3 days in Morocco

Day 1. Fes

I started my trip from Fes but you can do it the other way round - wherever it will be cheaper to fly to. I had an evening flight so I arrived to the apartment and went to sleep straight away.

I was staying in this appartement which was not that far from Medina (about 30 minutes walk) and was really good option for this price.

What was great about this apartment is that there was a huge supermarket (Carrefour) just in 5 min walking distance (and so was a McDonald's :)).

Carrefour

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You can buy drinking water there (it's always safer to drink bottles water in unknown foreign countries) and some snacks or even a whole bunch of products if you feel like cooking in the apartment

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On my first day there I went to McDonald's to have breakfast and found out that everything there is half the price of European McDonald's. So if you feel like taking an ice cream before all the walking (or a burger) - it all is right near the apartment.

McDonald's

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Fes is famous for it’s tanneries (where leather is being coloured). Tanneries are in Medina - old town (old city center) where there are a lot of little narrow streets and usually it all is one big market.

Tanneries de fes دار الدباغة فاس

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There are a few spots marked on Maps.me where you can get to the rooftops with a view over the tanneries. There are also signs on the streets. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who will notice that you are a tourist and they will offer to guide you to the rooftop. Don't worry, they won't harm you, but after you're done with taking photos and listening to their little speech about tanneries, they will expect you to buy something in one of the shops (the entrance and exit are of course through these shops). So if you don't want to buy any leather stuff (I didn't, so I don't know what the prices are there but remember that in Middle East it's okay to negotiate any price), they will expect some "tip" for their little tour. If you don't have any coins or something and refuse to pay (like I did), of course they won't attack you or anything, but they will be disappointed and all their welcoming attitude will fade away. It wasn't my first time refusing to pay for something that wasn't at first announced as a paying option (when you go to the tanneries, they all say "oh it's free, tanneries view is free") so I became more and more confident and didn't feel guilty (because why should I?). But it may be hard for the first time, so just be prepared for it

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Cafe Clock

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If you want to try local cuisine - I definitely recommend this place. Of course I tried couscous there, it was very good! My moroccan friends also told me that a must try is r'fissa - it's cooked lentils with meat (for example chicken) and some kind of pastry underneath (like pasta or lasagna slices). And of course a must try is moroccan tea with mint. Don't forget to ask for sugar as without sugar it may be too strong.

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There are other places that you can visit in Medina, I'll list them down here.

Bab Boujloud

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This is the entrance gate to Medina. A perfect place to start your Medina tour from. Also Cafe Clock is just near this gate

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Bou Inania Madrasa

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This beautiful building was once a religious school and a mosque. If you're a fan of architecture or just love taking photos or looking at beautiful buildings - don't miss on this one

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Mosqué Moulay Idriss I

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I only took photos from outside as I didn't want to take off my shoes and my hair wasn't covered but even when you just glance inside, you'll manage to see lovely interior of this mosque

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Musée Najjarine

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This is a wood crafts museum. I'm not so much into museums but if you like it - here's one for you. First of all, it has beautiful architecture. Second of all, it's not expensive - 20 dirham which is about 2 euros. Or you can do like me and just take photos of the entrance door which is lovely too

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Mosque and University Kairaouine

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This is the oldest university in the world! Do I need to add something else? I don't think so. Just visit it :)

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So to visit all these place you need just 1 day. If you start your day in Fes early you can catch the evening bus to Chefchaouen. If you like to sleep in the morning and prefer to finish exploring Fes in the evening - you can spend the night in Fes and catch a bus in the morning. The CTM bus station is 15 minutes walk from the apartment. 

محطة ستيام شركة النقل المغربية

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When you buy a ticket it says that you need to arrive 30 minutes prior to the departure time. In fact buses are sometimes late and even if they arrive on time, the bus station is not that big, so if you arrive 15 minutes before the departure, you'll have time to go to the restroom (don't forget that they may ask for money at the restroom) and charge your phone (there's a charging station as well as wifi at the station).

