Chefchaouen is a city that every traveller should visit once in their lives, that’s because it’s blue. You might be wondering, what do you mean by that? I mean, the houses are blue, the floors are blue basically the whole town is blue. The locals even have an annual painting day to keep it that way. No one is exactly sure why it was painted blue in the first place. Some people say it’s to keep the mosquitoes away, and some say it was painted blue by the jews when they were fleeing from Hitler in the 1930s.
But all I know is that this town is really cool. After spending five nights in Chaouen, as the locals call it, my mom and I really got to see and do all the things that this place has to offer, so here is my ultimate guide to visiting Chefchaouen.
Getting there
Chefchaouen does not have an airport, so it’s a little more difficult to get to than other cities in Morocco. But then again, it’s a very popular destination and people are trying to get there everyday, so there’s tons of transport options. Depending on where you’re coming from you could take the bus, taxi, or rent a car and drive to Chefchaouen. If you decide to rent a car, be careful on the road, it can get a little crazy. From Tangier, there are bus companies that take groups of people to Chefchaouen. We were going to take the CTM bus from Tangier that leaves at 12:30 everyday with a group of others also headed to Chefchaouen for only $8 per person!
Now I said we were going to take the bus, but getting off the ferry in Tangier there was a man who persuaded us to taxi all the way for 600 MAD/moroccan dirham ($82 CAD) as he kept saying that the bus is 5 hours to get there, but the taxi only takes 2. When we arrived in Chefchaouen, he charged us 700 moroccan dirham instead of 600, and we were a little annoyed. Also we later found out that the bus was only a 2 and a half hour bus ride, but oh well. You will probably have some people hassling you to take a taxi, or something like that, but I suggest you go for the bus because it’s way cheaper, and it doesn’t take that much longer.
Tip: When you arrive locals will be asking if you need help to your hotel, or riads. If you want their help, you are welcome to say yes, but once they help you to your place, they’ll want a tip. A good tip would be around 50 moroccan dirham. If you don’t need help though, make that clear so they don’t follow you and keep asking. You have to be firm with the locals if you don’t want their help or else they’ll keep asking you until you crack.
Shopping
The main tourist attraction is the town itself, being blue. Most people spend all of their time in Chefchaouen exploring through the medina. You’ll find shops everywhere you walk, and lots of people. The vendors will probably try to get you to go into their shops and sell you something. Although sometimes people will ask where you’re from, want to chat and are pretty friendly. Most of the shops have traditional moroccan clothes and slippers, purses, sheep skin ottomans, handmade moroccan blankets and powdered paint. Don’t forget to bring a camera, as exploring through the medina is where you’ll find some of the best picture spots!
Have change: Most places don’t take credit card in Chefchaouen. There are a few bank machines that you can go to and get some cash out. A lot of the shops in the market don’t have change, and they’re always asking for smaller bills. So if you have the option to take out small change, do it! Also once you get out moroccan dirham, you cannot exchange it to any other currency, so you’ll have to spend it in Morocco.
Always bargain: People say that in Chefchaouen, prices are good and you shouldn’t bargain, but don’t listen to that. You can buy pretty much everything for a cheaper price than what they ask. If you ask to pay less than half what the person wants, they will go down in price. We found that we would say a price, but they would offer something higher, and when we’d say no, and start to leave, then they would agree to our original asked price.
Where to eat
Moroccan food is delicious! We were very pleased with the meals we got. There are plenty of great restaurants in the main medina area. You’ll be able to eat for around 50 MAD per meal. We spent $25 a day for 2 of us on average for food. That’s really cheap! In moroccan food you’ll find a lot of dishes with chicken, lamb, couscous, bread and cooked vegetables.
If you’re looking for something a little more healthy or vegan, Hamsa is a cool little modern restaurant with a view of the Rif mountains. They have lots of freshly pressed juices, and great meals with vegetarian and vegan options. You can find lots of fresh juice shops and bakeries throughout the medina. If you’re traveling on a budget or you want some real, homemade moroccan dishes, try to eat outside of the main touristy medina. You’ll be able to find things for a lot cheaper, although it is already quite cheap.
Tea: No visit to Chefchaouen is complete without having their famous mint tea! Chaouen locals drink it all the time, and it is served at pretty much every restaurant you’ll come across.
Where to stay
There are tons of great places to stay in Chefchaouen. Most of them are pretty cheap too. A Riad is a very popular type of place to stay at because it’s a traditional moroccan house with lots of rooms. These houses are kind of like a townhouse with rooms surrounding a small court yard. Riads commonly have fountains in the middle and gardens throughout. You can find Riads in Chefchaouen from $30-$200 dollars for one night. We stayed at this great place called Usha guest house for $80 a night and that was a room with two beds and a bathroom.
Hiking
One of the most common things to do in Chefchaouen is to hike up to the spanish mosque to get a view of the entire city. What a lot of people don’t know is that the hike goes farther to another Mosque, then it does a loop around the mountains. We met a lady who did the whole thing in around 4 hours. You can also take a day trip to Rif Mountains, normally with a guide or group.
Animals
You’ll come across lots of stray cats (and some dogs) in Chefchaouen. These cats are very small, and very used to tourists. If you’re at an outside restaurant you’ll have to watch out, because the cats will probably try to get food from you. Normally they’ll just sit below you, meowing for food, but sometimes they’ll jump up onto your chair or lap and slowly make their way closer to your plate. Just swat them away, or tip the chair over. Although these cats can be aggressive when it comes to food, most of them are actually very sweet.
Weather
Chefchaouen weather is generally a hot place, but in the winter it can get down to 3 degrees at night and 15 in the day. From May to October, weather is hot ranging from 23 to 32 degrees! Personally if you want good weather, but also to avoid some of the crowds, the spring or autumn months are best (April, May and October).
Though being there in November was a bit cold, it was quite a lot sunnier than we thought. Most people stay in Chefchaouen for one or two nights. We were there for 5 nights! We thought it was normal to be there that long… but it was good! After the first two days you get over taking a million pictures, and you can really enjoy the beauty of this town. We even got into some long conversations with some of the locals, and I played a song on the uke at a juice stand! Overall spending 5 nights in this town was a great experience! To see more pictures from our trip check out my Photography page.
