Marrakesh

Getting around

Your feet are the best way to get around the Medina, which is mostly closed to car traffic. Driving in Marrakesh is an extreme sport, with scooters zooming from all sides and roundabouts the meek may never escape – best to leave the driving to unfazed taxi drivers whenever possible. For day trips, you might rent a bike, car or a motorcycle.

Car & motorcycle

Car & Motorcycle Rentals

Rates for car rentals range from Dh400 (from local agencies) to Dh600+ (from multinational chains) per day; 4WDs cost Dh700 to Dh1000 with minimal insurance. An extra Dh150 to Dh250 could get you a driver, though English-speaking drivers aren’t always available.

Local Agencies

Concorde Car (024 431116; concordecar.ifrance.com; 154 Ave Mohammed V)

KAT (024 430175; 68 Blvd Mohammed Zerktouni; membres.lycos.fr/katcar)

Lhasnaoui Rent (070 959562; cnr Ave Allal el-Fassi & Yacoub el-Mansour)

National (www.nationalcar.com) Guéliz (024 430683; 1 Rue de la Liberté); airport (024 437846)

Multinationals

Avis (www.avis.com) Guéliz (024 432525; 137 Ave Mohammed V); airport (024 433169)

Budget (www.budget.com) Guéliz (024 431180; 80 Blvd Mohammed Zerktouni); Mamounia Hotel (024 440720; Bab el-Jedid); airport (024 438875)

Hertz (www.hertz.com) Guéliz (024 439984; 154 Ave Mohammed V); airport (024 447230)

^ Back to top

Bus & tram

Bus

You can’t miss the red double-decker buses of Marrakech-Tour (024 339637; www.marrakech-tour.com; adult/child day pass Dh130/65, 48hr pass Dh200/100; every 30min from designated stops), which do a circuit of major Marrakesh landmarks and allow you to get on and off where you please. Check out the Medina and Guéliz with the ‘Marrakesh Monumental’ tour, or head to the Palmeraie on the ‘Marrakesh Romantique’ bus.

Public buses leave for the Nouvelle Ville at seemingly random intervals from Place Foucault and cost Dh3. Key bus lines are:

Nos 1 & 20 Medina-Guéliz (along Mohammed V).

Nos 2 and 10 Medina-Gare Routière.

Nos 3 and 8 Medina-train station.

No 11 Medina-Menara Gardens.

^ Back to top

Local transport

Taxi

Petit Taxi

These beige compact taxis charge Dh5 to Dh15 by day for trips within Marrakesh, and slightly more at night. Check that the meter under the dash is on and at zero by day, or Dh2.40 at night. Don’t bother haggling if the meter is broken; anywhere in town should cost Dh15 max by day, or Dh25 at night.

Prime spots to catch petit taxis in the Medina include: Gare Routière in Bab Doukkala; Bab el-Ksour in Mouassine; Bab er-Rob in the Kasbah; the corner of Rue el-Koutoubia and Ave Mohammed V, opposite Koutoubia Minaret, and Ave Houmman el-Fetouaki, near Rue Bab Agnaou, in Djemaa el-Fna.

In Ville Nouvelle, the train station, the corner of Blvd Mohammed Zerktouni and Ave Mohammed V, Place de la Liberté and Place 16 Novembre, and Rue Echouhada in Hivernage are good taxi pick-up spots.

Grand Taxi

These are fancy Mercedes you’ll see near petit taxi stops and major hotels. They have no meters, and cost more than petits taxis after much haggling, but they’ll take up to six people to out-of-town destinations. You can rent them in exclusivity for Essaouira for about Dh350, the Cascades d’Ouzoud for a little less, and Ourika for between Dh150 and Dh250.

CALÈCHES

These are the horse-drawn green carriages you’ll see at Place Foucault next to the Djemaa el-Fna. One-way trips within the Medina cost Dh15; otherwise, state-fixed rates of Dh100 per hour apply. Expect a tour of the ramparts to take 1½ hours, and allow three hours for the Palmeraie. In the Hivernage, calèches linger outside major hotels along Ave el-Qadissia and Rue Echouhada.

^ Back to top