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Thursday, May 29, 2025

Morocco 2025 Day 2: Rabat to Tangier

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AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures

Morocco 2025 Day 2: Rabat to Tangier

Morocco 2024 Day 2: 16th April (Wednesday)

Small Group (Non-cycling) Tour of Morocco.
Day 2 - Rabat: to Asilah to Tangier:

Rabat (Flower Town Hotel)>Mohammed VI Tower>Asilah>Asilah Medina>Hercules Caves> Cap Spartel>Sidi Kacem Beach>Tangier (Kasba Blanca Riad).

This is page 2 of a 13-page blog. Click Here To Go To Title Page.

< D1: Rabat | Go to Other Days | D3: Chefchaouan >

Route recommendations, here are some tips on travelling to and around Morocco:

1. Traffic Directions!

Driving in Morocco is left-hand drive, and driving is on the right-hand side of the road. Do look to the correct side when crossing roads.
Speed limits are between 60 km/h within urban areas, 100 km/h outside urban areas, including expressways, and 120 km/h on highways. Do adhere to these limits, as often police are monitoring with radars; our driver-guide was careful about this.

2. Immigration & Customs Requirements

For Morocco, citizens of Malaysia do not need a visa to enter for travel purposes and can stay in the country for 90 days without a visa. Click here for visa requirements for other countries.

3. Getting to and around Morocco.

Morocco is easily accessible by air as most major airlines serve Morocco and have flights to major cities such as Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech. We flew return via Emirates to Casablanca with transit in Dubai at a fare of MYR4,430 per pax. Do note that Emirates now charges for seat selection.
For ground arrangements, we booked a 13-day guided tour through Tenere Tours at €1,350 per pax. This included stays at comfortable hotels and riads, and a night at a caravanserai luxury camp in the desert. Breakfast was included, and also dinners at the Dades Valley Hotel, Merzoga Riad and Desert Caravanserai Luxury Camp.
The guided tour included a 9-seater van with a driver-guide to take the six of us to/from the airports, and from city to city. And also the camel ride to the desert camp. We paid extra for walking tours at the Fez Medina and Marrakech Medina at €85/group/city.

For out-of-pocket spending, we exchanged Euros to Moroccan dirhams (MAD) at local money-changers in Rabat and Rissani. As a contingency, we brought along our Wise debit cards, do note that this may not be acceptable at many places.

4. Places & Things of Interest

En route were several places of interest, some of which we visited and others we did not for lack of time (Note: click on GPS coordinates for a directional map to respective places):
a. Rabat Medina (GPS: 34.02590, -6.83643).

b. Grand Theater of Rabat (GPS: 34.02589, -6.81509).
c. Mohammed VI Tower (GPS: 34.01893, -6.80518) in Rabat.
d. Spiral Sculpture To Asilah (GPS: 35.45002, -6.03466).
e. Borj Al Kasbah (GPS: 35.46686, -6.03654) in Asilah.
f. Alqamra Tower (GPS: 35.46625, -6.03779) in Asilah.
g. Asilah Medina (GPS: 35.46522, -6.03913).
h. Mural Puerta artistica (Artistic Door Mural) (GPS: 35.46643, -6.03886) in Asilah.
i. Torre de San Francisco (GPS: 35.46606, -6.04058) in Asilah.
j. Krikia Coastal Viewpoint (GPS: 35.46503, -6.04189) in Asilah.

k. Sidi Kacem Beach (GPS: 35.73798, -5.94427) in Tangier.
l. Hercules Caves (GPS: 35.75993, -5.93923) in Tangier.
m. Signpost of Atlantic & Mediterranean Seas (GPS: 35.78773, -5.92713) in Tangier.
n. Cape Spartel Lighthouse (GPS: 35.79101, -5.92380) in Tangier.

5. Food

a. Breakfast

Inclusive hotel Western & Moroccan breakfast (with Maghrebi Mint Tea) at Flower Town Hotel (GPS: 33.99362, -6.8487), Rabat.
b. Lunch

Seafood Paella, Chicken Tajine, Spaghetti Nepolitan, Tuna Salad at Restaurant de la Place (GPS: 35.46697, -6.03591) in Asilah.
c. Afternoon Coffee at Cafe El Medina (GPS: 35.46597, -6.03788) in Asilah.

d. Dinner

Harira (Lentil) Soup, Red Cabbage with Grapes, Caramelised Pumpkin with Honey, Seffa (vermicelli) Grille, Chicken Pastilla, Moroccan Harira Soup, Grilled Swordfish & Maghrebi Mint Tea at Maison Grill Kasbah in Tangier (GPS: 35.78705, -5.81393).

