Chefchaouen & Tangier – 9-Day Morocco Trip (Part 4/4)

Morocco has been the most magical trip I’ve had so far. It’s special in many ways and no doubt will now forever hold a special place in me. We started with Marrakech and made our way up to Fez via the Sahara Desert, then made it to Chefchaouen and lastly Tangier. It’s been an absolute journey, to say the least. Following part 1, part 2, and part 3 of this series, we’ve now come to the last leg of this trip at Chefchaouen and Tangier.

Here is our itinerary:


Chefchaouen (1 Day)

Very often, Instagram and reality don’t match up. But Chefchaouen was one of the rare ones that lived up exactly to Instagram expectations. In fact, it has actually become my most favourite city of the trip. It’s not just the different shades of blue at every corner, but also its vibe, the intimate setting of the medina, and its stunning landscape that took my breath away.

Morocco continued to amaze me as Chefchaouen was vastly different from Marrakech and Fez. Each city has its own unique charm and this one spoke the most to me. It was simply impossible to not love Chefchaouen.

Day 8

We spent a pretty leisure breakfast at our riad in Fez before heading out to Chefchaouen. I booked the car via our riad too and everything was set up nicely for us.

Barrage El Wahda

The Barrage El Wahda in Morocco

From Fez, it’s a scenic ride towards the famous blue city of Chefchaouen. Over the three-hour ride, we made a brief stop at the Barrage El Wahda, which is the largest dam of Morocco and second-largest in all of Africa.

Then right before we enter the heart of Chefchaouen, we also made a quick viewpoint stop that overlooks the whole of the blue city.

The Blue City

The Blue City of Chefchaouen in Morocco

Once we arrived, we first checked into our hotel, Residence Hoteliere Chez Aziz, before wandering off to explore. The main difference of Chefchaouen’s medina versus both Marrakech and Fez’s is that it’s not as packed and much more chilled! Instead of being haggled left, right, and center, you can totally just stroll around in peace at Chefchaouen.

Every corner was literally in this pretty shade of blue and highly Instagrammable. Literally, I couldn’t stop clicking my camera for every step and my camera roll just ended up full of blue photos!

The Blue City of Chefchaouen in Morocco

The photo above was one of the most popular photo spots in Chefchaouen. Whilst I bookmarked this background on my Instagram, we weren’t particularly set on finding it. Honestly, the random streets etc were all picturesque enough that I really didn’t care about chasing after any specific photo spots. But we completely stumbled across this one by accident. You do have to pay a small fee to take pictures – it’s got props and everything nicely set up for you. Worth it though!

The Blue City of Chefchaouen in Morocco

Apart from the pretty blues, another thing I love about Chefchaouen was the easy navigation. After Marrakech and Fez, it felt so good to not have to strain our brains for direction. It’s not as big as the medinas of Marrakech & Fez’s too so even if you do get lost, it’s much easier to find your way again.

Might I also add that food was significantly cheaper at Chefchaouen as well? We popped by a random restaurant we walked past in the medina and it’s so cheap that we went with an extra chicken tagine after having a full meal.

The Spanish Mosque

Remember the couple we met in Fez mentioned in the last post? They had just come from Chefchaouen so we asked for a few recommendations from there. The number one recommendation from them both was the Spanish Mosque.

The Spanish Mosque is situated at a hilltop of the city right outside the medina. Following the main flow of tourists, we managed to find the pretty waterfall and the little trail up to the hilltop. By the time we reached there, it was the perfect golden hour. In addition to that, there were a few hippie-looking locals giving a little music performance there. We danced to the music for a bit, swayed and twirled around whilst bathed in the golden rays of the sunset. The sunset was gorgeous and the view was absolutely breathtaking.

It was right this moment that Chefchaouen has completely stolen my heart.

Plaza Uta el-Hammam

Coming down from the Spanish Mosque and weaving through the medina once again, we found ourselves following the cobbled streets and arrived at the main square of Chefchaouen, named Plaza Uta el-Hammam.

The square was lined with cafes and restaurants. Since it’s near dinner time, it was buzzing and it reminded me of Mediterranean vibes. We picked a random spot for dinner. Unfortunately, the food was a bit underwhelming which I’m not going to mention more of it here.

Tangier (1 Day – unplanned)

We stayed overnight at Chefchaouen and planned to make our way to the Tangier airport early in the morning to fly back to London. Our hotel kindly arranged a taxi for us to get to the airport.

As we arrived at Tangier, unfortunately, we were informed that our flight was delayed for at least 8 hours (turned out to be 12 in the end). With all the free time on hand, we dropped our luggage at the airport and had an impromptu unplanned time exploring a little of Tangier.

Day 9

Masjid Al-Minaa

Golden Arches of the Masjid Al-Minaa of Tangier, Morocco

We hopped onto a taxi and asked the driver to take us to the city centre. Instead of Moroccan or French, be prepared to use Spanish here as Tangier is just opposite to Gibraltar of Spain!

After some quick lunch, we first wandered off towards the port and it’s unmissable to see the Masjid Al-Minaa. The mosque was an absolutely spectacular sight, featuring a striking white-and-gold facade with its golden arches glistening under the sunlight.

Kasbah

Coffee at Salon Bleu in Tangier, Morocco

From there, we found a route to hike up to the Kasbah. We first started with grabbing coffee at Salon Bleu, having managed to snatch a rooftop seat to enjoy the view.

After coffee, we wandered off the check out the area. The area follows a white-washed colour theme that somewhat reminded me of a bit of Balearic Spain. Well, you are actually able to spot Spain across the ocean so it makes a lot of sense as well as the Spanish-speaking part. Compared to all the other destinations we stopped during this trip across the country, Tangier has been the least ‘Moroccan’ and most different. The layout and architectural styles at Tangier showcase a more European influence and it’s truly fascinating to have witnessed all the various architectural styles across the country throughout this trip.

Kasbah of Tangier, Morocco

All in all, Tangier was a pretty chilled city – not as hectic as both Marrakech & Fez, and no crazy narrow mazes. We didn’t do a huge amount, given we’re totally unprepared for this city. Moreover, we were certainly starting to feel rather tired of constantly being on the go for the last week. So, eventually, we grabbed a cab back to the airport, waited for even longer due to delays, and finally came home to London.


Just like that, our 9-Day Morocco Trip has come to an end. For all the places I’ve travelled to so far, Morocco has really left an impression on me and it’s been a truly unique experience that I could never forget. If you haven’t been to Morocco before, I highly recommend you to add this on your travel list!

Hope you enjoyed this 4-part travel diaries to follow through our Morocco trip. Let me know if you’d like to see more travel content like this!

Marrakech – 9-Day Morocco Trip (Part 1/4)

Morocco has been the most magical trip I’ve had so far. It’s special in many ways and no doubt will now forever hold a special …

Sahara Desert Tour – 9-Day Morocco Trip (Part 2/4)

Morocco has been the most magical trip I’ve had so far. It’s special in many ways and no doubt will now forever hold a special …

Fez – 9-Day Morocco Trip (Part 3/4)

Morocco has been the most magical trip I’ve had so far. It’s special in many ways and no doubt will now forever hold a special …

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