MOROCCO: From Tangier to Fes... to Marrakech

I recall my friend hiring a driver last year.

Never been to Tangier, but have traveled around some of Morocco a couple times. The train system is surprisingly good (in some places, very good) - a legacy of the French, and in recent years the government has made major investments. The station in Marrakech, for example is beautiful.

If the places you're going ares served by train, I think it's probably crazy to go any other way. Fes, Marrakech and other major cities are served well by trains. Honestly, I can't imagine a good reason to drive along those routes. If you're headed off into the smaller towns or the desert, sure, driving can be a good option, but driving in the cities is either a hassle or just plain stupid, depending on circumstances.

If it were me, I'd head straight for the train and avoid driving unless you want to go where the train doesn't.

Fes and Marrakech are amazing. Have a great time.

Thank you so much for your response. Driving is out then. My plans have changed a bit and now I only have 4 days to either visit Fes or Marrakech. I have to fly out of Casablanca to Barcelona. You've been to both places... If you had to choose...where would you go?

The autoroute now goes all the way from Tangier to Marrakech - I used it in January. It's a good, fast, uncrowded road.

Fes to Marrakech is also an easy drive but I've not done that for a couple of years now.

Roger

www.fermedecandeloup.fr

Thanks, Roger. How long did it take you from Tangier to Marrakech?

Tough call. Both Marrakech and Fes are amazing places. Both have medinas (old quarter or the old city) that are unforgettable, but they're different. Marrakech has the big square (djema al fina) that is (IMHO) a world-class spectacle, and Marrakech is somewhat "easier" for first-time tourists (it's arguably more popular as a destination for westerners, so there are more tourist services). Then again, Fes contains the best-preserved medieval arab city anywhere, and its medina sprawls along a hillside - the word "labyrinth" comes to mind.

Both are worth seeing.

When you say you have "4 days" does that include travel days?

BTW, you can take the train from either Fes or Marrakech back to Casablanca. But....rather than doubling back to Casablanca (where there's not much to see) then flying out to Barcelona, have you considered just grabbing a cheap flight from Marrakech or Fes to Barcelona? There ARE discount airlines that fly from both cities (we flew cheaply from Madrid to Marrakech, and out from Fes to Paris)...you could save a whole day and the cost might actually be a wash. Definitely worth looking into.

David - thanks again for taking the time to comment. You're right - both sound like great places to visit. I like the way you describe them. Are you a travel writer? It's hard to decide from reading the guide books as well.

Right now I have 4 days, excluding travel days. I beginning to think it will be worth it to add another day and then try to visit Marrakech and Fes, as well as pass through Casablanca (I have to – my girlfriend must go there), but the itinerary I come up with is kind of crazy: Day 1- I’m coming from Spain, so train from Ronda to Algeciras (2 hrs); Ferry Algeciras–Tangier (1.5 hrs); train at 21h50 from Tangier arriving at Fes on Day 2 at 2h50…Day 2/rest & late afternoon/night in Fes; Day 3/Fes; Day 4/morning train to Casablanca; afternoon train to Marrakech arriving at 20h05; Day 5/Marr; Day 6/Marr; Day 7/fly out to Barcelona @ noon. I’m afraid Days 1 and 4 may be too much…

The other option I come up with is stay the arrival night in Tangier and take the next morning train to Fes (8 or 11), which means that I would lose most of the day in Fes on Day 2 arriving either at 14h10 or 15h40. I don’t know what else to do regarding Day 4 but just put up with the 2 train rides. I suppose the decision is a personal one, but I can’t think straight any more; I’m not coming up with any other options.

I have checked fares to Barcelona and the cheapest and most direct are from Marrakech, as you said, and Casablanca, but not from Fes (transfers and expensive).

I see that you have traveled a lot… what do you think? Sorry, this post is quite long.

Maria, Cheap flights do exist from both cities...I found these in about 5 minutes of searching (mid-October flights):

Atlas Blue: Marrakech -> Barcelona: from 71 Euro

Ryanair: Fes -> Girona (near Barcelona): from 63 Euro

The flights are not every day, so there's that extra rub in timing things - if you have the ability to shift your days in Morocco a day or two forward or back (assuming it's part of a larger trip), that would make it easier to sync up with these flights (or se if you're just lucky - enshallah!). If you can do that, it essentially lets you "buy" another day (or two) in Moroccco by avoiding the long return to Casablanca...for just 60 or 70 Euro - a bargain (probably ends up saving you time AND money).

