Chefchaouen, the Blue Pearl of Morocco, has topped my list of places to see for quite some time now. I've been mesmerized by the beautiful blue buildings, small streets, and colorful culture that Chefchaouen provides. As a photographer, it's one of those dream places that you really cannot take too many photos of. Walking through the blue streets, I had to stop myself and soak it all in from time to time. It's truly one of the most gorgeous cities I've seen in person.

Getting to Chefchaouen from Fes?

We took a 4 hour private car from Fes, Morocco on a sunny January day to get to Chefchaouen. I know, I know -- 4 hours in a car doesn't sound ideal. However, I'd do it a 100x more to see this gorgeous city wedged between the Berber villages and Atlas Mountains.

We booked the car last minute (rookie mistake) through our hotel and it was 140 euro round trip. The van was large and fit 6 people, so if you split it between a group it would be super affordable.

The ride was beautiful, you make your way through the different towns and villages then up and over the mountains. We stopped along the way for a quick lunch in a local village and had fresh Moroccan bread with goat cheese, delicious.

We also had to sip on a fresh mint tea along the way, because what's Morocco without drinking 6 cups of tea a day?

Navigating the City

Upon arrival in Chefchaoeun, our driver gave us most of the day to explore freely, we just had to meet him back by 6 p.m. to go back to Fes. We didn't plan to hire a private tour, but a friendly shop owner offered to show us the most "instagram worthy photos in Chefchaouen". Of course, we knew we'd need to pay him afterwards. The city is full of tiny streets, shops, and children running in every direction. It looks like a magical place to grow up in.

Hire a Local Tour Guide

Since we'd already spent our first hour getting lost and not knowing where to go, we took the shop owner up on his offer. He showed us parts of the city we would have never discovered. A few being the Spanish Mosque, Old Medina, and gorgeous alley ways that we could have easily missed. We paid him 20 euro for his full day of help and he was pleased.

Weather in Chefchaoeun

During January the climate is quite mild and comfortable. Granted, a few days before we arrived they had some unusually frigid days and snow in the mountains. We had sunshine and the highs were in the 60s. Morocco can be excruciatingly hot in the summer months, so I would recommend visiting in late winter, spring, or fall. We particularly enjoyed going in January because it was a lot less crowded and we had the town to ourself.

Top Things to Do

Explore the Old Medina
Hike to the top of the Spanish Mosque
Buy a rug at one the shops in the Souks
Sip a fresh mint tea at a roof top restaurant
Take photos, take more photos

A friend asked me while visiting if Chefchaouen was "as pretty in person", and that was a totally fair question. How often do you travel somewhere and think that pictures make it look a little more special than it actually is? Well, Chefchaoeun is quite the contrary -- photos do not do this little Blue Pearl justice one bit. It's even more extraordinary when you're surrounded by the 50 shades of blue and smelling the Moroccan air.