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Day 2. Chefchaouen

I took an evening bus to Chefchaouen, so I took the taxi at the bus station. There's no Uber or special service to book a taxi, you just go outside and see people in the cars with a sign "taxi", you ask for the price (don't forget to negociate if it's too high) and if it suits you well - off you go. 

My hotel was in Medina, so in the hotel description it was said that I need to take the taxi and go till the central square. From bus station to this square (or hotel Parador which is also there) taxi was 30 dirham. It's about 3 euros. Not bad, right?

Place Outa El Hamam

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This is the place where you need to go to by taxi

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I was staying in this hotel. It's very basic and doesn't have breakfasts but there's an air conditioner so if you come in winter, you won't get cold (it's very rare to find heating devices in Morocco). 

Just next to this hotel there was Cafe Clock (remember I recommended it in Fes? It's in Chefchaouen too. So you can have breakfast, lunch and dinner there (as I did) as there are no supermarkets in Chefchaouen (so you'd better buy a few water bottles in Fes to bring them to Chefchaouen). 

Cafe Clock

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Sometimes there's live music and in the evenings there are a lot of people so you can book or come a bit in advance before most people come (at about 19)

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I won't list any must visit places in Chefchaouen as the whole city is a must visit place. So just go wherever you want to in Medina and you'll see a lot of blue and cute houses and corners. To inspire you, here are some of the photos I made.

To go to Tanger you will also need to take CTM bus. It's about 20 minutes walk from the hotel so you don't need to take taxi if your bus is not early in the morning or late in the evening.

CTM

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It's a very small station, there's no wifi, paid toilet (here you definitely won't pass without paying) so if you arrive 15 minutes before the departure, it will be more than enough

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Day 3. Tanger

In Tanger I was staying in Medina as well. 

In this hotel there was no air conditioner so in winter it's quite chilly. But for one-two nights it's okay as they give you 3 warm blankets (my friends from Morocco told me that's how people there warm up usually - with blankets and not with heating or AC). The staff in the hotel is very friendly and welcoming. They even gave me a bigger room for no reason (not that I actually needed a bigger room, but it was a nice gesture I guess). 

People come to Tanger rather to go to its beaches so in winter there are not so many people. And there are not so many things to see in the city. But for 1 day in between bus and plane, Chefchaouen and going home, there are some things that you can do. 

Tangier American Legation Museum

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This is an ex US diplomatic mission in Morocco. It has some nice interiors. May be interesting to walk inside a little bit

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Musée Dar Niaba

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It's also an ex diplomatic building. If you love history, you may want to go there as now in this museum there are exhibits on diplomatic history of Tanger

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But I also recommend you, if the weather is good, to just walk along the beaches and promenade. 

And of course to walk around Medina. I know that I recommend it for every city but that's really the most interesting part there. 

I won't lie, after eating local food for 2 days, in Tanger I went to Starbucks and McDonald's. But if you want to discover some local places - the host in the hotel is very friendly and he will gladly recommend you some places nearby.

There's no public transport going directly to Tanger airport so you need to take a taxi.

There are some places where you can come to take a taxi. When I arrived from Chefchaouen by bus it was already quite late, so from CTM station I took a taxi. And the driver asked if I need a taxi to the airport. I said yes, so he said that hotel taxi will be about 200 dirham and he will take me there for 150. I decided that it's quite reasonable and it will save me some time as I won't need to go somewhere to look for taxi, so I took his phone number and next day he took me to the airport. 

You can do the same and when you'll take the taxi from CTM station, you can arrange a ride to the airport with the same driver (or they will propose it themselves). 

So this is the itinerary for 3 days in Morocco. I hope it was useful and you will enjoy it as much as I did. And if you have any questions regarding this trip or Middle East or any other destinations (as I've been to quite many places) - don't hesitate to contact me, I'll be glad to help you out!