Start/end Marrakech
Seven-day tour • £999 own room + bike rental + flight
Dates and availability • Read the FAQs

What they say…
I can’t thank you enough for doing an astonishing job of corralling us these past six days. A genuine highlight of my life being up in the Atlas with you and the chaps. I laughed, learned, and rode a lot. AS (2023)
Brilliant trip… Chris invariably undersells and over-delivers SS
My research on the internet into travel in the Sahara keeps leading me to your page. MP
It was one of the best trips I have ever done and far above any other tour out there… RZ
[one year on] I’ve been reflecting on it. Without question the best trip I’ve ever taken. PH
… what a brilliant trip that was. A great balance of challenge and relaxation. RS
an interesting mix of people and your amazing quiet knowledge made it all feel so easy. JT
Thank you for opening my horizons and revealing what I am capable of achieving. KD
A fantastic week. For me, the off-road challenges were just about perfect; lots of interesting routes RN
Many thanks for a great trip, it was well beyond what I’d hoped for in almost every respect. SR
Absolute belter of a week in Morocco. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. RC

Come and join me on a one-week introduction to small-group, back-road trail biking in Morocco, suited to seasoned motorcyclists who may have little or no experience in off-road riding or of travelling in North Africa. Your time is maximised by flying in to Marrakech and renting a bike, before crossing the High Atlas on a 1200-kilometre lap of southern Morocco. To read more about me, click the picture, left.
Using my >40 years experience of riding in North Africa, as well as the knowledge based on writing Morocco Overland and the Adventure Motorcycling Handbook, we follow exhilaratingly remote mountain backroads to tackle dirt roads from 1–5 hours, covering up to 270km a day. On the penultimate day we spent two nights at the same hotel so as to enjoy a day ride into the nearby hills, leaving our baggage in the hotel. With the scenery, deserted roads and trails, great food and cosy lodgings, it all adds up to a memorable one-week mini-adventure which will leave you satisfied rather than exhausted.

… everything I wanted. From hotels, to pistes, roads and views and to the great emptiness of the Atlas. RT
We would like to thank you for a beautiful trip that will remain in our memories forever. RBE
Thank you so much for all your help and guiding. The tour has been an indelible memory for me. JK
You’ve ruined green laning in the UK for me now ;-) TY
Great mix of rough and smooth, with a dose of true Moroccan culture. [And] the biking – just right. Loved it. BR
Many thanks once again for your efforts [on] what turned out to be a dream trip to Morocco. GM

I’ve refined my proven formula to make the ride more suited to the road-oriented BMW 310GSs. And I continually upgrade the lodgings and tweak the route as places change and tracks get sealed or deteriorate, while keeping options in the tank bag in the event of bad weather or other setbacks. In 2024 I raised the price to £999, but now include single rooms as a default. This actually works out as a price reduction on the previous tariff. If there are two people who would like to share, each person pays £100 less (£899).

The Bikes
The default bike is the BMW G310GS. Tyres are tubeless and usually do-it-all Mitas, as opposed to road-style Tourances and the like. Because we’re not on a rally and conditions are usually dry, you’ll be surprised how secure a do-it-all tyre is on the gravel tracks. It’s all about a smooth, non-aggressive riding. Lower saddles are an option for the 310s.

Bigger bikes from Loc2Roues (aka: BM Attitude) are available but cost between 50% and 100% more to rent. Some are older and have high mileages. Read my impressions on doing my tour on an old F700GS. as well as a newer 750GS and a KTM890R. With my current route the road tyres fitted on some of these big twins are less ideal, but with smooth riding you get the knack.
You can do the tour with your own bike. Some consider this but in the end most just fly in and settle on a 310. If you ride a big bike, initially, the 310 will feel gutless, but after a few days you’ll adapt to its abilities on the dirt and find it a brilliant <100-kph canyon carver.

The Ride
You fly to Marrakech and bus or taxi to a modern hotel where we all meet on the first evening for a meal and a briefing. Next morning it’s a 3 minute walk to the bike rental agency. Once the rental payments and 15,000dh (~£1200) deposits are made and bikes packed, we set off for an easy, 110-km road ride to a remote mountain lodge up in the High Atlas. It’s a road but with long sections of dirt, so you’ll already be getting a feel for how the 310 handles loose surfaces.

Next morning we hit the trails and backroads, following spectacular mountain passes and desert pistes, right up to the very last day, returning over the High Atlas to Marrakech. Until the last hour on the last day, traffic is negligible.

Where practical, you ride ahead to an agreed landmark or set distance and wait for me to catch up. It’s important that you understand these instructions or follow someone who does. Because there’s usually only one road or track to follow, eventually this works well enough, with me bringing up the rear.
Occasionally it’s better to follow me, in which case stops are more frequent to make sure all are keeping up. At any time you can stop to take photos and so on. I may ride past if at the back, but will remember who’s behind me and may pull over later to let you pass. I am almost always in the front or more usually at the back.
Our ride includes several exposed mountain roads and tracks with no safety barrier, tight loose switchbacks and big drops. If you have issues with vertigo this ride will not be for you. You also need to know how to ride round the occasional tight, steep, loose, uphill hairpin bend. The BMs have a rather high first gear so you may need to feather (slip) the clutch to slow the bike down a bit. Stick your leg out to give confidence. Or, try and ‘clean’ the bend with the clutch out and the feet up, using pure technique and balance. Sadly, the 310GS does not necessarily respond to such skills.

Accommodation
We use lodgings ranging from humble Berber home-stays to kasbah-style hotels, enjoying our hosts’ warm hospitality and freshly prepared food. It’s not all about riding; many riders regard the food as another highlight of the tour.

However, once we leave Marrakech some lodgings are rustic (a euphemism for ‘basic’), and while almost all are en-suite with sit-on toilets, bathroom facilities may not resemble the spotless fit, finish and functionality you may be used to back home. In particular, plumbing and associated fittings are often functionally challenged, as I’ve found all across North Africa. If you’ve travelled independently in poorer lands (or can remember when Europe and the UK were not so different) it won’t be too much of a shock. It’s all part of the adventure and it’s just one week out of your life.

My knowledge of Morocco gained from researching and writing the next Morocco Overland guidebook grew exponentially in 2023-4 when I spent several weeks researching new routes. It means barely an hour or a mile need be wasted getting to the places overlooked by most tourists, tours and other guidebooks.
When things go awry and delays crop up, as they do, I know the region well enough to reschedule the itinerary or the overnight stay at the drop of a valve. On this trip we’ll barely see other tourists and the traps they are drawn to. When we do stray into their territory the whole circus can be quite a shock.

This tour is not a hardcore, off-roading, dawn-to-dusk challenge.
It is a laid-back but adventurous back-country trail and road ride through southern Morocco’s mountains and deserts without vehicle support.

However, you still need to be:
• experienced and level-headed to ride competently on exposed mountain switchbacks where any number of hazards lie beyond the next bend.
• fit enough to handle a few hours off-roading and be…
• flexible enough to accept the vagaries of back-country travel, lodgings and washroom facilities which are endemic to North Africa.

Sound like your sort of thing? Then please read the FAQs carefully.
Check out the 2022 gallery here with more here and my post-Covid recce here. After each tour, I send everyone a huge batch of edited photos, making a great souvenir of your Moroccan ride.