Blue City and Atlantic Edge — Chefchaouen, Tangier and Asilah

Your northern Morocco adventure begins with a pickup from your hotel or riad in Fes — if your accommodation is inside the medina and vehicles cannot access it, we will arrange a meeting point just a short walk away. Your dedicated local driver and tour companion will take you west through the dramatic Rif Mountains on an approximately 3-hour drive to one of the most iconic and photographed cities in all of Morocco — Chefchaouen.

Nestled in the folds of the Rif Mountains at over 600 meters above sea level, Chefchaouen is a city unlike any other in Morocco. Its medina of blue-washed alleyways, archways, staircases and flower-filled squares seems to glow with an otherworldly light — a place that has been drawing artists, photographers and travellers from around the world for generations. Founded in 1471 by Moorish and Jewish exiles from the Iberian Peninsula, the city carries its history in every painted wall and carved doorway.

Your companion will guide you through the winding streets of the old medina — past the central Plaza Uta el-Hammam with its ancient mosque and kasbah, through the covered souks of hand-woven textiles, leather goods and local crafts, and into the quieter quarters where the blue walls are at their most beautiful and the atmosphere most serene. You will have free time to explore, photograph, shop and enjoy the extraordinary atmosphere of this remarkable city.

You stay overnight in Chefchaouen — one of the most magical and atmospheric towns in all of Morocco. Dinner is included this evening.

After breakfast your companion drives you north through the Rif Mountains and down to the coast — approximately 2 hours to Tangier, the legendary port city that has sat at the meeting point of Europe and Africa, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, East and West, for over two thousand years.

Tangier is unlike any other Moroccan city — cosmopolitan, layered, literary and endlessly fascinating. It was the city of Paul Bowles and William Burroughs, of the Beat Generation writers who came here in the 1950s and found a world of extraordinary sensory richness. It was an International Zone for decades — governed jointly by multiple foreign powers — and that history of openness and cosmopolitanism still runs through its streets today.

Your companion will guide you through the highlights of the city — the ancient medina and kasbah perched above the port with views across the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain, the Grand Socco and Petit Socco squares that have been the social heart of Tangier for centuries, the legendary Café de Paris where spies and writers once met over coffee, and the clifftop Cap Spartel where the Atlantic and Mediterranean officially meet and the famous Cave of Hercules opens into the sea.

You stay overnight in Tangier. Dinner is included this evening.

After breakfast your companion drives you south along the Atlantic coast approximately 45 minutes to Asilah — one of the most beautiful and perfectly preserved small coastal towns in Morocco and one of the least visited by international tourists, making it a true hidden gem.

Asilah is a whitewashed Atlantic medina enclosed within 15th-century Portuguese ramparts, its walls looking out directly over the ocean. The town is famous throughout Morocco for its extraordinary tradition of outdoor murals — every summer during the Asilah Arts Festival, artists from around the world paint the walls of the medina, creating a constantly evolving outdoor gallery that makes every visit different from the last. The blue and white streets, the ocean air, the Portuguese towers and the unhurried pace of life make Asilah one of the most charming and romantic places on the entire Moroccan coast.

Your companion will guide you through the medina, along the ramparts above the Atlantic and through the gallery-lined streets before you enjoy lunch at a seafood restaurant overlooking the ocean — lunch is at your own expense and your companion will recommend the best spots.

From Asilah your companion begins the return journey to Fes — approximately 4.5 hours with comfortable stops along the way — arriving in the early evening and dropping you off directly at your hotel or riad.