By the time we flew out of London, I was a bundle of nerves about our Morocco road trip. That’s a slight exaggeration, but I definitely had my reservations, and I wasn’t even the one who was driving. I’ll get on to the reasons for that in a while, but for now I’ll cut straight to the spoiler alert: I needn’t have worried at all. Morocco is filled with beautiful landscapes and wonderful people, and driving from north to south was a spectacular way to explore.
*This site uses affiliate links, where I may earn a small commission at no cost to the reader.
It was my pal Chris’s idea to drive through Morocco. And as a fully grown adult who is (alas) not in possession of a driving license, I was only too happy to join him in the passenger seat for this magical mystery tour. What’s not to love about being basically chauffeur-driven through North Africa!? Actually in all seriousness, I felt a tad guilty about depending on Chris to be the designated driver for our entire two week Morocco road trip. As a result, I took my job of navigator, designated-DJ, and general motivator and cheerer-on, extremely seriously.
Passenger Princesses take note: you have a vital part to play in any road trip, let alone a Moroccan one.
Before you go: a SIM card is absolutely vital to any Morocco road trip! Chris bought one in an Orange shop in Tangier, but I always rely on eSIMs so that I can access the internet as soon as I land. Get my Sim Local eSIM discount code.
Our Morocco road trip worries
I’ve visited Morocco several times, but only in the port cities of Agadir and Casablanca, as part of my job working as a singer on a cruise ship, and I’ve only had very positive experiences in each of them. Admittedly there was one minor situation where we were led to a ‘festival’ that turned out to simply be an argan oil shop, but personally I just count that as a great story rather than an incident, so to speak. My memory of the roads in both cities was that they were fairly calm, but then, crucially, I was never driving on them. Who was I to judge?
Leading up to our Morocco road trip, my browser became saturated with horror stories from the mean streets of Morocco. The roads are chaotic and crazy, with motorbikes flying everywhere. There are potholes left right and centre. (Coming from the UK, this didn’t seem like that big of a deal. A lot of our roads look like they’ve been blasted to smithereens with an actual bazooka, so how bad could it be?)
The biggest worries of all, however, were extremely low speed limits, and police fines. Chris informed me that he’d budgeted around £200 for police fines from all the corrupt policemen that would stop us on our travels, which frankly struck me as completely mad. Soz Chris. According to everything he’d read, it was basically inevitable that we’d have to cough up.
I did some digging of my own, and everything I read seemed to say that they only issue fines if you’re actually breaking the rules. If they catch you speeding, then you’re in trouble. Chris informed me that this was exactly the problem: the speed limits in Morocco are ridiculously low, and as a notorious accidental-breaker-of-speed-limits, it was also inevitable that he would be caught speeding in Morocco.
The obvious solution was: don’t speed. And I was happy to tell him so, pals.
Morocco road trip: the reality
It turns out, we actually needn’t have worried. Our entire Morocco road trip was pretty much plain sailing all around. Here are the crucial things you need to know if you’re considering your own trip:
- Cars in Morocco drive on the right.
- You need an International Driving Permit to drive in Morocco. Chris had one of these and brought it with him, but was never asked to show it. Make sure you have one anyway, as well as your original driving license!
- General rules of the road do not apply. It’s very normal for cars to saddle both lanes, and horn honking seems to be mandatory for any and every situation.
- Police checkpoints tend to occur when entering or exiting towns and cities, and you’ll know you’re about to reach one because the speed limit will suddenly drop to 20kmph. Just stick to the speed limits and you’ll be fine. The policemen we encountered were all jolly lovely all round, and just waved us through with a smile.
- Those ‘notoriously low speed limits?’ They’re actually all pretty comparative to Europe.
- You absolutely must wear a seatbelt; not wearing one is an offence, and will result in one of those pesky police fines.
Hiring a car in Morocco
We booked the car before we arrived in Morocco, from Europcar, and went for a tiny little Kia Picanto as our vehicle of choice, mainly because it was one of the cheaper options. If you’re covering a lot of long distances like we did- particularly if you’ll be heading up any steep mountain roads- you might prefer to go for something a bit more heavy duty.
Diesel is generally cheaper than petrol in Morocco, so it also might work out as more cost-effective to go with a bigger diesel car, but we were happy with the choice we made.
(Don’t get me wrong, there were a couple of hairy moments where we thought we were about to get stuck halfway up a mountain, but the important thing is that we lived to tell the tale. Am I right!?)
