4 min read
Marrakech or Fez: which should you fly into first?
Both work. The right answer depends on the shape of your route, not which city is 'better.'
Marrakech has more direct international flight connections, particularly from Europe, and it's the more common entry point simply because of that. It also sits closer to the High Atlas and the most-visited stretch of the Sahara at Erg Chebbi, which makes it a natural starting point for a desert-focused trip.
Fez has its own international airport with a smaller but growing set of direct routes, and starting there works well if your trip leans toward the imperial cities, the north (Chefchaouen, Tangier), or if you'd rather finish your trip in Marrakech, closer to Essaouira and the airport with the most onward connections.
For a one-way route, the kind we build often, the choice is less about which city is better and more about which end makes sense for your flights. A Marrakech-to-Fez desert crossing and a Fez-to-Marrakech version cover the same ground in reverse.
If you're genuinely undecided and your flights allow it, flying into one and out of the other avoids backtracking altogether, which is usually the more efficient choice regardless of which city comes first.
Planning around Marrakech? Read the Marrakech destination guide or see 6-Day Sahara Desert Tour: Marrakech to Fez, a sample itinerary that includes it.
A few common questions
Ready to see this in person?
6-Day Sahara Desert Tour: Marrakech to Fez
A private route over the Atlas passes and down into the Sahara, with two nights to actually sit still in the dunes instead of rushing through them. We end in Fez instead of backtracking to Marrakech, so every day moves forward.
More from the blog
Private or group: what actually changes on the road
The difference isn't comfort so much as control over the day.
By Omar Hafidi
Read article
A first-timer's route through the Marrakech medina
Where to start when every street looks the same as the last.
By Anouar
Read article
When to go: Morocco by season, region by region
The country is large enough that 'best time to visit' depends on where you're headed.
By Omar Hafidi
Read articleTours that include this
4-Day Atlas Mountains Tour from Marrakech
A short trip into the High Atlas for travellers who want mountain villages and walking trails without giving up a whole week. Based out of a valley guesthouse, with day walks between Berber villages and irrigated terraces.
4-Day Sahara Desert Tour from Marrakech
For travellers with four days, not eight. The same dunes as our longer routes, reached and left by the most direct road, with one full day to actually be there.
4-Day Marrakech to Essaouira Coastal Tour
A short trip for travellers who want the medina experience without the desert heat: two nights by the Atlantic in Essaouira, an easy two-and-a-half-hour drive from Marrakech.