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Bab Mansour, the great tiled gate of Meknes, glowing in low evening sun

Bab Mansour, Meknes · Photo: Daemon11, CC BY-SA 4.0

Morocco compared: which place suits your trip?

The choices people weigh before a Morocco trip, side by side: Fes or Marrakech, Fes or Meknes, Merzouga or Zagora, one day in Fes or two. Each ends with a plain verdict on who should choose which.

Plan my tripStart with Fes or Marrakech
  • 19 comparisons
  • Written from Fes
  • A verdict on each

Fes against the other cities

Where to spend your nights in the north: Fes, or the city people weigh it against.

Jemaa el-Fna's food stalls lit up at dusk, the Koutoubia minaret against an orange skyMarrakech or Fes?Both are UNESCO-listed imperial cities brimming with medinas, souks and centuries of Moroccan history — but they attract very different travellers.Read the comparisonThe whole of Chefchaouen spread across the hillside, seen from the Spanish Mosque hillChefchaouen or Fes?Chefchaouen and Fes are the two most visited cities of northern Morocco — one an intimate Rif mountain village famous for its blue-washed walls, the other a large imperial city with a medieval medina still lived in.Read the comparisonThe full facade of Bab Mansour in Meknes by day, people crossing the square in frontFes or Meknes?Fes and Meknes are only 60 km apart and both carry UNESCO World Heritage status as imperial capitals — yet Meknes sees a fraction of Fes's visitors and rewards those who stop.Read the comparisonTangier's white hillside city and medina above the fishing portFes or Tangier?Fes is Morocco's spiritual and intellectual heartland with a car-free medina; Tangier is a restless port city where Europe meets Africa, reborn as one of the country's most dynamic urban destinations.Read the comparisonBroad steps between palms climbing to the gate of the Kasbah of the Udayas in RabatFes or Rabat?Two of Morocco's four imperial cities, both UNESCO-listed and roughly two and a half hours apart by train — but Fes is the great medieval medina of craft and learning, while Rabat is the calm, green administrative capital on the Atlantic.Read the comparisonThe whole of Chefchaouen spread across the hillside, seen from the Spanish Mosque hillMarrakech or Chefchaouen?Marrakech is Morocco's most-visited imperial city; Chefchaouen is its most-photographed small town.Read the comparison
The full sweep of Fes el Bali from the northern hills, minarets rising from the rooftops

Fes el-Bali, the old medina of Fes.

Fes el Bali

The four questions we hear most

The short answers. Each comparison has the long one.

Marrakech vs Fes

Marrakech or Fes?

Choose Marrakech if this is your first Morocco trip and you want easy flights, nightlife and a varied food scene. Choose Fes if you want living history: the car-free medina of Fes el-Bali, its tanneries and the Marinid medersas. Many travellers see both, with three nights in Marrakech and four nights in Fes.

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Merzouga vs Zagora

Merzouga or Zagora?

Choose Merzouga if this is your first desert night, if you travel with children or older guests, or if you want comfortable camps below the high dunes of Erg Chebbi. Choose Zagora and Erg Chigaga if you want to feel remote and enjoy a rougher adventure on desert piste. A longer circuit through the Draa Valley can include both.

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The Sahara vs The Atlas

The Sahara or The Atlas?

Choose the Sahara if one moment matters most to you: a night in a Berber desert camp with dunes at the door and the Milky Way overhead. Choose the Atlas Mountains for walking, cooler air and Berber village life within an afternoon of Marrakech. On a 10-day circuit from Marrakech, you can fit in both landscapes.

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One day vs Two days

One day or Two days?

Give Fes two days if you can. One well-planned day covers the essentials of Fes el-Bali: Bab Boujloud, the Bou Inania and Al-Attarine medersas, and the Chouara tannery. A second day adds Fes el-Jdid, the Mellah, real time with artisans, or a day trip to Volubilis and Meknes. With only one day, take a licensed guide.

Read the whole comparison

Choices inside Fes

Once you have chosen Fes: which madrasa, which tannery, which quarter, how many days.

