Northern Morocco: Tangier, Chefchaouen and Fes

1. Day 1: Arrive in Tangier

   Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport, the ferry port or the station to your hotel in Tangier

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Tangier
   Day 1 details

   Arrive in Tangier by air at Ibn Battouta Airport (TNG), by ferry from Tarifa in Spain to the Tangier Ville port, or on the high-speed train from Rabat or Casablanca. A driver meets you wherever you land and takes you to the hotel, close to the old town, where you stay two nights. Tangier faces Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar, about 14 km at its narrowest, and its history shows it: Phoenician and Roman port, Portuguese and English outpost, then an international zone shared by foreign powers from 1923 to 1956. If you arrive early, walk down the Boulevard Pasteur to the Terrasse des Paresseux, where old cannons look out over the port and the Spanish coast on a clear day. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the week, then we sit down to a welcome dinner together at a local restaurant.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport (TNG), Tangier Ville port or Tangier Ville station
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the 6 pm briefing

   Activity: Land or dock by about 4 pm to make the briefing; later arrivals are met and join the group at dinner or the next morning.

2. Day 2: The Kasbah, the medina and Cap Spartel

   Tangier medina and Kasbah, then Cap Spartel and the Caves of Hercules

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Tangier
   Day 2 details

   We start at the top of the old town while it is quiet. The Kasbah, the walled citadel above the port, holds the former sultan's palace, Dar el Makhzen, now the Kasbah Museum, with Roman mosaics from Volubilis and a garden of orange trees. From the Bab al-Bahr gate you look straight across the Strait to Spain. Then we walk down through the medina lanes to the Petit Socco, the small square whose cafes filled with writers and spies in the international-zone years, and on to the Tangier American Legation, the first property the United States owned abroad, given by the sultan in 1821. Lunch is a sit-down meal in the medina. In the afternoon we drive about 14 km west to Cap Spartel, the lighthouse on the north-west tip of Africa where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean, and the Caves of Hercules at Achakar, whose sea opening is shaped like a map of Africa. Back in town by late afternoon, with the evening free; Cafe Hafa's terraces above the sea are a short walk away.

   Included

   • Guided walk of the Kasbah and medina with your guide
   • Kasbah Museum (Dar el Makhzen)
   • The Petit Socco and the Grand Socco
   • Tangier American Legation
   • Sit-down lunch in the medina
   • Cap Spartel lighthouse viewpoint
   • Caves of Hercules

   Easier option: Skip the afternoon drive and stay in town to rest or wander the Grand Socco and the Mendoubia gardens.

   More active option: Walk the cliff path from Cap Spartel down towards Achakar and the caves, about 4 km, while the van carries everyone else.

   Free time: Evening free in Tangier

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot in the morning on steep, stepped medina lanes.

3. Day 3: Tetouan's white medina, then Chefchaouen

   Tangier to Tetouan, then over the Rif foothills to Chefchaouen

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Chefchaouen
   Day 3 details

   An hour's drive east brings us to Tetouan, the white city under the Rif, which most Morocco trips drive straight past. Its walled medina, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, was rebuilt in the late 15th century by refugees from Al-Andalus, and its whitewashed lanes, tiled fountains and craft streets still feel Andalusian. A licensed local guide walks us in from the Place Hassan II, beside the Royal Palace, through the tanners', leatherworkers' and jewellers' quarters, and to the traditional crafts school, Dar Sanaa, where students learn zellige, carved plaster and painted wood (when it is open). Lunch is a sit-down meal in Tetouan. In the afternoon it is about an hour and a quarter up into the mountains to Chefchaouen, where we stay two nights in a riad inside the medina. After an orientation walk through the blue lanes to the Ras el Ma spring, we climb about 20 minutes to the Spanish Mosque on the hillside opposite for sunset over the town.

   Included

   • Tetouan medina with a licensed local guide
   • Dar Sanaa traditional crafts school, when open
   • Sit-down lunch in Tetouan
   • Orientation walk in Chefchaouen to the Ras el Ma spring
   • Sunset walk to the Spanish Mosque viewpoint

   Easier option: Watch the sunset from a rooftop terrace in the medina instead of walking up to the Spanish Mosque.

   Free time: Evening free in Chefchaouen

   Activity: The walk to the Spanish Mosque is about 20 minutes uphill on a dirt path; bring a torch for the way down. From October to February the sun sets earlier, so we may drop the Dar Sanaa visit to reach the viewpoint in time without rushing.

4. Day 4: Chefchaouen early, then a Rif walk at Akchour

   Chefchaouen medina, then Akchour in Talassemtane National Park and back

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Chefchaouen
   Day 4 details

   We meet at about 8 am, while the blue lanes are empty and the shopkeepers are still opening their doors. The coaches of day-trippers from Fes and Tangier arrive later in the morning, so this is the hour for photographs. Chefchaouen was founded in 1471 as a mountain fortress, and our walk ends at its red-walled kasbah on the Outa el Hammam square, beside the Great Mosque with its eight-sided minaret. Mid-morning we drive about 45 minutes east to Akchour, at the edge of Talassemtane National Park, where a local guide leads a walk up the river gorge to the God's Bridge, a natural rock arch high over the water, about 8 to 9 km there and back. The path is rocky, with some short climbs and one or two stream crossings on stepping stones. Lunch is a tagine at one of the riverside cafes, with time to cool your feet in the pools. We are back in Chefchaouen by late afternoon, and the evening is yours: try the local goat's cheese, or a hammam.

