Here are our top 10 things to do before you take your camper van to Morocco. And one thing not to do before you go! We used this as our checklist before we left Spain.
1. Fill up with Adblue
Fill up with Adblue if your vehicle uses it. We had read that Adblue was readily available in portable containers in Morocco, but that the quality was questionable so we thought it best to fill up before we left Europe. We prefer to fill our Adblue tank (10 litres) from the pump (approx €1.20 per litre). It is a more economical and sustainable way to do it. Filling from the portable plastic containers is a bit of a kerfuffle! Plus we didn’t know at this point if it was widely available via pumps in Morocco. Turns out you can find it in pumps at some of the larger petrol stations in the bigger cities.
2. Fill up with LPG
Fill up with LPG if you use it. This was essential for us as we have an underslung gas tank (20 litres capacity) that can only be filled from a pump (approx €1 per litre in Spain at the time of filling in March 2025). There are no LPG pumps in Morocco, only bottled gas.
3. Fill up with water
Fill up with water. We filled our underslung tank (83 litres) plus an emergency portable container (20 litres) and our drinking bottles (4 litres) before we left Spain. Water is always our most precious commodity in the van, and we have to be wise with every single drop, especially so when visiting a country like Morocco where drought is the norm. Keeping our water levels topped up with potable water was one of our main concerns before going to Morocco.
From what we had read the availability in Morocco of fresh drinking water was limited. Turns out, in our experience of a 10-week trip in Morocco, there are plenty of places to fill up with potable water. If it was clean, clear, odourless and tasteless when we tested it, then we would fill up with it.
The majority of motorhome and camper van travellers we met during our 10-week tour of Morocco used bottled water for drinking. Buying bottled water is one of our personal pet peeves and we avoid it if at all possible.
4. Download maps
Download maps. Our built-in TomTom sat nav in the van does not include maps of Morocco. Our go-to alternative for navigating anywhere when we are offline is the maps.me app. Just download the Morocco maps from the free version before you go. We also have Google Maps and Waze to use if we have online access. We’re lovers of paper maps when it comes to planning an itinerary. The Michelin Morocco map was a €15 must-buy from Carlos when we were booking our ferry tickets at his office near Algeciras. Carlos’ staff advised us to keep the map hidden out of sight from the Moroccan police due to the fact it included the still contested area of the Western Sahara!
5. Download Google Translate
Download Google Translate. Since we speak only school boy/girl French and zero Arabic we downloaded these languages so we could use them offline.
6. SIM card for Morocco
Buy a SIM card for Morocco. You can buy a Maroc Telecom starter SIM card from Carlos’ Travel Agency (www.viajesnormandie.com) for €10. That way you have some online connection as soon as you arrive in Morocco if needed. It’s worth noting that there is an area of free public WiFi in the car park shortly after you clear customs at the port of Tanger Med. Read more about SIM cards when you get to Morocco on this blog post.
7. Get cash – Moroccan Dirham
Get local currency. You can buy Moroccan currency (Dirham) from Carlos’ office so you have at least some cash when you arrive in Morocco. The rate when we were there in mid-March 2025 was €1 = MAD10. Read more information on withdrawing cash in Morocco on this blog post.
8. Store your drone
Store your drone if you have one. Drones are banned in Morocco and if found by customs or police it will likely be confiscated. It’s not worth the risk. We stored our drone at Carlos’ Travel Agency. They wrapped it securely and stored it safely for free. You just need to remember to pick it up on your return!
9. Stock up on sun cream
Stock up on sun cream, especially if you’re a fair skinned Irish person! Sun cream is very hard to find in Morocco and if you do find it, it’s much more expensive than in Europe.
10. Rabies vaccinations
Consider Rabies vaccinations. This was not on our original checklist, but with hindsight it should’ve been. Rabies is widespread in Morocco, and you will encounter stray dogs and cats everywhere you go. We did, and I got scratched by a puppy. Please read our post on the importance of being vaccinated if you’re planning a trip to Morocco.
And one thing not to do!
1. Don’t fill up with diesel
Research on diesel prices showed us it was much cheaper to fill up when we got to Morocco. Instead of about €1.60 average per litre in Europe it is about €1 per litre in Morocco!
A couple of things not on our checklist
A couple of things that were not on our checklist, but that we would suggest bringing:
- A supply of wine and beer if you like a sundowner of an evening! Alcohol is not widely available in Morocco, but you can find places that sell it. We did manage to buy some local Moroccan wine, but it is expensive in comparison to buying wine in Europe. If space was not an issue in our camper van, then the cellar would always be full!
- An egg carton! All eggs are sold loosely so best to have a carton to store them in your camper van. Luckily we did have one in our fridge to reuse time and again.
If you’ve been on a camper van trip to Morocco let us know what you would or wouldn’t bring with you in the comments below.
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