The North and Chefchaouen

Tanger · Chefchaouen · Fès · Moulay Idriss Zerhoun · Rabat

From Tangier to Rabat by way of Chefchaouen’s blue lanes, the Fes medina and the Roman ruins of Volubilis. A gentle first trip to Morocco, with short driving days and two nights wherever a place deserves it.

Duration8 days
Distance700 km
DifficultyEasy
VehiclesCar

Start from this trip

Notebook from €490

Chefchaouen, la ville bleue, vue depuis les hauteurs

Highlights

Cape Spartel, where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean
Two nights in Chefchaouen and the Akchour waterfalls
A day in Fes with a passionate guide
Volubilis and the holy town of Moulay Idriss
The Kasbah of the Udayas facing the ocean

Day by day

The stages as Agnès drew them. Everything can change: one more night here, a detour there.

Day 1
Arrival in Tangier, facing the Strait
Tanger30 km · 45 min
Pick up the car at Ibn Battouta airport and head to Cape Spartel, where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean. The Caves of Hercules are five minutes away: go late in the afternoon, when the light pours in through the Africa-shaped opening. In the evening, park below the Kasbah and walk up.
Day 2
White Tetouan, then blue Chefchaouen
Tanger → Chefchaouen115 km · 2 h 15
An hour’s drive to Tetouan, whose Andalusian medina, a UNESCO site, is one of the most authentic in the country. Have lunch there, then climb into the Rif on a lovely road through the hills to Chefchaouen. You arrive late in the afternoon, just as Outa el Hammam square comes to life.
Day 3
The Akchour waterfalls and God’s Bridge
Chefchaouen70 km · 1 h 30
A forty-minute drive to the Akchour dam, then a walk along the Farda river, between green pools and small waterfalls. Allow two hours there and back to reach God’s Bridge, a natural rock arch above the river. Back in town, walk up to the Spanish mosque for sunset.
Day 4
Through the Rif hills to Fes
Chefchaouen → Fès200 km · 3 h 45
A winding but well-surfaced road crosses olive-covered hills to Ouezzane, then the Saïss plain. Leave after breakfast to reach Fes in the early afternoon. Leave the car at the Bab Guissa car park: you won’t need it again until the day after tomorrow.
Day 5
A day in the Fes medina
FèsLittle or no driving
A day on foot, with a guide in the morning: the Fes el-Bali medina has more than nine thousand alleys and getting lost is part of the fun, just not on day one. Tanneries, madrasas, the coppersmiths’ souk, then lunch on Talaa Kebira. The afternoon is free to wander back or rest at the riad.
Day 6
Meknes, Volubilis and Moulay Idriss
Fès → Moulay Idriss Zerhoun100 km · 2 h
Motorway to Meknes, the city of Moulay Ismail: the Bab Mansour gate and El Hedim square take an hour to see. Thirty kilometres further on, the Roman ruins of Volubilis spread across an olive-grove landscape, their mosaics still in place. Overnight in Moulay Idriss, a small holy town clinging to its hill.
Day 7
Rabat, a capital by the ocean
Moulay Idriss Zerhoun → Rabat170 km · 2 h 15
Back to Meknes, then the motorway to Rabat, the most relaxed of Morocco’s big cities. In the afternoon, the Kasbah of the Udayas with its white-and-blue lanes and Andalusian garden, then the Hassan Tower and the Mohammed V mausoleum. In the evening, a stroll along the seafront.
Day 8
A last coffee by the ocean, then home
Rabat → Rabat-Salé15 km · 25 min
Depending on your flight time, a last wander through the Rabat medina and Rue des Consuls, known for its carpets. The car is returned at Rabat-Salé airport: make sure the rental company knows from the start that you pick it up in Tangier and drop it off in Rabat.

In practice

Duration: 8 days
Distance: 700 km
Longest drive: 200 km
Difficulty: Easy
Vehicles: Car
Regions: North, Rif and Chefchaouen · Fes, Meknes and Middle Atlas · Rabat, Casablanca and north coast
Notebook from: €490

Agnès designs the itinerary and your notebook. You book and pay for accommodation and transport yourself, with her trusted addresses.

Price of the design of your itinerary and of your notebook. Accommodation, transport and activities are booked and paid for by you, directly with the providers.