Discover Morocco with your dog on a motorcycle road trip
Are you planning to go on a motorcycle road trip with your dog? And why not through Morocco? How to travel in Morocco by motorbike with your dog? What is there to discover? Here is a complete article with all the information.
In this section:
Today my dear Wouafer's, I'm taking you to Morocco! Finally, to be completely honest, it's Julien who takes us on a motorcycle road trip through Morocco, with his dog Aston. Do you remember Julien? This dog-loving biker had already given us his best advice for traveling by motorbike with his dog, we'll talk about it a little later in the article 😉
This time, he comes to tell us how he traveled around Morocco by motorbike, during a road trip with his dog. In this testimony, you will find what they preferred in Morocco or liked least. An unplanned motorcycle road trip which ultimately turned into a great adventure, rich in encounters and landscapes!
I won't tell you any more... And let you discover how Julien and his dog came to prepare their motorcycle road trip to discover Morocco.
Motorcycle road trip with your dog: departure for Morocco
Go discover the Morocco on a motorbike with his dog was not originally in Julien's plans. It was a combination of circumstances that encouraged him to prepare a road trip to this country with Aston!
Organizer of the MarathonAnnecy, it was during this event in 2023 that Julien met Jean-Pierre Chassagnolle, governor of Rotary. What is Rotary? It is an association organized in more than 30 clubs around the world. Its goal is to anchor peace between countries and civilizations, as well as to help their development while maintaining rigorous ethics in its actions.
Following this meeting, Julien becomes a Rotary ambassador: his mission is therefore to go to the different Rotary clubs he meets in the countries he visits with his dog, in order to show the reality of their actions through his social networks .
Julien then prepares his next travel project. He actually wants to organize a motorcycle road trip with his dog in the South of France, cross the Pyrenees, then follow the ocean coast of Northern Spain then Western Portugal. A hell of a journey! He is then accompanied by Cooper, his faithful Jack Russell whom he presents to us in his portrait/selfportrait, made a few years ago.
A motorcycle accident forces the duo to delay their departure for the South of France. Too damaged, the motorcycle must be replaced. A tragic and sudden event then occurs: Cooper is bitten by a viper in July. Julien therefore loses his adventure companion. I can't even imagine the pain he must have felt. After a few weeks, his partner Coralie, who had also lost her dog, decided to adopt a Jack Russell puppy: little Newton. Julien follows suit and adopts his brother. Aston then enters the life of our experienced motorcyclist! The puppy doesn't yet know what adventures await him, but he is already reckless and full of enthusiasm!
On September 9, 2023, the Governor of Rotary contacted Julien again. An earthquake has just occurred in Morocco, causing thousands of deaths and injuries under collapsing buildings. Rotary was then very active in bringing food and tents to the survivors. Jean-Pierre Chassagnolle then suggested that Julien go there to witness the actions of Rotary.
Morocco is only 1 hour by boat from the southern tip of Spain. This will simply extend Julien's motorcycle road trip with his dog. So it’s mission accepted for our cani-adventurer!
Julien and Aston are leaving on a motorbike in mid-September. As planned, they travel through the Pyrenees chain, from Béziers à Biarritz. Before reaching Morocco, Julien and his dog take advantage of their motorcycle road trip to follow the Atlantic coast from the North of Spain to the South of Portugal.
Moreover, Julien has a crush on the South of Portugal. Endless beaches where Aston was able to run freely, buildings with original architecture, pretty towns... In short, Julien recommends this place for a vacation with his dog!
Arrived at Strait of Gibraltar, Julien boards a ferry with his dog. Departure to Fair, a small port much more on a human scale than the large port of Gibraltar. The two bikers only sail for 1 hour before putting their paws on Moroccan soil. For Julien, “it’s like taking the bus!”. Aston made the crossing in his Bagster carrying bag and everything went very well.
The great outdoors of Morocco on a road trip with your dog
Here we go for the story of a 3-month motorcycle road trip through Morocco with your dog ! Julien and Aston started by crossing Morocco inland from North to South before returning along the coast. On this subject, if you want to understand how Julien organizes himself, he had already told us his secrets for traveling by motorbike with your dog in this article 😉
In Morocco, the duo was accompanied by several people. Sometimes by Coralie and her dog Newton, sometimes by friends, and other times by nice encounters!