Our Morocco Road Trip: The Itinerary
If you’re considering your own Morocco road trip and are looking for some itinerary inspiration, then pals: you are in the right place! I’ll include some optional extra destinations now that I have good old hindsight on my side, that you might want to check out in addition to, or instead of, the places that we stopped at.
- Travel from Tangier to Fes by train to minimise inner-city driving
- Drive from Fes to Ifrane for a hike in the mountains
- Drive from Ifrane to Midelt, for an overnight stay
- Drive from Midelt to Erg Chebbi
- Drive from Erg Chebbi to Ait Ben Haddou (via the Dades Valley)
- Drive from Ait Ben Haddou to Imlil
- Drive from Imlil to Marrakesh
Morocco road trip: Tangier to Fes
5 hours 10 minutes by direct train.
Tangier
Tangier was a superb starting point for our Moroccan adventure, located on the north coast of the country. In fact, it’s so close to Gibraltar that you can almost touch it. Well, see it. (We flew in to the city, but if you fancied a flight-free option, you can get a ferry from the Spanish city of Tarifa to Tangier in around an hour.)
Not only does it logistically make sense, but in terms of easing into the chaos that comes with bigger Moroccan cities, Tangier is perfect. The pretty medina is just the right size to not be overwhelming, the sea breeze keeps the temperature manageable, and most surprisingly of all is how European it feels. Tangier’s streets reminded me of parts of other Mediterranean cities like Marseille and Palma de Mallorca or the little ‘pueblo blanco’ of Mijas.
This city has attracted writers, poets, painters and all manner of bohemians- plus more than its fair share of spies- and echoes of its bohemian past can still be felt in the city’s beautiful streets. Check out the exquisite Kasbah Museum inside an old sultan’s palace, the art deco Rif Cinema, and head up to the Phoenician Tombs that lie high up on a hill overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. (And if you’re heading up there, make a stop at Café Hafa while you’re at it, for a mint tea and a spectacular view of the coast.)
We stayed at a private room in the Bayt Alice Hostel, which was perfectly situated just inside the medina, but there are plenty more luxurious options to pick from.
Chefchaouen, Morocco’s famous blue town is nestled in the Rif Mountains, about two hours away by road. It can’t be reached by train, so it could either be visited on an organised day trip from Tangier, or used as a stopping point if you’re making the whole journey by road.
Fes
We actually made the journey from Tangier to Fes by train, basically to minimise the amount of driving within busy cities. (Is that cheating on a Morocco road trip? Possibly.)
But I’m glad we made that decision as the train was actually very affordable, and very easy to use! We bought our tickets directly from ONCF Voyages, however reportedly the website isn’t the best-functioning for a lot of users. If you want to book trains in Morocco and are finding the whole process a bit problematic, book through a reputable booking agent site like 12Go instead.
Fes is rustic and rough, but it’s also utterly beautiful, full of character and charm, and its 9th century medina feels completely authentic and definitely not as if it’s there solely to appeal to tourists. Craftsmen sit inside open shops engraving metal and carving wood, donkeys lollop down narrow alleyways laden with materials, and grand architecture appears as if by magic, with detailed wooden fretwork or geometric tiles carefully placed to form pretty patterns.
We visited the Chouara Tannery, and although it was stinky (like, truly horribly stinky), it was eye-opening to witness the tanners at work, soaking animal hides in big vats of natural dyes in the open air. When we felt like a bit of modernity, we strolled outside of the medina walls and genuinely felt as if we’d been catapulted back into the future again.
You know what’s crazy, pals? Having read nothing but negativity about Fes, this is the part of Morocco that surprised me the most. Admittedly this city is not everybody’s cup of tea, but I actually think it holds first place for me on the list of favourite Moroccan cities.
Our accommodation in Fes was the absolutely exquisite Riad Sidrat. A riad is a traditional Moroccan guesthouse, and Riad Sidrat is both opulent and homely, with stunning rooms, gorgeous leafy courtyards, and some really wonderful staff.
Morocco road trip: Fes to Ifrane
1 hour by road, plus one petrol station stop.
Having picked the car up from the car hire office in Ville Nouvelle (the ‘modern’ part of Fes), we started our road trip with an easy one hour drive to the little town of Ifrane, high up in the pine-forested Middle Atlas Mountains.
Bizarrely, the architecture of the town looks far more European than North African, in fact it’s billed as the ‘Switzerland of Morocco.’ Ifrane was originally built in the late 1920s by the French, as a ‘hill station’ for ex-pats, which explains the Alpine style of architecture- although some of the newer buildings look more like a new English housing development, if I’m honest. No longer just a home for expats, the village has expanded and is now home to Al Akhwayn University, plenty of homes for Moroccans, and some of the cleanest streets I laid eyes on across the whole trip.
