Traslado privado de Essaouira Airport a ChefchaouenLuxury Travel

The Essaouira Airport–Chefchaouen transfer covers 735 km in about 9 hours. It links the Atlantic coast with the Rif mountains by way of Safi, El Jadida and Nouaceur (skirting Casablanca), and it is priced per vehicle from €428, so a family or group pays the same as one traveller.

Who makes the Essaouira Airport to Chefchaouen trip

Almost everyone booking this leg has just landed at Essaouira Airport. ESU arrivals are few and cluster on specific days, so pre-booking a car matters more here than at a busy hub. Chefchaouen is the destination because visitors come for photographs in the blue lanes, hikes to the Spanish Mosque and Akchour's waterfalls, and a slower mountain pace. After a flight, 9 hours is a long time to spend in a car, so it pays to pick the roomier vehicle class and ask the driver to stop once or twice — the fare does not change.

The road from Essaouira Airport to Chefchaouen

Mogador Airport is 17 km south-east of the town, just off the road towards Agadir. North of Essaouira the road crosses the Had Draa farmland and then follows the coast past Souiria Kdima's beach into Safi. Between Safi and El Jadida the R301 follows the coast past salt pans, market gardens and the Oualidia lagoon, famous for its oysters. From El Jadida the A1 runs north past Azemmour, then a bypass through Had Soualem avoids Casablanca and leads straight to the airport at Nouaceur. From Mohammed V a motorway bypass skirts Casablanca's eastern edge and joins the coastal A3 to Rabat, avoiding the city traffic. North of Rabat the A1 passes Kenitra and the Loukkos plain by Larache, with the painted seaside town of Asilah just off the motorway before Tangier. From Tangier the road crosses to Tetouan's white medina, then climbs south into the Rif through green valleys to Chefchaouen. Good places to break the drive: an oyster lunch at Oualidia, the Oualidia lagoon and Asilah's painted medina.

Arriving in Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen is the blue-washed mountain town of the Rif, its medina of indigo lanes climbing the slope below two peaks, with a kasbah and a spring-fed river at the top. Cars cannot enter the medina. Drop-off is at Plaza Outa el-Hammam's lower gate, Bab el-Ain, or near the hotel district on the ring road; lanes are steep, so pack light or let the riad send help.

Should you split the journey?

At 9 hours this is a full day in the car. We run it in one day for anyone who wants that — with breaks every two hours or so — but many travellers prefer to split it. The natural halfway point is Rabat: Rabat is a calm capital for a night, with the Kasbah of the Udayas at sunset. Book two one-way legs and the driver meets you again the next morning.

Before you go

Cold and wet in winter at 600 m altitude; spring wildflowers and autumn light are the best times. From Chefchaouen, the Akchour waterfalls and God's Bridge are 45 minutes into the Talassemtane park. The return leg, Chefchaouen to Essaouira Airport, has its own page and the same per-vehicle pricing.