Marrakech to Fes: every way to make the journey
- Distance
- 520 km
- Drive time
- 6h 00
- Price from
- €3663,990 MAD
- Vehicles
- Standard sedan, Minivan, Luxury sedan, Luxury van, Minibus
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A real number on this page, not a quote by email tomorrow.
- Your trip
- Contact
Standard sedanFits your 2 passengers and 2 bags- No prepayment
- Free cancellation, any time
- Pay in the vehicle — cash or card
- Free cancellation, any timeNothing is prepaid, so there is nothing to refund
- No prepaymentPay the driver in the vehicle — cash or card
- Flight trackingWe follow your arrival time
- Meet & greetDriver waiting with a name board
Every way to make this journey
A private transfer is not the right answer for everyone on this route. Here is every option, what it costs and who each one actually suits.
| Option | Price | Duration | Comfort | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train | About 200-220 MAD in 2nd class, 330-340 MAD in 1st (2026) | About 6h 30 to 7h; some trains direct, others change at Casablanca | Comfortable | For most people travelling alone or as a couple, this is the sensible choice and we will say so. Unlike the routes south of Marrakech, there is a railway here: ONCF connects both cities, and the journey runs north to Casablanca and then east. It is comfortable, you can walk about, and it puts you in the centre of Fes rather than at a bus station on the edge of it. The trade is that the schedule is the schedule, and at six and a half to seven hours it is a long sit, longer still if your train needs a change at Casablanca. |
| Coach (CTM / Supratours) | CTM about 140-200 MAD; Supratours about 130-170 MAD (2026) | About 7h 30 to 9h | Comfortable | The cheapest way to cross the country with a reserved seat and luggage in the hold. Worth checking against the train rather than assuming it wins: on a route this long the two are closer than people expect, and the train is more comfortable. CTM runs a few departures a day and Supratours also serves the route: check times and fares on ctm.ma or supratours.ma. |
| Grand taxi | — | — | — | Grands taxis work city to city over short hops and relay passengers from one rank to the next. Marrakech to Fes is about 520 km across the middle of the country, which would mean several changes, several negotiations and no guarantee of a seat on the last leg. Nobody sensible does this journey that way, and we are not going to pretend otherwise by quoting a price for it. |
| Private transfer | See the price table below | About 6 hours door to door, longer with stops | High | Worth it when the day is the point rather than the obstacle: when you want to break the journey at Beni Mellal or the Middle Atlas, when there are four or five of you and the per-seat sums change, when you are carrying real luggage, or when you are travelling with children and a six-hour train with a change is a worse six hours than a car you control. |
The one route where the train is a real answer
On most of the journeys we price, the honest comparison ends quickly: there is no railway south or west of Marrakech, so the choice is a coach or a car.
Fes is different. Both cities are on the ONCF network, and for one or two travellers with a bag each, the train is usually the better buy. It is comfortable, you can get up and walk, and it puts you in the city rather than at a station on its edge. If that is your situation, take the train — you did not need us to tell you that, but you should be able to read it here rather than work it out somewhere else.
What the train cannot do is stop where you want, wait while you eat, or carry five people and their luggage without anyone changing platform.
What the drive is actually like
About 520 km, and roughly six hours moving.
That is a long way — the longest city-to-city transfer we run — and the number matters more than it does on a two-hour route. Six hours is the driving time with no real stops. A day with lunch and a walk is seven or eight, and it is better to plan for that at the booking stage than to discover it at four in the afternoon.
There are two ways across. The motorway runs north via Casablanca and Rabat on the A3, A1 and A2: about 527 km and about 5 hours 50 without traffic or stops, and usually the faster of the two. The inland road is the N8 through Beni Mellal, Khenifra and Azrou: about 482 km and about 8 hours, but it crosses the Middle Atlas. Ifrane sits right on that road, and the Cèdre Gouraud cedar forest, with its Barbary macaques, is about 15 minutes off it. The stops described below are on the inland road, so choosing them means the longer day. Motorway tolls, about 160-180 MAD one way (2026 estimate), are in our price.
If you want to see the country rather than cross it, this is a route worth splitting over two days with an overnight. It is also a long day for the driver, and a tired driver at the end of six hours is not what you are paying for.
When a private transfer earns its price
Four or five people change the arithmetic. One fixed price covers the whole vehicle, so a family of four pays what one person pays, and against four train tickets the gap narrows sharply.
Luggage changes it too. A train journey with a connection means moving everything you own across a platform on a schedule you do not control. With a car it goes in the boot in Marrakech and comes out in Fes.
And the stops change it most of all. Beni Mellal sits near the midpoint, the Middle Atlas is cooler and greener than anything around Marrakech, and none of that is available on a train that goes via Casablanca.
When it does not
If you are one or two people with a rucksack each and no particular wish to stop anywhere, the train wins on price and loses very little on comfort. Take it.
If you want to see Fes and come back, do not book this at all. Twelve hours of driving for an afternoon in the medina is a poor day, and we would rather say so now than take the booking. Fes is a place to go to and stay for a night or two; if you want a day out from Marrakech, the Ourika valley, Imlil or the Agafay desert are the honest answers.
Arriving in Fes
The medina is walled and cars cannot enter it. You will be set down at the gate nearest your riad, and the last stretch is on foot or with a barrow.
