Destinations · 42 curated guides
The best places to visit in Morocco.
Nine destinations cover ninety percent of what travellers come to Morocco for — from Marrakech to the Sahara dunes, Fes to Chefchaouen and the Atlantic coast. Each guide gives you the real number of days, the right time to visit, and a quote on request.
42 destinations
Marrakech
The red city of souks, riads and gardens — the southern counterweight to the blue Rif.
Fes
Morocco's spiritual capital and the southern gateway to the blue city — 200 km of mountain road from Chefchaouen.
Chefchaouen
Morocco's blue pearl — a 15th-century Rif medina washed in cobalt, indigo and lime, where every lane is a photograph.
Sahara & Merzouga
The real Sahara: 150m dunes, camel caravans and desert camps under more stars than you have ever seen.
Essaouira
The windy fortress city: ramparts, fishing boats, argan oil and Morocco's freshest seafood.
Atlas Mountains
Berber villages, walnut groves and North Africa's highest summit — the High Atlas above Marrakech.
Tangier
Where Africa meets Europe — kasbah, ferry port and the closest airport to the blue city.
Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou
The Hollywood of Africa: earthen kasbahs, film studios and the gateway to the southern dunes.
Casablanca
Morocco's modern economic capital — art deco, the Hassan II Mosque and the main long-haul gateway.
Rabat
Morocco's calm, green capital — a blue-and-white kasbah, royal monuments and an unhurried medina.
Meknes
The quiet imperial city of Moulay Ismail — monumental gates, vast granaries and Roman Volubilis next door.
Agadir
Morocco's sunshine beach capital — a long golden bay, modern resorts and the gateway to Paradise Valley and Taghazout.
Dadès & Todra Gorges
Towering red canyons, palm oases and the famous switchback road — the dramatic heart of the southern desert route.
Ouzoud Falls
Morocco's highest waterfalls — 110 metres of cascades, rainbows and wild Barbary macaques.
Agafay Desert
A lunar landscape of rolling hills 40 minutes from Marrakech — luxury camps, camel rides and Atlas sunsets without the long drive.
Ourika Valley
Berber villages, river-bank lunches and seven waterfalls — the greenest, easiest Atlas escape from Marrakech.
Asilah
A whitewashed Atlantic art town — Portuguese ramparts, painted murals and a calm, walkable medina near Tangier.
Zagora
Gateway to Erg Chigaga — a palm-lined oasis town at the threshold of the deep Sahara.
Imlil
Imlil is the High Atlas trekking village that puts North Africa's highest summit within two days' walk.
Taroudant
Taroudant is the 'little Marrakech' of the south — a walled Saadian city of ochre ramparts and souks in the Souss plain.
Taghazout
Trade the cool indigo lanes of the Rif for warm Atlantic surf — Taghazout's crescent bay of point breaks and argan sunsets, the deep-south antidote to the blue city.
Ifrane
Swap lime-washed Rif walls for red-roofed alpine chalets — Ifrane, the cedar-forested 'Little Switzerland' of snow and Barbary macaques an hour south of Fes on the way down from the blue city.
Dakhla
Morocco's furthest corner from the blue city — Dakhla's turquoise Saharan lagoon and 300 days of wind, a fly-down counterpoint to the cool Rif north.
Skoura
Earthen kasbahs in place of indigo walls — Skoura's palm oasis east of Ouarzazate, a southern desert-leg stop a world away from the Rif blue.
Tinghir
The deep south's grandest gorge walk — Tinghir and the Todra narrows, what Rif hikers who love Akchour find when they cross to the far side of the Atlas.
Oualidia
Oysters and flamingos far south of the Rif — Oualidia's sheltered Atlantic lagoon between Casablanca and Essaouira, reached from the blue city by way of the coast road.
Volubilis & Moulay Idriss
Roman mosaics and a hilltop holy town on the road north — Volubilis and Moulay Idriss near Meknes, the classic history day before the Rif climb to the blue city.
Midelt
The Atlas crossroads on the long drive from the Rif to the dunes — Midelt's apple orchards, the Cirque Jaffar and the Moulouya gorges, halfway from Fes to the Sahara.
Sidi Ifni
A Spanish past on the far-southern coast, echoing the Rif's own — Sidi Ifni's Art Deco enclave and surf beaches by the Legzira sea arches, the deep-south cousin to Chefchaouen's Andalusian north.
El Jadida
El Jadida is Morocco's UNESCO Portuguese city — a 16th-century Atlantic fortress with a miraculous cistern, 90 minutes from Casablanca.
