I thought I'd post a little more info about how I structure my trips so people aren't under any misconceptions about how much time there is for offroad sections and get a feel for the trip
My strategy is to travel hard once in Spain and get to Essaouira asap. Last year it was Monday night but that was 2 very long days which might be too much for a group. The first few days I posted on the 1st page make the hard, get the miles done section fairly civilised imho.
Getting from the UK to Essaouira
Friday - Brim fuel tank and catch the 17:00 Portsmouth to Santander Ferry, neck a couple of seasickness tablets, have a few beers and enjoy the cabaret
Saturday - Arrive in Santander 17:30 drive to Salamanca area, 360km and 3.5 hours drive. Try to get further south if everyones fit for more driving - every KM makes Sunday easier. Overnight stay in motel or similar roughly 30euros
Sunday - 7am Start - Drive Salamanca to Algerciras 650km and 6 hours straight driving. Hopefully arriving for around 15:00, pick up tickets for the Morocco Ferry from Carlos and his lovely daughters. Get into Morocco on the 18:00 ferry. Being Spanish/Moroccan timetables are vague at best. Clear Moroccan customs for 20:00ish. Buy insurance (if the booth is open) Drive to Asilah. If the booth is closed drive to Fndiq and stay the night (note lack of insurance at this point! be careful).. Hotel for the night or camping £15
Monday - If insurance is needed back to the Port for 9am and insurance then hit the motorway south to El Jadida 5hours 470km drive. Moroccan motorways are toll roads but cheap, if your on your own by the end of the day you'll be pissed off being in a rhd truck. Hotel for the night may be an old palace - bit basic but stunning taste of old morocco £15
Tuesday - Drive along the atlantic coast to Safi and then down to Essaouira, beautiful coastal drive on quieter back roads than the day before. 4 hours 260km. Stay in a nice hotel in Essaouira £25 or camp there is plenty of choice
Wednesday - Enjoy Essaouira and acclimatise to Morocco a little. Have a walk on the ramparts or visit Jimi Hendrix's house. Stock up on fresh fruit and veg etc for the next few days.
The key is to keep covering the miles, it is possible to do Tanger Med Port to Essaouira in one day but its a 12 hour day easily. The itinary above means Monday and Tuesday are fairly easy days. At any point we think we can carry on driving we do to get this block out of the way.
From here we'll again continue down the Atlantic coast, first day well stop at the hypermarket in Agadir for supplies before heading towards Sidi Ifni and Fort Bou Jerif (
http://www.boujerif.com/). Possibly some off road in the Sous Massa National Park.
Frome here on in we get into offroad mode. I find getting up early and off early means the whole day is more relaxed. We normally aim tobe on the road for 8am but rarely manage it and then drive all day until about 17:30 when we start to look for a campsite if wild camping and have enough time to get set up before sunset. The day is broken up with several stops for coffee and lunch and pretty much any time theres a good photo (about every 10 minutes some times). Obviously with type of trip the unexpected can and does happen, axles breaking, pistes washed away, army stopping you et all can disrupt plans, so again that earlyish start gives plenty of time for fightin these fires with the day becoming a rush.