Their itinerary therefore began with the magnificent High Atlas region, with endless ridges and valleys. The adventurous duo was amazed by the Cedar forest, in which free-roaming monkeys rub shoulders with tourists. Aston observed them for a long time, intrigued by these strange creatures 😄 Julien really appreciated the mountains Atlas et Anti Atlas which he traveled with a group of bikers. Off-piste, bivouacs, authentic people and of course, his dog Aston: everything he needs to delight him!
After traveling the length and breadth of northern Morocco, Julien and Aston headed south. Much less touristy and much more deserted, they drove for hours without seeing any human trace. The duo then traveled along the Moroccan coast before joining Tangier, in the north of Morocco. The circle was complete!
Our two bikers greatly prefer remote places, where they can bivouac as they wish, rather than cities, which are too bustling. The advantage of Morocco is that this country, less populated than France, is immense and full of natural landscapes. Julien and Aston were amazed! They enjoyed crossing deserted areas on motorbikes to go from bivouac to bivouac.
Musher and Sophie : – “That’s also what we prefer with Musher. See as far as the eye can see, smell the pure air, feel the freedom... I'm sure Musher would have loved to stay with his nose in the wind, for hours, next to the bivouac 😍 And I love watching her in these cases- there ! And it’s not Julien who will say the opposite 😉 "
Our biker likes his routine when he settles down for a bivouac: setting up his tent, preparing his meal then sharing it with his dog... Everything to spend wonderful evenings during this road trip to Morocco!
What surprised Julien was that despite the immensity of the desert, he very often came across someone out of nowhere! According to him, “no matter where you are in Morocco, you will always find someone to help you if necessary”! Surprising, isn't it?
In addition, Moroccans are not used to seeing small dogs. They are therefore often intrigued by the presence of Aston! Julien met a lot of people thanks to his dog during this road trip through Morocco.
Discovery of major Moroccan cities with your dog
The two bikers still visited a few cities in this country, notably Marrakech, Casablanca and especially, Taroudant. The latter was one of the cities most affected by the September 8 earthquake. They also discovered the seaside resort of Dakhla.
To his great surprise, Julien only met one other biker during his trip to Morocco. Locals mainly travel by moped. This happy meeting gave rise to 2 days of discussions much appreciated by Julien and Aston. They were even treated to a guided tour of Casablanca!
For the nature-loving duo, the big cities of Marrakech and Casablanca were not very pleasant to visit. In these frenetic and urbanized spaces, businesses and people looking for money are constantly trying to extract money from tourists. “Marrakech is not Morocco” say the Moroccans that Julien meets in more remote lands. The country depends on tourism, in the big cities, everything is designed to attract tourists.
On the other hand, Julien and Aston preferred Taroudant, a medium-sized town but much more authentic than the previous ones. Visitors are welcomed and well treated.
Aston was able to accompany Julien everywhere. This sometimes required the biker to assert his will so that his dog would be allowed into a taxi or a restaurant. Julien tells us about it in this article on his advice for getting your dog accepted in Morocco.
Julien and Aston: their next adventures
Julien and Aston don't plan to stop there! After this motorcycle road trip in Morocco with his dog, the young man is looking for a pied-à-terre in Cyprus ! Why Cyprus? Because the island is ideally located between the Turkey, Greece and Lebanon, Julien’s 3 favorite countries. He intends to introduce them to Aston, on a W'ouf Course motorbike!
Thanks to the Russian Motorcycle Federation, he is also planning a road trip through the Russia and Mongolia, before reaching theAlaska and browse the United States. A journey to follow! Clearly, Julien and Aston have not finished traveling! I will be sure to follow their W'ouf adventures 😉 If you also want to find out what this duo is capable of, you can follow them on Facebook @cooperider and Instagram @cooperider.fr, or directly on their Grand Site website.
Wow, thank you Julien for taking us on a journey! With Mush, we now know what to discover if we go to Morocco together. Well, it may not be a motorcycle road trip, but thanks to Julien and Aston's experience, we will be able to prepare for this trip with peace of mind! It makes me want to organize a road trip with my dog in any case. And you, are you planning a trip to Morocco with your dog? If so, I hope that the testimony of Julien, a Trop W'ouf biker, will have been useful to you!