Our Marrakech Family Itinerary

Here is our real Marrakech family itinerary: how we spent our days in the medina, what actually worked with young kids, and the pace that kept everyone happy. It is not a perfect schedule, and that is exactly the point.

Traveling to Marrakech with Kids

Thinking of a taking a Marrakech family holiday?  We will tell you about our experiences to help you determine if Marrakech is a good fit for you and your family!

What is it like to navigate Marrakech with small children?  Completely do-able!!!  Kaida and Viona were 3 and 6 years of age on this trip, so there were limitations on how far we could walk before their little legs would get tired.  This was something we knew would impact how much we could see in a day.  It was also very hot while we were there in June (between 90-95 Fahrenheit).

Stroller was a must for us and even the unpaved souks were stroller friendly to navigate (mind you there were sometimes unpleasant things on the ground you would prefer the wheels not run over, yuck!).  There are a lot of motorbikes in narrow quarters zooming by, passing bikers, donkeys and pedestrians.  That being said, everyone was incredibly mindful of one another and I never felt like our children were going to get run over . I also saw many local children playing in the street and alleyways until midnight, without adults, some as young as maybe 4 years old.  I think this is normal in their culture and people watch out for each other and each other’s children.

Car seats are not a requirement or law in Morocco, and they can be difficult to come by.  We do not like to travel with a car seat (no one wants to lug that thing around with all the normal travel junk).  We typically take taxis or the equivalent of a taxi when getting around a city and children are not required to have a car seat in some countries.  We are comfortable with this.

Taxis in Marrakech can be a mixed bag.  Often times you may need to barter your price before agreeing to take the ride and you never really know if you are getting ripped off.  We opted to use a driver that our Airbnb host recommended, and he was wonderful!  His name is Aziz and he was happy to pick us up and drop us off when we wanted to go somewhere farther than we were willing to walk.  All I would have to do is text him on Whats App the day before to see if he was available, but you can also coordinate this well in advance of your trip so you don’t have to worry about him being busy with another customer.  He also picked us up from the airport on arrival!

Aziz drives a nice clean Mercedes Van capable of carrying more than a typical taxi.  He speaks four languages and is SOOOO nice.  Did I mention he does day trips outside of Marrakech too?!  If you are interested in his contact number, please shoot us an email, we are happy to share!  In our opinion, your Marrakech family holiday will be much smoother using a driver rather than dealing with the taxi situation.

Sleeping arrangements  We love Airbnb’s and most hosts will accommodate getting you a pack and play or crib if you ask them, even if they don’t have it listed on their amenities list.  We also really like having more space and vacation rentals typically get you WAY more space than a hotel.  Visit our page Where to Stay in Marrakech for more info and photo’s about the Airbnb we stayed in to see if it might be a good fit for your Marrakech family holiday.

Food and picky little eaters!

We have one picky eater who shall not be named (it’s totally Kaida!). Wondering what your kid is going to eat?  Bread.  Lots and lots of bread.  There is so much bread at every meal, great for kids!  It is also very easy to find milk and yogurt at almost every corner stall market, and a variation of crackers and cookies.  While we were there it was pretty easy to come by most fruits like bananas, oranges, watermelon, etc.

Many restaurants (in addition to bread) also offered pizza, noodles or french fries.  So maybe not the most well-rounded diet, but you’re traveling.  It’s temporary and your kid won’t starve!  We also brought along a giant goldfish box (leaving room for souvenirs in the suitcase when the kids finished it!) and applesauce pouches.  Giving the kids a few items they were familiar with made things a little easier.

Wrapping up from what we gleaned on our three weeks around all of Morocco (Marrakech included) the culture is very family oriented.  Children are highly regarded and treated well and never like an annoyance.  We never felt like our children were a burden to anyone, any restaurant, shop owner, etc.  People were extremely welcoming and loved interacting with our kids in a very respectful way.  Traveling with kids in Marrakech and all of Morocco was a very positive experience.  So stop pondering and pull the trigger on a Marrakech family holiday!

How We Planned Our Marrakech Family Itinerary

If you only take one thing from our Marrakech family itinerary, let it be this: build the day around the heat and the kids’ energy, not around a checklist. We front-loaded the mornings with the things that needed fresh legs, took a long midday break, and saved the souks and the square for the golden hour when everyone had recharged.

A typical day looked like a slow breakfast at the riad, one main outing before it got too hot, back for a swim and quiet time, then out again in the late afternoon. That rhythm kept the meltdowns to a minimum and let us actually enjoy the chaos of the medina instead of racing through it.

For the specifics, we broke the trip into a few simple buckets. Our favorite things to do in Marrakech with kids are all walkable or a short taxi away. We planned around where to stay in Marrakech with a family, since a good home base changes everything. And we never went hungry thanks to our list of the best places to eat in Marrakech with kids.

Add it all up and you have a flexible plan that leaves room for the unexpected, which in Marrakech is half the fun.