Chefchaouen

It's no wonder that tourists flock here — this humble town is the embodiment of almost every Moroccan cliché. The picturesque medina, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Rif Mountains, is filled with white-washed homes with distinctive, powder-blue accents, and the call to prayer rings out of several mosques around the town in chorus. If you've got a few days to relax from the rigors of travel, this is a good place to do it.

Tourism in Chaouen is also driven by its reputation as centre of the marijuana farming region in North Morocco. Drugs are widespread and somehow tolerated, but touts trying to sell to tourists are also very annoying.

Spanish and French are most popular foreign languages.

By plane:

The nearest airports are at Tangier, Fez, Rabat, and Casablanca, while some flights go to Tetouan. From these you can take intercity buses to Chefchaouen. From Casablanca it also makes sense to take the cheap high-speed train to Tangier and continue from there.

By bus:

There are frequent buses from Fez and Tetouan and also from Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes, Tangier, Nador, and Al Hoceima. Enjoy the sales pitches of vendors who come onto the bus while you wait for more passengers at major stops.

Approximate bus timetable to destinations around Morocco (as of Jan 2017):

Tetouan - five CTM buses at 04:00, 14:15, 15:15, 18:30 and 20:30; 90 min. Twelve local buses at 06:45, 08:00, 08:15, 08:30, 08:45, 09:45, 11:30, 12:30, 14:45, 16:30, 17:00 and 17:30.

Tangier - four CTM buses daily, with stopover in Tetouan; 2½-3 hr. Four Nejme Chamal buses daily: 07:00, 10:00, 14:00, 15:15 and 18:00 and one local bus at 10:45.

Rabat - one CTM bus at 07:00, 4½ hr. Five local buses daily: 06:00, 07:30, 08:15, 09:15 and 12:45; 5-5½ hr.

Casablanca - one CTM bus at 07:00 (goes to Rabat first), 6 hr. Three local buses: 06:00, 7:30 and 09:00; 6-6½ hr.

Meknes - three buses, 06:00, 14:30 and 15:30, 4 hr. In the opposite direction buses leave Meknes at 05:00, 12:00, and 24:00. The 05:00 bus is direct while the other two buses stop in Dardara, about 8 km away from the city, so you have to take a petit taxi to Chefchaouen from there.

Fez - five CTM buses: 08:00, 11:00, 12:00, 14:15 and 23:45; 4¼ hr. These buses are often booked out days in advance. Other companies' bus departs at 07:00, 08:30, 09:30, 11:45 and 12:30.

If direct buses to Fez and Tetouan are not enough. There are more local buses plying the route from Fez to Tetouan/Tangier stopping at Derdara (8 km from Chefchaouen), where you can get into one of the frequent grand taxis for 5 dirham. This avoids the long uphill walk.

Berbered and Ketama - daily buses at 08:00; 3 hr.