Best day trips from Fes: the complete guide
What are the best day trips from Fes?
The four best day trips from Fes are: Volubilis and Meknes (Roman ruins + imperial city, 1 hr), Chefchaouen (3.5 hr, blue city), Ifrane and Azrou (Middle Atlas, cedar forest, monkeys, 1 hr), and Moulay Idriss (sacred pilgrimage town, 1 hr). All are manageable in a single day with organised transport or a rental car.
Fes as a base: what the location gives you
Fes is the most historically dense city in Morocco and the one that most readily absorbs multiple days within its own medina walls. But its geographic position in north-central Morocco also makes it an excellent base for day trips in multiple directions: west toward Meknes and the Roman ruins at Volubilis, north toward Chefchaouen in the Rif, south into the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, and east toward the Ziz Valley.
This guide covers the four primary day trips from Fes, with honest detail on driving times, transport options, and what to prioritise at each destination.
1. Volubilis, Moulay Idriss, and Meknes — the essential day trip
Distance: 60 km to Meknes, 90 km to Volubilis
Travel time: 1 hour to Meknes, 1.5 hours to Volubilis
Best for: History enthusiasts, photographers, anyone with interest in the Roman world
This is the strongest single day trip from Fes in terms of the quality and variety of what you see. The combination covers three distinct and complementary destinations in a logical circuit:
Volubilis — Morocco’s UNESCO-listed Roman ruins in an extraordinary landscape setting. The mosaics, the triumphal arch, and the scale of the excavated city provide the historical highlight of the day. Allow 2–2.5 hours on site. Read the Volubilis destination guide for what to see in detail.
Moulay Idriss — The sacred hilltop pilgrimage town 4 km from Volubilis, built around the tomb of the founder of the Moroccan state. The view across the valley from the terraces is excellent, and the town’s market quarter gives a genuine sense of Moroccan religious and commercial life without tourist infrastructure. Allow 1–1.5 hours.
Meknes — One of Morocco’s four imperial cities, founded by Sultan Moulay Ismail in the 17th century and built on a scale designed to rival Versailles. The key sights — Bab Mansour gate, the Heri es-Souani granaries, the medina — can be covered in 2–2.5 hours. Meknes is consistently less crowded and more relaxed than Fes.
The full circuit (Fes → Meknes → Volubilis → Moulay Idriss → Fes) covers around 200 km of driving but the roads are excellent and the routing is straightforward.
Book the Fes to Volubilis, Moulay Idriss and Meknes day tripFor those who want the Fes-Meknes circuit only (without Volubilis), the shorter version is a half-day option.
Two-day option: Extending to an overnight in Meknes or Moulay Idriss and continuing to Chefchaouen on day two is one of northern Morocco’s best two-day routes.
Book the 2-day Volubilis, Meknes and Chefchaouen tour from Fes2. Chefchaouen — the blue city from Fes
Distance: 200 km
Travel time: 3.5–4 hours by bus, 3 hours by car
Best for: Photography, medina exploration, Rif mountain scenery
Chefchaouen is technically feasible as a day trip from Fes — the bus takes 3.5–4 hours each way, leaving approximately 3–4 hours on the ground in the blue city. This is not enough to do Chefchaouen justice (the magic is in early morning light and the Akchour waterfall hike, both of which require an overnight), but if your schedule genuinely precludes an overnight stay, a day trip is better than not going at all.
The organised day tour from Fes to Chefchaouen is the most efficient way to do this — departing early, arriving by mid-morning, and returning in the evening.
Book the Chefchaouen day trip from FesWhat to prioritise on a day trip: The upper medina for photography (arrive early), Plaza Uta el-Hammam and the kasbah museum, and the Spanish mosque viewpoint — 20 minutes’ walk above the medina — for the panorama over the blue city. Skip the lower souk in favour of more medina walking time.
Better approach: If possible, travel to Chefchaouen as a two-night stop between Fes and Tangier rather than a day trip. See the Chefchaouen destination guide for what to do with more time.
3. Ifrane, Azrou, and the Middle Atlas — cedar forests and monkeys
Distance: 70–100 km south of Fes
Travel time: 1–1.5 hours
Best for: Nature, families with children, escape from city heat
The Middle Atlas south of Fes is Morocco’s most European-looking landscape — a high plateau of cedar forests, oak woodland, and mountain lakes that sits at 1,500–2,000 m and feels entirely unlike the rest of the country. Two towns anchor the region:
Ifrane: The “Switzerland of Morocco” — a planned colonial town built by the French in the 1930s as a mountain resort, with chalet-style architecture, a central park, and a lake. Genuinely unusual and worth seeing for the architectural contrast alone. Ifrane is also the site of Al Akhawayn University (a US-accredited English-language institution), which explains the cosmopolitan flavour of the town centre.
