10 Day Morocco Itinerary: Highlights Tour with Kids

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Are you wondering how long to spend in Morocco, where to go, and what to do while there? Here is an excellent 10 day Morocco itinerary that will cover many of the highlights throughout the country. Ten days was perfect for our family’s first visit to the country, and gave us a great overview of Morocco that has us itching to return!

Have you guys had a chance to read our full GUIDE to Morocco with kids yet? If you’re planning a Morocco family holiday, I’d highly recommend reading that first to nail down the basics of your logistics – when you’ll be going, cities and sites that appeal to you, and your points of entry and departure. It will also answer lots of questions about when to go, what to take, and tips for navigating the country.

For our first visit, we planned for 9 days in Morocco in April. This was enough time that we got a great overview of the country on our Morocco family holiday, but still short enough that we could combine our trip with a few days each in Barcelona and Portugal. It also left us really wanting to return for a deeper dive! Here, I’m adding one extra day to make it a 10 day Morocco itinerary, as we felt a bit rushed at the end. We also would’ve really liked a bit more time in Marrakech to explore.

Morocco Itinerary – Highlights Tour In Springtime

As I discussed in our Morocco travel guide, where in the country you go will be dependent largely on time of year. Since we visited in the spring, the weather gave us quite a bit of flexibility. The desert wasn’t roasting or freezing, and the mountains weren’t very snowy. While it’s certainly possible to visit these areas at other times of the year, keep the weather in mind. The desert, in particular, can get extremely cold on winter nights, and terrifically hot during summer days. Especially when visiting Morocco with a baby, I would not recommend visiting the Sahara during the dead of summer or winter as it will be very uncomfortable. This is especially true if you are planning on a desert camp (which you should).

Now that I have all my caveats out of the way, this is how we chose to spend our 9 days in Morocco. It was the perfect amount for our family travel to Morocco!

This post on visiting Morocco with kids contains affiliate links, but all opinions are 100% my own. That means I earn a small commission if you purchase through my link, but doesn’t increase your price. Thank you for supporting this blog!

Table of Contents

10 Day Morocco Itinerary

Morocco Itinerary Day 1: Arrival, Tangier & Chefchaouen

As we looked into different flight options, we found it worked best to fly from Barcelona to Tangier. We had found very inexpensive flights to Barcelona from our home in the US, and flew the budget airline Vueling from Barcelona to Tangier. We also looked into flights to Fez, Marrakech, and Casablanca. The first two had very few, if any, direct flights, and the ones that existed were very costly. Casablanca also worked in terms of flight times and expense, but it worked better to fly out of Casablanca to Lisbon, Portugal. We highly preferred flying in and out of different airports so that we would not need to backtrack at the end of our trip, so we chose to fly to Tangier at the start of our Morocco family holiday.

Airport Pickup and Drive to Chefchaouen

From our research and talking to a few friends, we chose not to spend time in Tangier itself during this Morocco itinerary. It seemed a bit gritty without a ton to see, although I’m sure we could find many appealing things given more time, However, since we were on a short timeline, we chose to get to the cities/sites that were most important to us. When we flew into the Tangier airport, our wonderful driver Brahim from Transkech met us at baggage claim. It’s a fairly small airport and he was easy to spot. He walked us out to our van that would be our home away from home for the next 9 days.

The van was very spacious with 8 seats including the one for the driver. The trunk had plenty of room for our (fairly minimal) luggage so the interior had plenty of space for our couple backpacks, snacks, etc. We brought a car seat for the baby (as well as booster seats for our other kids), and it helped him nap comfortably during our days of long driving.

We started off by driving the 2 hours to Chefchaouen (or Chaouen, as locals call it), the blue city. During this time, we had some great conversations with our wonderful driver (with me trying to get back into my rusty French) and also some mountainous views. Everyone also napped – thank goodness, as we’d taken a 6am flight out of Barcelona and only the baby had managed to sleep on the short flight.

