in the blistering heat of the sun.