Azrou: A Berber market town 25 km south of Ifrane, set in the heart of the cedar forest. The primary draw is the cedar forest itself — the massive Cèdre Gouraud cedar south of town (reputedly 800 years old and 42 metres tall) is a pilgrimage site for Moroccan families, and Barbary macaque monkeys are present in reliable numbers in the trees above the road. The macaques are wild, habituated to humans, and entertaining — the most reliable family-friendly wildlife experience in Morocco.
The Middle Atlas is also home to the Michlifen and Jbel Hebri ski areas, operational in winter, and a series of volcanic lakes (Dayet Aoua, Dayet Ifrah) that are excellent for birding in spring.
Book the Middle Atlas, Ifrane and Monkey Forest day trip from Fes Book the full-day Middle Atlas adventure from FesBy bus/taxi: CTM or Supratours to Ifrane (1.5 hr, 35–40 MAD). Azrou is a further 25 km by grand taxi or local transport. Self-drive is significantly easier for covering both towns plus the forest area.
Best time: Spring (March–May) for green forest and wildflowers. Winter for the novelty of snow-capped cedars. Avoid August when the Ifrane area is crowded with domestic tourists escaping the coastal heat.
4. Rissani and Merzouga — long day, deep desert
Distance: 350 km south
Travel time: 4.5–5 hours by car
Best for: Desert dune photography, those connecting to Sahara tours
Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi dunes are technically reachable as a very long day trip from Fes — a 4.5-hour drive each way with 3–4 hours at the dunes. In practice, this is a transfer rather than a day trip: most travellers use Fes-Merzouga as the first leg of a Merzouga-Marrakech desert tour rather than attempting to return to Fes the same day. If your itinerary runs Fes → Sahara → Marrakech, the Fes-Merzouga leg works well as a one-way journey with an overnight in the desert.
The route via Midelt, Erfoud, and Rissani is one of Morocco’s most scenic drives — High Atlas passes giving way to the Ziz Valley’s palm groves before the desert terrain flattens into pre-Saharan reg. Worth doing slowly with stops.
Day trip comparison: which one first?
If you have only one day available for a day trip from Fes, the choice is straightforward:
For history and architecture: Volubilis-Meknes circuit. The Roman mosaics at Volubilis and the scale of Bab Mansour in Meknes are the two most impressive individual sights available within a day trip of Fes.
For natural beauty and photography: Chefchaouen (if you can leave early and accept a rushed day) or the Middle Atlas cedar forest (if you want reliability and family-friendly activity).
For something truly different: Middle Atlas — the cedar forest, the macaques, and the unexpected Swiss-Morocco hybrid of Ifrane form a day that surprises almost everyone who does it.
Transport from Fes for day trips
Organised tours: The most practical option for Volubilis-Meknes and Chefchaouen, where the combination and the guide add real value. Several reputable tour operators run from Fes’s central hotels and the CTM station area.
Grand taxis: Good for Meknes alone (1 hr, around 35 MAD per seat from the main Fes taxi stand). Less practical for Volubilis from Fes without your own vehicle, as the Fes-Meknes-Volubilis combination requires multiple taxi legs.
Rental car: The best option for the Middle Atlas circuit (Ifrane-Azrou-Monkey Forest) and for independent travellers on the Volubilis-Meknes loop. Car rental in Fes is available from the airport and from agencies near the new town (Ville Nouvelle). Allow 350–500 MAD per day for a basic vehicle.
CTM buses: Connect Fes to Meknes (45 min, frequent departures) and to Ifrane (1.5 hr). Less useful for Volubilis and Chefchaouen day trips.
Practical tips for day trips from Fes
Start early: The Fes medina streets near the taxis and buses are congested in morning rush hour (7:30–9 am). Aim to depart by 7 am for the longer trips.
Fes summer heat: July and August are extremely hot in Fes — the Medina can reach 40°C. Day trips to the Middle Atlas (1,500–2,000 m elevation) or north to Chefchaouen provide welcome relief.
Medina morning visits: If you’re spending the day on a Fes excursion, you miss the medina’s best morning hours (7–10 am). Consider a morning medina walk before departing at mid-morning for closer destinations like Meknes.
Meknes restaurants: Lunch in Meknes is reliably affordable and good quality. Place el-Hedim has several traditional restaurants with terrace views. The medina restaurants are aimed at locals (good) rather than tourists (also good for pricing — set menus around 60–80 MAD).
Volubilis sun exposure: The site has zero shade — a hat, sunscreen, and 2 litres of water per person are essential from April onward.
For the full Fes destination guide including medina navigation and where to stay, see Fes. For Chefchaouen and Volubilis destination pages with detailed what-to-see guides, follow those links.