Chefchaouen with Kids

We arrived at our riad in Chefchaouen, which was beautiful and also blue. It was pretty chilly there as the city is at a higher elevation, and it was a bit misty and drizzly. So we all changed into some warmer clothes (I was VERY happy to have packed along my base layers) and set out in search of some food. Our delightful riad host suggested a restaurant so we headed straight there. It was delightful. We ordered a couple tagines, some couscous, and warm bread. It was perfect on that chilly afternoon!

(Link to our riad in Chefchaouen)

Exploring the Chefchaouen Medina

After that, we headed out to explore the old medina. It’s stunning! Although hard to believe, it is actually as blue as all those Instagram photos make it seem. The entire city is covered in various shades of azure. We weren’t sure at first whether Chefchaouen would be worth adding to our Morocco itinerary with kids, but after arriving, were SO glad we decided to go for it. Definitely leave your stroller behind this day, though; the cobbled, narrow streets with lots of steps are definitely not wheel-friendly. We wore the baby in a carrier, which worked perfectly.

Chefchaouen is a smaller city, so it didn’t take us long to get to the end of the medina walls. As we walked out, we climbed up a bit to view the city from above, which is beautiful. Then we headed back into the city and popped in and out of a million tiny alleys and passageways. Although the town is small, you could spend ages wandering and getting lost and exploring the colorful shops.

By this point, we had some pretty darn tired kids (and parents), so we headed back to the riad for a bit to rest. With multiple rooms, it was the perfect place to have nappers and non-nappers happily coexist. (Riads with multiple rooms are really wonderful when traveling to Morocco with a baby!) Then we headed back out for some dinner and a bit more wandering, before tucking in for a reasonable bedtime.

Day 2: Chefchaouen, Volubilis, Fes

We enjoyed a leisurely morning in Chefchaouen the following day. We wandered through the “streets” (alleys), and had some brunch in a little cafe. It was nice to have a slow morning after hitting the ground running on the first day of our Morocco itinerary.

Visiting Volubilis with Kids

After packing and loading up, we hit the road to Volubilis, the ancient Roman ruins. We didn’t expect to see Roman ruins on our Morocco family holiday, so that was a fun surprise. Volubilis was at the edge of the ancient Roman Empire, and is protected as some of the best-preserved ruins at the farthest reaches of Roman rule.

Despite the pouring rain, we enjoyed stomping through puddles to see the ancient columns and facades. While we didn’t have heavy rain gear, we threw on our warm jackets and base layers, which sufficed. We were very grateful to be hopping in a warm and heated vehicle after, though! Still, it was a really fun excursion on our Morocco itinerary.

Drive to Meknes and Fez

From there, we drove over to Meknes, where we stopped and ate a late lunch/early dinner. It was fun seeing the old gates and parts of the medina (although we were freezing and wet in our open-air restaurant).

After our meal, we continued on our way to Fez. This was one of those times we were really grateful to have hired a private driver. Nightfall had come a couple hours before our arrival in Fez, and it was so nice to (for once) not need to worry about being the ones doing the driving on small and poorly-marked streets in a foreign country. Ah, the luxury!

It was also wonderful pulling up to the walls of the old medina and having our driver drop us both off with the kids and the luggage (instead of one of us needing to drop the other with the kids and stuff while the other parked). He even talked to the guards (in Arabic, which definitely neither of us speaks) and was allowed to leave the car for a few minutes while he guided us to our riad and helped us carry our stuff.

We checked into our truly beautiful riad and enjoyed chatting with the host for a few minutes. Then we did some bed rearranging for the kids (as is common for us with that many kids!) and all passed out. The riad had really luxurious bedding, which made for a great rest on the next couple nights of our Morocco itinerary.

(Link to our riad in Fez)

Day 3: Fes (Our favorite city on our Morocco itinerary)

Typically, we tend to avoid guided tours, either private ones or with a group. We like the flexibility of being on our own and stopping when we want, and being able to control our own speed and interests. Occasionally, though, and especially for walking tours, guides are invaluable. Such was the case in Fez.

