Fes is Morocco's cultural capital and generally the second stop for Canadians, after Marrakech or straight off the Montreal flight into Casablanca. It is also where the gap between a driver and a rental car opens widest. Fes el Bali is a walled medieval quarter of roughly 9,000 lanes, and not one of them admits a vehicle. You never drive to your riad in Fes; you drive to a gate and walk.
That one fact rearranges the whole arrival. With a rental car you have to pick the right gate out of moving traffic, find somewhere to leave the vehicle for several days, and then walk into a maze you have never seen carrying your bags. With a driver, you stop at the gate that serves your riad, the luggage comes out, and the car is gone until you want it.
Worth knowing before you arrive: your driver cannot legally guide you inside the medina. Moroccan law licenses tour guides as a separate profession and enforces it. Drivers own the road, the logistics and the country between cities; Fes el Bali itself calls for a licensed guide for half a day, which we arrange on request.
Why hire a driver here
- Fes el Bali is entirely pedestrian - about 9,000 lanes, none drivable
- Arriving at the correct gate spares you a quarter-hour of hauling bags
- Volubilis, Meknes and Moulay Idriss are simple by car and awkward any other way
- Heading south means crossing the Middle Atlas and descending the Ziz Gorge
- Guides are a separate licence - we arrange one alongside the car
Included in every booking
- Fuel, tolls and the driver's fee for the agreed route
- Airport, riad gate, hotel or train station pickup
- English or French-speaking drivers, your choice
- Help with luggage as far as the entrance of the derb
- Bottled water and phone charging in the vehicle
