You can read about the full itinerary for our unforgettable 8-day trip in Morocco, through the captivating cities of Fes, Marrakech, and Tangier, here!

We did this trip relying solely on public transport to move through the beautiful landscapes of Morocco, and to try to use our time in the most efficient way. Using the local public transportation always feels like a challenge (and it is! so many websites in foreign languages, and not always easy to navigate), but if possible, it can always be a good way to go beyond your budget! Meeting some locals in the process is also one of the benefits you will get!

In this post, we will explain how to move through Morocco, what transportation options they offer, and how to book it!

Bus is, in most countries, the most extended transport infrastructure, and Morocco is not an exception to this rule. While traveling by bus might not be as comfortable as the train, it has the advantage to reaching many more destinations, since their train infrastructure is still developing.
If you want to visit places outside of the main cities and attractions, you are looking to save a few euros, or simply want to experience a more ‘local’ way of travelling, buses in Morocco are quite comfortable and reliable, taken that you can always be unlucky and end up in a delayed bus (or a very early one, like it happened to us! You can read our story in this post: Busses and Trains in Morocco – Visiting Fez, Marrakech and Tangier on a budget)

There are a few options to get ahold of your bus tickets, depending on if your priority is saving a few cents, or getting it the easy way!

• Buy it in the official Bus company’s website
  This can be challenging, since not all bus companies have a website, and the ones that do, may not be in English. If you decide to do it this way, we can recommend CTM, the Compagnie de Transports au Maroc, which proved to be comfortable and reliable in our trip.
  You can read how our experience went in in the next section!
  
• Buy online with 12go.com
  This is one of the pages you will always want to have in you Bookmarks!
  In English (and most other languages), 12go indexes bus and train itineraries for most of the countries, and it offer the option to pay with both card an PayPal, with minimal fees. This is what we usually use to book most of our train and bus trips, specially since 12go offers a very responsive customer service, which has saved us in many times!
  
• Buy online with Trip.com
  An alternative to 12go, but that offers basically the same. Which one to pick, really comes to personal preferences. They do not always index the same bus and train companies, so it is always convenient to check both, since some countries may be better covered by one platform or the other.
  

The bus company we chose was CTM, the Compagnie de Transports au Maroc, the oldest Moroccan public transport company. It offers routes to almost all major cities in Morocco, and has a loyalty program you can join ahead of your trip to start collecting points to save for discounts!
The bus journey itself, from Fes to Marrakech was quite comfortable. It made enough stops to stretch our legs and for toilet breaks.
The process of waiting for the bus at the bus station (You should try to be there at least 30 minutes early) was a bit confusing! Do not expect any of the announcements to be made in english, and most of the information will be in arab, but if you ask people, most will try to help you.

CTM’s waiting room at their bus station in Fes

We were one of the only tourists in the bus, so it does truly feel like the way off the beaten path. When we were waiting for the bus at the bus stop, it was a bit confusing, as they announced the buses in Arabic, and multiple buses were going to the same destination. But everything was fine, as the people working at the bus stop were very helpful.  
You can read more about our experience with sleeper-buses in Morocco here!

Train is a quite extended option in Morocco, specially after the new extensions to the railroad system that are currently being built (some of the lines are still unavailable as they are under construction.
In this map you can get a general idea of what are the current connections that can be done by train:

Train system in Morocco as of 2025

As seen in the map, the train connects the main destinations such as Marrakech (the capital), Fes, Casablanca or Tangier. But some other very popular destinations are yet to be connects, such as Essaouira

• Book it with the Moroccan Railways (ONCF) website
  This is the official government company that handles trains in Morocco. The booking opens 3 months before departure dates, increase from the 2 month they use to have back in 2022. The website is really easy to navigate, and you receive a pdf with a QR code as a ticket.
  This ticket should be scanned at the train station before you’re able to go onto the platform of the train station.
  If you can not access the website, sometimes, or depending on from what country you are connecting, it might be necessary the use of a VPN. This seems to be temporary, but we have encotunered this issues sometimes.
  
• Buy online with 12go.com
  Again, 12go.com is a very good and easy alternative to the official website. This is what we usually use to book most of our train and bus trips, specially because of the customer service they offer.
  
• Buy online with Trip.com
  An alternative to 12go, but that offers basically the same. Which one to pick, really comes to personal preferences. They do not always index the same bus and train companies, so it is always convenient to check both, since some countries may be better covered by one platform or the other.
  

We booked the train on the ONCF website, the national railway company of Morocco. The website is really easy to navigate, and you receive a pdf with a QR code as a ticket. This ticket will be scanned at the station before you’re able to go onto the platform of the train station.
Tickets are quite on the expensive side, but since it was a night train, we were saving on accommodation for the night.

Don’t expect too much from the trains, they are simple but more than enough. It had little rooms with six seats each, and after a few stops, we only had to share ours with an older man. It was quite difficult to sleep, and extreamly cold! So maybe think about bringin a jacket, if traveling outside of summer.
When we arrived in Tanger we were very tired and waited at the Starbucks for an hour or two before walking to our hotel in the city centre.
Still, it is a very good option to save on acomodation and add some adventure to your trip!