Fez is absolutely stunning, and probably our favorite city we visited on our Morocco family holiday. Everything is OLD. And fascinating. It’s a wonderful stop for a trip to Morocco with kids! It’s also highly, highly confusing. The old medina has a million sections for different specialties (food, leather, jewelry, rugs, etc.), and weaving, tiny alleys connect them all. It’s extremely easy to get lost (although Google maps actually did a decent job of guiding us, as well). Part of the fun is, indeed, just wandering, but if there are certain stops you’d like to see, I recommend hiring a guide.

Our guide on this part of our Morocco itinerary was amazing at knowing all the tiny alleyways – I have no idea how he managed to keep them all straight without ever once looking at a map! They definitely all started to blur together for me. 😉 He knew all the major stops off the top of his head, and was able to help us narrow down the ones we most wanted to see. This was really helpful in not backtracking and wasting time, especially when visiting Morocco with a baby.

Morning: Royal Palace, Ceramics tour

We started out the day with a bit of driving and headed over to the Royal Palace. It was a great idea to get there early because we could already see the crowds starting to pick up as we were leaving. It’s not permitted to enter, but the outside of the palace is stunning! We loved taking some photos and the kids loved running around in the square in front of the palace.

After that, we walked through the old Mellah (the Jewish Quarter) market area near there and saw lots of gold, spices, and dried fruit. Apparently, that’s the part of the city famous for jewelry; that’s outside of our souvenir scope, but it was fun to see! 😉 We then stopped in to a place that makes pottery. Moroccan ceramics are so famous and they are literally everywhere in any color you can imagine. It was really fun to take some time on our Morocco itinerary to see how it’s actually made.

While we were there, we saw how the whole process went, start to finish. We enjoyed seeing them shape the clay and mold it into different shapes. My favorite, though, as seeing them draw on the designs after the main colors were on. They were incredibly skilled. One guy was doing everything by hand with a compass. It was fascinating to watch how exact his drawings were despite not having any sort of template! They had all kinds of different designs, from tables to pots to keychains.

Mid-Day: Fez Viewpoint, Souks, Tanneries, & Lunch

We needed a break after visiting the Fez ceramics studio, so we hopped in our van and drove up to a great viewpoint of the old city at the Merenid tombs. We wandered around there and explored for a bit before driving back down into the medina. This was definitely the most exciting part of our one day in Fez!

We started by wandering through the souks, or the market stalls. We were really happy to have a guide at this point, as all the little alleys are extremely confusing. Visiting the souks is a must for any Morocco itinerary, but it can also be a bit overwhelming and confusing. The guide knew the stalls in and out and never once took a wrong turn, which was pretty incredible. He showed us some of the foods, as well as rugs, ceramics, and more. It’s pretty neat as everything is broken up into sections based on what they sell.

From the souks, he took us over to the tanneries. While this is a fairly short tour, it’s definitely a worthwhile stop out of the things to do in Fez. You can go up on a rooftop to see the leather-making process, and see the huge vats for tanning different colors. Beware – it can get a bit stinky! They will take you through the shop after, but it’s perfectly acceptable to not purchase anything while there.

At this point, we were feeling pretty hungry so we stopped for lunch (thank goodness we had snacks with us!). We found a great little place right in the old medina, and it even overlooked the tanneries, so we got a leisurely look at them.

Afternoon: Breathtaking Stops in the Fez Medina

After lunch, our guide took us on a walk through some of the most beautiful parts of the Fez medina. Since we were short on time with only one day in Fez, it was great to have someone who knew all the must-see and most beautiful stops. He walked us by gates and museums and doors that were all stunning. Several of them were hidden and would’ve been tricky to find without his help. While I don’t often recommend tour guides, it was definitely worthwhile having one for one day in Fez.

Our favorite of the stops was the Bou Inania Medersa, an old school for Islamic learning. Most mosques do not allow non-Muslim visitors, so this was especially nice to see (and more ornate than most mosques). It was absolutely stunning! While there were certainly other visitors while we were there, it definitely did not feel overcrowded. The colors, architecture, and carvings were all jaw-droppingly beautiful. It was also fairly quiet and nice respite from the hustle of the souks. I highly recommend stopping here on your Morocco itinerary, either with or without kids.

