Day trip from Chefchaouen · The white city
Tetouan day trip from Chefchaouen
Tetouan's medina is on UNESCO's World Heritage list. Like Chefchaouen it was rebuilt by Muslims and Jews who fled Spain at the end of the 15th century. It is bigger, busier and white rather than blue: the same story, told by a city.
Feddan Square, with Tetouan's white medina behind. Photo: Oumaima Achoua, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
How long is the Tetouan day trip?
- How long
- Full day, about 8 hours
- Getting there
- About 60 km, 1 h 15 to 1 h 30 each way
- Your quote
- Free, in writingPrivate and custom, shaped to your dates, group and budget. You pay nothing until you agree it.
How hard is the Tetouan day trip?
Easy. City walking on flat and stepped lanes for 3 to 4 hours, with breaks.
Tetouan medina photos
Photo: Yamen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Yamen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Yamen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Yamen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Ideophagous, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Ideophagous, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Who is the Tetouan day trip for?
Good for
- Travellers who liked Chefchaouen and want to see the bigger city behind it
- People interested in history and craft
- A rainy day: much of the visit is in covered lanes and workshops
Not ideal for
- Anyone who dislikes crowds: the medina is a working market
- A first day in the north: see Chefchaouen first
Tetouan day trip itinerary
A typical day. Times move with the season, the weather and your pace.
08:30
Chefchaouen to Tetouan by car
Your driver collects you for the drive north. The road leaves the mountains and comes down towards the Mediterranean.
Feddan Square, with Tetouan's white medina behind. Photo: Oumaima Achoua, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Morning
Tetouan medina (UNESCO World Heritage)
You meet a local guide by the royal palace square, below the medina wall. Tetouan was capital of the Spanish protectorate from 1913 to 1956, and you can see it in the wide streets outside the walls. Inside, the old town is all white walls and arches.
A lane in Tetouan's old medina. Photo: Ideophagous, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Late morning
Tetouan crafts and the mellah
The guide takes you through the trade quarters, past fountains and gates, and into the mellah, the old Jewish quarter. It moved to its present place in 1807.
Afternoon
Lunch and the drive back
Lunch in town, a last walk, and the drive back to Chefchaouen in the late afternoon.
What's included
- Private to your group: your own guide and vehicle
- Local guide in Tetouan
- Pickup and drop-off at your Chefchaouen riad or hotel
- Bottled water
Not included
- Lunch
- Museum entry fees if you choose to go in
- Tips
What to bring
- Comfortable shoes for stepped lanes
- Modest clothing for the old town
- Cash in dirhams for the souks
Best time to go
- All year
- A city day works in any season. In summer it is warmer and busier than Chefchaouen.
- Friday
- Many shops close around midday prayers. We plan around it.
Tetouan day trip: questions
How far is Tetouan from Chefchaouen?
About 60 km by road. The drive takes roughly 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes each way.
Is Tetouan worth a day trip from Chefchaouen?
Yes, if you have a spare day. Its medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and shares Chefchaouen's Andalusian history, at a much bigger scale. It is a different mood: a working city, white rather than blue.
How much does the Tetouan day trip cost?
We do not publish a fixed price for this trip. The cost depends on group size and vehicle, so we send a written quote for your date. Nothing is due until you have agreed it.
Can I combine Tetouan with Tangier or the coast?
Yes. Tetouan sits on the way to Tangier and the coast, so it also works as a stop when you leave Chefchaouen. Tell us your plans and we quote the route.
Tetouan day trip: get a free quote
The form already names this trip. Add your date and how many of you there are, and a person in our team replies with a written quote. You pay nothing until you have agreed it.
Private and custom: a free written quote for your dates, group and budget
More day trips from Chefchaouen
Photos on this page are from Wikimedia Commons and used under their Creative Commons licences; they were resized for the web.
- Feddan Square, with Tetouan's white medina behind: Photo: Oumaima Achoua, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- White rooftops of the Tetouan medina climbing the hill, laundry on the terraces: Photo: Yamen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- People walking past the old walls of the Tetouan medina in the evening: Photo: Yamen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A green door in a tiled, carved white doorway in the Tetouan medina: Photo: Yamen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Whitewashed walls and wooden eaves in a lane of the Tetouan Mellah: Photo: Yamen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Tetouan city and the mountains, seen from the old medina: Photo: Ideophagous, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A lane in Tetouan's old medina: Photo: Ideophagous, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Blue-washed steps in a Chefchaouen lane, lined with potted plants: Photo: Buiobuione, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons