Fez to Marrakech by train: stopping in Casablanca or Rabat without your bags

Fez to Marrakech is one of the longest journeys on the ONCF network: roughly six and a half to seven hours depending on the departure. Rather than spending the whole day in a seat, many travellers break the trip with a stop in Casablanca or Rabat. The only obstacle is the luggage. Here is how to plan the day, with the BoxSpot points near the stopover stations and at both ends of the journey. Short answerThe Fez to Marrakech train takes about 6.5 to 7 hours and runs via Rabat and Casa-Voyageurs. Depending on the departure, it is direct or requires a change at Casa-Voyageurs: the timetable for your date on oncf-voyages.ma is the reference. To stop on the way, buy two tickets and leave your bags near the station: Troplo Coffee, about a 17-minute walk from Casa-Voyageurs, or Saberbest, about 1.3 km from Rabat-Ville. In Fez, the BoxSpot point opens at noon; in Marrakech, Bazar Posterre opens at 11am and is closed on Sundays. Price: 9 MAD an hour per bag, 4-hour minimum (36 MAD). Fez to Marrakech by train: what to know Journey time: route planners give about 6.5 to 7 hours end to end, depending on the departure and any change.Direct or with a change: sources disagree. Some departures are shown as direct, others require a change at Casa-Voyageurs. Check the timetable for your date on oncf-voyages.ma or in the ONCF app, which shows any connection.The route: the line runs through Meknes, Kenitra, Rabat and then Casablanca before heading south to Marrakech. Fez is not served by Al Boraq, the high-speed train. Two stopovers therefore fall naturally on the way: Rabat, halfway, and Casablanca, from where Marrakech is about 2.5 to 3 hours away. Stopping over: two tickets, a free half-day The simplest way to get off on the way is to buy two separate tickets: Fez to Casa-Voyageurs (or Rabat), then Casa-Voyageurs (or Rabat) to Marrakech, with a few hours in between. Fez to Casablanca takes about four hours: leave in the morning, arrive around midday, and the afternoon is yours before an evening train. Keep a margin for possible delays and for getting back to the station. Stopping in Casablanca: Troplo Coffee, near Casa-Voyageurs BoxSpot's Casablanca point is a café, Troplo Coffee, in the Chadia neighbourhood on the La Villette side, about a 17-minute walk from Casa-Voyageurs or a few minutes by petit taxi. Show your booking to the staff: they scan your QR code and photograph your bags with the drop-off time, and the bags are only handed back against that same code. Monday to Friday: 7am to 10pmSaturday: 7am to 7pmSunday: 10am to 6pm Watch out at weekends: on Saturday, collect your bags before 7pm, on Sunday before 6pm. For a visit idea, see our article on the Hassan II Mosque during a stopover, and book on the Troplo Coffee Casa-Voyageurs page. Stopping in Rabat: Saberbest, near Rabat-Ville In Rabat, the point is the Saberbest travel agency, 13 bis avenue Madagascar, near Place de Russie: about 1.3 km from Rabat-Ville (17 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by petit taxi), and 8 to 10 minutes by taxi from Rabat-Agdal. It is open every day from 9am to 10pm. Check your ticket to see which Rabat station you get off at: our article Rabat-Agdal or Rabat-Ville with luggage covers both routes. From Rabat, the rest of the journey to Marrakech is longer than from Casablanca: look up the exact time on oncf-voyages.ma before setting your pick-up time. Book on the Saberbest Place de Russie page. At both ends of the journey: Fez and Marrakech Leaving Fez: a point that opens at noon BoxSpot's Fez point, Barber Shop Alami in the new town, is open every day from noon to 10pm. If you take a morning train to stop on the way, you will not need it: your suitcases travel with you. It becomes useful if you leave Fez later, for example after a noon check-out and a late-afternoon train. Arriving in Marrakech Marrakech station is in the Gueliz district, outside the medina. BoxSpot has two points in the city: Bazar Posterre, 34 Kaat Benahid, in the northern medina, about a 3-minute walk from the Ben Youssef Madrasa: Monday to Thursday and Saturday 11am to 11pm, Friday 11am to 10pm, closed on Sunday.A hair salon near Bab Aghmat, southeast of the medina: every day from 9am to 5pm. Taxis cannot drive into the medina lanes: get dropped as close as possible and walk the last stretch with the directions in your booking. A sample day, with prices A 5-hour stop in Casablanca on a weekday Morning train from Fez, arriving at Casa-Voyageurs around midday. Drop-off at Troplo Coffee around 12:30pm, afternoon in town, pick-up around 5:30pm, then the train to Marrakech. 5 hours for one bag: 45 MAD. A 4-hour stop in Rabat Drop-off at Saberbest around 11am, pick-up around 3pm: 4 hours, the minimum, so 36 MAD for one bag. A night in Casablanca Sleeping in Casablanca and only want a small bag at the hotel? Two days for a large suitcase: 59 + 39 = 98 MAD. An hourly booking never costs more than 59 MAD for the first bag for the day; an extra bag costs 49 MAD on day one, then 39 MAD a day. Payment is online, by card, in dirhams. Elsewhere in Morocco, the other points are on the BoxSpot luggage storage map. Plan your Casablanca stopoverTroplo Coffee, about a 17-minute walk from Casa-Voyageurs. Monday to Friday 7am to 10pm, Saturday 7am to 7pm, Sunday 10am to 6pm. From 9 MAD an hour per bag.Book at Troplo Coffee