We kept the curtains open so it wasn’t pitch black in the carriage for the children which lent a slight eeriness to our journey on the overnight Marrakech to Tangier train.
Streetlights flashed by on and off through the night and deserted stations were creaked in to giving our cabin a momentary glow.
It was a restless night, of bleary eyed views of Morocco by night passing us by but a wonderful trip we can’t stop talking about.
Travelling across Morocco with kids, by train, made the journey part of the adventure.
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Boarding overnight Marrakech to Tangier train
We took the overnight Marrakech to Tangier train, boarding just before 7pm.
Marrakech station was bathed in the orange glow of a beautiful sunset as we lugged our bags up the metal steps. The friendly attendant pointing the way to our carriage and beds.
We squeezed into our compartment. Our little room with four beds all rigidly set up so you had to slightly stoop to sit beneath.
We ate the food we had brought with us and chatted excitedly about the journey ahead.
It felt like an adventure.
We even revelled in the flowery wallpaper which made it feel like a bedroom from the 1970s.
A quick cursory glance at the loo. Not as bad as the day train we took a few days earlier.
Departing
The whistle blew and we rushed to the window to watch the attendants give the sign and the train rattled in to action.
We were off. On a 350 mile journey, 10 hours of train travel which we had decided was better undertaken at night rather than cooping up the children for a daytime trip.
At 11, nine and seven years old they were restless enough on the five hour train journey from Rabat to Marrakech so overnight seemed the preferable option.
Our carriage attendant passed by with small bottles of water and the rocking rhythm of the train immediately made me feel sleepy.
It was wonderful to watch Marrakech disappear into the horizon. Its lights twinkling in the dusk and shots of brilliant purples and oranges zig-zagged across the sky making us gasp at the beauty of the sunset.
Then the 11 year old shouted and we dashed to the other side of the train where the biggest, roundest moon was rising before our eyes. It felt truly magical.
A slight smell of cigarette smoke and we slid our cabin door shut. Suddenly feeling very closed in.
Getting ready for bed on the overnight Marrakech to Tangier train
Everyone prepared for bed with sheets stretched out, not tucking in to the edges very well, and pillows plumped.
We decided against brushing teeth from the dribble of water in the washroom sink and each took to our beds in our clothes.
I lay looking up at the yellowed grate of the ceiling.
There were irritated murmurs as the youngest two. Sharing one of the bottom bunks they stuck feet in each others faces and jostled for position on the fairly slim bed.
We turned the light off.
Darkness engulfed us, punctuated by the bright street lamps occasionally flashing past.
The train rattled and jolted, like a noisy dinosaur taking us for a ride.
Sleeping?
It was difficult to sleep as we rocked from side to side but I closed my eyes and eventually drifted off.
I was restless and slept badly. In and out of unsettling dreams of car journeys with strangers, forgotten dressing up days at school for my youngest and strange walks with friends.
I woke properly again as the train pulled in to Rabat, creaking to a stop and stayed there for what seemed the longest time.
Had we broken down?
The 11 year old peered down from the bunk above, “I haven’t slept at all”.
The youngest two were restlessly moving limbs, still trying to get comfortable but seemed to be asleep. The nine year old looking somewhat precarious on the edge of the bed.
We jolted forward again, the direction changed and I realised a thick fog had enveloped the landscape.
The horn of the train echoed eerily with foreboding as we picked up the pace.
Quicker and quicker the train was galloping and my anxiety rising with it. Images of a fatal train crash near Rabat a few days earlier, a recent crash in Tokyo with many casualties also sprung to mind. Was that a night train?
My mind searched feverishly, panicked as it felt like the train was going faster and faster and I realised with dread that, having changed direction we were now at the front, the most dangerous of locations.
Still the horn blew and I sent out chants to the universe to keep us safe as I wondered whether laying down would be the best way to experience a collision.
At some point I fell asleep again, to more dreams and unsettled thoughts and woke with a start, clammy and groggy.
Arriving into Tangier on the overnight Marrakech to Tangier train
There was a tap at the door, no one in the carriage moved. The tap came louder and the door slid open.
The attendant nodded, “15 minutes” and slid the door closed.
We sat up, bleary eyed.
“Ugh, that was the worst night” said the nine year old. I couldn’t agree more.
Yet there was something about the trip that felt wonderful (now it was over).
Train travel always has a nostalgia about it and an overnight Marrakech to Tangier train journey felt even more so. Sure we didn’t sleep well and the journey didn’t help my anxiety levels but as we emerged into the still dark morning sky in Tangier, to the awaiting crowd of shouting taxi drivers, I was so pleased we had done it.
This is what travelling adventures are all about. This is where the stories come from as the children, wide eyed recount the journey they didn’t sleep in and the sight of the moon as big as could be.
This was our glimpse in to another side of Morocco, one that goes on night after night, unseen and unknown, quietly moving through the night.
I’m so pleased we had the opportunity to experience it.
Top tips for taking the overnight train
There is food on board but we found lots of places to grab something at Marrakech station to take with us.
We found there to be plenty of space for all of our luggage in the compartments over the beds and underneath.
Read more about our travels across Morocco with kids here.
