Chefchaouen Day Trips

Visiting Chefchaouen is top of the list for most travellers visiting Northern Morocco. Its charming blue buildings, narrow streets and famous medina attract visitors from around the world. With affordable accommodation and good restaurants, it would be a shame to miss out on a day trip in Chefchaouen while you are in Northern Morocco.

This article will use real, up-to-date prices obtained from various sources. I will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the different ways to get from Tangier to Chefchaouen to help you make an informed decision.

Chefchaouen Day Trip: Transport

There are two types of public taxis in Morocco: petit taxis and grand taxis. What is the difference?

Petit taxis are great for hopping around the city, but they are not allowed to leave the city perimeter. Petit taxis are widely available, but they are small, so if you are travelling in a group, it might be necessary to go in more than one taxi. However, in terms of taking a day trip to Chefchaouen, we are more interested in grand taxis. These taxis are bigger than the petit ones, and are used for transport between cities. They are often a cream colour, like the one shown in the picture to the right of this text. Generally, in a grand taxi, you only pay for your seat rather than the entire vehicle. This means that you will share the vehicle with other customers and may have to wait until all the other seats are occupied. Grand taxis can hold 6 passengers, so it can get a bit tight, especially on long journeys. Of course, you can always purchase all of the seats in the vehicle, but this is more expensive.

When taking a grand taxi from Tangier to Chefchaouen, it is important to remember that you must change taxi in Tetouan. Tetouan is located about halfway between Tangier and Chefchaouen. You will have to negotiate a price from Tangier to Tetouan, and then another price in another taxi from Tetouan to Chefchaouen. Each journey takes about 45 minutes – 1 hour. If you can speak Arabic, it will probably be much easier to negotiate a lower price. French is helpful, but since it is widely-spoken by tourists, it could be more difficult. Spanish is not widely-spoken and won’t be very helpful in this situation. English isn’t widely-spoken either, so if you don’t already speak French or Arabic, you should learn some French phrases to help you negotiate and explain where you want to go.

As a company, we offer private excursions and private transfers from Tangier to Chefchaouen. We also offer Chefchaouen day trips, which include an air-conditioned vehicle and English-speaking driver. If you would like to visit Tetouan during your trip as well, you can add this as an extra during the booking process.

If you are travelling during a public holiday, be prepared for higher grand taxi prices due to increased demand.

Bear in mind that the address system isn’t very good in Morocco and some streets do not have names. It is possible that your hotel is on one of these streets with no names, so it would be useful to bring a map where you can pinpoint the hotel and show it to the driver. Place names and street names can vary between French, Arabic and Berber, so it can sometimes be confusing. Luckily, you shouldn’t have much trouble getting around on your Chefchaouen day trip, because it is quite a small town.

Chefchaouen Day Trip: Public Taxi Prices

If you are taking a grand taxi, the cost will depend on whether you are purchasing a seat or renting the whole taxi. In general, however, it is difficult to give an accurate price because the price you end up paying will depend on a range of factors, perhaps most importantly your negotiation/language skills. However, using reports from the internet and our experience, we will try to give you a picture of the price you can expect to pay when taking a taxi from Tangier to Chefchaouen. Remember that these prices are the total prices excluding tip for a day trip to Chefchaouen, and that you must change taxi in Tetouan. 

Tangier City to Chefchaouen, entire taxi (one-way): 600dhs 700dhs (about €65)
(Updated 8th May 2016 following reports from travellers) 

Tangier Airport to Chefchaouen, entire taxi (one-way): 800dhs (about €75)

Tangier City to Chefchaouen, entire taxi (day return): 1200dhs (about €112)

These prices are excluding tip, but should include everything else. Bear in mind that you may have to pay more for the driver to wait for you while you do your Chefchaouen day trip (i.e. waiting time). This should only be between 100-200dhs extra, at the most. Also bear in mind that these prices are a guide, and the price you negotiate will depend on your negotiation skills and the driver.

Chefchaouen Day Trip: Excursions with TangierTaxi

If you are looking for a private and convenient way to get directly from Tangier to Chefchaouen, we offer private transfers and private excursions in modern, air-conditioned vehicles with English-speaking drivers. Our friendly driver will pick you up from your hotel or chosen address, and drop you off directly at your destination address. Here are our current prices for Chefchaouen taxis and Chefchaouen day trips:

Tangier Area to Chefchaouen (one-way): from €89

Tangier Airport to Chefchaouen (one-way): from €89

Tangier Area – Chefchaouen (day return): from €105

To book your Chefchaouen day trip, just use the search form at the top of this page on the right-hand side, and follow the instructions.