Rabat + Chefchaouen — The Capital and the Blue City

Overview

Two Moroccos that few itineraries put together. Rabat first — the political capital, listed by UNESCO in 2012 as a modern capital and historic city, and by far the calmest of the imperial cities to walk. The Kasbah of the Oudayas and its blue-and-white lanes above the Bouregreg, the Hassan Tower, a minaret begun in 1184 and never finished, the mausoleum of Mohammed V with its guard of honour, and the necropolis of Chellah, reopened after restoration, where Roman Sala Colonia and a Merinid necropolis share seven hectares and the storks nest on the minaret from March to August. Nearly all of it costs nothing to enter. Then north into the Rif to Chefchaouen, founded in 1471 as a fortress against the Portuguese and swelled after 1492 by Muslims and Jews expelled from Andalusia. Three nights in the blue medina: Place Outa el-Hammam under the octagonal minaret, the kasbah of 1471 and its ethnographic museum, the spring of Ras el-Maa where the women still wash wool, and the climb to the Spanish Mosque for the finest sunset in northern Morocco. A full day goes to the waterfalls of Akchour and the natural arch known as God’s Bridge, in the Talassemtane National Park.

What Makes This Tour Special?

Rabat is the imperial city with almost no entrance fees: the Oudayas, the Hassan Tower and the mausoleum of Mohammed V are all free.
Chellah, reopened after a long restoration — a Roman city and a Merinid necropolis in the same walled enclosure, with nesting storks in spring.
Three full nights inside the blue medina, not a day trip: you photograph Chefchaouen at dawn, when the tour buses are still two hours away.
God’s Bridge, a natural stone arch reached by a three to four hour walk — the version of Akchour that a mixed group can actually enjoy.
Sunset from the Spanish Mosque, a thirty-minute climb above the medina, with the whole blue town below.
The honest history of why the town is blue — a white town that turned blue in the twentieth century — not the mosquito legend.
A stop at Ouezzane on the way, a Sufi holy town famous for some of the best olive oil in Morocco.
Two dedicated French-speaking guides and a professional photographer travelling with you throughout, plus a complete photo album.

Included/Excluded

Round-trip international flights and all private transfers, including Casablanca–Rabat
7 nights in a 4-star hotel in Rabat and beside the medina in Chefchaouen
Private air-conditioned minibus for the whole itinerary, including the Rif road
All listed excursions and entrance fees, plus a local guide for the Akchour walk
Local SIM with data, dedicated guides and a professional photographer (photo album)

Tour Plan

Day 01 Arrival in Rabat and Welcome Briefing

Your Africa Tour Travel representative greets you on arrival — at Rabat-Sale, twenty minutes from the centre, or at Casablanca with a private transfer of an hour and a quarter up the A3. After check-in we hold a friendly welcome meeting: a full day-by-day walkthrough of your programme, how each excursion works, dress code for the mausoleum, and a clear briefing on the Rif, where cannabis remains illegal for recreational use and street offers are to be refused flatly. We set up your local SIM card with data and add you to our WhatsApp group. Evening on the Bouregreg waterfront.

WELCOME DINNER

Hall du terminal de l aeroport Rabat-Sale Panorama general de Rabat, capitale du Maroc La vallee du Bouregreg entre Rabat et Sale

Day 02 Rabat — The Oudayas, Hassan Tower and Mausoleum

A full day in the UNESCO capital, and almost none of it costs a dirham. The Kasbah of the Oudayas, entered through the almohad gate of Bab Oudaia, with its blue-and-white lanes, Andalusian garden and terrace over the river mouth. Then the Hassan Tower, a minaret begun in 1184 and abandoned at forty-four metres, standing over a forest of broken columns, and facing it the mausoleum of Mohammed V with its guard of honour — shoulders and knees covered, and ask the guards before photographing. Afternoon in the medina and the carpet street of rue des Consuls.