The main reason to visit Ifrane (unless you’re visiting to ski in winter), is to appreciate the great outdoors. We had lunch in town and then drove to the nearby Cedar Forest (Cèdre Gouraud) for a hike in the heat. The cedar trees are downright magnificent, and they’re home to a sizeable population of Barbary Macaque monkeys, which are very cute, but also a little bit scary. Soz, monkeys.
If you want to stay overnight in Ifrane, check out Hotel Maurice Bonjean for a chalet experience in Morocco.
Morocco road trip: Ifrane to Midelt
1 hour 35 minutes by road.
Goodness gracious me. I was not expecting to see such stunning scenery on the drive between Ifrane and Midelt, but this part of our Morocco road trip truly felt as if we were travelling through actual paradise.
At the beginning of June, the grassy plains were dotted with red poppies and speckles of purple flowers, and streams twinkled through them and into shady tree groves. Occasionally we spied a family enjoying a picnic or a donkey chilling, and all I could really think was how lucky we were to be seeing somewhere so stunning.
Our original plan was to stop overnight in the village of Midelt, but then we spotted the nearby Oxygen Village hotel and opted to stay there instead. There are plenty of roadside hotels dotted around Morocco, but this seemed unique in that it’s created out of colourful shipping containers. (In fact, we almost drove into an industrial-looking set of farm buildings instead.)
Oxygen Village turned out to be a great overnight pitstop, with clean rooms, great communal areas and plenty of food options, although mysteriously there were only two other guests besides us on the premises.
Morocco road trip: Midelt to Erg Chebbi
Around 5 hours, plus stops for food and leg stretching.
Erg Chebbi is a swathe of red sand at the edge of the Sahara Desert, from where you can see the rocky ridge of neighbouring Algeria. So it goes without saying that the landscape on our Morocco road trip became visibly drier the further into our journey we got.
Dusty desert towns were lined with boxy, pastel-coloured buildings, their inhabitants shrouded in fabric from head to toe to protect them from the sun and the wind. There were plenty of gas stations en route, and we stopped at a Marjane supermarket in Errachidia to get lunch and snacks for the rest of our journey.
For another stretch-your-legs moment, pull over at the Ziz Canyon viewpoint. (There’s a little cafe here as well as a man selling fossils. We didn’t go in but it’s worth noting as a potential bathroom break.) The Ziz Canyon is a stunning gorge that follows the River Ziz as it winds through the desert; so although the land all around is dry as a bone, in the canyon there’s plenty of water and therefore plenty of greenery. It’s quite a sight to stand on the plateau overlooking the streak of green olive groves, fields and almond trees that stick close to the river, along with the mudbrick houses and occasional minaret of a mosque.
This part of Morocco is crammed full of fossils and crystals, so after one final stop at a fossil shop with gigantic colourful dinosaur sculptures outside (who could resist?), we finally made it to the gas station near Merzouga, from where we were picked up to be taken across the shifting sands to Kam Kam Dunes.
Erg Chebbi
We may have been technically camping in the desert, but aside from the heat (around 38ºC at the beginning of June), we were hardly roughing it during the time we spent in a tent at Kam Kam Dunes. There was even air conditioning inside the tents at night time. Almost every visitor to Erg Chebbi is coming to experience more of a luxury desert experience than a real one, and I felt like we’d gone with a great choice.
The tent that we stayed in was bigger than the actual flat that I live in, it had a private bathroom, and there was a stunning fire pit outside with Berber rugs arranged across the sand. We went on a short desert trek on camels at sunset, and had a downright delicious meal in the camp at night when the stars came out. And those starry skies: well, let me tell you, with no light pollution the Sahara Desert is the ideal place for stargazing.
Phone signal is non-existent, and although there was limited electricity in the camp, in order to charge our phones we had to plug them in at the sole extension cord in the dining tent. Honestly, that couldn’t have been a more ideal set-up for me.
Morocco road trip: Erg Chebbi to Ait Ben Haddou
Around 6 hours, plus stops for food and leg stretching.
The strangest thing about this part of our Morocco road trip was the number of abandoned, mid-construction, or fully open-for-business gigantic hotels were at the sides of the roads. It was truly a wonder to behold, mainly because I can’t imagine any of those buildings ever becoming fully booked or anywhere close to it.