Evening: Hammam Visit in Fez

By this point, we were all pretty worn out, so we picked up some food and took it back to our beautiful riad. The grownups had each schedule a hammam bath experience this night through our riad hosts, and I was up first. So Daniel fed the kids and put them to bed while I enjoyed a relatively peaceful hour and a half in the bathhouse. Not a bad gig when visiting Morocco with kids!

Our riad host had one of his female relatives come to take me to the hammam and accompany me in there. I’m super glad he did this because I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. You can theoretically pick up a packet at a number of souks with everything you need (black soap, foot scrubber, exfoliating pad, etc.), but I would’ve felt confused and overwhelmed, and had no idea of the order. While I definitely felt a little uncomfortable with someone else bathing me, it was less uncomfortable than sitting there having no idea what to do.

Visiting a Traditional (non-fancy) Hammam in Fez

The bathhouse I visited was a very traditional local one – I saw two other tourist girls the entire time I was there. Mostly, it was local women with their friends or children. While I couldn’t understand a thing as conversation was almost exclusively in Arabic, it was still fascinating watching their interactions. It really was like a party in there!

There’s a whole series of cleansing steps, including washing, rinsing, washing more, rinsing more, exfoliating, exfoliating again, exfoliating until you feel like all your skin is coming off. Moroccans take their exfoliating very seriously! There was also a clay foot scrubber thing that felt heavenly. My guide also washed my hair for me, which felt nice.

The whole experience took between 1-1.5 hours, although I’m sure you could make it shorter or longer depending on your preferences. There were many women who were in there when I arrived and still there when I was leaving!

My entire experience was out in the open with all the other women. Some upscale hotels offer more private hammam experiences, with additional luxuries such as private steam rooms, massages (although my host did give me a bit of a massage at the end), oil treatments, etc. While that obviously sounds lovely, I highly recommend experiencing a very traditional and basic one at least once while on a Morocco family holiday. While a bit uncomfortable at times, for me, the cultural observations made it an integral part of our Morocco itinerary.

What to Take to a Moroccan Hammam

I felt a little uncomfortable and overwhelmed at the idea of visiting a hammam by myself, so I was glad to have my female host with me. She also provided all the necessary cleansing items, so I didn’t have to bring those along. If you’d like to purchase your own, go to a souk stall that sells pharmaceuticals and they should be able to provide you with a package that has everything you need.

Other than that, be sure to bring a towel and an open mind. Many people will wear swimsuit bottoms (or an extra pair of underwear) inside the hammam. Tops are uncommon, although you of course can wear one if that makes you more comfortable.

And here’s my embarrassing story about the hammam – I forgot to bring swimsuit bottoms with me!! The only swimsuit I had was a one-piece, and I didn’t even think about it until I arrived at the hammam. So I had to go completely nude inside. I was definitely feeling uncomfortable and trying to sit discreetly for much of the time. Haha! There were other people who were nude (even if they were mostly older Moroccan women) and nobody gave me a second glance, but I still felt pretty jittery. So do as I say, not as I do and remember to bring along everything you need!

Overall, it was a fascinating cultural experience and I’m glad I went – at least once. Dan’s experience was completely different, though. He basically had a very strong Moroccan man forcing him into various calisthenics/stretching/judo poses. Quite the evening!

Day 4: Drive to Merzouga – A long driving day in Morocco with kids

This was the longest driving day on our Morocco itinerary as we left Fes to head all the way to Merzouga. Google Maps technically says it should be 7 hours of drive time, but we found that most everything in Morocco took longer than Google Maps said it should. Even disregarding stops, slow traffic or construction or bad roads tended to slow things down. Still, it was a fairly easy, pleasant drive down to the desert, even when visiting Morocco with kids.

We stopped briefly in Ifran, in the middle of what the locals like to call the Switzerland of Morocco. It was a nice mountain town with decidedly European-looking buildings and chalets. It wasn’t somewhere I’d feel the need to spend additional time while on a Morocco family holiday, but it was a pleasant enough restroom/snack stop.

Soon after Ifran, we passed through the monkey colony on the road. There were tons of them! Fun for the kids to see, but again, just a quick stop before we were back on the road.