6. Accommodations

One night at the Kasba Blanca (GPS: 35.78797, -5.81401), a riad in Tangier.

7. Dressing

I brought two long pants along and four shorts. In the end, I didn't wear the shorts as the weather can get quite cold in the morning and evenings, especially with stronger winds at the seaside.

When entering mosques, men can wear shorts, but ladies have to cover up their legs and heads. Scarves and long pants are recommended; if wearing shorts, bring a sarong or something to cover one's legs.

8. Communicating with Each Other

When travelling in a group, it's important to be able to communicate with each other, especially if one gets lost from the rest.

Upon arrival at Casablanca Airport, booths selling pre-paid sim cards can be found just before exiting the luggage reclaim area. There were booths selling Maroc, Orange, and Inwi pre-paid tourist phone sim cards. We opted for the Maroc sim card as it provides better coverage even in remote areas, which I found to be true, and it only had poor or no signal at remote stretches far in the hills or desert. We got the 15 Gb card, which is valid for one month for 100 MAD. Should this be inadequate, memory can be topped up at any phone shop.

9. Communicating with Locals

At favourite tourist destinations, markets and medinas, many locals speak fairly good English, some French and Spanish. At the smaller towns, locals speak some rudimentary English, and our local guide was most helpful in translating for us.

10. Weather

Average day temperatures in Rabat were 19°C, and the average night temperatures at Tangier were 11°C, cloudy with no rain.

Useful weather forecast sites for Rabat & Tangier are AccuWeather. For more detailed weather, including cloud cover and wind speed, use Weatherspark and Ventusky.

11. Navigation

I used MapMyRide to track our routes and stops. Geo-tagging of places of interest was via FaceBook or Google Maps.

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PRELUDE

Yesterday, we flew into Casablanca from Dubai and drove straight to Rabat. Arriving there in the late afternoon, we walked around Rabat's Medina and visited two other tourist spots.

Today, we continue our road trip to Tangier, with an interesting stopover at Asilah, a quaint seaside town. Just before Tangier, we will visit a couple of tourist spots and also a place where a great sea meets a mighty ocean.

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DAY 2: RABAT-ASILAH-TANGIER

Small Group (Non-cycling) Tour of Morocco.

Day 2 - Rabat to Asilah to Tangier:

Rabat (Flower Town Hotel)>Mohammed VI Tower>Asilah>Asilah Medina>Hercules Caves> Cap Spartel>Sidi Kacem Beach>Tangier (Kasba Blanca Riad).

(Click here for the Morocco Day 2: Rabat to Asilah to Tangier Route Map)

Most of the posts below are linked to my Facebook postings during the trip and are embedded here with some comments. (NOTE: Click on respective posts to link to the FB post to read more details. If you can't see the posts, please log out of your Facebook first.)

Started the day with a hotel breakfast of a nice mix of Continental & Moroccan fare, including waffles.

The little kid in me (yes, there's still one inside) got excited by this Chocolate Fountain.

While the "older" me was intrigued by the Maghrebi Mint Tea served from this authentic teapot. This brought back memories of first trying this tea at a Moroccan lunch during a cycling tour of Brussels.

Time to say goodbye, leaving Rabat along the Ave de Tormart, passing by the walls of Rabat Medina. We will be heading to Asilah for a short stop, and then onwards to Tangier.

Passing by Grand Theater of Rabat, with its streamlined, futuristic curves. And also the sleek Mohammed VI Tower, it's the tallest building in Morocco, and its sleek tower is very noticeable from afar (we saw it yesterday while at the Oudaya Kasbah).

Along Avenue Hassan II, there are cycling and pedestrian lanes on one side.

Rest break at Shell Safsaf Vivo Energy Gas Station in Kenitra. Nearby is a ticketing office for FRS-DFDS Ferry that operates ferry services from Tanger Med or Ceuta (Morocco side) to Gibraltar or Algeciras (Spain side).

I had thought that one could board the ferry from the nearby Kentira Port, but no... one will still have to drive all the way to Tanger Med port to board. Guess the Sebou River, on which the former is located, is too narrow/shallow for the big ferries.

As we travelled along the highways, I noticed that the road signs are in three languages: i.e. Darija (Moroccan Arabic), Berber Tamazight and French. When I first saw the Tamazight, I thought, what's Greek doing on a Moroccan signboard? It is only when our Berber driver-guide enlightened me that I realised the truth. Tamazight looks like it is close to Phonecian alphabets too.

