Family-Friendly Morocco Tour in One Week

Mother and daughter walking on streets of Ait Benhaddou near Ouarzazate, Morocco

What to expect on this itinerary

Handcrafted with three distinctive Moroccan destinations, this one-week tour is perfect for families who want something a little more intrepid than a standard vacation. Ancient souks arouse the senses, historical villages immerse you in tradition, and there is so much to do and see. From Sufi drumming to horseback rides and movie scenes to Berber villages, you will fall in love with this incredible country.

Countries Visited

Morocco

Places Visited

Essaouira, Marrakech, Ouarzazate

Suggested Duration

7 Days

Customizable Itinerary

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Day 1

Essaouira – Colorful First Impressions

Essaouira evokes many dreamy impressions of Morocco, but it is much smaller than famous cities like Marrakech and Fes. Ancient castle walls keep guard over the city center, and the streets are broad and pedestrianized. You will be met at the airport and transferred to a hotel in the medina. A local guide will take you on a walking tour orientation so that you can feast on some of the exotic flavors and scenes. You will already be able to notice the reverie that Moroccans have toward family. It will all be very exciting and much calmer than being in Marrakech. This evening, you can continue the exotic narrative with a Sufi drumming workshop.

What's Included:

Transfer
Accommodation
Tour
Day 2

Essaouira – Water Sports and Horse Rides

Day 3

Marrakech – Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride

Day 4

Marrakech – Family Cooking Class

Day 5

Ouarzazate – Mountain Trekking in the High Atlas

Day 6

Ouarzazate – Recreating Famous Movies

Day 7

Ouarzazate – Departure

Trip Highlights

  • Ride a horse-drawn carriage through Marrakech’s evocative medina and feast your senses on the traditional scenes
  • Enjoy a family hike in the High Atlas that will have you traveling with mules between ancient Berber villages
  • Lounge around a beautiful Atlantic Ocean beach and find some solitude for sharing family time
  • Recreate a variety of Hollywood movies by visiting Ouarzazate’s studios and the setting for Gladiator
  • Learn how to craft local food with an immersive Moroccan cooking class for kids
  • Have your choice of water sports in Essaouira, which includes learning to surf, before relaxing on the town’s rooftops for a dose of traditional Morocco
  • Drum the night away with a Sufi workshop that is tailored for children

Detailed Description

Morocco is enchantment at every turn with new experiences every day. The country welcomes you to indulge in a dreamy vacation through the country’s premier family highlights with three very distinctive destinations in one week of travel. Essaouira is a charming old city that is complemented by golden beaches and an easy-going atmosphere. Marrakech will provide your cultural immersion. Then, in the High Atlas, you will savor mountain experiences and local Berber connections with a chance to venture off the beaten path.

Morocco is perfect for families. This is a country that loves visitors. The people are famously friendly and place a large focus on the family unit. Every evening, you will see local families playing on city squares. In remote areas, you will find that local women pick up their children and wave to you from their doorways.

Such a warm welcome always helps a vacation run smoothly. Morocco is also an experiential place for families. You will learn Sufi drumming and journey briefly into its mystical realm. A local cooking class will bring fun in the kitchen and plenty of exotic flavors. There can be downtime and water sports on the coast, hiking in breathtaking mountains, and dozens of famous movie locations within easy reach of each other. The country is perfect for parents who want to continue the intrepid travels of their youth with their new travel companions.

After flying to Essaouira, you will spend two nights in the town, which will include a horseback ride on the beach and a Sufi drumming workshop. Marrakech is only a short distance away, and you can celebrate most of its treasures, from a horse-drawn carriage ride to a cooking class. It is only 90 minutes from the city to the High Atlas mountains, where you will spend a day hiking between Berber villages. Ouarzazate is an offbeat and unknown place to finish, but it is perfect for families because it contains the continent’s largest movie studios. All your tours will be private and customizable, plus you can sink into some of Morocco’s finest accommodation for families.

Starting Price

$2,600 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

The starting price is based on travel during the low season for a minimum of two travelers staying in shared 3-star accommodations. Please inquire for a custom trip quote based on your travel preferences and travel dates.

4.9

Verified Traveler Reviews

Based on 585 reviews

Morocco Tour Review: Marrakech, Chefchaouen, Volubilis, Fes, Sahara, Skoura, Ait Benhaddou, Essaouira, Camel Ride, Cooking Class, Hammam, 2 Weeks

Another magical Zicasso trip. This time to Morocco with a local agency. The travel specialists ensured our family was well taken care of from the minute we landed in Marrakech.

We were greeted by our incredible driver with a basket of pistachios, almonds, apricots, figs, the most delicious dates, and a bag with adapters, a map, small bills and coins (for bathrooms), and a beautifully custom-designed leather backpack with our daughters’ names engraved on it in Arabic. Our whole family agrees that our driver’s hospitality, attention to detail, and love for his country made this trip extra-special. Even though there were many long drives during this trip, our driver always asked when we needed breaks along the way, seemed to know many of our local guides, and ensured we were comfortable and saw key viewpoints during our drive.