That night, we arrived at our guest house in Merzouga in time to check in and head straight to dinner there. There had been a miscommunication and they didn’t know we’re vegetarian, but fortunately were able to make us some eggs. (Eggs are very common in Morocco, so if you’re vegetarian and run into similar issues – and do eat eggs – try requesting eggs as a substitute.)

After that, we headed to bed before our day in the desert!

Day 5: 4×4 Sahara Dunes Excursion, Desert Camel Ride, Desert Camp – one of the best days of our Morocco itinerary

This next day was probably our most anticipated of our trip to Morocco with kids. We were visiting the Sahara Desert! As you drive into Merzouga, you can see the dunes appearing almost out of nowhere, and we were anxious to head directly in.

We started out the day by visiting an oasis and learned about how they grow crops. Pretty interesting! Then we headed out on a Jeep ride amongst the sand dunes. The kids thought this was delightfully exciting and were anxious to drive up more and higher dunes. After that, we stopped to visit a traditional nomad family, who welcomed us in and offered us tea and cookies. It was kind and homey and pretty neat to be sitting in their tent. We followed this up with a stop to hear some traditional African gnawa music. It was fascinating and beautiful!

After stopping to eat some lunch, we headed back to our guest house where at least our younger two kids napped (by the end of the day, we wished the older two had, as well). We don’t often return for dedicated nap time while traveling. We were really grateful for it this day, however, as we ended up staying up quite late.

Riding Camels with Kids on a Morocco Family Holiday

Around 5pm, our guest house guides gathered us, along with a couple of other families who were traveling out. There were 3 camels for our family – 2 persons on each. We had the older two kids share, I was with the baby, and Daniel with the next youngest. I was a little concerned about the older two riding on their own (camels are really tall!), but they were fine.

The last time I rode a camel was when I was 7 months pregnant in Jordan, and it turns out that riding a camel while not pregnant is not all that much better! I wasn’t really prepared for how uncomfortable it would be, or for how long (about 3 hours with stops). The kids were all uncomfortable after a while, as well, and no one was thrilled to keep sitting. Still, it was a pretty magical experience riding a camel with our family in the Sahara at sunset, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Our guide was kind enough to let us stop briefly a couple of times to take photos. He was also very patient and accommodating with the kids. The baby got very annoyed after a while, so I took him out of the carrier on my back and walked with him for a bit. Turns out it’s very difficult to walk in Saharan dunes, so that only lasted about 15 minutes before I was exhausted – ha. So I got back on and tried to keep him happy in front of me with limited success.

Sunset in the Sahara

Still, we made it to the famous sunset stop with particularly high dunes. We climbed up with a bunch of others going to other camps to the top of the dune to watch the sunset over the Sahara. It was truly incredible, and the highlight of our Morocco family holiday. It didn’t feel overcrowded, but the few groups that were there felt almost as a gathering in awe of creation.

While we were up there, we enjoyed sliding down the sand a bit, and just taking in the landscape. We really appreciated the colorful scarves we had purchased. They were very useful for protecting our eyes and mouths from the sand!

Arriving at the Desert Camp

After that, we came back down and went the rest of the way to the camp, arriving at dusk. We settled in and changed into pajamas (we were very glad to have brought our base layers and down jackets, as it got quite chilly at night). Then we looked for the stars that were beginning to appear, and used the (VERY rustic…no running water) facilities. The guides were preparing dinner, but it took quite a long time before it was ready (10:15pm).

The baby, at least, was losing his mind. So we put him to bed and took turns eating while the other stayed in the tent. Our daughter even fell asleep at the dinner table, she was so tired!

While there were many things we loved about this experience, I would not recommend this particular desert camp when visiting Morocco with kids. I’m sure there are others with a slightly earlier dinnertime, more separate tens, and more private/modern bathroom facilities that I would choose if I were to do it over again. While we chose our accommodations for the majority of the journey, we had our transport agency arrange the desert camp, and made the mistake of not specifying these requests. If that’s important to you, as well, especially when visiting Morocco with kids, be sure to look into the types of accommodations and timings as they vary greatly.

