Do you need a car in Fez?
No — not for Fez itself. Fez el-Bali, the old medina, is the largest car-free urban area on the planet by Guinness World Record: roughly 9,000 alleys too narrow for anything but mules and handcarts. A rental car can't reach your riad door and becomes a liability the moment you cross the gates. But rent one for the days you leave the city — Chefchaouen, Meknes and Volubilis, or the Sahara gateway at Merzouga are all a drive away, and none of them are realistically reachable by public transport on your own schedule.
- Skip the car for the medina itself — Fez el-Bali is the largest car-free urban area in the world, with roughly 9,000 alleys too narrow for any vehicle.
- Park outside the walls at Bab Boujloud, Bab R'cif, or Ain Azliten and pay an informal guardian a small cash fee — then walk or take a handcart in.
- Rent a car for road trips: Chefchaouen is 3.5–4.5 hours away, Meknes and Volubilis just 45 minutes, and the Sahara gateway at Merzouga around 7–8 hours.
- An International Driving Permit is required for non-European visitors in Morocco, including Americans and Israelis.
Fez el-Bali is the largest car-free urban area in the world
The old medina of Fez el-Bali spans some 300 hectares and packs in more than 9,000 winding alleys, none of them wide enough for a car — Guinness World Records lists it as the largest car-free urban area on the planet, home to over 150,000 people who get around entirely on foot, by mule, or with hand-pushed carts. A rental car isn't just unnecessary inside the medina, it's physically impossible to use — there is nowhere to drive it.
Park outside the walls and expect an informal "guardian" fee
Since no vehicle can enter the medina, everyone parks at recognized lots outside the gates — Bab Boujloud, Bab R'cif, and Ain Azliten are the usual spots. An unofficial parking guardian will often wave you into a spot and expect a small cash fee, typically 20–30 dirhams a day or night. From there you (or a porter with a handcart) carry your bags on foot to your riad, sometimes a genuine walk through the maze — arrange for your riad to send someone to meet you at Bab Boujloud if you're arriving with luggage.
An International Driving Permit is required, not optional
Morocco requires non-European visitors — including Americans and Israelis — to carry an International Driving Permit alongside their home licence to rent and drive a car legally. Rental desks in Fez check for it before handing over keys, and police at checkpoints on the roads out of the city do too. Turning up without one risks being refused the car, or having your insurance voided if you're stopped.
Fez is the natural base for Morocco's best road trips
Once you're outside the medina, a car opens up some of Morocco's biggest draws. Chefchaouen, the blue-washed mountain town, is roughly 3.5–4.5 hours' drive north. Meknes and the Roman ruins at Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are an easy 45-minute trip — doable as a half-day. And the Sahara gateway at Merzouga (Erg Chebbi) is about 7–8 hours away, usually broken up with a stop around Midelt. None of these routes are realistically covered by public transport on a flexible schedule.
The airport is a short drive from the medina — plan your pickup
Fès–Saïss Airport (FEZ) sits about 13–15 kilometers south of the city center, roughly a 40-minute drive or taxi ride to the edge of the medina. If you're renting a car for a road trip rather than the city stay, it usually makes sense to pick it up at the airport on arrival or departure day rather than trying to bring it anywhere near the medina gates in between.
