Travelling in Morocco with kids is easier than most parents expect and harder in ways they do not anticipate. Moroccan culture is genuinely child-centred: children are welcomed everywhere, restaurants make room for them without being asked, and strangers will help you carry a pushchair up medina steps. What catches families out is not culture shock. It is distance, heat and the sheer sensory load of a medina at four in the afternoon.
This guide is written by a Moroccan tour operator who moves families around this country every week. It covers where to go, what genuinely works with children, what to avoid, and how to build a trip that does not exhaust everyone by day four.
Is Morocco good for children?
Yes, and the reason is cultural rather than logistical. Family is the organising unit of Moroccan life, so a child in a restaurant, a souk or a riad is not an inconvenience to be tolerated. Waiters will entertain toddlers. Shopkeepers hand out dates. Nobody minds noise.
The practical picture is more mixed. Pavements are uneven, medina lanes are too narrow and crowded for a pushchair, changing facilities are rare outside modern hotels, and the driving distances are long. None of that is a reason not to come. It is a reason to plan differently than you would for Spain or Italy.
Best age to bring children to Morocco
- Under 2. Doable but hard work. Long drives, no reliable changing facilities and heat management dominate the trip. A carrier beats a pushchair everywhere.
- Ages 3 to 5. Better. Camels, dunes, monkeys and animals in the square all land well. Keep drives short and expect a nap in the car.
- Ages 6 to 11. The sweet spot. Old enough to remember it, walk a gorge, ride a camel confidently and be curious about a tannery rather than repelled by it.
- Teenagers. Excellent, particularly for the desert, sandboarding, quad biking, surfing at Essaouira or Taghazout, and the sheer photogenic strangeness of the place.
What children actually love here
After years of watching which parts of the trip children talk about on the last day, the list is consistent:
- The camel trek and the desert camp. Nothing else comes close. Sleeping in a tent, drums round a fire, and a sky with no light pollution at all.
- Sandboarding down a dune. Free, endlessly repeatable, and they will do it until you make them stop.
- The Barbary macaques in the cedar forest above Azrou, on the road between Fes and the desert.
- Ait Ben Haddou. A real fortified village that looks like a film set, because it has been one. Climbing to the granary at the top is the moment.
- Jemaa el-Fna at dusk in Marrakech, in short doses, holding hands.
- Riads with a pool. Never underestimate how much an afternoon swim repairs a family’s mood.
- Making things. A pottery or tile workshop in Fes or Safi holds children far longer than any museum.
What is hard, and how to handle it
The driving
This is the single biggest issue. Morocco is much larger than it looks and the mountain roads are slow. A Marrakech to desert run is seven or eight hours. With children, halve every day you would do as an adult and add a night somewhere.
On a private tour this is manageable because you set the schedule, stop whenever you like and never wait for a group. If you take one piece of advice from this guide, it is to build fewer, longer stops rather than a stop every day.
The heat
From June to August the south is genuinely dangerous for small children in the middle of the day. Temperatures in the desert exceed 45°C. Travel in spring or autumn if you possibly can, and if you must come in summer, move early, rest from noon to four and stay somewhere with water.
The medinas
Fes and Marrakech medinas are crowded, loud and full of motorbikes. They are also wonderful. The trick is timing and duration: go early in the morning, go with a licensed local guide who can pace it for children, and get out after two hours rather than four. A guide also stops the hassle, which is the part that wears parents down.
Pushchairs
Leave the big one at home. A lightweight buggy for airports and modern streets plus a good carrier for medinas, kasbahs and gorges is the right combination.
Food with children
Moroccan food is unusually child-friendly. It is aromatic rather than spicy, so the chilli fear is misplaced. Reliable winners: bread with everything, chicken and potato tagine, couscous on Fridays, brochettes, harira soup, omelettes, fresh orange juice everywhere, and pancakes with honey for breakfast.
For fussy eaters there is always plain rice, chips, pasta and grilled meat. Fresh fruit is excellent. Tap water is not recommended for drinking; bottled water is cheap and universal. Peel fruit, avoid salads washed in tap water at cheap street stalls, and you will almost certainly be fine.
Health and safety
- No vaccinations are legally required for Morocco from most countries, but check routine immunisations are current and speak to your own doctor or travel clinic before you go.
