We are planning two weeks in Morocco. Looks like we will fly into Casablanca. Looking for suggestions and guidance for traveling to Marrakesh, Rabat, Fes and then on to Lisbon for an additional week. It seems like the only option is to go from Casablanca to Marrakesh and then have to backtrack back through Casablanca to Rabat. Does anyone have any better itineraries? Meknes also looks like a nice place and perhaps better to stay there and day trip to Fes? We're trying to avoid spending lots of time getting to places. We are planning to be there in May of 2023.
Posted by
Washington DC
28062 posts
I'd want more time in Fes than a day trip would allow. I would try not to have to keep returning to Casablanca. It's a mostly-modern city that's less interesting than the other places you mention.
My trip to Morocco was decades ago, so I really can't help with the logistics other than to say my mother and I used buses sometimes (perhaps the rail system is more robust now), and we also used the pack-'em-in/depart-when-full vehicles that I believe used to be called "grand taxis". Those were older vehicles, and I assume they weren't the safest vehicles I the road, but they got us where we wanted to go.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
I would suggest you reconsider some of your plans. I've been to Morocco several times, here are my thoughts, take or reject them as you see fit.
Just my own opinion, but here are, I think, the top attractions in Morocco, ranked in Rick Steves "triangle" style...
"▲▲▲" = "Don't miss"
"▲▲" = "Try hard to see"
"▲" = "Worthwhile if you can make it"
"⨻" "No triangle" = Worth knowing about (but IMHO not worth going out of your way to get there)
OK, my suggested ratings for the places you mention, and a few others:
▲▲▲ Marrakech - Worth at least a couple full days, even on a short trip.
▲▲▲ Fes - Also worth at least a couple full days, even on a short trip.
▲▲ Meknes - Worth a day if you can manage it
▲▲ Volubilis - Roman ruins. Not far from Meknes, combine the two if you can
▲▲ Ait Benhaddou - Google it. Gotta drive over the Atlas Mountains to get there, on the edge of the Sahara. Worth an overnight.
▲ Essaouira - Delightful seaside fishing town (with nice beaches) on the Atlantic coast.
▲ Todra Gorge - Scenic river gorge/canyon, south of the Atlas mountains between Marrakech and Fes. Worth a detour if you are going from one of those cities to the Sahara.
▲ Sahara Dessert - A visit to the big dunes ("Grand Erg") sand-seas is memorable if you can manage it
⨻ Casablanca - Really not much to see, just one (modern) mosque. Entirely skippable, not worth going way out of your way to get there. If you're there anyway, go take a look at the mosque.
⨻Rabat - Just a not-terribly-interesting industrial/administrative city. Not really worth your time. Skippable.
⨻ All the day-trip towns on/near the Mediterranean coast - Skippable, spend your time elsewhere, deeper into Morocco.
Getting There/Getting Around...
There are three major hubs for international flights: Casablanca, Marrakech, and Fes. Skip Casablana. Fly (open jaw) in to Marrakech, and fly out of Fes (or vice versa) -- both cities have regular (surprisingly cheap) flights to many cities in western Europe...you can use these two as a "bridge" to efficiently connect two cities in Europe (eg if you're in Madrid and want to end up in Paris, fly via Morocco!).
Use the train system to get between the two air hubs (the train between Marrakech and Fes goes through Meknes...it also goes through Casablanca, but I wouldn't waste any/much time there). The trains are fine, a little slow, but clean, safe, comfy, very French. They are building (or at least planning) high speed rail but I don't believe much/any is operational yet. It takes most of a day to get from Marrakech to Meknes/Fes.
If you have time/interest to get beyond the Marrakech/Meknes/Fes axis, take a bus to Essouaria, rent a car to go over the High Atlas mountains (be prepared for possible snow, probably not in May though) to Ait Benhaddou, and/or to Todra Gorge.
Sleep in the old city centers, in Marrakech and Fes (maybe Meknes, too, but do not miss the others). Go explore the medinas in all three cities -- do not be afraid, you do NOT need a guide, and nothing bad will happen to you in there (but bring a compass, because you probably will get lost...don't worry, you will eventually find your way back out).
There you go. Have fun. Don't drink the water. ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ ("Peace Be Upon You")
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6970 posts
The trains are fine, a little slow, but clean, safe, comfy, very
French. They are building (or at least planning) high speed rail but I
don't believe much/any is operational yet.
The high speed line opened in 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Boraq