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Southern Spain & Morocco Itinerary (14-15 days)

Hi all,

First off, I know variations of this request exist on this forum and I have appreciated reading all the wisdom. Thank you to all that share their advice. My general takeaway from those threads is that 7-10 days is not enough to do both Spain & Morocco, so I'm here with a potential 14 or 15 day plan and am hoping for some input/ideas on whether this is feasible or recommended.

We (2 adults) are planning a trip for this October. We are flying in from Canada. Here is our very rough plan:

Day 1: arrive in Madrid around noon - spend the day at leisure
Day 2: Madrid (day trip to Toledo) - evening train to Cordoba, sleep in Cordoba
Day 3: Cordoba
Day 4: day in Cordoba - evening train to Seville, night at leisure in Seville
Day 5: Seville
Day 6: Seville
Day 7: Early train to Granada, day in Granada
Day 8: Granada
Day 9: Flight from Granada to Marrakesh, remainder of the day in Marrakesh
Day 10: full day in Marrakesh
Day 11: desert tour (2-3 days) that ends in Fes
Day 12: Fes
Day 13: day trip to Chefchaouen, then train to wherever is best to fly out from (Rabat or back to Fes, or maybe Casablanca)
Day 14: day spent wherever we are flying out from (potentially even returning to Spain because the flight back to Canada is significantly cheaper from there compared to from Morocco. And the flight between Moroccan cities and Granada is like $23).

Notes:
- we actually aren't too tied to Madrid, as from what I've heard from others, Barcelona is a nicer visit. That's why I didn't account for much time to explore Madrid. So we could consider swapping Barcelona out for Madrid and maybe doing the Spanish cities in the opposite direction then?
- is a desert tour in Morocco (those "Sahara desert tours") worth it?
- I know a week in each country is never ideal when there is so much to see and do, but is it a REALLY bad idea? I don't know when we'll be able to do a visit like this again, so wanting to pack as much in as possible. :)

Thanks so very much in advance, folks! Once the travel itinerary is set, might come back to pick your brains about actual sightseeing recommendations. :)

Posted by
1997 posts

Hi jj, Your plan looks like a well-considered, solid itinerary. If I were to make any change at all, it would be day 13 in going to Chefchaouen— the “blue city.” From Fes, Chefchaouen is a 3:40 drive. It’s a further 4-hour drive from there to Rabat. Chefchaouen certainly is touted as an attraction in a lot of travel guides, but, in reality, I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble. Some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in North Africa are just 90 minutes away from Fes in the ancient city of Volubilis. You might want to visit Volubilis, or add an extra day to Marrakech before returning to Spain for your return flight home. Flights from Fes to Madrid start at $17.
Viewing a few YouTube videos on Morocco will likely help you in fine-tuning what already is a fantastic itinerary.
Have a great trip!

Posted by
15777 posts

Early, mid or late October? October 12 is a huge holiday in Spain and in many places it's a 3-day weekend, probably lots of crowds at sights, restaurants and on public transportation. Alhambra tickets sell out. Most people secure their tickets before making any reservations (hotels, flights, trains. . . ) that they can't cancel. Madrid is not nearly as interesting as the other cities. You could go to Toledo from the airport for 2 nights, then go to Cordoba. Toledo is much better as an overnight stay. I love Barcelona, but you really don't have time to squeeze in a couple of days and that just isn't nearly enough. OTOH it's easy to combine Barcelona with France and/or Italy on a future trip.

I was on a guided tour of Morocco and we spent 1 night in a desert hotel arriving early afternoon, went on camel ride to watch sunset, back for the night and left the next morning. Friends went on a different tour that spent 2 nights, so they could see and sunset and a sunrise. Honestly, riding a camel isn't much fun, though it is an "experience". The camels go in single file with locals walking with the lead and rear camels. The sunset was meh. I'm past the days of roughing it, so I would not have enjoyed sleeping in tents in the desert. My tour was in the first two weeks of October, 6 years ago, and the weather was mostly comfortable - not too hot most of the time, clear blue skies, and chilly in the mountains (which were more interesting than the sand dune). Chefchaouen was mostly photo ops, it is very pretty, but as Kenko pointed out, it's a long way there and back. The tour did a day trip to Essaouira while based in Marrakech. Everyone enjoyed that more.

Posted by
3226 posts

Have you bought plane tickets yet? I don’t see nonstop flights from Granada to Marrakesh but there are from Seville. Instead of taking a direct train from Madrid to Cordoba go to Granada instead (3h 30m). From Granada take a direct train to Seville's Santa Justa station (2h 45m) and visit Cordoba as a day trip from Seville (45m).
Fly nonstop from Seville to Marrakesh and from Marrakesh fly nonstop to Fez. As already mentioned Chefchaouen is not a day trip from Fez. Fly home from Fez.

Posted by
11569 posts

You may have heard that Barcelona is nicer than Madrid, but I am one of many who much prefer Madrid!
Consider a few days there too.

Posted by
1547 posts

Just as an FYI. We took an overnight dessert tour. and did sleep in a tent but our tent had electricity, a bathroom with running water, a heater, and a comfortable bed. And the food was delicious! Not exactly roughing it!

Posted by
1117 posts

We leave next week on a Morocco-only trip that is similar to yours but in reverse.

