Marrakesh: a 5 day itinerary for family travel

First off, where to stay?

Medina

If you really want the full Marrakesh experience you should probably look for a hotel
or riad near the Medina (city centre) of Marrakesh, however there are multiple things
to consider if you choose to stay in this area. First and foremost it is incredibly
crowded all day long and it’s pretty loud, not to mention that there’s a call for prayer
five times a day. Although Riads are incredibly cute and authentic they are not very
practical if you have got little children running or crawling around. Riads are often
heavily decorated and feature a lot of potential things that your little bean can injure
themselves with.

Gueliz

Gueliz is the more modern neighbourhood of Marrakesh, we chose this as our base
and were not disappointed. We felt very safe and there was lots of green around.
Sure you do feel a sense of incompleteness walking around the streets because are
is a lot of construction going on. When we got to our AirBnB we were sceptical at first
because of how it looked from the outside but it turned out to be very nice and
modern from the inside, with a pool, full building cleaning service each day and a
24h security guard both outside and inside the building. Everything is also very
walkable from Gueliz. 

Resorts outside the city

There are plenty of resorts to be found outside of Marrakech, personally resorts are
an unexplored territory for me so I don’t really dare to give you any remarks when it
comes to this. But if you are a resort type of person then there’s definitely some
options to be found.

Day 1: settling in, go for a walk and eat some delicious taijne

Marrakesh is an incredibly overwhelming and chaotic city, especially upon arrival. So
I’d definitely recommend taking it easy on the first day, you might think this to be a
waste but trust you’ll thank yourself later. On top of that for the majority of the year
temperatures are above the 25*c, so that doesn’t make things easier. Also take this
day to let your children get used to the cultural differences and prepare them for
things they might be exposed to later, such as animal cruelty, beggars, persistent
shopkeepers and a humongous amount of stray cats.
Go for a walk through your area, just try to avoid places that are too secluded.
Marrakesh is a relatively safe city because there’s a lot of people and a lot of police
and guards, but there are always some unsavoury characters. Try to find a nice
restaurant and enjoy some Moroccan cuisine. If you’re around the Gueliz area I’d
recommend Delices Ferkous. They serve great Moroccan food but also have plenty
of more Western options, especially convenient when you travel with picky eaters.

Day 2: Visiting the Marrakech Medina and stroll through the Cyber Park

After having met with Marrakech’s wonderfully chaotic traffic and city, it is finally time
to get out your baby carrier, park your strollers in your hotel/bnb and put on your
nicest headscarf and head out to a completely different universe. Basically, expect
anything. The Medina of Marrakesh with the Jemaa el-Fnaa square at its centre.
Medina feels like a lawless place where you’ll be left feeling drenched in complete
turmoil.

Okay, that might sound a bit too intimidating, but I no, I am serious this place is
incredibly overwhelming. And I cannot stress this enough NO NOT BRING A
STROLLER, it is damn near impossible to navigate through the crowds and narrow
streets with your four legged food stain covered vehicle, upon that you’ll probably
would want to head up to a rooftop restaurant for a bite, not ideal with a pram.
So basically I would recommend spending as much time strolling through the souks
(marketstands in Arabic) as you can basically handle, it is really up to you (read: your
children) for how long you can stand to walk around. And it is advisable to keep
Google Maps on hand because you can get lost very easily, but you can also ask
any shopkeeper or (preferably) restaurant person to direct you to the Jemaa el-Fnaa
square.

Tips:
- Keep your children CLOSE
The streets at the souks are really narrow and incredibly crowded, there’s
motorcycles going through constantly and it is very easy to get lost. So please keep
your children close, in case of emergency give your children a bracelet or a keychain
with your phone number on it so that when they get lost they at least have
something.
- Cover yourself as much as possible
To attract as little attention as possible, cover yourself as much as possible. A
headscarf is your best friend here, it can cover both your hair and shoulders and
could serve as a means to cover up when you need to nurse.
- You don’t have to answer to anyone
Moroccan salesmen can be quite persistent and sometimes even sexist. Please do
not feel obligated to respond to any of their harassment, it is daily practice for them,
they do it to any bypasser, so ignoring them is your best approach.
- Always haggle
The price they offer you is always ridiculously high. Basically start with 70% less,
after that 50%, then try for 30%, if they refuse, only go for the 50% when you really
really want the item, otherwise you’ll probably be better off getting it somewhere
else.
- Shopkeepers are all liars
When they tell you something is handmade, it is not. If they tell you something is
antique, it is not. If they tell you it is real Louis Vuitton, it is most certainly not ‘made
in France’. 100% argan oil? 100% chance it is at least 70% water. Don’t believe a
word they say, only buy things because they look nice and not for the quality or
authenticity.
After having strolled through the chaos you might feel a bit overwhelmed. Head
towards the Koutoubia Moskee and move towards the Cyber Parc Arsat Moulay, this
park is absolutely gorgeous and definitely worth a visit, it is very well maintained and
there even is a toilet facility, which is hard to come by in Marrakesh.