We carried on through desert towns, not desolate but full of life and busy with children leaving school and people going to the souks, and in rural areas we kept our eyes on the horizon for miniature whirlwinds of sand and the silhouettes of camels. What a landscape.
We made our first pit stop for food at a Carrefour in Tinghir, and a second to hunt for a bathroom at a nearby gas station.
We were there at the wrong time of year to appreciate it, but the drive from Erg Chebbi to Ait Ben Haddou took us through the Dadès Valley and the Valley of the Roses. Rows upon rows of Damask roses are grown here and harvested by hand in May, then distilled and made into rose water and oil, and it is highly coveted stuff. If I was planning a Morocco road trip again, I’d definitely include a stay in Kalaat M’Gouna or a nearby village in the valley.
Finally, not long before we got to Ait Ben Haddou, we took a short detour to a mysterious gas station which is not a real gas station. The area around Ouarzazarte and Ait Ben Haddou has been used to film countless blockbusters, and one of these was the 2006 remake of ‘The Hills Have Eyes.’
Have I ever watched The Hills Have Eyes? Nope. Horror is most certainly not my genre of choice, thanks very much. But it was cool to go and take a look at the cartoonish, very USA-style gas station in the middle of the red desert sand, and it’s easy to see why Morocco was used as a substitute for the New Mexico desert.
Ait Ben Haddou
The fortified village of Ait Ben Haddou is an absolute stunner, and I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere like it before. The earthen houses of the ksar rise squarely out of the red landscape that forms its backdrop, although closer to the village are fields and palm groves which fill with twittering birds when the sun rises.
(Also the odd braying donkey and barking dog. It’s a surprisingly raucous place for somewhere so isolated.)
The village was historically an important stopping-off point on the caravan route between Marrakesh and the Sahara desert, and it’s existed in some form since at least the 11th century. There are plenty of crumbling clay villages to be seen on a drive around Morocco, but Ait Ben Haddou is comparatively really well-maintained. This is partly down to its inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List, partly due to the tourism industry, and partly- would you believe it- down to Hollywood.
That gas station isn’t the only movie set around here, no siree. Ait Ben Haddou has been used as a filming location for Lawrence of Arabia, Kingdom of Heaven, The Mummy, and most recently the entire village was shut down for a week for Gladiator II, with locals playing extras. If you fancy a tour of Atlas Studios, where even more was filmed (and still is), that’s fully possible, pals! We loved our tour of the movie studio and its old sets, which is about a twenty minute drive from Ait Ben Haddou.
What made our stay in Ait Ben Haddou even more unique is that we chose to stay in Kasbah Tebi– which is the old castle within the village. How magical is it to sleep in a building still lit by candles? Very magical indeed, I’m telling you. (P.s, upgrade to a room with a balcony, it’s worth it.)
Morocco road trip: Ait Ben Haddou to Imlil
Around 4 hours 30 minutes, plus stops
The journey from Ait Ben Haddou to Imlil took us through the awe-inspiring mountain pass of Tizi n’Tichka. Following these swooping hairpin bends through the High Atlas Mountains felt like we were starring in a car advert, despite the fact we were in a teeny tiny Kia Picanto. It was all very epic, truth be told.
So downright enamoured with the scenery, we stopped a few times to get out and take pictures or just a closer look. It was genuinely breathtaking. On lower ground, we pulled up near a stream where butterflies shimmered over tall grass, and bushes of pink flowers grew down the mountainside, not realising that women were working in the field just below the road. A woman with a baby approached and asked us for 2 dirham for parking there (about 40p in GBP). After Chris handed over 5 dirham to a second very hilarious old lady, she let out a woop and invited us to sit under a tree with her and the other women who were having tea in the shade.
You might not share my sentiment here, pals, but in the grander scheme of things, giving away 7 dirham isn’t going to affect our lives at all, and I genuinely didn’t mind this one bit. We were asked for money a few times in Morocco, particularly in poorer rural areas like this. But it didn’t feel excessive, and crucially in the moments that we had no money to give, we were never made to feel bad about it.
Then my phone alerted me to a road closure up ahead. With hindsight, I’m not sure whether my phone was being 100% factual, but we followed its advice and took a detour. Which took us up an incredibly steep and narrow, unpaved road, through a couple of Berber villages, past quiet fields and orchards, and ultimately over the top of an actual mountain. Boulders lie next to the road, clearly having landed there after past rockfalls, and our little car seriously struggled with the unstable ground and steep incline.
