Is Morocco a good destination with children?

Of everywhere we guide, the High Atlas is the part of Morocco we most often steer families toward — and the part most visitors overlook entirely. An hour above the heat of Marrakech, the mountains give children something a city break rarely does: a mule to ride, a stone path to scramble, a Berber farmhouse to share lunch in, and a night sky with no light pollution at all. It takes a little planning to do well. Below is what we have learned guiding families through these valleys season after season.

Where in Morocco is best for families with children?

Marrakech still earns three to four nights as your arrival base before the mountains. The Jemaa el-Fna comes alive at dusk — acrobats, storytellers, snake charmers best watched from a café terrace — and the square's organised chaos transfixes children. Tackle the souks with a guide and older kids who can keep up, and let the Bahia Palace and Saadian Tombs do their work on young imaginations before you head for higher ground.

The High Atlas is, for us, the heart of a family trip. Just over an hour from the city, Imlil sits at 1,740 m where the air is cooler and the walking gentle: short, well-graded valley paths to villages like Aroumd, mules that thrill any four-year-old, and walnut groves and irrigation channels that turn a stroll into a nature lesson. Several Imlil guesthouses and gîtes are set up for families, with wood-warmed rooms and patient hosts.

The Draa Valley and the Sahara make the big finale for families with the days to spare. The drive south over the Tizi n'Tichka, down through kasbahs and palm groves to the dunes at Merzouga, is a journey in its own right — and a child who has ridden a camel into a sunset and slept under desert stars will talk about it for years.

Essaouira on the Atlantic is the gentle counterpoint — a breezy, blue-and-white town by a long beach, with surf schools for older children and an unhurried rhythm that gives everyone room to breathe between the mountains and the medina.

How should you pace a family itinerary in Morocco?

The mistake we see most often is cramming too much in. Mountains reward an unhurried tempo. With children under ten, give each base two or three nights, plan a single active outing a day — one valley walk, one village visit — and leave a long, unstructured afternoon to recover. On the trekking side, a half-day on the path followed by tea and a doze at the gîte beats two big walks back to back every time.

A ten-day shape that works well from age six: three nights Marrakech, two nights in the High Atlas around Imlil, two nights at the Sahara (Merzouga), two nights returning via the Dades, one final night in Marrakech. For younger children, keep it simpler and lower: four nights Marrakech, two nights Essaouira, two nights in the Atlas foothills, two nights Marrakech.

What are the best places to stay with families?

In the city, the courtyard riad is hard to beat for families — the inner courtyard shuts out street noise, corridors and roof terraces invite exploring, and the staff-to-room ratio means real attention. Up in the mountains, look to the family-run guesthouses and gîtes of Imlil and the Ait Mizane valley: simple, warm, wood-heated rooms, home cooking, and hosts who genuinely welcome children. We walk into every place we recommend before we put a family in it. See our destinations guide for our current shortlist.

What should children eat and drink in Morocco?

The food works in a child's favour. Chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemon, couscous heaped with vegetables, harira soup, skewers of kefta and msemen griddle bread with honey and argan oil are all gently spiced and made fresh. In the mountains the cooking is even plainer and heartier — exactly what hungry legs want after a walk — and any gîte will rustle up grilled chicken, plain rice or eggs for a fussier appetite.

Water: stick to sealed bottled water throughout, and doubly so on the trail, where mountain stream water is never safe to drink untreated. Town tap water is chlorinated but its mineral balance upsets a good share of visitors' stomachs. Fresh-pressed orange juice from the Jemaa el-Fna stalls is a safe treat; skip café ice unless you know it was frozen from bottled water.

What practical tips make travelling with kids easier in Morocco?

• Travel by private vehicle — shared taxis and buses are fine for adults but draining with children, luggage and a trailhead to reach on schedule.
• Pack a child-rated SPF 50+ sun cream and reapply it on the trail; altitude sharpens the UV well before you feel the heat.
• Carry your own oral rehydration sachets. City pharmacies stock them, but they are not always to hand in a mountain village.
• A lightweight soft-structured carrier beats a pushchair everywhere that matters — medina lanes, village paths and gîte staircases.
• On walking days, dress children in layers: a fleece and a hat go in the daypack even in summer, because Atlas evenings turn cold fast.
• Give children small dirham notes to hand over themselves — to a village shopkeeper or a mule handler — so the day feels like theirs, not just yours.

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