Still, it was a wonderful night with delicious food and music, and we went to bed delighted to be sleeping in the Sahara.

Day 6: Sahara, Dades Gorges, Skoura Oasis

Stargazing & Sunrise in the Sahara

The next morning, we set our alarms for 4am, a time we’d been told was one of the darkest and best for stargazing. Truly, this was awe-inspiring. The Milky Way was completely clear to the naked eye, and we spotted Jupiter as well as several constellations. We decided to wake our 8-year-old, who had been super into the stars the night before, who was blown away.

We had download an app beforehand that tells you what is in the night sky. That was incredibly helpful in identifying different stars and planets, as we are by no means expert stargazers! It made the experience even more meaningful to know what we were seeing.

We went back to bed for a couple of hours, then woke up for the sunrise across the dunes. Despite some slight haze, it was beautiful watching the light come up over the sand and to see how it changed colors.

After that, we opted to take a 4×4 back to our guest house (we didn’t think we could endure another lengthy camel ride, especially without breakfast). We showered and repacked, then ate a late breakfast there. After that, we were back on the road for another long day of driving.

Dades Gorges to Skoura

The big stop of the day was in the Dades Valley. These are river-carved gorges that were steeper than I knew even existed in Morocco. It was stunning! The kids loved walking across the very shallow river a few times and throwing rocks from the opposite bank. It was lovely to do a short hike, especially to get out some wiggles on a driving day in Morocco with kids. The drive into here and also through Todgha Gorges was so beautiful, and completely different from the scenery we’d experienced the day before. It was so fun to experience them back-to-back on our Morocco itinerary as it really highlighted what a diverse and fascinating country it is.

Finally, we ended our day at Skoura Oasis, where we stayed at a super lovely guest house, where we had two separate huts for our family. We had dinner there and headed to bed after a long and early day.

Day 7: Ouarzazate, Ait-Ben-Haddou, Marrakech – A surprise win on our Morocco itinerary

Our last big driving day involved about 5 hours of drive time with one bigger stop. Many movies are filmed in Ouarzazate, so we paused briefly to see the recording studios. After that, we headed straight to the Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, a nearby fortress city.

Visit to Ait-Ben-Haddou with Kids

Once in Ait-Ben-Haddou, our driver found us a guide. He knew a ton and taught us quite a bit about the fortress and its history. The guide cost about $10 USD for a couple of hours, which was definitely worthwhile. It turns out a number of movies have been filmed at Ait-Ben-Haddou, so many locals enjoyed tallying off a bunch of names for us.

The ksar, or group of earthen buildings, is a very well-preserved example of this type of architecture (and why it is a UNESCO-protected site). We loved learning about the trade that took place, as well as the different types of industries that prevailed. Many steps lead to the top of the fortress (which houses a granary and a great view). Our guide very kindly held the baby (who loved him) the entire way. It was certainly nice to have a break from babywearing while climbing in the heat!

It was a fascinating visit, and a very worthwhile stop when visiting Morocco with kids, or really on any Morocco itinerary. Just be sure to take lots of water! We stopped to eat lunch in the town after, again a lengthier meal than we’d anticipated. That’s something that was very common in Morocco – meals almost never took under an hour, and often much longer. Food takes longer to prepare, serve, and eat. While it was really nice to partake in the slower food style, it’s definitely something to keep in mind when on a schedule with your Morocco itinerary.

Drive to Marrakech

Finally, we headed out on the last bit of our drive to Marrakech with kids. The drive was beautiful, with diverse landscapes and golden sun. It was stunning coming through the mountain passes! Sitting in the front seat and staring out fervently, I was fine, even though I tend to get motion sick. Still, I’d recommend having some motion sickness tablets or ginger chews on hand just in case.

Our driver dropped us off at one end of the medina near our stunning riad. The lovely housekeeper met us by the van (our driver communicated in advance with all our riad hosts) and guided us to the riad. This was super helpful as the medina is incredibly complex. We were glad to be traveling light as the streets were very narrow and cobblestoned, and motorcycles zoomed past every few seconds. I definitely had our kids practically hugging the wall!

