Taking the Ferry to Morocco With a Camper: Everything We Learned After a 44-Hour Crossing

If you’re planning a road trip to Morocco, sooner or later you’ll face one big question:

Should you take the ferry with your camper?

Before our trip, we spent hours reading forums, Facebook groups and random blog posts, trying to figure out what the experience would actually be like.

Now that we’ve done it ourselves, here’s everything I wish I’d known before boarding a ferry to Morocco with our camper.

For reference, we travelled in January 2026 with:

• 2 adults
• 1 child
• 1 dog
• Mercedes Sprinter 4×4 camper
• GNV ferry from Sète (France) to Nador (Morocco)

The crossing took 44 hours.

Yes… almost two full days.

Why we chose the Sète – Nador route

There are much shorter crossings from Spain, but we were already travelling through France and didn’t want to drive all the way south just to save a few hours at sea.

For us, Sète made perfect sense.

It also meant we arrived directly in Morocco without another long drive beforehand.

Booking the ferry

We booked our tickets about a month before departure.

Honestly, it was much easier than I expected.

Within a few minutes everything was booked, and all that was left was counting down the days until Morocco.

We would never do this crossing without a cabin

Seriously.

Forty-four hours is a long time.

We booked a 4-berth inside cabin that allowed pets, and I’d do exactly the same again.

Could you survive with just a reclining seat?

Probably.

Would I want to?

Absolutely not. 😄

Having a private space where our son could relax, the dog could sleep and we could simply close the door for a while made a huge difference.

Can you stay in your camper during the crossing?

No.

Once you drive onto the ferry and park your vehicle, everyone has to leave the vehicle deck before departure.

You won’t be able to access your camper again until the ferry arrives in Morocco.

So before leaving your van, make sure you’ve packed everything you’ll need for the next two days.

Bring more food than you think you’ll need

The ferry has restaurants and cafés.

We tried the food…

Let’s just say we were very happy we’d packed our own.

Our little onboard menu looked something like this:

• instant noodles
• sandwiches
• fruit
• cookies
• coffee made with our travel kettle

Our dog had his own food packed too.

Honestly, bringing our own food saved us money and made the trip much more enjoyable.

Life on board

The ferry felt like a small floating town.

There were quite a few other campers, families and long-term travellers heading to Morocco.

We also noticed many Moroccan families returning home.

Everyone seemed relaxed, and the atmosphere was surprisingly calm.

Since we were travelling with our dog, we spent a lot of time walking around the ship together instead of staying in the cabin all day.

The sea was calm during our crossing, and for much of the journey we could still see the coastline in the distance.

Disable mobile data before you leave port 🚨

This is probably the most valuable tip in this entire article.

Turn off mobile data before the ferry leaves.

At some point during the crossing, our phones automatically connected to the ferry’s satellite network.

We didn’t notice.

Later…

We received a very unpleasant mobile phone bill. 😂

Luckily, after contacting our mobile provider in Latvia and explaining what happened, they were incredibly understanding and cancelled the extra charges.

We were very lucky.

Don’t rely on luck.

Just switch mobile data off.

Once we arrived, we switched to local SIM cards, which I wrote more about in my guide to mobile internet in Morocco.

Check-in was easy

We simply arrived at the port at the time stated on our ticket.

The whole process was straightforward.

Nobody searched our camper, and after driving onboard we parked the van, collected everything we’d need for the next two days and headed to our cabin.

Arriving in Morocco

After almost two days at sea, stepping onto Moroccan soil felt amazing.

It was warm.

We immediately swapped our hoodies for T-shirts, smiled like idiots and finally felt like the adventure had really begun.

That first warm breeze after leaving cold Europe…

We’ll never forget it.

How much did we pay?

Our crossing took place in January 2026.

We paid €730 for:

• 2 adults
• 1 child
• 1 dog
• Mercedes Sprinter camper (under 6 metres)
• Pet-friendly 4-berth inside cabin

Prices vary depending on the season, ferry company, vehicle size and cabin type, so don’t expect to pay exactly the same.

5 Things We’d Do Again (and One We’d Never Forget)

✅ Book a cabin again without even thinking.

✅ Pack plenty of our own food and snacks.

✅ Bring a kettle for coffee and instant meals.

✅ Arrive at the port exactly when the ticket recommends.

✅ Turn mobile data OFF before departure.

Seriously.

Don’t learn that lesson the expensive way like we almost did.

Is taking the ferry to Morocco worth it?

Absolutely.

Yes, 44 hours sounds like a long time.

But once you’re driving your own camper through Morocco, you’ll completely forget about those two days at sea.

For us, the ferry wasn’t just transportation.

It felt like the official start of the adventure.

And when those ferry doors finally opened in Nador…

we couldn’t wait to hit the road.