Complete Guide to Marrakesh!

Getting around Marrakesh - Transport Guide

Marrakesh Menara Airport is situated approximately 6km (4 miles) and 20 minutes outside of the city by taxi. There are is a good deal of cheap priced airliners that now fly to Marrakesh. However some flights stop by at Casablanca first for a plane change (check first before you book your flight) then it’s a direct flight to Marrakesh which approximately takes about 45min to an hour.

Once you have touched down in Marrakesh, the most ideal way, (if you are not carrying too much luggage), is to take the new bus (line 19) that now covers almost all the main sections of the city such as Place Jemaa L’Fna, the main Bus station, Gueliz, and various hotel. From writing this It costs 20DH one way and 30 DH return. However if you are carrying too much luggage then its recommended you take a petite taxi ( it carries a maximum of 3 persons) or a white Mercedes taxi if there are more than 3 of you. If you are leaving the airport by petit taxi, make certain to have the driver use his meter or check on the price in advance.

As you leave the airport terminal, there is a sign which actually provides you with an estimate of how much the taxi journey should cost. If you can bargain with the driver to use these prices is another matter altogether, but don’t be shy, bargaining is all part of Moroccan custom. It also depends on the amount of taxis and the passengers around. In essence, you should pay no more than 50DH from the airport to the centre of the city during the day and about 80DH at night for a petite taxi. If you bargain well with the driver, these prices are easily obtainable or if bargaining is your talent, you should get below the prices stated. However, if you don’t bargain, accept to pay higher price. Regardless, it is safe to say that you shouldn’t pay more than 90DH in the daytime and 140DH at night.

Grand Mercedes taxis are much more expensive than petit taxis, but more comfortable particularly when you have a lot of luggage. A safe method for using any taxi services in Morocco, you should approach the taxi, mention to the driver where you want to go and bargain over a price. If the driver doesn’t accept, just move onto the next taxi. However if you rather avoid the whole taxi and bus fiasco altogether then you can always just rent a car from 40 Euros a day as there is several international rental car companies based at the airport as well.

You can now fly from several destinations from around the world at affordable prices; budget airlines such as EasyJet, Ryanair and Royal Air Maroc operate many cheap flights to Marrakesh from under 100 Euros. German airline TUI also provides reasonable cheap flights to Marrakech from 5 cities in Germany.

Menara Airport, Terminal 2 has a currency exchange outlet and an ATM. Terminal 1 has 2 currency exchange outlets in the Arrivals hall and one in Departures. So if you find the currency exchanging outlets are closed when you arrive, then take the short walk across the car park to the other terminal.

The train station in Marrakesh situated about 10-15 minutes from the city centre and has train line connections to all major cities such as Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier and Sidi Kacem. There is a train available hourly during the day. First class tickets are 140DH from Marrakesh to Casablanca and second class tickets are 90DH. If its a very busy day it would be recommended to get first class tickets to guarantee a seat allocation and for comfort, since 2nd class tickets are not seat allocated.

Trains come from Casablanca approximately every 2 hours, and on a regular basis from other destinations such as Rabat. The train station is located in the recently developed ville nouvelle. The coach station is very claose by with coaches leaving to destinations such as Essaouria and Agadir, where the train line doesn’t go, so taking a coach would be the only option.

For those wanting to travel by train from Tangier, the price from Tangier to Marrakech is presently 205DH 2nd class and 310DH 1st class. The journey is an excellent one for sightseeing, so, if you can, try and do this travel by day. It’s about a 10 hour journey. The Tangier to Marrakech route is definitely advisable as a way to see the Kingdom of Morocco and best taken during the daylight hours, for this purpose. During the daytime, you will need to make a change of train at Sidi Kacem for about 30 minutes. The night trains which leave for Marrakech from Tangier travel straight through to Marrakech without stopping. The night trains do have sleeper cars on board, although you will need to pay additional for these if you want a bed (about 350DH). There is presently no train line farther south than Marrakesh in Morocco.

Some advice for the train journey would be to stock up on some drinks, food and snacks and a little extra to share with locals in your carriage – its a well known custom in morocco for traveling strangers to exchange and share food. In addition, there is a snack cart which does the rounds on the train about once every hour serving drinks such as coffee, Cappucino, tea, and snakcs like sandwiches and chocolate sweets. But take note that you will most probably pay a little extra (tourist prices)

There are many long distance bus services operating within Morocco that serve Marrakech and other cities. The most common and suggested bus companies for tourists are CTM and Supratours. Other companies do actually exist, but these two companies are usually the best options. Most ALSA (local destination bus company) and private bus lines arrive at the long distance bus station near Bab Doukkala, a 20 minute walk (Dh 15 – 20 by petit taxi) from Jema el-Fna. Supratours and Eurolines buses operate from here.

The bus station at Marrakesh provides bus routes to destinations such as to Agadir, Safi, Casablanca, El Jadida, Essaouira, Fez, Meknes, Ouarzazate, Rabat and Taroudant. CTM has another small station at the Gueliz, at Zerktouni street. It’s better to take them there, because you can buy the tickets in advance (you’ll find place) and the buses that leave from Bab Doukala go directly there and stop for half an hour and even change the bus. The present Cost from Marrakech to Agadir is 90 Dirham.

Once you are within the city center, almost all the main attractions within Marrakesh can be seen on foot, but be prepared to do a little walking. For exploring more of the city, it is recommended to go utilize the bus service which has many buses operating for each sections of the city. Almost all buses stop at Jema El Fna and Place Youssef Ben Tachfine and the fares range from 3DH to 10DH depending on the distance.

The main bus lines are:

* Bus # 1 – Travels by Gueliz

* Bus # 8 – Arrives at the central train station

* Bus #10 – Arrives at the coach bus station

* Bus #11 – Arrives at the gardens of Menara

An interesting way to tour the city centre is by kouche a small horse drawn carriage. They can be hired at Square de Foucauld (the small park entrance of jemma El Fna). The price is around 30DH for a short round trip of the city center (15 -20min) and around 80DH for a whole hour per carriage, although its advisable to agree on a price before setting off.

There is also an open-topped City Sightseeing bus that travels around outskirts of the city center, commentary is provided in 8 languages via headphones. The buss tops by the Square de Foucauld approximately every hour . Tickets cost 130Dh each and are valid for the entire day.