Where to go in Morocco with toddlers?

Hi and welcome to Morocco 🙂 I’m a Moroccan living in Germany.. For your question; I would advise not to go to hot areas in summer where the temperature can go up to 45 C, such as Marrakech, Ouarzazate, Zagora, Arfoud, Errachidia.. and other desert/sahara destinations.. But if your trip is in winter then visiting those destinations is fine and enjoyable.

I can extend the very good answer of Nicholas. We went to Morocco in April in the way we like most. That is unorganized traveling. We had a ticket, a car rental for two weeks and a hotel reservation for one night. We arrived in Casablanca, which in my opinion is not quite interesting to visit with small kids. The we went to El Jadida 100 km south of Casablanca, which has a brilliant beach and an interesting portuguese center. For there on we continued to de cascades of ouzoud, which by far was our favorite destination in Morocco, due to (as Nicholas already mentions) the monkeys and of course the cascades.

In Marrakech we decided not to stay in the center but select self catering accomodation 15 minutes by car outside the of the city. We preferred that over the crowds to get a good nights rest.

Other areas we enjoyed on our road trip were, the mountains south of Marrakech and Essaouira.

We took our four-year old to Morocco earlier this year. We too had similar worries regarding whether it would be a safe and fun place to take a young child.

We all had a fantastic time.

Travelling with toddlers in Morocco is no hardship. The people love children. Locals were delighted that we (a Western couple with young child) were in their country. Our son was thoroughly fussed over everywhere we went. To some parents, this would be itself worrisome. Our son loved being the centre of attention wherever we went.

Specific details of our trip

We based ourselves in Marrakech, staying in a riad close to the central square, the djemma el-Fna. All the street stall vendors got to know us by name as we made the trip to and from the square each day, again, mainly because we had our young son and he was clearly having a great time.

There are a number of parks in Marrakech, some better than others for taking a young one. I recommend the Cyberpark and Les Jardins Majorelles.

The djemma el-Fna is a riot of things happening and will captivate a youngster’s attention. Snake charmers, juice sellers, hawkers – you name it. We took a few rides on the horse-drawn calaches around the town – again a hit with our son.

We took a number of excursions out of Marrakech.

Our first was to Les Cascades d’Ouzoud. These are picturesque waterfalls with the added drawcard of numerous monkeys roaming about.

Then we went to the Ourika valley in the Atlas mountains. Stunning scenery. A rather precipitous walk to see the view – if we had known how steep the walk was going to be we probably wouldn’t have taken our son. Luckily we had a child carrier back pack.

Our third trip out of Marakech was an overnight trip to the Sahara desert. Morrocco is large and driving takes a long time. We had, with our previous excursions, decided that our son was okay with the long trips and could take the several hours’ trip in the van to the Sahara. He loved that trip too: riding on a camel out to the massive sand dunes and sleeping in a tent.

We also went to Casablanca – but there wasn’t much there to recommend it for kids, we found. We did have lunch at Rick’s Cafe. The staff were very friendly and having our young son there was no problem at all.

Morrocco, for us, was a wonderful place to take our young son. He had a fantastic time.

There are issues regarding safety, like travelling in any other country.

Friends have just been, visiting both Marrakech and the coast with their 9 month old. Sure, he won’t remember any of it, but the parents had a blast, and were even invited to stay with the family of a local they made friends with, who thought having the kid to stay as well was just brilliant. Everyone benefited from the experience.

Of course, a 9 month old is probably at an age where they sleep more and aren’t trying to run off at a moment’s notice, which may make the difference when considering the trip with toddlers…

During my time in Morocco, I saw hardly any families with toddlers. There are hardly any specific attractions to visit geared specifically towards children. The families I did see had older kids, and for them it can be fun if say they get to ride quad bikes in the desert and go on camel rides in Western Morocco.

Sightseeing in cities such as Marrakech, Casablanca, Fez, Essaouira are centered around historical monuments and museums. Perhaps not the most fun places for 2-3 year old toddlers to visit.