- Sun protection matters more than you think at altitude and in the desert. Hats, long sleeves, high factor cream.
- Bring a basic kit: rehydration sachets, child paracetamol, plasters, and anything prescription-based, since brand names differ here.
- Pharmacies are excellent and everywhere, pharmacists are well trained, and most speak French and often English.
- Morocco is a safe country for families. Petty theft exists in crowded tourist areas as it does in any European city; violent crime against visitors is rare.
- Car seats are not standard. If you need one, ask your operator in advance and confirm it in writing, or bring your own.
Where to go with kids
Marrakech
Good for two or three days, not more. Jemaa el-Fna, the Majorelle garden, a riad with a pool, and a day trip to the Atlas or the Agafay desert. Base yourself somewhere with outdoor space.
The Sahara at Merzouga
The highlight of any family trip. Camels, dunes, sandboarding, a camp, stars. Worth the drive, and worth two nights rather than one so the day in the desert is not spent recovering from getting there.
Essaouira
The easiest town in Morocco with children. Atlantic breeze instead of heat, a walkable and flat medina, a beach, camel and horse rides on the sand, a working fishing port and good surf schools for teenagers.
The Atlas mountains
Imlil and the Ourika valley are cool, green and an easy day from Marrakech. Short walks, waterfalls, mule rides and Berber villages.
Chefchaouen
Small, blue, walkable and calm. A genuine relief after the big cities, and cats everywhere, which for some children is the entire holiday.
Agadir and Taghazout
If your family needs beach time to balance the sightseeing, this is where to get it. Reliable sun, surf lessons and resort facilities.
A ten-day family itinerary that works
| Days | Where | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Marrakech | Arrive, adjust, riad with pool, one medina morning |
| 3 | Atlas mountains or Agafay | Cool air, short walk, back to base |
| 4 | Drive to Dades via Ait Ben Haddou | Broken with a real highlight halfway |
| 5–6 | Merzouga and the desert camp | Camels, dunes, sandboarding, two nights |
| 7 | Drive north to Fes via the cedar forest | Monkeys break the longest drive |
| 8 | Fes | Morning medina with a guide, afternoon off |
| 9–10 | Chefchaouen, then departure | Calm ending, easy walking, blue lanes |
Note that no day has more than about five hours of driving, and two of the stops are two nights. That is the whole trick.
Planning a family trip with us
Every tour we run is private, which matters more with children than with anyone else. You leave when your children are ready, stop when someone needs the toilet, cut a day short without asking anyone’s permission, and keep the same driver for the whole trip, who quickly learns what your family needs.
Our 5-day Marrakech to Fes desert tour works well as a family backbone, and the 10-day tour from Casablanca covers the full route above at a manageable pace. See every route on our Morocco tours page, or tell us your children’s ages and we will tell you honestly what will and will not work.
Frequently asked questions
Is Morocco safe for families with children?
Yes. Morocco is one of the safest countries in the region for visitors and is culturally very welcoming to children. Ordinary precautions against petty theft in crowded tourist areas are sensible, as they would be in any European city, but violent crime against tourists is rare.
What is the best time to visit Morocco with kids?
Spring, from March to May, and autumn, from September to November. Days are warm rather than hot, desert nights are cool, and the mountain passes are open. July and August make the south difficult for small children, with desert temperatures above 45°C.
Can you do a desert tour with young children?
Yes. Camel rides are at walking pace and short, and the camp can be reached by 4×4 if you would rather skip the camel. The consideration is the drive, not the desert, so allow two nights in the Merzouga area rather than one.
Is Moroccan food suitable for children?
Very. It is aromatic rather than spicy, and tagines, couscous, brochettes, bread, omelettes and fresh fruit suit most children. Chips, rice, pasta and grilled meat are widely available for fussy eaters. Drink bottled water rather than tap.
Do I need car seats for children in Morocco?
Car seats are not standard in Moroccan vehicles. If you need one, request it in advance and get it confirmed in writing, or bring your own. On a private tour this is easy to arrange, but it must be asked for.
Are pushchairs practical in Moroccan medinas?
Not really. Medina lanes are narrow, uneven and busy with motorbikes. A baby carrier is far more practical for the old cities, gorges and kasbahs; keep a lightweight buggy for airports and modern streets.
