The Overnight Train

The train leaves Tangier at 23:25. It arrives in Marrakech at 09:01. You fall asleep somewhere near Kenitra and wake up in a different country — same flag, different light, different air, different colour of earth. The north is green and Atlantic. The south is ochre and dry. The train crosses the border between them while you sleep.

This is the ONCF overnight service, and it is one of the best travel decisions you can make in Morocco. You save a hotel night. You save a travel day. You arrive in Marrakech in the morning with the whole day ahead of you. The ticket for a seat in second class costs around 200 dirhams — roughly twenty dollars. A couchette berth in a shared four-person compartment costs approximately 375 dirhams. Clean sheets, a pillow, a blanket. It is not the Orient Express. It is better, because it is real.

Bring earplugs. Bring a phone charger — there are no outlets in the couchette compartments, so charge fully before boarding. Bring water and something to eat; the cafeteria car is unreliable at night. Bring a small lock if you are protective of your bag, though theft is rare.

The daytime alternative is faster since the Al Boraq high-speed line opened in 2018 — Africa's first, built with the same Alstom trains that run France's TGV. Tangier to Casablanca in two hours and ten minutes at 320 kilometres per hour. Then a transfer at Casa Voyageurs to a classic Al Atlas train south to Marrakech. Total journey: about five and a half hours. First class on Al Boraq costs 250-470 dirhams depending on when you book. There are power outlets. There is Wi-Fi. There is a café car that actually works.

Buy tickets at oncf-voyages.ma up to three months in advance. Or walk up to the counter at the station, which works fine except during Ramadan and school holidays, when the trains fill. Marrakech station has a beautiful arched entrance that looks like a palace. This is not accidental. In Morocco, even the infrastructure has opinions about architecture.