Chefchaouen is a small mountain town of blue-washed lanes at 600 m in the Rif, founded in 1471 and painted the colour it is famous for over centuries. It photographs so well that a great many European visitors plan a trip around it, and then discover the logistics are the least convenient in Morocco.
No railway comes close. The nearest stations are Tangier and Fes, both a serious drive away, and intercity buses run on schedules that consume most of a day at each end. The town itself is compact and entirely walkable once you arrive, but arriving is the problem a car solves.
For anyone crossing from Spain it fits neatly into a northern loop: Tangier, Chefchaouen, Volubilis and Fes across three or four days, which is exactly the shape of trip that short European flights and ferry crossings make possible. Every booking is private and the rate is fixed in advance.
Why hire a driver here
- With no station anywhere near, the road is the only way in or out
- The Rif is unrelieved mountain road, hairpin after hairpin
- Two hours out of Tangier, four out of Fes and five out of Casablanca
- Steep and pedestrian, the medina makes the drop-off point matter
- It fits neatly into a three-day northern loop from a Spanish crossing
Included in every booking
- Fuel, tolls and the driver's fee for the agreed route
- Pickup in Tangier, Fes, Casablanca or Rabat
- English, French and Spanish-speaking drivers available
- Photo stops on the Rif descent into the valley
- Bottled water and phone charging in the vehicle