Tell us the name of the riad when you book. Fes is harder to navigate than Marrakech for exactly this reason: which gate is “nearest” depends on where inside the walls you are staying, and getting it wrong is twenty minutes of alleyways with a suitcase.
Practical things worth knowing
The price is for the vehicle, fixed before you travel and paid at the end — cash or card on the terminal in the car. Nothing is paid in advance and cancellation is free.
Say at the booking stage if you want to stop, and roughly where. It costs nothing and it makes the difference between a planned day and a negotiation at a lay-by.
If Fes is one stop of several — Meknes, Chefchaouen, the north — look at the multi-day driver instead of separate transfers. The daily rate falls the longer the booking runs, and the same driver and vehicle stay with you.
What's on the way
- Beni Mellal - roughly the midpoint on the inland route and the natural place to break the drive. We already price Marrakech to Beni Mellal as its own transfer, so a stop here costs time rather than a renegotiation.
- The Middle Atlas - cedar forest and a noticeably cooler, greener landscape than anything around Marrakech. On the inland route, the Cèdre Gouraud cedar forest, home to Barbary macaques, lies between Azrou and Ifrane, about 11 km (15 minutes) off the road.
- Ifrane - directly on the N8 between Azrou and Fes on the inland route, so stopping here costs no detour.
What it costs
| Vehicle | Passengers | Luggage | Total price | Per person at capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard sedan | up to 4 | 5 | €3663,990 MAD | €91998 MAD |
| Minivan | up to 8 | 10 | €3764,100 MAD | €47513 MAD |
| Luxury sedan | up to 4 | 5 | €4945,390 MAD | €1241,348 MAD |
| Luxury van | up to 8 | 10 | €4945,390 MAD | €62674 MAD |
| Minibus | up to 17 | 20 | €4945,390 MAD | €29317 MAD |
One price for the car, not per person. It covers the driver, fuel, tolls and waiting time. Prices are quoted in Moroccan dirham; the booking form above converts to your currency.
Practical notes
- One price covers the whole car, not each seat. Four people pay what one pays, which is what changes the arithmetic against the train on a route this long.
- About six hours is the driving time with no real stops. Plan the day as seven or eight if you want lunch and a walk, and say so when you book rather than on the morning.
- This is a long day for a driver as well as for you. If you want to see things on the way, a two-day booking with an overnight is a better plan than one very long push.
- Fes has a walled medina that cars cannot enter. You will be dropped at the nearest gate to your riad - tell us the riad name when you book so the driver knows which gate that is.
- The card terminal in the vehicle needs mobile coverage. This route is mostly populated country rather than desert, so card should work, but carry some cash as a matter of habit.
- There are two ways to drive it. The motorway via Casablanca and Rabat (A3, A1, A2) is about 527 km and about 5h 50 without traffic or stops, and is usually the faster. The inland N8 via Beni Mellal, Khenifra and Azrou is about 482 km and about 8 hours, through the Middle Atlas. Motorway tolls, about 160-180 MAD one way for a car (2026 estimate), are included in our price.
Questions people ask about this journey
- How far is Marrakech from Fes?
- About 520 km by road, and roughly six hours of driving without stops. It is the longest transfer we run to a major city, and it is genuinely a full day rather than an afternoon.
- Is there a train from Marrakech to Fes?
- Yes. Both cities are on the ONCF network, and this is the main difference between this route and the ones running south of Marrakech, where no railway exists at all. The journey goes north to Casablanca and then east across the country, and takes about 6 hours 30 to 7 hours. In 2026 second class was about 200-220 MAD and first class about 330-340 MAD, figures from third-party sites rather than ONCF. Some trains run direct and others need a change at Casablanca, so check the timetable for your date on oncf-voyages.ma, where fares also rise nearer departure.
- Which is better, the train or a private transfer?
- For one or two people with light luggage, the train, and we would rather tell you that than sell you a car. It is comfortable, it lands you in the middle of the city and it costs a fraction of a private car. A transfer is worth its price when there are four or more of you, when you want to stop on the way, or when moving luggage and children through a change of train is the thing you are trying to avoid.
- How much is a private transfer from Marrakech to Fes?
- The price table above shows the fare for each vehicle. It is one fixed price for the whole car, agreed before you travel and paid to the driver at the end in cash or by card. There is no deposit and no online payment.
- Can we stop on the way?
- Yes, and on a six-hour drive you probably should. Beni Mellal sits around the midpoint and the Middle Atlas is a genuinely different landscape from anything near Marrakech. Tell us what you have in mind when you book so the day is planned rather than improvised at the roadside.
- Can the driver take us on to Chefchaouen or Meknes afterwards?
- Yes. Meknes is close to Fes and Chefchaouen is further north; both are priced as their own journeys rather than added to this one. If you are stringing several cities together, a multi-day driver booking usually works out better than separate transfers, and the booking form prices it that way.
- Is one day enough to go to Fes and come back?
- No, and we will not sell it as one. Twelve hours in a car for a couple of hours in Fes is a bad day out. Fes is somewhere you go to and stay, and the transfer is a one-way journey rather than an excursion.
Book this transfer
Door to door, one fixed price, a licensed driver who knows the road.