Day 13: day trip to Chefchaouen, then train to wherever is best to fly out from (Rabat or back to Fes, or maybe Casablanca)
What is the plan for getting from Fes to Chefchaouen and back? Chefchaouen is not served by train. We are taking a bus between the two points and it takes 3 1/2 hours. Not a fun day trip. If you can't stay overnight in Chefchaouen, I would drop that from the itinerary and spend an extra day in Fes.

FWIW our itinerary is:
1. Ferry from Algeciras to Tanger Med. Private car from Tanger Med to Chefchaouen.
2. Chefchaouen.
3. Bus from Chefchaouen to Fes.
4. Fes.
5. Desert Tour Day 1, from Fes to Erg Chebbi.
6. Desert Tour Day 2, from Erg Chebbi to Boulmane Dades.
7. Desert Tour Day 3, from Boulmane Dades to Marrakech.
8. Marrakech.
9. Marrakech.
10. Fly from Marrakech to London.

Posted by
396 posts

When we went to Morocco in December 2013, we were conflicted about doing a stay in the desert...worried about commercialization and primitive facilities. But, ultimately we did and it was an unforgettable experience. We stayed at Ali and Sara’s Desert Palace. The camp is set well away from everything but pristine dunes and consists of a cluster of attractive, authentic Berber tents. The camel trek into (and out of) the camp was fun, relaxing and helped to ease into the rhythm of the desert. The silent beauty of the desert dunes, the amazing night sky, and the warm hospitality of the Berber people (and Sara) is very special. Your itinerary, Morocco and Spain, looks awesome!

Posted by
4 posts

Thanks, you guys are incredible - thank you everyone for your input! Hope it's okay to follow up with some questions:

@Chani

Chefchaouen was mostly photo ops, it is very pretty, but as Kenko pointed out, it's a long way there and back. The tour did a day trip to Essaouira while based in Marrakech. Everyone enjoyed that more.

& @Kenko

Chefchaouen certainly is touted as an attraction in a lot of travel guides, but, in reality, I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble. Some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in North Africa are just 90 minutes away from Fes in the ancient city of Volubilis.

Thank you both for mentioning this! Based on this, I'm getting the sense that Chefchaouen isn't really worth the extra time and we should instead add Essaouira or Volubilis to the trip. Or maybe just added time in Marreksh or Fes? Or Rabat? Casablanca?

@Chani:

Early, mid or late October? October 12 is a huge holiday in Spain and in many places it's a 3-day weekend, probably lots of crowds at sights, restaurants and on public transportation. Alhambra tickets sell out.

Wow, thank you for mentioning this because I would have had no idea. The plan had been to get there around October 6-7, so I'm grateful you mentioned this. Question: aside from tickets selling out, is it a GOOD thing or NOT SO GREAT thing to spend this holiday in Spain? I suppose it could be fun to see local celebrations, but since our focus/interest is generally Andalucian architecture, history, and good food, maybe steering clear of a national holiday is better.

@MaryPat

Fly nonstop from Seville to Marrakesh and from Marrakesh fly nonstop to Fez.

Since you mentioned flight from Marrakesh to Fez, does this mean you would scrap the multi-day Sahara desert tour that supposedly starts in Marrakesh and ends in Fes? So skip the desert and just spend a couple of days each in Marrakesh & Fez?
Also are trains pretty accessible between these cities or is a flight the best way to do it?

@Darrenblois
Thanks for sharing your itinerary!! Would you mind sharing which Desert tour you went with?
As for the day trip to Chefchaouen, I was considering a bus or one of those Viator group tours. But based on everything all of you have said, it might not be worth the time.

Thank you, @Suki & @Carol & @mml for your input!

Posted by
4 posts

Lastly to everyone, if I may ask a general question: If you have 5-7 days to spend in Morocco, what itinerary/cities would YOU prioritize?

If we scrap the desert tour and Chefchaouen trip, and maybe do 2ish days in each of Marrakesh and Fes (plus travel time), that could be about 5 days total in Morocco. Plus the 8ish days in Spain, I feel like that is probably an easier trip financially.

Is there somewhere you would prioritize in Morocco over these 2 cities (Marrakesh & Fes), or are these the two places to maximize?

Posted by
396 posts

We loved everywhere on our two week self-drive tour of Morocco. Favorites were: 1) Fes; 2) the desert; 3) Essaouira.

Posted by
3226 posts

does this mean you would scrap the multi-day Sahara desert tour that supposedly starts in Marrakesh and ends in Fes?

No, I didn't realize you were taking a desert tour so no need to fly from Marrakesh to Fez.

Posted by
1117 posts

Would you mind sharing which Desert tour you went with?

We have booked with Morocco Fabulous Travel (https://moroccofabuloustravel.com/). They give a lot of details in their website, and have been really good to work with through the booking process. And they have outstanding public reviews. Can't say more until we meet them to start our tour in about a week!

Posted by
17 posts

darrenblois- wondering how the desert tour was because I am looking for a good company.
Thanks.

Posted by
3 posts

Our Trip to Morocco was amazing! Our tour guide Idir was really the best, he was helpful, knowledgeable, fun and friendly, he made our trip unforgettable, I would highly recommend him to anyone! The tour itself was amazing as well, we got shown all the most beautiful viewpoints as well as super fun activities such as camel back riding and quad biking in the desert. I would definitely give the experience the best possible review :) check the website for more information about Best Sahara Desert Tours From Fes to Marrakech or From Marrakech to fes

http://sahara-holidaytours.com