   Included

   • Early-morning walk in the Chefchaouen medina with your guide
   • The kasbah on Outa el Hammam square
   • Guided walk at Akchour to the God's Bridge with a local guide
   • Lunch by the river at Akchour

   Optional experiences

   • Hammam in Chefchaouen, paid locally

   Easier option: Walk the flat first section of the Akchour river path to the lower pools and wait in the shade with lunch, or stay in Chefchaouen for a free day.

   More active option: Carry on from the God's Bridge junction up the other branch of the gorge towards the upper waterfalls, a longer and steeper walk with the local guide.

   Free time: Evening free in Chefchaouen

   Activity: The Akchour walk is about 8 to 9 km return with some steady climbing (the local guide confirms the distance and route on the day) on a rocky path. Wear shoes with grip. After heavy rain the path can close; we then walk in the hills above Chefchaouen instead.

5. Day 5: Volubilis and Meknes on the way to Fes

   Chefchaouen to Volubilis via Ouazzane, then Moulay Idriss, Meknes and Fes

   • Drive about 4.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Fes
   Day 5 details

   Today is the longest drive of the trip, about 280 km and four and a half hours at the wheel, slightly over our four-hour cap because Volubilis and Meknes sit between the mountains and Fes. We break it into three legs. We leave at 8 am and stop for coffee in Ouazzane, then reach Volubilis late in the morning. A local guide walks us through this Roman town on the edge of the empire, a UNESCO site since 1997: the Capitol and Basilica, the triumphal arch raised for the emperor Caracalla in AD 217, and floor mosaics still in place in the houses along the Decumanus Maximus. Lunch is a sit-down meal in Moulay Idriss, the holy town on the hill above. Then half an hour on to Meknes, the 17th-century capital of Sultan Moulay Ismail, for the great Bab Mansour gate, the Place el Hedim and the vaulted Heri es-Souani granaries. Fes is under an hour beyond, and we reach our riad in the medina by early evening.

   Included

   • Volubilis with a licensed local guide, entry included
   • Sit-down lunch in Moulay Idriss
   • Meknes: Bab Mansour, the Place el Hedim and the Heri es-Souani granaries

   Easier option: Stay with the van in Meknes and watch the Place el Hedim from a cafe terrace instead of walking to the granaries.

   Free time: Evening free in Fes

   Activity: About 2 hours on foot at Volubilis on uneven Roman paving with little shade; bring a hat and water.

   

6. Day 6: Fes el Bali on foot

   A day in the Fes medina, then the Marinid Tombs at sunset

   • Drive about 15 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Fes
   Day 6 details

   Fes el Bali, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981, has no cars, and the only way in is on foot. A licensed local guide joins us at the blue-tiled Bab Bou Jeloud gate. We go first to the Chouara tannery, seen from a terrace above, in the morning when the dye pits are full and the light is soft. Then the Bou Inania madrasa, built in the 1350s, the Al-Attarine madrasa of the 1320s, with its carved cedar and zellige, and the Nejjarine fountain and fondouk, now a museum of wood crafts. We look into the Qarawiyyin, founded in 859, through its open doors, and listen to the coppersmiths hammering in the Seffarine square. There are no rug-shop stops: if you want to buy, your guide explains prices first. Lunch is in the medina, and the afternoon is free. Before sunset we drive up to the Marinid Tombs to watch the light go over the whole medina, then share a farewell dinner.

   Included

   • Fes el Bali with a licensed local guide
   • Chouara tannery from a terrace
   • Bou Inania and Al-Attarine madrasa entries
   • Nejjarine fountain and fondouk (Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts)
   • Seffarine square and the doors of the Qarawiyyin
   • Sit-down lunch in the medina
   • Sunset at the Marinid Tombs
   • Farewell dinner

   Optional experiences

   • Hammam in Fes, paid locally

   Easier option: Return to the riad with the guide after lunch and rest until the sunset drive.

   More active option: Spend the free afternoon on a second walk with your guide through the Andalusian quarter on the far bank of the old river.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Fes

   Activity: About 6 km on foot through steep, crowded lanes; the walk is slow, with stops.

   

7. Day 7: A craft morning, then home

   Fes medina to the potters' quarter at Ain Nokbi, then Fes-Saiss Airport

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 7 details

   Fes is a working craft city, and on the last morning we go where the work is done. After breakfast and checkout, the van takes us a few minutes east of the medina walls, beyond Bab Ftouh, to the potters' quarter at Ain Nokbi. Here potters throw bowls and tagines on kick wheels, painters work the blue and white designs that Fes is known for, and zellige cutters chip glazed tiles into small geometric pieces by hand, then lay them face down to make a single panel. A craftsman shows the group each stage, and you try a piece yourself: painting a bowl or cutting a tile. There is no obligation to buy. We finish by late morning and drive about half an hour to Fes-Saiss Airport (FEZ), or to Fes station for the train to Rabat, Casablanca or Tangier. Your guide sees you to the airport and checks your flight before saying goodbye. Book a flight leaving after about 3 pm.

   Included

   • Hands-on pottery and zellige morning at Ain Nokbi with a craftsman
   • Drop-off at Fes-Saiss Airport (FEZ) or Fes railway station

   Easier option: For a morning flight, go straight from the riad to the airport and skip the workshop.

   Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 3 pm to join the craft morning.

   

Wildlife and weather: Spring brings green hills and wildflowers around Volubilis and full rivers at Akchour; autumn is warm and settled. Summer is hot in Fes and Meknes and busy in Chefchaouen, while winter is wet and cold in the Rif and the Akchour path can close after heavy rain, when we walk closer to town instead.

• Tangier2 nights
• Chefchaouen2 nights
• Fes2 nights