Our Ouarzazate Family Itinerary

Ouarzazate turned out to be one of the easiest stops on our whole Morocco route, which is not what I expected on the way to the desert. This Ouarzazate family itinerary covers the two days we actually spent here with a three year old and a seven year old: the film studios, the ancient village of Aït Benhaddou, and the very unglamorous grocery and cash logistics that matter far more than anyone warns you before the Sahara.

Our Ouarzazate Family Itinerary: Exploring Aït Benhaddou With Kids

Visiting Ouarzazate with kids is a breeze.  Besides the heat in June, the kids had a lot of fun exploring the movie sets in Ouarzazate and the ancient Berber village of Aït Benhaddou!  The infrastructure of Ouarzazate is much more established compared to rural areas of the country we drove through previously.  In town is extremely stroller friendly, the sidewalks are newer and very wide. 

The riad we stayed at was extremely spacious for the price.  The staff was very kind and attentive, especially to the needs of the kids.  They wanted to make sure the kids were having a nice time too!  The breakfast was great and the staff always made sure there was milk for the kids to eat their cereal.

For more info and photos of Riad Chay, check out our Where to Stay in Ouarzazate page.

Visiting the movie studios was easy.  Only 5 minute drive from our riad and the tour takes about an hour, so not too long for the littles.  The tour is also constantly moving from set to set so the girls didn’t get bored and could run around and explore if they wanted to.  They enjoyed taking photos with the sets and some of the fun murals around.

Tip: Definitely take a stroller for the kids if they are under five years old.  If they poop out then you can still enjoy the tour without having to carry them or listen to them complain about their legs falling off.  Our three year old handles the heat pretty well so she shared the stroller with our 7 year old, who does not handle heat well at all.  She didn’t want big sis to melt!

Speaking of melting, there was one meltdown at the top of Aït Benhaddou.  The beautiful ancient Berber village and UNESCO heritage site is absolutely worth your visit!  Not stroller friendly though.  The hike to the top is a bit like switch backs through the village and can be accomplished in about 20 minutes.  Of course if you opt to stop for photos and shopping local goods, it could take longer.  The hike up is bumpy, some rocky pathways and uneven stairs.  Our three year old had no issues and was happy to lead the way.  Our seven year old however, was melting in the heat and slowly bringing up the rear.  The path up looked something like this…

But the view from the top is worth it!  A man was also offering camel rides so that helped distract our oldest from being upset over the heat.

Here is a little peek at the melt down…before the camel ride made her forget her woes!

On the way down we saw a set from The Gladiator with Russel Crowe and the girls got to play with the spear and shield from the movie.  They thought that was quite fun!  To read more about our exploration of the movie studios and Aït Benhaddou, visit our Ouarzazate See & Do page!

Tip: If you are heading towards the Sahara, this is the last stop where you will find a full size grocery.  It may be wise to pick up some cereal and snacks for the kids if you have a picky eater like we do.   It is also a good idea to grab some money from the ATM.  There are no ATM’s once you reach the Sahara and most people only take cash, or at least claim that is all they take.

Here is a photo of the Carrefour Market in Ouarzazate.

Planning Your Own Ouarzazate Family Itinerary

If you are building your own version of this, here is the shape I would repeat.

Give Ouarzazate two nights rather than one. It is the natural break between Marrakech and the desert, and two nights means you get a full day for the studios and the kasbah without either of them feeling rushed.

Split the studios and Aït Benhaddou across the day, and save the kasbah for the cooler half. The studio tour runs about an hour and keeps moving from set to set, which is exactly why it works with small children. The kasbah is the harder of the two: roughly 20 minutes of switchbacks to the top, longer once you stop for photos and for the stalls along the way, and there is very little shade.

Bring the stroller, but know where it works. The town itself is genuinely stroller friendly, with newer and unusually wide sidewalks, and the studios are fine too. Aït Benhaddou is not, so plan on carrying or on everyone walking.

Do your Sahara shopping here. Ouarzazate has the last full size grocery before the desert, so this is where you buy cereal, snacks and whatever your picky eater will actually eat. Take cash out here as well. There are no ATMs once you reach the Sahara, and most places there take cash only, or will tell you they do.

Plan around the heat honestly. We were here in June, and the heat was the only genuinely hard part of this stop. Everything else was easier than the rural stretches we had driven to get here: the roads are better, the sidewalks are wide and new, and the town simply has more of everything.

One small thing made a bigger difference than it should have. Our riad kept milk on hand every morning so the girls could have their cereal, which meant breakfast was never a negotiation. If you have a child who eats the same thing every single day, ask your riad before you arrive rather than hoping. It is an easy yes for them, and it buys you a calm start to a hot day.

For the rest of the stop, our Ouarzazate with kids guide sets out how the town fits into a Morocco route, and you can read the best things to do in Ouarzazate with kids, where to stay in Ouarzazate with a family and where to eat in Ouarzazate.