Fes Plus Day Trips in 2 Days on a Budget
Two days, two real day trips, zero time left for Fes itself
Base yourself in Fes and spend both days out: Meknes and Volubilis on Day 1, Ifrane and Azrou’s cedar forest on Day 2. This plan skips the city entirely on purpose, since 2 days isn’t enough for both the medina and its day trips honestly. Want Fes itself instead? The Fes 2-day budget itinerary covers that version; add the 4-day plan here if you want both.
| Day | Focus | Time/cost from Fes |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Meknes medina, Bab Mansour, Volubilis ruins, Moulay Idriss | ~1-1.5 hrs each way, ~40-110 MAD round trip |
| Day 2 | Ifrane chalets, Azrou cedar forest, Barbary macaques | ~1.5-2 hrs each way, ~500-700 MAD chartered taxi or ~€45-60pp tour |
Book these before you go:
- Meknes and Volubilis day tour : worth it on a 2-day trip since it removes the taxi-negotiating step entirely.
- Riad rooms in Fes on Booking.com : book before you land, both nights are spent here.
Day 1: Meknes and Volubilis by train and taxi
Take an early ONCF train from Fes Ville to Meknes, 45 minutes to an hour, roughly 30-90 MAD one way. Spend the morning at Bab Mansour and in the Meknes medina, itself carrying its own UNESCO listing . After lunch, take a shared grand taxi (roughly 10-20 MAD per seat) or charter one for the round trip (roughly 400-500 MAD for the car, split among your group) out to Moulay Idriss and the Archaeological Site of Volubilis , Morocco’s best-preserved Roman ruins. Catch an evening train back to Fes for dinner.
Day 2: Ifrane and Azrou, the Middle Atlas on a day trip
Ifrane sits 1.5-2 hours from Fes and looks nothing like the rest of Morocco, alpine chalets and (in winter) actual snow. A chartered grand taxi for the day runs roughly 500-700 MAD for the vehicle, cheaper split three or four ways; a shared-group tour runs roughly €45-60 per person including transport and lunch. Push on 20 minutes further to Azrou’s cedar forest for the resident Barbary macaques, a near-guaranteed sighting rather than a lucky one. Head back to Fes for the evening; this is a full day, not a rushed half one.
Is 2 days enough for Fes day trips?
It’s enough for exactly these two trips and nothing else. You’ll see Meknes, Volubilis, Ifrane, and Azrou properly, but you won’t set foot in the Fes medina beyond your riad and the taxi rank. If you want both the city and its day trips, you need at least 4 days; treat this 2-day version as a dedicated add-on trip for a traveler who’s already covered Fes on an earlier visit.
How much does a 2-day Fes day-trip itinerary cost?
Figure 900-1,300 MAD ($97-140) total for a solo traveler: two riad nights at 250-400 MAD each, the Meknes train and taxi legs, and a chartered or shared-tour day out to Ifrane and Azrou. Splitting the Ifrane charter with other travelers or booking the shared-group tour instead of a private car is the single biggest lever on that number.
Check the official Morocco tourism site before you go for any seasonal notices on Volubilis or the Middle Atlas roads. Keep small MAD bills on hand for both taxi legs; drivers on these routes rarely carry change for a large note.