We settled in for a bit to our absolutely spectacular riad – likely the best place we’ve EVER stayed. This is not sponsored at all (I wish!) but it really was just that amazing. It was beautiful, and also modern. We headed out to some dinner, then came back and collapsed into the most comfortable beds we could imagine.

(Link to our riad in Marrakech)

Day 8: Marrakech – An essential to any Morocco itinerary

Souade, the lovely housekeeper for the riad, came in the morning to prepare us a hot breakfast right in our own kitchen. It was so delightful! She’s an amazing cook, and everything was fresh and lovely. It was pretty delightful sitting and eating right in our own courtyard.

After breakfast, we headed just outside the medina to wait for our driver to arrive. While we were waiting, off to the side of a tiny street, a motorcycle came zooming around the corner being driven by two kids who couldn’t have been more than 12. Unfortunately, they knocked over our 6 year old daughter in the process, who had quite the fright. Happily, she was just fine, but strong warning to keep your kids VERY close and as close to the walls as possible!

Marrakech Bahia Palace with Kids

Our driver took us first over to Bahia Palace. Originally on our Morocco itinerary, we’d planned to arrive very early, but we figured we were past that point with our lovely and long breakfast. We were correct. Still, it only took about 10 minutes to purchase tickets and enter, so not too bad. The interior of the palace really was so beautiful and absolutely worth seeing. the colors were amazing! Lots of bright blues and yellows were a fun change from some deeper colors!

There were so many nooks and crannies throughout the place that despite the crowds, it was relatively easy to find space to enjoy in peace and to find some respite. There were also many open outdoor courtyards, which was perfect for kids who need frequent breaks to run. Not much felt highly breakable or fragile, so it actually felt like a great place when visiting Marrakech with kids to experience the beauty and colors of the city without feeling constantly on edge.

Koutoubia Mosque

After Bahia Palace, we stopped by the Koutoubia Mosque. While non-Muslims cannot enter this mosque, as the largest mosque in Marrakech, it was still absolutely worth stopping to see. The minaret is beautiful! Islamic architecture really is so distinctively beautiful and we loved noticing similarities and differences in style across the country.

Souks

After our stop at the mosque, we asked our driver to drop us back off at the medina. We tried to visit the Ben Youssef Madersa, but unfortunately, it was closed for renovation. So we continued on our way to get some lunch. Then we spent the afternoon in the Marrakech souks. Somehow, this felt like the most Moroccan experience of our entire visit. Even for folks who aren’t particularly into shopping (us) and who weren’t planning to bring much home (again, us) because they pack very light (yep, us), it was absolutely fascinating.

We loved seeing the vast variety of items being sold. There were stalls for everything from lamps to rugs to colored glass to ceramics to spices to silverware – and tons more. The hallways were packed to the brim. There were even a few times when we literally could not move for the throngs. It was intense! I would recommend entering with caution if you experience any sort of claustrophobia or anxiety.

Still, it was absolutely fascinating. Haggling is an expected part of the sale in Morocco, so it was fun to try it out a bit for our minimal purchases. Mostly, we enjoyed watching and observing and taking in all the colors, sights, sounds, and smells.

Walking Through Jemaa el-Fna with Kids

Once we arrived at Jemaa el-Fna, the main square, we loved partaking in even more juices. It was one of the best parts of Morocco with kids! The juices are inexpensive and fresh across the country, but here was a terrifically broad selection, so be sure to plan some juice tasting into your Morocco itinerary. It was so fun picking them out! We also grabbed a quick dinner right on the square and took in night as it fell and the lights began to come on.

From there, we managed to navigate our way back to our riad – without even getting lost, or losing any children! That felt like an achievement in and of itself. Do be careful as you’re walking back through the souks, especially at night. While we felt safe, especially in a group, definitely keep your eyes and ears open.

Day 9: Adding a Day to Our Morocco Itinerary

As I mentioned previously, we only spent 9 days instead of 10 on our Morocco itinerary. While it allowed us a wonderful overview, we did feel a bit rushed at the end. By the time we got to Marrakech, we’d been on the move a lot. We would’ve really enjoyed one extra day to take in the city.

