Getting Around Marrakesh: A Practical Guide
Marrakesh is Morocco's fourth-largest city and its most visited destination, and its transport network reflects that dual identity: a modern, sprawling city wrapped around an ancient, tightly packed medina. For a visitor, the practical reality is that you will move between two very different worlds — the car-friendly districts of Guéliz and the newer city, and the pedestrian-only lanes of the old fortified medina. Understanding which modes serve which areas is the key to getting around without stress.
How Tourists Move Around the City
Marrakesh has no metro and no tram. Getting around relies on a mix of walking, taxis, buses, and — for longer journeys — trains. The city's layout shapes everything: the medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site packed with vendors, stalls, souks, and historic sites, and most of it is simply not drivable. The newer districts outside the old walls, such as Guéliz, are laid out on a conventional street grid where vehicles work normally.
In practice, visitors tend to walk within the medina and the areas immediately around it, and take taxis or buses for anything further out. The main railway station sits in the Guéliz district on Avenue Hassan II, which makes it a useful anchor point for the modern city.
Rail: The Train Station and Intercity Connections
Marrakesh is served by Marrakesh railway station, which connects the city to Casablanca and northern Morocco. It is the southernmost stop on the Moroccan rail network — there is no train line further south. If you want to head onward to the desert, the Atlas Mountains, Agadir, or Essaouira on the coast, you will need a bus, a rental car, or a grand taxi instead.
Trains from Casablanca, Rabat, and Tangier connect Marrakesh with most domestic rail destinations in the country. Services between Marrakesh and Casablanca — including the stop for Casablanca's international airport — run regularly, arriving roughly every two hours, with regular service from other destinations such as Rabat as well. Journeys from Tangier can be made either by day train, which requires a change partway through the journey, or by night train, which runs straight through. Sleeper cars are available on the night trains for an extra charge.
One practical note: Moroccan trains do not have restaurant cars. A snack trolley makes the rounds with sandwiches, soft drinks, and coffee, but bringing some food for the journey is not a bad idea. Stops in Casablanca and Rabat are usually long enough to grab a bite in the station en route.
At the station itself, be aware that some taxi drivers will offer their services inside or just in front of the station, usually without using the meter and asking for a much higher fare than the metered rate to Jemaa el-Fnaa. Ignore them and hail a taxi on the main road instead, or simply offer a reasonable fixed price upfront and take the first driver who accepts.
Buses and Other Public Transport
Marrakesh has a local city bus network. Fares on local buses are low and uniform, and drivers can give change. Two city bus routes, the #11 and #12, run from different suburbs, meet at the airport, and continue to the long-distance bus station at Bab Doukkala, also stopping at Jemaa el-Fnaa. They stop on Avenue Gnassa, the main road near the airport, a short walk from the terminal — an option best suited to travellers with convenient luggage.
For intercity travel, Marrakesh has a main intercity bus station in the Al Azzouzia area, which replaced the former Gare Routière at Bab Doukkala; all public intercity bus departures and arrivals have been transferred there. The station has ticket offices and dedicated bus platforms, with urban transport and taxis available for access to other parts of the city.
Two private bus companies operate their own terminals near the train station. Supratours buses depart from just southwest of the train station. CTM operates a separate bus station one block south from the Supratours station, next to the train station, where you can buy tickets in advance. The CTM offices are generally better organised than at the main bus station, and there are no people trying to push you toward a particular bus company. CTM also has an office at the long-distance bus station if you simply want to buy tickets in advance or check schedules.
As with the train station, taxis waiting in front of the CTM station are known to be operated by dishonest drivers who will charge far more than the metered fare to the main square. You can ignore their pushy approach and loudly offer a reasonable fixed price — usually someone will accept — or walk a short distance up or down the road and hail a taxi there.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Petit taxis are the workhorse of short trips around Marrakesh. The metered fare between the train station or the CTM bus station and Jemaa el-Fnaa is modest; if you want to avoid any discussion, offer a slightly higher round figure upfront and take the first taxi that accepts. The same approach works at the bus stations.
Ride-hailing apps are also part of the picture. Apps such as InDrive can hail unofficial taxis, often for slightly less than a metered or negotiated fare, and are payable in cash.