Day 3: Explore Marrakech

I will present you with some suggestions, these activities really depend on the day of
your children.
All ages: Visit the Jardin Majorelle Gardens and the YSL Museum.
Just make sure to book your tickets in advance to avoid having to wait for a long
period of time. Especially at peak season the gardens can become crowded easily,
so I would recommend getting an early slot. Is it worth it? Kinda? The gardens are
absolutely beautiful don’t get me wrong but it is not much nicer than the Cyber Parc,
the houses however are absolutely stunning. However for children it isn’t as
enjoyable, you have to walk in a straight line following a set trail path, so it can
become quite dull very quickly.

All ages: Visit the Menara Gardens and Moulay Hassan Park
Is Menara Gardens the nicest park you’ve ever seen? Probably not, but if you really
want to explore what it’s like in everyday life in Marrakesh, this is the place to be.
Especially with warmer temperatures this park is filled with people enjoying a bit of
shade. There is a nice and refreshing orange juice stand where you can enjoy a nice
cold beverage. Just set up camp underneath a nice tree and enjoy a nice ‘picnic’
outing like the locals do. Next to it you’ll find the Moulay Hassan Park, there you’ll
find a playground where the children can play, however it’s next to a busy road so
there’s quite a bit of traffic, making it a far less relaxing place unlike Menara
Gardens. Afterwards there’s a mall called Menara Mall nearby with some food
options and entertainment options. Especially recommended for people with picky
eaters because there are plenty of western options to be found. There’s even a
Costa Coffee branch on site!
All ages: Visit Menara Mall and Kidzo
Menara mall is located on the edge of the Gueliz area, if you are looking for a place
with a more western feel, this is right up your alley. There are many shops to be
found and multiple food options. Especially convenient for picky eaters because
there are a lot of western food options like burgers, pizza, tapas, Asian and even a
Costa Coffee branch. There also is a children's area on site called Kidzo, it is not the
best you’ve ever seen, but is entertaining enough to keep your children busy for an
hour or so.
Older children: Visit Gravity Park and/or laser game Marrakech
If you have older children and fancy something more active, you might want to give
these two facilities a shot, they are conveniently located quite close to each other, so
you can easily combine the two activities.
All ages: Visit the Oasiria water park
If you fancy yourself a swim and you don’t mind paying a bit extra, then the Oasiria
Water Park is the place for you. Especially if you have older children you might want
to consider a visit. Do consider tickets will cost you 290 DH (30$/£22/€27) per
person above 150 cm and 190 DH (19$/£15/€18) per person below 150cm, also this
will likely be a full day activity.

Day 4: Big Agafay Desert Adventure

Today is possibly going to be the most exciting day of your trip, it’s time to head out
to the desert!
Now you have multiple options here, there are a lot of different tours going to both
the Agafari desert and the Sahara desert. However, tours to the Sahara desert are
multi day tours, which I would only advise to do when you have older children since it
includes long camel rides, and from our experience it is very uncomfortable with
young children. So I can only really speak about the Agafari desert tours.
No matter on which popular site you book your tours, they pretty much all follow the
same schedule. We booked ours on Getyourguide. The tour is a little touristy but it is
definitely worth it. The ride itself is pretty impressive on its own and there are plenty
of things to see. What we thought to be most memorable was driving past the
aftermath of the recent earthquake of 2023, it really is one of those moments where
you feel extra thankful. If your tour provides the additional option for an authentic
Moroccan lunch I would wholeheartedly recommend doing so, it was the best meal
we have had all trip long!

Day 5: Badi and Bahia palaces, Medina and rooftop dinner