We stalled several times, which was rather hilarious all round. But with Chris’s foot to the actual floor, we somehow managed the climb and subsequent roll downhill. Praise the lord.
After a quick ATM stop in Ait Ourir, followed by a coffee at Winart (genuinely the best coffee I had in Morocco, although don’t go expecting to find food!), we drove onwards to the oasis that is the Anima Garden. This garden is so wonderfully designed, and filled with tropical plants and modern art that make a visit a multi-sensory experience. There’s also a great little restaurant on site, so we ate there and thoroughly enjoyed it.
It’s really easy to visit the garden on an organised day trip from Marrakesh, but as we had the car we opted to do it in our own time instead.
Imlil
Imlil is a hiker’s paradise, and also a peace-and-quiet-lover’s paradise. So if you’re enthusiastic about either hiking, or peace and quiet, this is the place for you.
Having stalled a couple more times on the drive up to the village of Imlil, we opted to stay at the Atlas Prestige, a rustic but beautiful guesthouse where we had an incredible view of the surrounding mountains and the valley below. I’m telling you now: the combination of cool mountain air, clear night skies and the sounds of the nearby waterfall and call to prayer is enough to reset anyone’s nervous system after a long drive.
A lot of visitors to Imlil arrive with the goal of climbing Mount Toubkal, but we had neither the clothing nor the inclination for such a hardcore trek. Although when I noted that little old ladies were carrying bales of hay three times their size up and down mountains in skirts and babouches, I felt far less concerned about my non-serious hiking image. Still, we opted for a four hour hike through the surrounding countryside, past cherry orchards and through Berber villages, and it was possibly one of my favourite things that we did on our entire trip.
The scenery was incredible, and every interaction we had with local people was so, so lovely and genuine. There are good people in Imlil, folks.
Morocco road trip: Imlil to Marrakesh
1 hour 30 minutes
The road from Imlil to Marrakesh airport, where we dropped off the car, was the most straightforward of them all, and the simplest journey. Not even one stall was had! Marvellous!
Having picked the car up with a tank only a quarter full, we didn’t even need to locate a petrol station- although there are plenty around should you need to. Chris had toyed with the idea of driving into the city and then back out again, as we had it for the full day.
But I’m glad we opted out of that if I’m honest. On the way in to Marrakesh the traffic, and the number of motorbikes and scooters on the road, increased drastically and made the whole experience of driving in Morocco just that little bit trickier.
We dropped the car off super-smoothly, had a little ATM-stop in the arrivals hall, and got a petit taxi to take us into the city and our riad.
Marrakesh
Marrakesh is an absolute must-see on any visit to Morocco, without a shadow of a doubt, although contrary to the belief of many a visitor, this is not the capital of Morocco! Nope, that would be Rabat. I’d been dreaming of visiting Marrakesh since I was little, and it somehow manages to be equal parts raw and luxurious.
Its pink-hued medina is beautiful (and we found it very easy to navigate with Google Maps), although you might need to mentally prepare yourself for the Jemaa el-Fnaa. The sound of the snake charmers playing their mezmars is lovely, but seeing the entranced black cobras coiled on the ground made me feel rather sad. Ditto goes for the monkeys in tutus or bell boy uniforms. I actually found this city far more of a sensory overload than Fes, but whether that’s down to having come directly from a very rural setting, or to the fact that the city is so targeted to tourists, that genuinely came as a surprise.
We visited two genuinely brilliant museums- the House of Photography and MAP Marrakesh- and I had an incredible hammam and massage at the sublime Alphais Spa. We also didn’t have a bad meal during the entire time we were here, and there are hundreds of stylish rooftop restaurants to pick from inside or outside the medina.
We stayed at the very peaceful Riad Manissa, which is about 3 minutes walk from the edge of the medina.
If I was going to extend the trip even further, I’d add in the little beach town of Essaouira, about 2-3 hours drive west of Marrakesh. The laid-back town, known for its iconic blue fishing boats, is a haven for surfers. And as a frequently-visited destination for international travellers, there are plenty of accommodation options available.
This Morocco road trip blew my actual mind, pals. I couldn’t believe what a variety of scenery we’d managed to see in two weeks: turquoise ocean, pine forests, rolling plains, crimson sand dunes and dramatic mountains. Morocco is a stunning country of dramatic contrasts and I’d return on another road trip without hesitation. In fact, I couldn’t believe how easy our journey was. Aside from the odd mountain track, the roads we travelled were well-maintained and it was all round plain sailing.
What a gorgeous adventure it was.