Had we had an extra day, we absolutely would’ve visited the Majorelle Gardens, which are supposedly stunning. We were disappointed we didn’t have time to visit them, but just couldn’t fit them in.

We also really were hoping to take a Moroccan cooking class, but the timing did not work out. Marrakech and Fez were the cities that had the most options, and where I’d recommend taking a class. However, the timings just didn’t work out for the days we were there. Additionally, many of the classes allow you to take a visit to the market for ingredients, which lengthens the class. With only a day, we didn’t feel we wanted to spend more than half of it for the cooking class. It would’ve been great to have an extra day in Marrakech on our Morocco itinerary! If you do have more time in Marrakech, here’s a great 3-7 day Marrakech itinerary.

Day 10: Casablanca, King Hassan II Mosque, Departure

This final morning of our time in Morocco with kids, we enjoyed one last leisurely breakfast at our gorgeous riad. Then we headed out with our luggage to meet our driver and begin the journey to Casablanca. The cities are close (about 2.5 hours), and the roads fast, so we made good time getting up there.

The major thing we hoped to do in Casablanca was visit the King Hassan II Mosque. This was high on our list as it’s one of only two mosques in Morocco that are open to non-Muslims. Unfortunately, we arrived right as the call to prayer was beginning. This meant the mosque would be closed to the public for a couple of hours. We calculated that we would have just enough time to visit after it reopened and before we needed to leave for our flight. So we decided to go see something else and come back.

In the meantime, we stopped by the beach briefly, and ate some overpriced lunch on the waterfront. Not our favorite meal, but enough to get us through the day.

King Hassan II Mosque with Kids

When we returned, the mosque was, indeed, open. (Yet another time it was so nice to have our driver drop us off instead of worrying about parking.) We paid our entry and went in with the required tour group. The tour guide was actually fascinating and had lots of interesting information about its construction (I had no idea how recent of a building it is!).

After listening for a bit, we wandered off after entering the mosque itself. It was mysteriously beautiful seeing how the faithful line up to pray, and the equitability with which they perform their rituals. It felt like a gift to be able to enter.

Overall, the mosque and the workers there were very open and receptive to having kids there. The baby was being a bit loud, but quieted down once we entered (thank goodness). Otherwise, they seemed pretty open to going in and out (there was no set exit time), if that became an issue. The mosque visit was a perfect capstone to our Morocco itinerary.

Flying Out of Casablanca with Kids

Following the mosque, we hopped back in the van and headed straight to the airport. While security check was very fast, the line at customs was INSANELY slow. There were only 2 people in front of us in the family line but we waited over 45 minutes. It was ridiculous!! This was the only real negative on our entire Morocco itinerary. I can’t imagine if we were in the regular line, which easily had 250 people in it. It certainly seemed like people were missing flights left and right, based on the complaints and running and asking certain people to rush through that we heard.

If flying out of here, be sure to find the family line. Following security, be sure to leave PLENTY of time to clear customs. Finally, there were very few amenities in terms of restaurants and such, at least in the terminal where we were flying to Lisbon. Plan accordingly (especially if you’re short on time from taking forever at customs!).

Review of 10 Day Morocco Itinerary

Overall, we had an absolutely incredible time on our Morocco itinerary. It’s a stunning, diverse, fascinating country that we’re all glad to have visited. We loved our driver, and he was invaluable as a logistical and informational resource.

Nine days felt like a perfect amount of time for a first visit to Morocco with kids, although we would’ve really appreciated one extra day in Marrakech to take it all in. It was long enough (and during the right season) where we could take a pretty decent tour through much of the country, its big cities, and major sites.

It wasn’t long enough to do a deep dive into any one city or place, but that wasn’t our plan for a first visit, either. We loved getting an overview of the country, and fully intend to go back to explore more. I highly recommend this amount of time for a highlights tour of Morocco with kids.

Do you have any questions on this Morocco itinerary? We loved the country and can’t wait to explore more deeply, and would love to answer any questions!