I posted before and got very useful feedback but my plans have changed drastically, so thought I would ask for advise again. Originally I was planning a trip to Spain, Portugal and Morocco, but have now decided to split it into 2 trips: Morocco in March and Spain/Portugal in June. I also expanded the day allowance for Morocco. Here is what I have so far:
3/11 - Night arrival to Marrakesh
3/12 - Marrakesh
3/13 - Marrakesh
314 - Day trip from Marrakesh (to where?)
3/15 - Non-stop flight Marrakesh -> Fez (2:10pm -> 3:10pm)
3/16 - Fez
3/17 - Fez
3/18 - Chefchauouen day trip from Fez
3/19 - Fez / Return flight leaves at 7:25pm from Fez
Any thoughts? What would be the best day trip from Marrakesh? I won't be driving, so would go in an organized (small group) tour. Thinking maybe Atlas Mountains / Beber villages or Agafy Desert. Thought about the night train from Marrakesh to Fez, but does not have sleepers and I won't be able to sleep in couchette. Seems I could steal one day in the itinerary (maybe from Fez) for another day trip. Or are there any worthwhile places in between Marrakesh and Fez that I could go to in order to split travel distance. In advance, thanks for your advise. I'm very active and tend to pack a lot of activities in my travels, so this itinerary seems a little bit light to me. Late 30s, fit, traveling solo and enjoy photography.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15582 posts
Caveat - I was on a guided tour so I don't know about transportation options. Great day trip from Marrakesh is Essaouira. We did a day trip to the High Atlas, the scenery was beautiful, but you need a good guide and a good driver.
Posted by
Washington DC
27096 posts
The drive over the Tizi-n-Test pass between Marrakech and Taroudant is very dramatic. I took a bus along that route 25 or so years ago. I have no idea whether it would be possible to do it as a day-trip. You'll get a bunch of hits by Googling.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
First, you made a very, very wise decision to do Morocco as a separate trip where you give it enough time to do it justice.
Overall looks pretty good, but I'd make a tweak and give you a better option for that day where you're looking for a "day trip" from Marrakech...
Rent a car in Marrakech, and drive up and over the High Atlas mountains, to Aït Benhaddou.
Aït Benhaddou is a spectacular old citadel town on the edge of the Sahara, in ancient times the terminus for caravanserai crossing the dessert from Timbuku and points further south in Africa. And it's just as exotic-looking as it sounds (Google it for photos for a little inspiration). The drive is about 4 hours each way, so you will want to make this an overnight stop (take that extra night from your proposed Chefchauouen day trip). I stayed overnight at the Hotel La Kasbah, which was nice enough. You'll want a few hours to wander the (now almost completely abandoned) old village (just a couple families still live in there, with no electricity or water) - it's a great place for photos, exploring the maze-like passageways (and rubble), feeling like you've really reached the edge of the known world, and just gazing off into the distance looking for the camel trains coming out of the deep Sahara from Timbuktu and Ouagadougou. Yeah, you're way out there.
The drive itself between Marrakech and Aït Benhaddou is actually quite easy - with the possible exception of the first and last few minutes when you are exiting (and returning) the car in Marrakech itself. By all means do drive carefully there in Marrakech (I found those few minutes a bit stressful) but it's only a few minutes until you get out on the road. The rest of the drive is a piece of cake, with good pavement, reasonable signage, not a lot of traffic and with mostly sane drivers. It gets a bit twisty (switchbacks) as you go through the higher elevations of the High Atlas, but nothing at all challenging as long as you are careful. Watch out for locals standing on the roadside (sometime in the road itself) selling geodes and the occasional wandering goat. Two lane blacktop the whole way, it's not a high-speed highway, but is surprisingly easy. Be sure to stop up near the pass and play in the snow - your first snowball fight in Africa will be memorable - but not as memorable as the time you spend exploring the old crumbling village at Aït Benhaddou.
It's quite an adventure but an easy one. Have fun!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
Also...
Essaouira, Taroudant and Aït Benhaddou are all worthwhile (and quite different from each other), but any of them would make for a looooong "day trip". Don't drive after dark in places like Morocco (so that makes all of these otherwise worthwhile places out of "day trip" range in my book).
Posted by
Minnesota
481 posts
I agree that Ait Benhaddou is a wonderful place to visit. However, I think it would be a really long day to drive round-trip to/from Marrakech. Also, a warning: I was on an organized tour in March where we were supposed to drive from Ait Benhaddou to Marrakech over the High Atlas Mountains. When we reached the lower part of the mountains, the police turned us (and every other vehicle as well) back. There was a snow storm over the pass and it was too slippery and the visibility was too low for safe driving. We ended up driving AROUND the mountains, a drive of about eight hours. The High Atlas are HIGH and March can still be winter there.
If you have experience driving in mountains such as the Rockies, you might do fine, barring the pass closing. But you might want to consider hiring a private driver/guide and enjoy the scenery.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
Oh, I would certainly not do Aït Benhaddou as a day trip, driving round-trip from Marrakech - it's too far (just one way is plenty of driving for one day). Good point about snow in the mountain passes, though - a real possibility in March (I did it in late September, and it was sunny, warm, and lovely out, even at the top). I would not attempt that road if there's actual snow falling or recently fallen (even if you have mountain driving experience). If it's dry, not an issue.
Posted by
Minnesota
481 posts
An idea for a day trip from Fez - go to Volubilis, an amazing archaeological excavation of a Roman city. It’s huge! Get a good guide so you know what you are looking at. Here is some info: