Marrakech vacation guide
Welcome to Marrakech vacation guide
The name Marrakech originates from the Amazigh (Berber) words mur (n) akush, which means “Land of God.” It is the third largest city in Morocco after Casablanca and Rabat, and lies near the foothills of the snow capped Atlas Mountains.
The city is divided into two distinct parts: the Medina, the historical city, and the new European modern district called Gueliz or Ville Nouvelle. The Medina is full of intertwining narrow passageways and local shops full of character. In contrast, Gueliz plays host to modern restaurants, fast food chains and big brand stores.
Get in
By plane
Marrakech-Menara Airport. Marrakech has an international airport with direct scheduled flights coming in from London and Paris and many charter flights arriving from all over Europe. If you are flying from the US, Canada, Asia or elsewhere, you’ll have to change planes in Casablanca.
Plenty of low cost companies now fly to Marrakech. Some companies fly to Casablanca, where a plane change for the 45 minute flight to Marrakech can be made.
From the UK, Easyjet flies to Marrakech from Gatwick Airport (and also from Madrid). Ryanair has direct flights from London Luton and Bristol to Marrakech. They also fly from from Frankfurt-Hahn (Germany) Alicante (Spain) and Girona (Barcelona) to Marrakech. Thomson Airways travels from London Gatwick and Manchester. British Airways and TUIfly no longer fly to Marrakech, Atlas Blue, an offshoot of Royal Air Maroc flies in from several European cities and often has very low cost fares.
From inside the country, you can take Royal Air Morocco , with flights from Agadir, Casablanca (daily), Fez (daily), Ouarzazate, Al Hoceima, and Tangier.
Money exchange and ATMs in the airport
The Arrivals hall at Terminal 2 has a money changing outlet and an ATM. Terminal 1 has two money changing outlets in the Arrivals hall and one in Departures. If you find the money changing outlet closed when you arrive, it’s worth taking the short walk across the car park to the other terminal. On ATMs, check for the Maestro, Cirrus or Plus logos to be sure that the machine accepts foreign credit cards. Beware as some of the ATMs work only in French. If your card is taken at the ATM, tell airport security and they can help you get it back.
With cash in hand, you’re ready to go!
Get in
The airport is located about 6km (4 miles) from the city. The best option, if you don’t have too much luggage, is to take a bus (line 19), but if you’re up for a local challenge after your long journey, choose a taxi and let the bargaining begin!
On foot
If you don’t have too much luggage then it’s perfectly possible to walk from the airport to the Medina. There is a footpath alongside the road all the way and the minaret of the Koutoubia mosque provides an excellent landmark to head towards.
By bus
The No 19 Airport express bus is DH 20 for a single trip or DH 30 for round trip (if the return trip is within 2 weeks of initial purchase). It serves all the major hotels and is a great way to go from the airport to the hotels. You can easily find its departure stop, to the left of the road immediately outside Marrakech airport’s Arrivals Hall, after the taxis.
There is also a local bus, No 11; it runs irregularly but should only cost about DH 3 for the ride.
By taxi
The airport is located about 6km (4 miles) from the city, which is about a 10-15 minute taxi ride. If you decide to leave from the airport by petit taxi, make sure to have the driver use his meter or, better yet, agree on the price beforehand. As you exit the airport terminal, there is a sign which actually gives you an idea of how much the taxi ride should cost. However, whether you can convince or bargain with the driver to use these prices is another matter as it depends on the number of taxis and potential passengers around. Essentially, you should pay no more than DH 100 from the airport to the center of the city during the day and DH 150 at night for a petit taxi. The petit taxi’s are hatchbacks and generally they take a lower price than the larger grand taxi’s. As a guide for using taxi services in Morocco, you should approach the taxi, tell the driver where you want to go, and how much you will pay. If the driver doesn’t accept, just move on to the next driver.
If you are travelling from the airport to somewhere further afield (such as Essaouria), your hotel or guest house may be able to arrange a grand taxi to pick you up at the airport and charge a fixed price for the journey. Grands taxis are generally more expensive than petits taxis, but more comfortable especially when you have luggage. It also avoids hassle, as it’s not always easy to haggle with a taxi driver after staggering off a long plane ride half-asleep.
Several international rental car companies are based at the airport as well.
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