Morocco Family Adventure: From Tangier to Fes

Welcome to Tangier! Your local driver and guide will collect you from the airport and transfer you to your accommodation in the city's historic medina. Enjoy welcome tea at your riad and settle in. Once rested, explore the medina with a local guide, wandering through labyrinthine alleyways. Visit Petit Socco Square with its markets, craft shops, and cafés. Witness an exciting snake charmer performance! For panoramic views, visit the cannons at Faro Square, then treat your kids to a memorable camel ride along the beach. Explore the nearby Hercules Caves, a Neolithic site with legendary connections.

Explore the charming coastal town of Asilah, located 28 miles south of Tangier. Discover this walled city with its pristine beaches and interesting Portuguese history. Browse craft shops for family souvenirs and enjoy seasonal festivals if traveling in spring. Kids will love riding in the city's distinctively decorated horses and carriages—a perfect way to sightsee while staying cool in the shade!

Journey approximately 2.5 hours to Chefchaouen, watching flat plains transform into the rugged Rif mountains. Explore this famous 'Blue Town' founded in 1471, with buildings washed in striking blue hues. Wander through picturesque alleys blending Moroccan and Andalucian styles, converging on Plaza Uta el-Hammam and its restored kasbah. With no cars or motorbikes, children can safely explore the streets. Visit the Grand Mosque and Kasbah gardens and museums. For families with older children, take an optional guided 4-hour hike to Akchour Waterfall, watching for playful Barbary macaques and enjoying a refreshing swim.

Leave Chefchaouen for the five-hour journey to Fes, with fascinating stops along the way. First visit Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Morocco's best-preserved Roman ruins. Kids will enjoy exploring merchant homes with visible heating systems, temples, and colorful mosaics. Continue to Meknes, the imperial city of Sultan Moulay Ismail, to explore its compact medina, the 14th-century Bou Inania Madrasa, and Dar Jamaï museum. In Ville Impériale, discover gardens, palaces, the impressive Bab al-Mansour Gate, and the Royal Stables. Before reaching Fes, visit the Marinid Tombs for panoramic views of the old city.

Begin with a city tour of Fes, exploring narrow alleyways and rooftops offering views of tanneries, the world's oldest university, and craftspeople at work. See the rich historical buildings including hammams, mosques, religious schools, and mausoleums. Later, participate in a hands-on mosaic workshop where the whole family can create traditional zellige mosaics inspired by the colors and patterns of the medina—a special keepsake to take home.

Enjoy a day in nature at Ifrane National Park, home to wolves, wild pigs, birds, and Barbary macaques. Stop at beautiful Lake Daiet Aoua en route. Visit Ifrane, built by the French in Alpine style, then the ski resort of Michlifen before descending to Azrou, with a stop at the cedar forest to spot macaques. Return to Fes in the afternoon to rest before evening dinner with a local family in the medina. Learn about Moroccan culinary history while enjoying authentic home-cooked dishes and engaging conversation with your hosts.

Depending on your departure time, take a final walk through the medina for souvenir shopping. Transfer to the airport for your onward flight. Bon voyage!