How do I book a bus in Morocco?

Booking a good Moroccan bus is straightforward once you know to stick with the two reliable companies, CTM and Supratours, and avoid the murkier local lines. Both let you book online — CTM through ctm.ma or its app, Supratours through supratours.ma and the ONCF network it belongs to — choosing your route, date, time, and an assigned seat, then paying with a card. You'll get a ticket to print or show on your phone. I always suggest booking these ahead on busy corridors and around Eid or summer weekends, when the comfortable coaches genuinely fill up.

If the website is being temperamental with a foreign card — it occasionally is — the simplest fallback is to buy in person at the company's own station counter. CTM and Supratours operate dedicated terminals (often separate from the chaotic main bus station) where staff sell tickets, tag your luggage, and point you to the right bay. For travel within a day or two there's almost always availability at the counter, so don't stress if online payment fails; turning up and buying is completely normal here.

One detail worth knowing: on CTM and Supratours your hold luggage is checked separately, and you pay a small per-bag fee — usually only a few dirhams per piece — in exchange for a tag, much like a flight. Keep the tag; you'll need it to reclaim your bag at the other end. Carry-on for the cabin is free. This formality is actually a good sign — it's part of why these two are the safe, organised choice over the informal local buses where bags just get piled in.

Speaking of which, the cheap local buses are a different world: you generally don't pre-book them at all, you just rock up at the gare routière, find the operator going your way, and pay cash on the spot. They're inexpensive and an experience, but slower, more crowded, and unpredictable on timing. For most visitors I steer firmly toward CTM or Supratours — book online or at the counter, reserve your seat, tag your bag, and travel in comfort.