How do I get from Marrakech airport to the medina?

Getting from Menara into the medina is one of the least stressful airport runs anywhere, simply because of the distance — about 6 km, 15 to 20 minutes in normal traffic. The catch is not the journey but the last hundred metres: Marrakech’s medina is a car-free maze, so no taxi delivers you to most riad doors. They take you to the nearest gate (a babs such as Bab Doukkala or Bab er Robb for your area), and you walk the final stretch through the lanes.

For a first arrival I almost always recommend a pre-booked private transfer, and this is why: the driver knows your specific riad, parks at the correct gate, and either walks you in himself or hands you to a porter who carries the bags to the door. You step out of arrivals to your name on a board, the price is fixed in advance with no after-flight haggling, and the single most disorienting part of arriving — finding an unmarked door down an alley at night — is handled for you.

An official airport taxi is the next option and perfectly fine. Marrakech has a fixed-fare system for airport taxis, and the official rate to the medina or Gueliz is in the region of 100–150 MAD (a little more at night) — there should be a posted price board at the rank. Agree the fare in dirhams before you get in rather than relying on the meter, which is often not used for the airport. It is cheap by international standards; just be politely firm, as tourists are sometimes quoted well above the set rate.

On a budget, the line 19 airport bus is excellent: it runs roughly every half hour from outside arrivals into the Koutoubia and Jemaa el-Fnaa area and on to Gueliz, for a few dirhams, and the ticket is usually valid for a return within a couple of weeks. It suits light packers who do not mind a short walk into the medina at the other end. But with luggage, after a long flight, on a first night, I still think the modest cost of a transfer to the riad door is the better call — save the bus for when you know the city.