BREAKFAST | LUNCH

Bab Oudaia, porte almohade de la Kasbah des Oudayas La Tour Hassan et les colonnes de la mosquee inachevee Le mausolee Mohammed V a Rabat

Day 03 Chellah, then North into the Rif

An early visit to Chellah, reopened after restoration: seven hectares behind a kilometre of Merinid wall, where the Roman city of Sala Colonia and a royal necropolis share the same enclosure, and storks nest on the minaret from March to August. Then the road north, about 245 kilometres and four and a half hours, with a lunch stop at Ouezzane, a Sufi holy town known for some of the best olive oil in Morocco. The last stretch climbs into the Rif, and Chefchaouen appears blue on the mountainside.

BREAKFAST | LUNCH | DINNER

Les remparts de la necropole merinide de Chellah Paysage de montagne du Rif Arrivee sur Chefchaouen, la ville bleue adossee au Rif

Day 04 The Blue Medina and the Kasbah

Chefchaouen was founded in 1471 as a fortress against the Portuguese, and filled after 1492 with Muslims and Jews expelled from Andalusia — which is why the medina is built like a Spanish hill town. We start early, before the day visitors arrive, on Place Outa el-Hammam beneath the octagonal minaret of the Grand Mosque, then the kasbah of 1471 with its Andalusian garden, ramparts and ethnographic museum. Your guide will tell you the real story of the blue: a town that was white in the photographs of the 1920s and turned blue during the twentieth century.

BREAKFAST | LUNCH

Ruelle entierement peinte en bleu dans la medina de Chefchaouen La place Outa el-Hammam et la kasbah La kasbah de Chefchaouen, forteresse de 1471

Day 05 Ras el-Maa and Sunset at the Spanish Mosque

Ten minutes uphill from the square, the spring of Ras el-Maa bursts out of the rock and falls in steps along the medina wall — it has supplied the town since 1471, and in the morning the women still come to wash wool and carpets there. It is a working space, so we ask before photographing. The afternoon is free in the weavers' quarter and the souk, and towards evening we climb the last twenty minutes to the Spanish Mosque for the best panorama in northern Morocco. Head torches for the way down.

BREAKFAST | DINNER

La source et les cascades de Ras el-Maa Escaliers et murs bleus fleuris de la medina Panorama sur la ville bleue depuis les hauteurs

Day 06 Akchour and God's Bridge

Thirty-eight kilometres of mountain road, about forty-five minutes, into the Talassemtane National Park — 58,950 hectares protecting the last great stands of the endemic Moroccan fir. We walk to God's Bridge, a natural stone arch over the river: three to four hours there and back, moderate, within reach of anyone in normal condition. Those who want more can push on towards the Grande Cascade. Picnic by the water, closed shoes with grip essential.

BREAKFAST | LUNCH | DINNER

La grande cascade d Akchour Cascade et vasque naturelle sur le sentier d Akchour Gorges boisees du parc national de Talassemtane

Day 07 Back to Rabat — Medina, Museums and Farewell

Early departure south, four and a half hours with a stop, and back into the capital. The afternoon is given to the medina of Rabat — compact, flat and refreshingly free of touts — the Museum of History and Civilisations, and the potters' complex of Oulja across the river in Sale, where you can watch the wheel turn and buy straight from the workshop. Farewell dinner and screening of your photo report.

BREAKFAST | DINNER

Ruelle commercante de la medina de Rabat Musee de l Histoire et des Civilisations a Rabat Boutique d artisanat marocain

Day 08 Departure

A final Moroccan breakfast, then a private transfer to your departure airport, with photos and a personal album to treasure. A reminder from your guides: dirhams cannot legally leave Morocco beyond a small allowance, so change any surplus before check-in and keep your original exchange receipts.

BREAKFAST

Hall des departs d un aeroport Boeing 737 de Royal Air Maroc au decollage Boeing 787 Dreamliner de Royal Air Maroc