Azrou
Wild Barbary macaques and 900-year-old cedars south of Fes — Azrou, the Middle Atlas forest stop for travellers heading the opposite way from the Rif blue city.
Moulay Bousselham
Moulay Bousselham is Morocco's premier birdwatching lagoon — the Merja Zerga wetland draws tens of thousands of wintering waterbirds to a sleepy fishing village between Rabat and Tangier.
Tétouan
Chefchaouen's nearest companion in the Rif — Tétouan's UNESCO Andalusian medina of whitewashed lanes and Moorish stucco, sharing the blue city's Spanish-Iberian heritage on the same northern road.
Tafraout
Where the south paints its rocks instead of its walls — Tafraout's pink-granite Ameln valley of painted boulders and almond blossom, a far-flung Anti-Atlas echo of the blue city's colour.
Mirleft
A small undeveloped place that rewards slow travel, like the blue city itself — Mirleft's wild Atlantic cliff coves between Agadir and Sidi Ifni, deep in the south.
Larache
Within reach of a blue-city northern loop — Larache's Spanish-colonial port medina and the Phoenician-Roman ruins of Lixus, sharing the protectorate past that shaped Chefchaouen and Tétouan inland.
Béni Mellal
Central Morocco, a long way south of the Rif — Béni Mellal's Ain Asserdoun springs, the turquoise Bin el-Ouidane reservoir and the cedar highlands, on the scenic Marrakech–Fes overland.
Rissani
Deep in the desert south-east, on the Merzouga leg rather than near the blue city — Rissani, the ancient Tafilalt capital, Alaouite cradle and atmospheric Thursday souk.
M'Hamid el Ghizlane
As far from the cool Rif as Morocco runs — M'Hamid el Ghizlane at the road's end, the last town before Erg Chigaga and the deepest, wildest desert in the country.
Aït Bougmez Valley
The High Atlas big sister to the Rif's gentle trails — Aït Bougmez, the remote 'Happy Valley' of terraced Berber villages, wildflower meadows and the M'Goun trailhead.
Akchour
The blue city's own day hike — Akchour's emerald waterfalls and the natural rock arch of God's Bridge, a forested Talassemtane gorge 30 km from Chefchaouen.
Saïdia
The Mediterranean far east of the Rif — Saïdia's 14 km of Blue Flag golden sand on the Algerian border, the warm-sea swimming the blue city's mountains can't offer.
Frequently asked
Frequently asked questions about Morocco destinations.
Which Moroccan destinations are easiest to reach from Chefchaouen?
Chefchaouen sits in the Rif mountains of northern Morocco, so the closest destinations are northern ones: Tetouan and the Mediterranean coast are short drives away, and Tangier — with its port and airport — is the main gateway in and out of the north. Fes is the nearest of the imperial cities, reached overland in a few hours, which makes Chefchaouen a natural first or last stop when combined with a wider Morocco route.
How many days should I spend in Chefchaouen and the north?
Chefchaouen itself is compact and many travellers see the blue medina in a day, with one or two nights letting you enjoy the quiet early mornings and a viewpoint walk. For the wider north, allow extra days if you want to add the nearby Akchour waterfalls, Talassemtane National Park, or the cities of Tetouan and Tangier. A typical northern loop of three to five days pairs the blue city with the coast and a Rif nature outing.
What day trips and nearby destinations work well from Chefchaouen?
As a Rif base, Chefchaouen pairs well with outdoor outings such as the waterfalls and trails of Akchour and the cedar forests of Talassemtane National Park. Within reach for day trips or short hops are the whitewashed town of Tetouan, the Mediterranean coast, and the city of Tangier with its kasbah and Cap Spartel. These northern destinations are all accessible by road from the blue city.
Can I combine Chefchaouen with Fes and the Sahara?
Yes. Chefchaouen and Fes are commonly linked overland, and Fes in turn is the usual launch point for the long drive south toward the Sahara via the Middle Atlas, Ifrane and Midelt. Because the desert lies far to the south-east, plan several days for that leg rather than treating it as a quick add-on; many travellers do Chefchaouen first, then Fes, then continue toward the dunes.
When is the best time of year to visit northern Morocco?
Spring (roughly April to June) and autumn (September to October) are the most comfortable across the north, with mild days for walking Chefchaouen's medina and the Rif trails. Summer is hot and busy, while winter brings rain and cooler temperatures to the mountains, when higher slopes can feel chilly. The coast is mildest in the shoulder seasons too, so spring and autumn suit most northern itineraries.