Getting around Morocco

The CTM bus company in Morocco recently relaunched their long defunct website - a welcome break from the long breath held by travellers to Morocco.

CTM previously offered a website only in the Arabic language and even that was riddled with errors and "Under construction" signs.

Now though, a clean sweep of it's website has thouroughly dusted off the cobwebs and ushered in a new style and complete information regarding the company, timetables and tariffs.

Whilst the new website contains plenty of information, the language capabilities are still far from the desired and ideal formats.

Presenting information in purely in French, the company chose to ignore the many thousands of english only speaking passengers which it serves each year (as well as ignoring Arabic only language speakers too!).

Still, the move forward is obviously a long road for CTM and at least travellers can now access it's timetables and tariffs and download the document to keep in .pdf format.

Access and download the CTM bus timetables to keep (skipping the rest of the site).

CTM is one of two reccomended and preferred bus companies in Morocco.

The other main bus company is Supratours, a sister company of the Rail network, who's website can be located at http://www.oncf.ma/

CTM is Morocco long distance bus service. 

An additional long distance bus service in Morocco is Supratours, which is owned by the Rail network.

Both companies have a good safety and reliability record and are reccomended for travellers to Morocco.

Other companies do exist, however the comfort levels, security and safety records are often poor and so are not reccomended.

It is possible to travel from Tanger to Marrakech by train and the train timetables can be accessed by visiting http://oncf.ma

However, if you prefer to travel by bus from Tanger to Marrakech, you can travel with CTM.

CTM buses in Tanger have an office and departure point convieniently located at the entrance to the Port.

To reach the office when you have arrived at Tanger port by ferry, walk from the ferry along the exit road to the entrance of the port. The walk should take about 4 or 5 minutes and unless you have heavy luggage, a taxi will not be required.

The entrance of the port is guarded by Police and has archways across the road.

Walk under the archway and the CTM bus station (effectively just an office) is located on the street corner immediately to your right, when standing facing away from the port entrance.

The CTM bus station office is just on the left of this photo.

Tickets for the CTM bus in Morocco cannot be purchased from outside of the country.

The only exception to this is if you are travelling with Eurolines, from Spain to Marrakech, for example. 

So, the only option available is to purchase the ticket when you arrive in Tanger.

If you intend to take the CTM bus from Tanger, directly upon arriving in the country, you should remember to have some alternative plans to reach your destination. During some times of the year (Ramadan for instance), the buses may well be full. Without a back up transport plan (such as the train) you may have to wait, which may involve an overnight stop in Tanger.

If you are able to step straight off the ferry and onto a CTM bus (i have been lucky enough to do this....ferry arrived at 3pm in Tanger, bus departed to Marrakech at 4pm!), then you should ensure that you have some bottles of water or drink for the bus journey.

CTM buses do make stops for 30 minutes at a time around every 4 hours, depending upon driver Schedules.

These stops are usually at locations with a Cafe.

The CTM buses can sometimes have very cold air conditioning, so it is advisable to take sweater or jacket with you, even in the middle of the summer.

Payment for the CTM bus is in cash (Dirham only) and the offices do not accept credit cards.

Once you have purchased your ticket, take your luggage to the luggage check in desk, ensure you get a sticker with a unique number on it, which is usually then affixed to the back of your luggage ticket, which you keep.

There is a small 5 to 10 DH charge per bag, depending upon the size and the mood of the ticket clerk at the time!

Your luggage will then be stored in the luggage room and loaded onto your bus.

Destination	Hours of departure from Tanger
Agadir	05:30hrs / 11:15hrs / 14:45hrs / 16:30hrs / 23:55hrs
Al Hoceima	20:00hrs
B Mellal	11:15hrs
Casablanca	05:30hrs / 11:15hrs / 14:45hrs / 16:30hrs / 23:55hrs
Chefchaouen	10:00hrs / 12:15hrs / 15:15hrs/ 19:15hrs/ 21:15hrs
Dakhla	23:55hrs
Errachidia	15:15hrs
Fes	10:00hrs / 12:15hrs / 15:15hrs / 19:15hrs / 21:15hrs
Laayoune	23:55hrs
Nador	20:00hrs / 21:15hrs
Marrakech	11:15hrs / 14:45hrs / 16:30 hrs
Meknes	11:15hrs / 19:15hrs / 21:15hrs
Ouarzazate	11:15hrs / 14:45 hrs
Ouazzane	10:00hrs / 12:15hrs
Oujda	19:15hrs
Rabat	05:30hrs / 11:15hrs / 14:45hrs / 16:30hrs / 23:55hrs
Tetouan	10:00hrs / 12:15hrs / 20:00hrs
Tiznit	16:30hrs

The above timetables were correct at 10/05/09 and are of course subject to change without notice etc etc