Marrakech in a day from Sidi Kaouki: leave after breakfast, back for the sunset

Marrakech is 195 km and about 2 h 35 from Kaouki Hill in Sidi Kaouki, near Essaouira — a full day: leave after breakfast, souks by eleven, dinner back on the hill. We get asked this by almost everyone who lands at Marrakech, and by a good number who land at Essaouira and feel they ought to see the red city while they're in the country. The answer is yes, once, as a day trip. Marrakech is not a base for the coast, and the coast is not a base for Marrakech; it's a day, and this is how we spend it.

Can you do Marrakech in a day from Sidi Kaouki?

Yes, if you accept the arithmetic. 195 km each way and about 2 h 35 each way, so a bit over five hours in a car, which is the price of a day in Marrakech from the Atlantic. The breakfast basket arrives around 9 am; eat it, and go. From our gate the last 1 to 2 km are dirt track down to the beach road, and after that it's the road east.

"Sleep on the hill. Go everywhere. Come back for the sunset." That's the whole plan, and Marrakech is the far end of everywhere.

What to do in Marrakech in one day

Jemaa el-Fna at lunch, with the souks around it, is the morning and the middle of the day. You'll have been in the souks since eleven if you left on time, and the square is where you stop when you've had enough of them.

The Majorelle garden after. It's the quiet half of the day, and it's the right order: souks while you've got energy, garden when you've run out.

Then the car, and the drive back west. The noise stays there. That's the point of doing Marrakech from here rather than the other way round: by the time you've turned off the beach road onto our track, the last streetlight is behind you in the village and there isn't another one in view from the hill.

Order the barbecue basket the day before you go. Come back up the track as the sun goes into the ocean. Light the clay barbecue. Eat the merguez under the argan trees and open the yurt roof afterwards.

Dinner back on the hill

The barbecue basket is 280 DHS for two and needs ordering the day before, so order it the evening before Marrakech, not the morning of. It comes with the traditional clay barbecue, wood, charcoal and kindling, meat from the local butcher marinated by us (merguez, kefta, lamb chops, kebabs), homemade harissa, bread, tomatoes, onions and garlic. Both hideaways have a clay barbecue and their own kitchen, and the rest of the food story is on Nourish. Sunset is over the ocean from the terrace; sunrise, the next morning, is over the hills from the same chair.

The other direction: arriving from Marrakech airport

The reverse works too. From Marrakech airport it's under three hours to the hill, the same 195 km, and plenty of guests do it as the first drive of their holiday. Check-in is from 3 pm. The last 1 to 2 km are a dirt track from the beach road, or via Iskoha village; most cars manage without a 4x4. Low sports cars, message us first. Parking is on site.

If you have the choice, fly to Essaouira-Mogador instead. It's 20 minutes from the hill, with direct flights from Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Brussels, Madrid, Barcelona, Düsseldorf and London Stansted, and you're under an hour from the plane to the door. Then do Marrakech as the day trip it's good at being.

Is it worth it on a short stay?

It's a long day, and we won't dress that up. Five hours and more in the car, a city in the middle, and our track in the dark at the end if you linger in the Majorelle garden. If you'd rather not drive it yourself, car and moped rental are on our rides page, and the rest of what's within reach is on Explore.

Our minimum stay is two nights, to make sure you really get to enjoy the place, and that's what makes the day possible: one full day between two nights. On a two-night stay, Marrakech takes that day. On three or more, it takes one of them and leaves the beach, the medina of Essaouira and the hill for the rest. We'd rather you did it with three. The practical answers about check-in, the track and the basket are in the FAQ.

Book direct on kaoukihill.com for the best rate, and tell us if Marrakech is in the plan so the barbecue basket is ordered for the right night. For a reader doing long days out and short nights in, Kaouki Hill Cottage suits: thick stone walls that hold the cool in August, a fireplace for January, and a bed of five-star-hotel quality for the drive to wear off in. The Moonlight Yurt if you'd rather end the day with the roof open.

Good to know

How long is the drive from Marrakech to Kaouki Hill?

About 2 h 35 for the 195 km; from Marrakech airport, under three hours to the hill.

Can we do Marrakech as a day trip on a two-night stay?

Yes, it's the full day between the two nights. With three nights or more you keep a day for the beach and Essaouira as well.

Which airport is closer to Kaouki Hill?

Essaouira-Mogador, 20 minutes from the hill, with direct flights from Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Brussels, Madrid, Barcelona, Düsseldorf and London Stansted.