Fes Plus Day Trips in 5 Days on a Budget
Five days: three day trips, then an honest overnight to Chefchaouen
This is the 4-day plan plus the trip most Fes-based itineraries fake: Chefchaouen. It’s 4.5 hours each way by CTM bus, so this plan gives it the overnight it actually needs instead of pretending it fits in an afternoon. Days 1-3 repeat the 4-day itinerary ’s spine exactly; only Days 4-5 are new. Want a rest day added to this same plan? The 6-day version tacks one on at the end.
| 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 |
| Day 3 | Sefrou medina and Mellah, half day | ~30-40 min each way, ~20-30 MAD shared seat |
| Day 4 | Travel to Chefchaouen, overnight | ~4.5 hrs each way, ~150-180 MAD CTM bus |
| Day 5 | Chefchaouen morning, return to Fes | ~4.5 hrs return |
Book these before you go:
- Meknes and Volubilis day tour : removes the taxi-rank negotiating on Day 1.
- CTM bus tickets for Day 4: departures run roughly every 4 hours, book ahead rather than risk the next slot filling.
- Riad rooms in Fes on Booking.com : 3 nights here, plus 1 in Chefchaouen booked separately.
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. Morning at Bab Mansour and the Meknes medina, then a shared grand taxi (roughly 10-20 MAD per seat) or a chartered round trip (roughly 400-500 MAD for the car) out to Moulay Idriss and the Archaeological Site of Volubilis . Evening train back to Fes.
Day 2: Ifrane and Azrou, the Middle Atlas on a day trip
Ifrane, 1.5-2 hours out, runs alpine-chalet architecture and genuine winter snow; Azrou’s cedar forest 20 minutes further has resident Barbary macaques. Charter a grand taxi for the day (roughly 500-700 MAD) or book a shared-group tour (roughly €45-60 per person). Back to Fes for the evening.
Day 3: Sefrou, then rest before the Chefchaouen leg
Sefrou is a 30-40 minute grand taxi ride, roughly 20-30 MAD shared or 120-200 MAD chartered. Its walled medina and historic Mellah take half a day; the Cherry Festival runs mid-June and is UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage-listed. Be back in Fes by early afternoon and rest, since tomorrow is a longer travel day than any so far.
Day 4: Travel to Chefchaouen, an honest overnight
Book the CTM bus, 4 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours 45 minutes, roughly 150-180 MAD (about $16-19) one way, with departures roughly every 4 hours. Spend the afternoon and evening in the blue-washed medina; this is not a rushed stop, it needs the full evening and next morning to make the bus ride worth it. Book a room here for one night, separate from your Fes riad.
Day 5: Chefchaouen morning, then back to Fes
Use the morning for whatever you didn’t see the evening before, then catch a CTM bus back to Fes in the early-to-mid afternoon so you’re not arriving late. Have dinner back at your riad or a casual Fes medina restaurant; you’ve earned a low-effort evening after two consecutive travel days.
Is 5 days enough for Fes plus Chefchaouen?
Yes, if you accept Chefchaouen gets one overnight and nothing more. You’ll cover Meknes, Volubilis, Ifrane, Azrou, Sefrou, and a genuine (if brief) taste of Chefchaouen. What doesn’t fit is the Sahara, a separate 2 to 3 day tour that would push this trip to 7-plus days if you tried to add it here.
How much does a 5-day Fes-based itinerary cost?
Figure 2,600-3,300 MAD ($280-355) total for a solo traveler: four Fes riad nights plus one in Chefchaouen, the Meknes train and taxi legs, an Ifrane and Azrou charter or tour, the Sefrou taxi, and the CTM bus both ways. The CTM ticket and the Chefchaouen room are the two costs worth booking ahead rather than showing up and hoping.
Check the official Morocco tourism site before you go for current notices on Volubilis and the Middle Atlas roads. Carry small MAD bills for every taxi leg; drivers on these routes rarely carry change for a large note.