One of our most memorable visits was to the blue city of Chefchaouen. We stayed in a riad on New Year’s Eve and were treated to live music and delicious Moroccan food for dinner. The next day we had plans to hike to a waterfall; however, the rains flooded much of the path and the travel specialist asked if we were okay to take a walking tour of Chefchaouen instead. We were grateful for this flexibility and all very impressed with our local guide. Since he grew up there, he took us to many of his favorite spots, including a walk along the river where we had the absolute best pomegranates we have ever had. Not only the fruit itself, but we were then treated to pomegranate juice and a special combination of orange and pomegranate, which remains our family’s favorite.

On our way to Fes, we stopped in Volubilis. Again, our guide made the tour of these Roman ruins and UNESCO World Heritage Site one to remember. Our guide’s in-depth historical knowledge and ability to find the perfect photo spots made the ruins come to life. We are thankful we took the time to stop here.

Our stay in our riad in Fes was truly remarkable. The intricate details in both of our rooms, the superb breakfast, and excellent service will hold a special place in our hearts. Again, the local guide who took us through the souks and then the food tasting tour grew up in the community and seemed to know the local favorites.

Our driver’s keen driving skills helped us maneuver through a winter storm in the Middle Atlas Mountains. The road closed for many hours, but with our driver’s patience and perseverance we managed to cross the mountains and have lunch in a great local spot.

Riding the camels in the Sahara to our desert camp was a memorable experience for all of us. The camp itself was absolutely exceptional. Heated tents with private bathrooms and very comfortable beds were beyond what we imagined. We were treated to a delicious dinner that night and sang and played music with the local camp guides after the glorious sunset. After catching the sunrise and a scrumptious breakfast, we began our long journey back to Marrakech, going through the towns of Skoura and Ait Benhaddou.

In Marrakech, the travel company arranged for us to stay in our hotel, where we made spa appointments for the most soothing hammams and had lovely breakfasts each morning. In addition to the local shopping and especially the spice seller, our highlight was definitely the cooking class on the farm with our chef, where we learned three kinds of tagines with couscous, salad, and desserts. We toured the farm and just had an amazing experience with our chef and her sous chef. We treasure the recipes we learned and have already recommended the farm’s cooking class to friends. It is absolutely worth the drive of 29km outside of Marrakech.

Our trip concluded with a wonderful stay in the coastal town of Essaouira, probably our favorite town. Walking along the seaside, having fresh fish, and meandering along the square gave us wonderful memories to bring back home.

We are so grateful for Zicasso, the travel company, our driver, and all our local guides for this five-star trip. Thank you so very much for helping us make such a delightful family memory!

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Morocco Travel Review: 2 Weeks

Zicasso’s travel agent and his team were great and very accommodating.

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Morocco Vacation Review: 12-Night Trip

The trip was superbly organized and Zicasso’s travel company was very professional, and demonstrated great care to ensure we had the kind of trip we envisioned.

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Morocco Tour Review: Casablanca, Fes, Rabat, Marrakech, Hassan II Mosque, Mountain Hike, Desert Camp, 10-Day Trip

We have used Zicasso affiliates several times and this was one of the best. They tailored a creative program in Casablanca, Fes, Rabat, and Marrakech to our likes, needs, and abilities, and modified it as needed before and after the trip began.

The guides were very good on the whole. Two of the three hotels were outstanding and the third was excellent. We couldn’t have had a more punctual, careful, or informative driver. We even met one of the owners of the company for a coffee. He went out of his way to make our stay special, safe, and secure.

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Morocco Trip Review: Rabat, Tangier, Marrakech, Atlas Mountains, Hiking, 11 Days

We couldn't have asked for a better tour guide and company. Our travel agent really saved our trip. We reached out just a few weeks before our 11-day visit to the country. We were so impressed at how well he listened to what we wanted to do, as well as our challenges with trying to meet up with our daughter. Despite that, he was able to pull together a magnificent itinerary for Rabat, Tangier, Marrakech, and the Atlas Mountains.

We needed a driver the whole time and our driver was so much more than that. The riads our travel agent found, the restaurants, and the cultural experiences were just perfect. Plus, we had ample downtime. The guides were knowledgeable and accommodating to our requests.

From the minute we arrived in Rabat to the moment we left, we felt in good hands. We are so grateful to their expertise and to Zicasso for connecting us to such an excellent person and company. We will reach out to Zicasso the next time we plan a trip abroad. Meanwhile, we tell everyone we meet about your services.

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Morocco Vacation Review: Fes, Marrakech, Sahara, High Atlas Mountains, 2 Weeks

While I normally handle my own trip planning, we decided to work with Zicasso for our first trip to Morocco at the advice of a friend, and I am so pleased with the entire experience. The knowledgeable travel agent listened to our ideas and helped us create an itinerary.

Everything was seamless. Accommodations were fantastic and the experiences exceeded our expectations. Our driver and guides enriched our understanding of the country and culture, while providing us a nice platform for exploring on our own. They were all very personable and well informed.

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Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist.

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