A nice Spiral Sculpture at the roundabout leading into Asilah. It signifies that the town is renowned for art, with the Asilah Art Festival held annually in summer.

12:30pm - Seafood Paella, Chicken Tajine, Spaghetti Nepolitan lunch at Restaurant de la Place in Asilah. The food here is pretty good; in fact, we were lucky that we arrived early, as later the place was packed with tourists.

From the restaurant, it was a short walk over to Borj Al Kasbah, the entrance to the Asilah Medina. The place was a fortified town with its ramparts and gateworks remaining fully intact.
Its history dates back to 1500 B.C., when Phoenicians occupied a site called Zilis, NE of present-day Asilah. The town was originally constructed by the shia Idrisid Dynasty, and Umayyad caliph Al-Hakam II rebuilt the town in 966. The Portuguese conquered the city in 1471 and built its fortifications

Slightly further in is the Alqamra Tower.

With its rich history, many beautiful buildings can be seen within the Medina. The whitewashed building reminded me of the Pueblos Blanco we saw at Zuheros, Spain , during our 2019 cycling tour in the Iberian Peninsula.

More views of the white buildings, with highlights of bright blue and bright green, making them different from the Pueblos Blanco. Do look out for shops selling colourful Moroccan woven trays and bottle holders.

And also traditional Moroccan rugs.

Arising from the Asilah Art Festival, many street art are seen within the Medina.

Perhaps in future, these street art will rival the ones in my hometown, George Town, Penang.

"Hands" mural over an archway door.

A combo of dancers and gymnasts.

Colourful street art.

Beautiful archways tempt us onwards, drawing us further into the Torre de San Francisco.

A reward at the far end, the Krikia Coastal Viewpoint, with its stunning view of the sea.

Back at the entrance, having a mint tea break at Cafe El Medina. Actually, it was any emergency restroom break for my tummy, which started acting up - too much good seafood, I guess!

4:30pm - Forty-five minutes after leaving Asilah, we arrived at the outskirts of Tangier, going along the coastal road P4601, passing by Sidi Kacem Beach, with palm trees billowing in the wind while breakers from the blue sea crash onto the beach.

Our next stop, the Hercules Caves. I decided not to go into the caves, worried that the pathway could be slippery. Instead, we admired the beautiful view from the cliffs overlooking the sea, and were just contented with the mythology of Hercules and the legend of his twelve labours from our school history books. Mythological tradition also holds that Hercules stayed and slept in this cave before doing his 11th labour - stealing three of the golden apples of the Hesperides.

Our next visit was a curious one, nothing to see except the sea... haha, it rhymes.
It is the location that is important, it's the Straits of Gibraltar - where the historic Mediterranean Sea meets the mighty Atlantic Ocean!
There is a signpost marking this location, many were queuing up to take photos at this important geographic point, and it was impossible to have a photo without other people in!

But my Honor Magic 5 Pro has a photo edit feature called an AI Eraser, just draw a circle around those unwanted people, and voila, within seconds those people are erased... gone! (see above photo 😉)

Nearby is the Cap Spartel Lighthouse, which we just viewed from outside; it's a secure area and the public is not allowed in.

I love lighthouses, and viewed some while on a cycling tour of the Batanes Islands in the Philippines. Those were beautiful ones overlooking an even mightier ocean - the Pacific.

Approaching Tangier, our riad (homestay) is somewhere up there among the colourful houses on the opposite slopes. Viewed as we passed by Jardin Dradeb.

At Tangier, our riad was not accessible by vehicular traffic, and a short 5-minute walk away from the car park. But the streets here are sloping and sometimes narrow. Fortunately, there are paid porter services here, and one, Mr. Mohammed, was arranged by the homestay, Kasba Blanca. Choukran (that's thank you in Moroccan)

Checking into our riad, Kasba Blanca, the common area is beautifully decorated, but the bedrooms are small, and we hardly have space to walk around the bed.

We later learnt that the rooms at riads in large cities are small, while those at smaller towns are much bigger.

In the common area were nice artwork too; this one is of a Bedouin lady dressed in traditional thawb.

Traders looking for an inn to stay the night.

Moroccan dinner at nearby Maison Grill Kasbah:
Harira (Lentil) Soup, Red Cabbage with Grapes, Caramelised Pumpkin with Honey, Seffa (vermicelli) Grille, Chicken Pastilla, Moroccan Harira Soup, Grilled Swordfish & Maghrebi Mint Tea.