In reply to Snoweider:
> Very excited to be heading to Tafraoute in November. We are planning to hire a car from the airport at Agadir and head straight there. Has anyone got any recommendations on car hire companies (the UKC article on this suggests haggling at the airport rather than booking online)
http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=3430
I've been there in November, well, late Nov actually. It was quite cool in Tafraoute, definitely 2 layer weather - a tee and a lightweight fleece or softshell top during the day and even more at night as it was quite cold then.
Anyway, car hire. We hired from a local outfit in Agadir; no need to book as there's plenty of spare capacity at that time of year. The car, a petrol Fiesta, was a bit worse for wear and high mileage but was fine mechanically. I'd do the same again. Not a lot of room for haggling at the airport though as it's pretty small, with little choice of hire firms. We took a taxi ride into Agadir itself - a surprisingly long way from the airport - and hired there for quite a bit less than they were asking at the airport.
> Also, what are the roads like to some of the more remote crags/villages? Will a cheapo mini cope okay or should we be looking at a 4x4? Any views/experiences welcome thanks!
4x4s not strictly needed; few of the locals have them anyway. A car will be fine but you'll still need to take care in places when driving on gravel tracks to the smaller hamlets and villages - e.g asking passengers to get out and walk to save grounding the car unnecessarily on washouts etc.
Two tips: 1/ Standard of driving compared to other North African countries is very good (police speed traps can be seen occasionally), but they tend not to give way on single track tarmac roads in the mountains so be prepared to take evasive action quite regularly. Keeps the driver on their toes if nothing else!
2/ The R105 from Agadir to Tafraoute is very scenic, lightly trafficed but very slow with millions of bends. If you're in a hurry, drive south to Tiznit and take the R104 to Tafraoute. It's quite a bit further, but a much better and wider road. Beware the grand taxis on this route though; they take no prisoners.
HTH
Dave
Post edited at 22:02