Marrakech Airport to Marrakech Medina Private Transfer

The drive from Marrakech Airport to the medina

Marrakech Menara Airport (RAK) sits 6 km south-west of the old city. The car leaves the terminal, passes the Menara gardens and follows Avenue de la Menara straight towards the Koutoubia minaret. In normal traffic you reach the ramparts in about 15 minutes. Early evening is the slow period: allow up to 25 minutes when the avenues around Jemaa el-Fna fill up.

Where the car stops: gates, not doors

Most of the medina is closed to cars, and its lanes are too narrow for one anyway. Your driver takes you to the gate or square closest to your riad:

• Bab Doukkala for riads in the north-west, around Dar el Bacha.
• Bab Laksour for Mouassine and the lanes west of the souks.
• The Koutoubia side of Jemaa el-Fna for addresses around the square, which is itself closed to traffic.
• Bab Agnaou or Place des Ferblantiers for the Kasbah, the Mellah and Riad Zitoun.

From there a porter with a handcart carries the bags, usually for a small tip in dirhams, and many riads send someone to walk you in. Give us the riad's name and phone number when you book: the driver calls ahead so someone is waiting at the gate. Our guide to how riad drop-offs work in the medina covers the last few hundred metres.

Arrival tips and timing your return flight

Keep a few coins or small notes ready for the porter.

For the flight home, plan to be at the terminal 2 to 3 hours before an international departure. Add the walk from your riad to the gate, often 5 to 10 minutes with bags, and book the pickup at the gate where you were dropped. Staying in the new town instead? See the airport transfer to Gueliz and Hivernage.