A Morocco Family Adventure: Cities, Sahara and the High Atlas

Your luxury Morocco family trip starts in Casablanca. One of Africa’s most modern cities, and Morocco’s biggest, it wears its heritage proudly. The Hassan II Mosque – featuring the world’s tallest minaret – dominates the skyline. In downtown, Art Deco villas neighbour Mauresque or Neo-Moorish buildings, attesting to the city’s French Colonial history. 

Dig deeper into the era in Quartier Habous or New Medina, a unique 1930s-built district that mixes Moroccan and European styles. Snack on honey-glazed chebakia and cornes de gazelle (gazelle ankles), filled with almond paste. Visit souks selling spices and mounds of olives and watch artisans at work at the Copper Market.

In contrast, the Old Medina is a mazelike district with whitewashed homes and stalls selling teapots, Argan oil and babouche (traditional leather slippers). Relax in Parc de la Ligue Arabe, a tree-shaded park with cafés, or at the beachfront, palm tree-filled La Corniche, where family-friendly restaurants face the Atlantic Ocean.

Morocco has just a corner of the world’s largest hot desert – yet it still feels vast. South of the High Atlas Mountains and stretching along the Algerian border, the Moroccan Sahara rolls out like a sea of golden sand. During your time here, unforgettable family adventures include sandboarding and buggy rides through towering dunes.

Luxury camps offer private experiences for you and your family. Take a camel ride at sunset, watching the sky turn orange and purple as you move slowly through the desert. Dine on traditional dishes by the fire and hear stories from four millennia of Berber culture from your guides.

Between the Sahara and the Atlas Mountains, the oasis town of Skoura appears to exist in a different era or even on another planet. Its vast kasbahs seem to have risen from the sand. Kasbah Amridil – which featured in the epic 1962 movie Lawrence of Arabia – dominates the landscape. This living museum is still tended by the Nassiri family, descendants of its 17th-century builders. Step inside to see artifacts and tools.

Despite its ancient feel, Skoura and its surroundings are dynamic with daily life. You’ll learn about the area’s Berber communities, visiting local businesses and kitchen gardens. Browse the weekly souk, held each Monday, when people head into Skoura to trade spices, fresh produce and crafts. And take family hikes with a private guide, walking through valleys fragranced by roses and almond plantations and exploring parts of the Atlas Mountains.

The highest peaks of the Atlas Mountains form a diagonal spine across Morocco – creating a dramatic backdrop to your family adventure. Across the next few days of your trip, you’ll head up into the High Atlas, trekking across plateaus and ascending peaks for views of the desert and the sea. You’ll also discover surprisingly lush and fertile landscapes, where scents from rose and almond farms mingle with pine and the warm, woody notes of Argan trees. 

In the Ourika Valley, meet saffron growers and tour a garden filled with plants used for medicines and cosmetics. Explore villages surrounded by olive groves on private guided hikes. Kids of all ages will enjoy exploring on mountain bikes, riding down mountain slopes and across plateaus to reach the edge of the Sahara.

Marrakesh’s beating, red-stone heart is its walled old town, Medina. Around 20 intricately decorated gates, carved into the ramparts, provide access to its labyrinthine alleys. Dive into souks where artisans sell Berber carpets, ceramics and silver teapots. Browse stalls with mint tea, saffron strands and colourful cones of spices.

Restaurants tucked in courtyards and overlooking squares serve pastilla (spiced pigeon pie) and tagine, a traditional stew named for the earthenware pot it’s cooked in. While, in the evenings, the marketplace square Jemaa el-Fnaa is busy with stalls selling street food specialities like sizzling merguez sausages – as storytellers, musicians and magicians perform.

Beyond the walls, the El Badi, Bahia and Royal Palaces compete for attention with the dramatic Atlas Mountains backdrop. The vibrant blue and yellow decor, cacti forests and artwork of Yves Saint Laurent’s Jardin Majorelle will spark imaginations. To engage further in Moroccan culture, explore the Meydene Museum. Kid-friendly exhibits combine art and technology, while the interactive 3D experience brings the country’s heritage to vivid life.