Morocco by Campervan: 5 Dream Spots

When you travel by campervan, van or tent and choose to camp wild, it’s not always easy to find a spot for the night worth sticking around a bit longer. Often, if that spot turns out to be truly perfect, you still have to move on to find services or restock on food. In 3 months in Morocco we were lucky enough to find 5 places that gave us a truly paradise-like stay.

These are places where we felt safe and didn’t have to pay to stay, except for one watched over by a night guard. We’ll leave you the coordinates, but remember this is public land, so things might change over time!

But let’s go back to those places together, and read to the end to find out our favourite!

1 - Mirleft-Sidi Ifni

We arrived at this spot overlooking the Atlantic coast one afternoon around 6pm, just in time to meet our van neighbours (two other foreign vehicles) and, each leaning against our own mobile home, admire a truly stunning sunset atop the cliffs.

Accessibility: The road to get there is unpaved, manageable with a vehicle like ours (a 5.40m van), maybe harder with a longer vehicle, and especially not recommended if it’s rained in the previous days.

Services: If you need food, nearby Sidi Ifni has a small souk stocked with everything you need. Fancy a swim or a walk along the shore? Just drive a few kilometres and you’ll find the beaches of Sidi Ifni or Mirleft.

Coordinates: 29.424653, -10.13807 

The only downside to this spot is that, being on top of the cliffs, it can be dangerous in strong winds. That’s exactly why we decided to move on and avoid putting ourselves at risk.

2 - Tafraout

Have you ever imagined sleeping in the middle of a palm grove? For us it was a truly thrilling first. This spot also lets you treat yourself to plenty of excursions, both on foot around the surrounding hills and by vehicle to reach, for example, the nearby painted rocks.

Accessibility: The road there is paved, turning into dirt and grass in the parking area. It’s manageable for any vehicle.

Services: The town of Tafraout has plenty of shops and restaurants and is easily reached on foot. A baker on a bicycle comes by the parking area every day, and once a week a small truck comes round to top up your water.

Coordinates: 29.712153, -8.990426 

To stay overnight you pay a 15 DH fee to a night guard who actually does keep an eye on the parking area!

Want to see our adventures here, between trekking and painted rocks?

3 - The Amsfrane Cathedral

Don’t picture a religious stop here, because the only “Cathedral” you’ll find is the shape of an imposing mountain. All around, nature reigns supreme, with trees and a riverbed.

Accessibility: The road there climbs the whole way and is full of bends, a bit narrow in places, and almost entirely paved except for the last stretch, where you need to cross the riverbed. With a large vehicle you might have some trouble.

Services: You’ll only find a couple of containers selling bread and packaged snacks. If you plan on staying in the area, bring your own supply of water, fruit and vegetables.

Coordinates: 31.991444, -6.13398 

On weekends and holidays the area comes alive with mostly local people barbecuing and camping.

4 - Lake El Ouidane

As soon as you pass the dam and a couple of tourist resorts, you find yourself facing a flat stretch of dry land, where this lake was once much more abundant. You can choose to park at the start in the shade of some trees, or right on the shore in full sun, in the company of a few fishermen.

Accessibility: The road to the shaded area is simple and paved, with only the last stretch being an easy dirt track. If you decide to head down to the lakeshore, you’ll need to follow the tracks and go over the hill, watching out for rocks and potholes.

Services: A few hundred metres from the entrance there’s a small shop with just a few snacks, while the nearest village is 6 km away and hosts a large souk on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. You can fill up on non-drinking water at the petrol station.

Coordinates: 32.114897, -6.406328 

If you get a craving for pizza, don’t worry: at Snack Pizzeria Slimane  you’ll find a margherita for 22 DH, and you’ll leave truly satisfied!

5 - Lake El Sidi Chahede

This is our spot of the heart, maybe the place we loved most in all of Morocco. We stayed 5 days immersed in the middle of nowhere, without missing a thing. Around us, mountains in red, green, white. A few wheat fields. The bed of what was once a lake, now completely dried up. It might intimidate some people, but we loved everything about it: the silence, the starry sky, the freedom to walk in any direction. There’s no shade at all, but from 11am a really pleasant breeze picks up.

Accessibility: The last stretch of road to get there is unpaved and very, very narrow. Either way, we didn’t have any trouble.

Services: A few kilometres away, on the shore of a neighbouring lake that still exists, you can find a fisherman’s stall serving grilled fish and, on request, tajine. Nothing else.

Coordinates: 34.070176, -5.297796 

Unfortunately we had to leave to find a fountain to fill up on water (half an hour away) and somewhere to buy groceries (reaching nearby Fez within an hour).

Are you a fan of wild camping too, or do you prefer staying at campsites?

We’ll be waiting for you in the comments! 😊