The same trick can work inbound - we ended up juggling dates a bit so we could fly cheaply from Madrid to Marrakech, and then flying out from Fes to Paris. It was great, and allowed us just barely enough time to do all the things we wanted (it also "forced" us to spend 3 days at the end of our trip in Paris, which we wouldn't have otherwise). There are flights from several Spanish cities, so consider skipping the whole train-to-ferry-Tangiers slog....there are better parts of Morocco, and if you can snag a good flight it could actually be cheaper than the train+ferry and you get to skip "running the gauntlet" when you charge off the boat in Tangiers.

When I was researching for my trip I was amazed to find discount flights, but we ended up taking advantage of them, and they worked out great for us (we went early October 2008). There are probably a lot more discount flight options available than you think - don't dismiss that as an option either way before a careful search.

Check out whichbudget.com - it's your friend!

Also - if your trip ends in Fes, there are other cities not that far from there that also have discount flights out - look for cheap flights out of Nador or Oujda (both a bit closer to Fez than Casablanca).

I see Jet4You flys from Nador to Barcelona - just 56 Euro.

I believe the train line goes from Fes to Nador (I have not been to Nador, so don't know anything about it, but they do seem to have a train and an airport - check the Moroccan national rail line ay oncf.com).

I don't see flights from Oujda to Barcelona, but I only spent 2 minutes looking. Methinks you have more options than you might have first thought.

It'll be a grand adventure. :)

I have used the trains in Morocco and they are very easy to navigate.

Regarding your plans- I do not think day 4 is too ambitious. That is exactly what I did and it was a long day, but not bad at all, and I really did not feel overwhelmed since there was a lot of down time on the train. It is a surprisingly scenic journey from Casablanca to Marrakesh.

Wouldn't bother driving at all, especially in the cities. Taxis are cheap and plentiful.

I spent a few days in both cities, and definitely liked Marrakesh better. If you have any other questions, please ask.

Have a great time!

Mike

Es salaam alaykum! :)
I too am interested in infor on Fes and Marrakech so I'll piggy back on Maria's comment here since ya'll are so familiar with the transportation and these 2 cities. I love it! Thanks.

So basically, I have 6.5 days to spend and my trip starts in Fez and needs to end in Marrakech where my friend will come pick me up for Ouarzazate. I arrive around 6pm in Fez on the 1st day (9/19 Ramadan still). I would like to visit Fez and Marrakech (and Essaouira, if possible). Will skip Casablanca per your advise. :)
1) How many days would you recommend I need in Fes and Marrakech? Do you think I should I can squeeze in Essaouira or any other place?
3) I went on Whichbudget.com and can't find any non-stop flight from Fez to Marrakech (or Essaouira). Any other recommendations? Is taking the train the only option?
Any help you can give on our trip to Ouarzazate too that would be great as I learned that the trains do not go there. Thanks. -Jade

Jade, for me, 2 full days in each (Fes & Marrakech) was adequate. I did not go to Essaouira on this trip, but went there about 10 years ago and really loved it. However, my understanding is that it has boomed and has been largely overrun with mass tourism (condos, cheap flights from northern Europe) - which would take much of the charm off it for me. So I can't say either way. It is, however, a long way out of the way from anywhere else. People go there for the beach - personally, if I want a nice beach, I'll go elsewhere.

For getting around, I was able to find many cheap flights between many cities in Europe and several cities in Morocco, but no cheap flights within Morocco.

The trains are fine, but they can take some time. Trains do not go to Essaouira nor to Ouarzazate (drive or take the bus).

I rented a car and drove from Marrakech to Ait Benhadou, which is very near Ouarzazate. If you are going to Ouarzazate, don't miss Ait Benhadou (actually, I don't think there's anything much worth seeiing in Ouarzazate itself - only Ait Benhadou, or a stopover to the southern desert).

The drive from Marrakech was easy (once you get out of Marrakech itself) on a good road, but you do go up over the High Atlas mountains (very twisty, endless switchbacks) and across a bit of the pre-Sahara. Not a difficult drive, I believe it was about 6 hours. Just be careful. Watch out for the locals selling rocks on the road (really). There will be snow in the high passes (something you may not expect to see in Africa). We did not go to Ouarzazate itself, we stayed the night at Ait Benhadou.

Here's a photo of Ait Benhadou (from our hotel terrace - Dar Mouna, nice place):

Morocco is incredible - you'll have a great trip.