Marrakech is the whole length of the country away from Tangier, roughly 580 km from the Strait of Gibraltar to the edge of the Atlas. It is a real journey, not a day trip. Here is what each option costs, how long it truly takes, and the mistake I see visitors make most often.
See the Tangier Full Day Tour
Guests ask me this question every week, usually the evening before they leave. I am a licensed Tangier tour guide and I have sent people south by every method there is. The short answer is to take the train, unless a direct flight happens to fall on your date at a good price. The longer answer is that a lot of visitors should not make this trip at all, and I explain why further down.
Tangier to Marrakech: Every Option Compared
| Option | Time | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Train, changing at Casablanca | 5.5 to 6.5 hours | About 400 MAD in second class | Most travellers. Comfortable and frequent |
| Direct flight | 1 h 15 in the air, about 4 hours door to door | Varies a lot with the date | The few days a week it operates |
| CTM coach | 9 to 11 hours | 220 to 340 MAD | The tightest budgets |
| Driving yourself | About 6 hours of driving | Fuel plus roughly 200 MAD in tolls | Road trips with stops along the way |
| Private driver | About 6 hours direct | Per car, not per person | Families, luggage, stopping in Rabat or Casablanca |
The Train, and the Change at Casablanca
The Al Boraq runs south from Tanger Ville. It stops at Casablanca, and a second train takes you on to Marrakech.
Trains leave from Tanger Ville station, right in the centre of town. The Al Boraq high speed train reaches Casablanca Voyageurs in about two hours and ten minutes. From there an Al Atlas train continues to Marrakech in roughly three hours. With the connection, the whole trip usually lands between five and a half and six and a half hours. Some departures are sold as a single through journey, so you book once and simply change platforms.
- Book on the ONCF website or at the station counter. Weekend trains fill up
- Second class costs around 400 dirhams in total, first class around 550. First class on the Al Boraq is worth the difference in summer
- Check the connection time at Casablanca when you book. Some are fifteen minutes, some are over an hour
- Take a morning departure. Arriving in an unfamiliar medina after dark is nobody’s idea of a good start
- Marrakech station is in Gueliz, about 3 km from Jemaa el Fna. Take a petit taxi and ask for the meter
The Al Boraq does not reach Marrakech yet. The extension south is under construction and is not expected to open before 2029, so if anyone promises you a two hour high speed ride to Marrakech, they are describing a train that does not exist yet.
The One Direct Flight
There is a single direct route between the two cities, flown by Ryanair a few days a week, and it takes about an hour and fifteen minutes. On the right date it can be cheaper than the train. Before you book, add up the rest of the day: Tangier Ibn Battouta airport is around 15 km outside the city, you need to be there well before departure, and Marrakech Menara airport is another taxi ride from the medina. Door to door you are looking at roughly four hours, and only on the days the flight operates.
If you are flying, my guide to getting to and from Tangier airport has the current taxi prices so you are not overcharged on the way out.
The Bus, and Driving Yourself
CTM runs a long coach south, usually one departure a day, taking nine to eleven hours with stops and costing between 220 and 340 dirhams. It saves you very little against a second class train ticket and costs you most of a day, so I only suggest it when the trains are sold out.
Driving is straightforward. The A1 motorway runs all the way from Tangier through Rabat and Casablanca to Marrakech, the surface is good and the service stations are frequent. Budget around 200 dirhams in tolls and about six hours behind the wheel. What I tell guests is this: if you have just crossed on the ferry from Spain that morning, six more hours of driving is a lot of day to spend on a motorway.
Use Your Tangier Day Before You Leave
Here is the pattern I see constantly. People arrive from Spain in the afternoon, sleep one night, and catch the early train south having seen nothing of the city they landed in. Tangier is not a transit lounge. It has the Kasbah above the old port, the medina, Cap Spartel where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean meet, and the Caves of Hercules on the coast road. One full day covers all of it comfortably, and then you get on the train with something to remember.
Tangier Full Day Private Tour
From 75 euros per person, private tour
- Pickup from your hotel, riad, the port or the airport
- Kasbah and medina with a licensed local guide
- Cap Spartel and the Caves of Hercules
- Camel ride on the Atlantic beach
- Six to eight hours, at your own pace
Should You Go to Marrakech at All?
This is the part most travel sites will not tell you, because they are not standing in front of tired visitors at the end of it. Marrakech is wonderful. It is also very far from here, and the trip costs you the better part of two days once you count both directions. What you do next depends entirely on how long you have.
If you want the northern version instead, I have written out the route in my northern Morocco itinerary, and the Tangier to Fes guide covers the first leg south in detail.
Breaking the Journey in Rabat and Casablanca
The souks are the reward at the end of the road south.
Rabat and Casablanca both sit directly on the route, which is the one real advantage a car or a driver has over the train. Instead of six hours of motorway you get two capitals and a coastline, and you still reach Marrakech for dinner.
I run this route as a private journey, and the same road covers my imperial cities tour from Tangier if you would rather be driven the whole way than manage connections with luggage.
Frequently Asked Questions
About five and a half to six and a half hours by train, around six hours of driving by car, nine to eleven hours by coach, and roughly four hours door to door on the days the direct flight operates.
Most journeys involve a change at Casablanca Voyageurs, although several are sold as a single through ticket so you only book once. The Al Boraq high speed train covers the first leg as far as Casablanca.
Expect around 400 dirhams in second class and about 550 in first class for the full journey, depending on the departure and how early you book. Tickets are sold on the ONCF website and at the station.
Yes, one route flown a few days a week, taking about an hour and fifteen minutes. Check the dates carefully, because outside those days a connecting flight takes longer than the train.
No, and I would not let a guest try. It is around 580 km each way, so a day trip means twelve hours of travel for a few hours in the city. If you only have a day to spare, Chefchaouen, Tetouan or Asilah are far better uses of it.
Before the Long Ride South
Give Tangier one proper day and you will leave knowing why people stay. Tell me your dates and I will build the day around your train or your flight.
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