At the airport, taxi pricing works differently from the rest of the city: prices directly from the airport are fixed, and you pay in advance — by card or cash — after entering your destination at a machine, receiving a ticket with the assigned taxi number. A much cheaper alternative is to walk across the parking lot to the road and hail a taxi there, which gets you a far better price per vehicle. Be aware that some taxi drivers at the airport will approach arriving passengers and try to convince them to take a taxi instead of the bus, sometimes resorting to lies such as claiming the bus is not running or only comes once an hour. Do not listen to them.
Walkability
Walking is the natural way to experience the medina, which is a dense, historic quarter full of souks, the Jemaa el-Fnaa square, the Kutubiyya Mosque, and many other historic and cultural sites. The old city's layout dates back centuries, and its narrow lanes are not designed for vehicles, so on foot you will often be faster than any car.
Outside the medina, walking is feasible in the newer districts, but distances between the medina, Guéliz, and other areas are long enough that most visitors combine walking with taxis or buses. The minaret of the Koutubiyya Mosque is a useful landmark for orienting yourself — it is visible from a distance and can help you head in the right direction.
Walking is even a viable option from the airport to the medina if you are travelling light, though it is a long walk of an hour and a half to two hours. There is a footpath alongside the road the whole way, and you can break the trip with a visit to the Menara gardens, which lie between the airport and the city.
Getting from the Airport into the City
Marrakesh Menara Airport (RAK) is the city's airport, with two terminals housed in one complex. Both terminals have money exchange offices, and there is an ATM in the arrivals hall of Terminal 2. On ATMs, check for the Maestro, Cirrus, or Plus logos to be sure the machine accepts foreign credit cards; some ATMs work only in French. If your card is taken by an ATM, tell airport security and they can help you get it back. There are no potable water dispensers after the security check, and the small shops sell only overpriced small water bottles, though the tap water in the washrooms is drinkable for tourists.
For some airlines, you can only check in via smartphone or mobile app but must still arrive at the airport with a print-out of your ticket. You also need to queue at the check-in counter before entering the security check — even if you have no luggage to drop off — to get your ticket stamped by the airline, so it is worth arriving earlier than usual.
Once you land, you have several options for reaching the city:
- Airport shuttle bus (L19): A great way to get from the airport to the medina area. The departure stop is right outside the terminal — exit the arrivals hall at Terminal 2, and to your left you will see the parking area; walk into it and continue across all the taxis to the end, close to the exit, where there is an area with a black bus sign. The bus leaves the airport every 30 minutes between 06:00 and 23:30. It passes Jemaa el-Fnaa and the main bus station, with only a couple of stops along the way, most notably the Menara Mall. The whole trip takes 15–20 minutes. You can see the route and departure times in Google Maps.
- City buses #11 and #12: These run from different suburbs, meet at the airport, and continue to the long-distance bus station at Bab Doukkala, also stopping at Jemaa el-Fnaa. They stop on Avenue Gnassa, the main road near the airport, a short walk from the terminal. This is the cheapest option and best suited to people with convenient luggage. Fares are the same as all local buses, and the driver can give change.
- Petit taxi: The city centre is a short ride away. Prices directly from the airport are fixed: you pay in advance (card or cash) after entering your destination at a machine and receive a ticket with the assigned taxi number. Walking across the parking lot to the road and hailing a taxi there will get you a much better price per vehicle.
- Ride-hailing: Apps like InDrive can hail unofficial taxis for slightly less than the official airport taxi price, payable in cash.
- Hotel or riad shuttle: Many hotels and riads offer a shuttle service for around €15 per person. The advantage is that you avoid the hassle, and the driver will lead you all the way to your lodging even if the car cannot drive right up to it. The downside is that you may have to wait a while for all your fellow passengers to get out of the airport.
- Rental car: Several international rental car companies are based at the airport.
- On foot: If you do not have too much luggage, it is possible to walk from the airport to the medina, though it takes an hour and a half to two hours. There is a footpath alongside the road the whole way, and the minaret of the Koutubiyya Mosque provides an excellent landmark to head towards. You can break the trip with a visit to the Menara gardens, which lie between the airport and the city.
Whichever option you choose, the airport is close enough to the city that the transfer is quick — the main decision is between convenience and cost, and the shuttle bus and city buses offer a good middle ground for most visitors.