The full courtyard of the Al-Attarine madrasa: marble fountain, zellige walls and carved cedar galleriesBou Inania or Al-Attarine?The two great Marinid madrasas in the Fes medina — the grand, mosque-crowned Bou Inania with its famous water clock, and the smaller, exquisitely refined Al-Attarine beside the Qarawiyyin.Read the comparisonThe Chouara tannery in bright sun, rows of dye pits between the old tannery housesChouara or Sidi Moussa?Fes still tans leather the medieval way, and you can watch it from a shop terrace above the dye-vats.Read the comparisonA souk lane under a slatted cedar roof, textile shops on both sides, Fes el BaliThe medina or The Ville Nouvelle?The single biggest decision when booking Fes is which side of the city to sleep in — a restored riad inside the medieval medina, or a modern hotel in the French-built new town.Read the comparisonThe medina of Fes below the olive-covered hills, a tall white minaret in frontOne day or Two days?Fes can be tackled in a single packed day or unfolded over two — one races the headline sights of the medina, the other reaches the quarters, the second imperial medina and a day trip beyond the walls.Read the comparison

Across Morocco

Desert camps, coast towns and the other imperial cities.

Footprints along a sharp dune crest in Erg Chigaga, a figure resting at the topMerzouga or Zagora?Both Merzouga and Zagora offer Saharan dune experiences, camel rides and stargazing camps — but they differ significantly in scale, remoteness and what a visit looks like.Read the comparisonBlue fishing boats moored below the Skala tower and arched bridge in Essaouira harbourMarrakech or Essaouira?Marrakech and Essaouira are only 2.5 hours apart yet feel like different countries — one a frenetic imperial city, the other a wind-swept Atlantic port with a relaxed Gnawa soul.Read the comparisonBlue fishing boats moored below the Skala tower and arched bridge in Essaouira harbourAgadir or Essaouira?Both Agadir and Essaouira sit on Morocco's Atlantic coast — but one is a purpose-built resort city with a 10 km beach and the other is a UNESCO-listed medieval port with an arts scene and steady alizé winds.Read the comparisonAgadir's wide sandy beach curving toward the port and the Oufella hill under a deep blue skyMarrakech or Agadir?Marrakech is Morocco's most iconic imperial city; Agadir is its most popular beach resort.Read the comparisonThe green Imlil valley from above, earth-built villages among walnut and poplar treesThe Sahara or The Atlas?Morocco's two great natural spectacles — the Sahara's orange dune seas and the snow-capped High Atlas — offer dramatically different adventures.Read the comparisonBroad steps between palms climbing to the gate of the Kasbah of the Udayas in RabatCasablanca or Rabat?Casablanca is Morocco's economic engine and most cosmopolitan city; Rabat is its calm, leafy administrative capital.Read the comparisonSurfers waiting for waves off the rocky point and beach at Taghazout on a grey dayEssaouira or Taghazout?Essaouira and Taghazout are Morocco's two most celebrated surf and Atlantic coast destinations — one a UNESCO-listed walled city with a rich Gnawa heritage, the other a small village beloved by surfers and digital nomads.Read the comparisonA guide leading two camel riders across the golden dunes of Erg ChebbiOuarzazate or Merzouga?Ouarzazate is Morocco's film capital and the gateway to the kasbahs of the Draa and Dadès valleys; Merzouga is the door to Erg Chebbi, the country's most spectacular Saharan dune field.Read the comparisonThe full sweep of Fes el Bali from the northern hills, minarets rising from the rooftopsMorocco or Egypt?Morocco and Egypt are North Africa's two great travel destinations — one Atlantic-facing with imperial cities and Saharan dunes, the other Nile-bound with the pharaonic monuments.Read the comparison

Still torn? Tell us your dates and we'll suggest a route.

  1. Tell us what drew you in. Your dates, who is travelling and what you want to see.
  2. A person reads it. We write a day-by-day plan for your group, private or small-group.
  3. You change anything. Then we confirm the guides, drivers and riads.
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