Are there overnight / long-distance buses in Morocco?

Yes, overnight and genuinely long-distance buses exist in Morocco, and they fill an important gap, because the train network — for all its strengths — only reaches so far. The rails concentrate in the north and along the Atlantic, so for the deep south, the desert gateways like Merzouga and Zagora, the far east toward Oujda, and other off-rail destinations, the long-haul CTM and Supratours coaches are the reliable scheduled option, and some of those routes run overnight precisely so you don't lose a whole day to the distance.

On the comfort question, these are the same good coaches I praise for daytime travel — modern, air-conditioned, with reserved reclining seats and scheduled rest stops — so an overnight run is far from grim. That said, I'm always straight with people: a reclining coach seat is not a sleeper berth. You'll doze rather than properly sleep, the lights and the rest stops interrupt you, and you'll arrive functional but tired. For a hardy traveller on a budget it's a smart way to turn a long transfer into a night's progress; for anyone who needs to hit the ground fresh, factor in a slow first morning.

It's worth remembering why overnight buses, not trains, are the option here: Morocco has no sleeper trains at all, so the coach is the only way to cover serious ground by night on the ground. For the very longest hauls — say reaching the far south from the north — I often suggest weighing an internal flight instead, which compresses a punishing all-night journey into about an hour in the air and can be surprisingly affordable when booked ahead. The trade-off is missing the landscape and the door-to-door simplicity.

My honest steer depends on who's travelling. Solo and budget travellers happily take the overnight coaches and I point them to CTM and Supratours, booked a day or two ahead and with a seat toward the front. Couples, families, and anyone prioritising comfort over saving a hotel night usually do better breaking the journey with an overnight stop, flying the longest leg, or — for the scenic desert routes especially — taking a private driver so they can stop, photograph, and travel by day. The overnight bus is a genuine and useful option; it's just one I match to the traveller rather than recommend across the board.