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- Skydiving in Namibia’s Adventure Capital
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- Morocco – Everything You Need To Know Before You Go
- Essaouira- Morocco’s Surf and Art Town
- 16 Things to Do and See in Fes – Morocco’s Ancient City
- Akchour Waterfall – Morocco’s Lost Paradise
- Volubilis – Morocco’s Ancient Roman City
- A Trip to the Sahara Desert in Morocco
- Morocco 2.0 – Sometimes a Place Deserves a Second Chance
- Chefchaouen – Morocco’s Blue Pearl
- My Experience in Fes – The “Real” Morocco
- 20 Things to Do and See in Marrakesh
- 16 Fun Things to Do in Tangier
- Bungee Jumping at Victoria Falls
- Top Things to See in Botswana on a Budget
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- Top Things to Do at Victoria Falls – Africa’s Adventure Capital
- Top Things to See and Do in Namibia
- Southern and East Africa – Everything You Need To Know Before You Go
Chefchaouen is a picturesque, laid back, small town in the Rif Mountains in the north of Morocco, with a medina painted entirely in blue.
I wanted to go to Chefchaouen solely based on what I saw from pictures because blue is my favorite color. I’m a very visual person, so if I fall in love with a place after seeing a picture, that alone is enough to inspire me to go. And Chefchaouen did not disappoint. The town is so pretty! Like any medina, it’s a little confusing at first and you will get lost, but it’s much smaller, safer, prettier and less hectic than the medinas in Marrakesh and Fes. And the people are so much nicer too.
I’ve been to Chefchaouen twice and it’s extremely rare that I revisit a very faraway place twice. And I fell more in love with it the second time around. It really captured my heart and it’s now one of my favorite places.
TOP THINGS TO DO AND SEE IN CHEFCHAOUEN
EXPLORE THE MEDINA
And marvel at the 50 shades of blue of Chefchaouen.
SHOP FOR BEAUTIFUL TEXTILES, LEATHER AND TREASURES
The selection is amazing and it’s much cheaper and far less obnoxious than the cities.
VISIT THE MAIN SQUARE
Within the medina, where you’ll find lots of cafes where you can relax over a mint tea.
ENJOY THE LIVE MUSIC AT LE RÊVE BLEU (THE BLUE DREAM)
This art gallery and cafe often has great live, local music, which I highly recommend. And that’s about it for nightlife in Chefchaouen.
SEE THE VIEW/SUNSET OVER CHEFCHAOUEN FROM THE SPANISH MOSQUE
TREAT YOURSELF TO SOME TREATS FROM RIF AS-SABANIN OVEN
This bakery’s oven has been around since the 16th century and it’s still making delicious cookies. And the man working there was so sweet and cute!
VISIT A HAMMAN
Get a good scrub and a relaxing massage.
HIKING
There are many day hikes or multi-day hikes to choose from. I did a day trip hike to Akchour waterfall, which is an absolute must. This waterfall was another reason why I decided to go back to Morocco.
VISIT KEF TOGHOBEIT CAVE
The deepest cave in Morocco and one of the deepest in Africa.
VISIT MARIJUANA PLANTATIONS
If that’s your thing.
NEED TO KNOW
You can visit Chefchaouen as a day trip from Tangier, but it’s definitely worth more than a day of your time.
More Spanish than French is spoken in northern Morocco. While I had lunch in the main square in Chefchaouen, the waiter and I were switching in between English, French, Spanish and Arabic (I speak a good amount of French and Spanish, and I know a few words in Arabic) and I thought my brain was going to explode. North Africans amaze me with their language skills, which I noticed when I was in Egypt as well. They all speak 4-7 languages, and they speak them well. It’s extremely impressive.
Chefchaouen is in the mountains so it gets cold in the winter and it snows on the mountains. In 2014, I was there in early October, which was a great time to go and it was around 30C during the day. When I went back in mid-October in 2018, it was pretty cold at around 12-18C, due to a hurricane in the Atlantic.
Tourists are also attracted to Chefchaouen because it’s the centre of the marijuana plantations in North Morocco. Fun fact of the day- Chefchaouen supplies 42% of the world’s hash. But be careful because even though it’s commonplace, it’s also very illegal and you could go to jail if you are caught buying or smoking it. Sometimes locals will use this to scam tourists or even tell the police that you have it once they’ve sold it to you. That being said, it’s also very common to smoke hash, so just be smart about it.
The last time I was in Chefchaouen, bed bugs seemed to be rampant at hostels and guesthouses, so read reviews and be careful.
My first time in Chefchaouen, I stayed within the medina at Pension Souika hostel in a dorm room for about $6US per night. They also have private rooms with a shared bathroom for around $15US per night. The second time I was in Chefchaouen, I stayed in a dorm at Dar Blue Pearl for $10US/night. Both hostels were very basic, affordable and had great views of the town from the rooftops.
GET OUT
Fes – 4 hours
Tangier – 3 hour bus or 2 hour grand taxi.
Tétouan – 1.5 hours
MORE INFORMATION ON TRAVELING MOROCCO
What to Know Before You Go to Morocco
What To Know Before You Go to North Africa And The Middle East
16 Fun Things To Do in Tangier
20 Things to Do and See in Marrakesh
Akchour Waterfall – Morocco’s Lost Paradise
16 Things to See and Do in Fes – Morocco’s Ancient City
Essaouira – Morocco’s Surf and Art Town
Volublis – Morocco’s Ancient Roman City
Gorgeous!! Now I want to go just because of your pictures!
Yay! The pictures I saw of it before I went sold me on it too. It’s so pretty!
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