A Weekend from Fes, Off the Beaten Path
Two days, two real trips, Fes as your bed both nights: Meknes and Volubilis (with Moulay Idriss folded in) on day one, Ifrane and Azrou’s wild Barbary macaques on day two. Nothing here needs an overnight bag. Add a third day for Sefrou in the 3-day itinerary , or see the 7-day itinerary for the full five-trip loop, Chefchaouen and the Sahara included.
Book these before you go: a riad room in Fes el-Bali , a Meknes and Volubilis day tour , and a Middle Atlas day tour , since both fill up in the spring and autumn high season.
| Day | Focus | Travel time from Fes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meknes, Volubilis, Moulay Idriss | ~1h to Meknes by train; +30-40min on to Volubilis/Moulay Idriss |
| 2 | Ifrane, Azrou cedar forest (Barbary macaques) | ~1.5-2h each way by car or tour |
Day 1: Meknes, Volubilis, and Moulay Idriss
Take the ONCF train from Fes Ville to Meknes , 45 minutes to an hour for around 18-26 MAD, cheaper and calmer than negotiating a grand taxi at 7am. Meknes’ own medina and Bab Mansour gate are worth an hour before moving on. From Meknes, a chartered grand taxi covers Volubilis and Moulay Idriss together, roughly 400-500 MAD for the whole vehicle, agreed before you get in.
Volubilis costs 70 MAD to enter, no advance booking, and opens 8am-6pm (5pm in winter); a licensed guide at the gate runs 200-300 MAD per group for about 90 minutes and is worth it for the mosaics alone. Book the whole day as one guided tour if you would rather not chain three separate rides together.
Is Moulay Idriss worth the extra 10 minutes past Volubilis?
Yes. It sits barely 3km from the Volubilis gate, and it is a living hilltop pilgrimage town, not another ruin, once closed to non-Muslim overnight visitors and now fully open to day visitors. The Archaeological Site of Volubilis itself has held UNESCO status since 1997, and pairing it with Moulay Idriss is the difference between a ruins stop and an actual sense of place.
Back in Fes by early evening; dinner at your riad or a quiet spot near Bab Boujloud beats trying to plan a third stop.
Day 2: Ifrane and the Azrou cedar forest
Ifrane sits roughly 1.5-2 hours from Fes by car or tour, an alpine-chalet town nicknamed Little Switzerland that looks nothing like the rest of Morocco, snow and all in winter. From there it is a short hop to Azrou’s cedar forest.
Do the Azrou macaques actually show up?
Yes, reliably. Barbary macaques are resident year-round in the Azrou cedar forest, not a rare sighting dependent on luck, and most visitors see a troop within the first 20 minutes of walking the forest paths. Book a Middle Atlas day tour if you would rather not drive the mountain roads yourself.
Keep small MAD bills on hand for both days; grand taxis and roadside stalls outside Fes rarely take cards, and the dirham is a closed currency you can only get once you have landed in Morocco.