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Camels walking on the beach at sunset in Essaouira, Morocco

1 Month in Morocco

It's good to share

Ever dreamed of touring Morocco? Here’s some of the highlights of a month we spent there with our 3 children in a Classic Hymer motorhome.

It's good to share

From winding medieval market streets, to snow-capped mountains, via wind-swept coastlines and sun-drenched deserts, Morocco is a country of incredible variety and beauty. Perhaps the best way to experience this rich tapestry of sites and sounds is to tour the country in a camper, as we did, enjoying things at your own pace and taking your home along with you. Here is how we, as a family of 5, spent the month of January there in our classic Hymer motorhome, ‘Hazel’.

Classic Hymer motorhome driving through ornate entrance gate at the town of Tazzarine, Morocco
Gate at the entrance to Tazzarine, Morocco

This is an account of what we did. Based on our time there, I’d say that to really do it justice, be able to visit all corners and experience all of the best things to do in Morocco, you really need 2 months or longer. We got around a lot in a month but it felt rushed at times. For anyone really struggling for time, take a look at these suggestions for how to spend just 1 week in Morocco, or this 1 week Morocco itinerary.

Map of Morocco: 1 month tour route
Morocco in 1 Month: Our Route
(base map courtesy of Morocco Map Vectors by Vecteezy)

Spices on display at the Essaouira spice souk, Morocco

The first thing to say is Morocco is big, much bigger than I’d really anticipated before we arrived. Mixed standards of roads also contribute to longer journey times than you might expect. Don’t let that put you off though, it is a charming and welcoming country, full of colour and adventure. We had a blast!

The adventure started with the fast catamaran ferry from Tarifa in Spain over to Tangier in Morocco. It’s a fast, modern ferry which is great (if overpriced). We made it with only 2 of the 3 kids being sick!

Children in a pottery shop at Safi, Morocco

From Tangier, we headed south staying overnight first in Mohammedia, then at the sandy bay of Oualidia, the first two of many campsites that we would come to stay on. This was followed by a trip to Safi for a visit to the famous pottery factories there.

Continuing south along the coast, we spent a couple of nights at the beautiful and bohemian port town of Essaouira, with its spacious and well-designed old town and medina, contrasting with modern seafront bars and restaurants.

View of Essaouira old town from the fishing port
The Fishing Port and Old Town of Essaouira

The further south we travelled, the better the beaches and more laid-back the vibe, as we stayed on some great family campsites and visited some top international surf spots around the town of Taghazout.

3 small children standing on a surfboard on the beach at Taghazout, Morocco
Getting ready to surf on the beach at Taghazout

The end of the road south for us was the sun-beaten town of Sidi Ifni, complete with its crumbling Spanish colonial legacy and rugged surrounding beaches. We stopped at the beach at Legzira to watch groups of paragliders descending from the clifftop down to the beach below, framed by the natural sea arch.

Legzira Beach

We then headed east away from the coast and up into the Anti-Atlas mountains, the smaller brother of the High-Atlas mountains further north, but no less impressive. This is a barren other-worldly landscape of warped rock ridges and scatterings of enormous red granite boulders.

Giant rock boulders at Tafroute, Morocco
Exploring the countryside around Tafroute

We stopped off in Tafroute, the town at the centre of the region, located in a valley surrounded on all sides by enormous red granite mountains and rock formations. Large areas of the valley permit motorhome parking (for a nominal cost), but are pleasantly unmarked and wild in their feel. The kids loved climbing on the boulders, especially during a trip to the nearby ‘painted rocks’.

Climbing on the ‘Painted Rocks’ outside Tafroute

Heading east to Tata, we took on arguably the most visually impressive drive (along the worst condition road) of our entire trip, taking on steep winding lanes that would test our poor old van to its limits!

Classic Hymer motorhome high at a viewpoint in the Anti Atlas mountains, Morocco
Climbing high on the road to Tata

The drive east from the mountains saw the landscape gradually change to the fossil-country of the desert, interspersed by occasional palm filled oasis towns. We eventually reached the town of Merzouga, impressively sitting on the edge of enormous red sand dunes of the Sahara desert, and at the centre of Morocco’s desert tourism industry.

View from hotel terrace of Sahara Dunes, Merzouga
The Dunes at Merzouga

Leaving the van parked for a few days, we opted to stay in a beautiful mud-brick hotel, as well as adventuring on camels into the desert for an overnight stay at a luxury camp.

Family eating breakfast at a Saharan desert camp
Breakfast at a Saharan Desert Camp

We left the desert behind and headed northwest towards the snow-topped High Atlas mountains, first visiting Morocco’s 2 most famous gorges along the way.

Classic Hymer motorhome driving through the Todra Gorge, Morocco
Inside the Todra Gorge

Then, via Ouarzazate and the much-photographed Ait Benhaddou, at the heart of the Morocco film industry, we continued north towards the high mountains, hoping for a smooth journey over the mountains and down into Marrakech.

Crossing river stepping stones to Ait Benhaddou, Morocco
Ait Benhaddou

Unfortunately, life is never so simple. We instead suffered a pretty major breakdown, high up in the mountains and in the middle of nowhere.

Fortunately, we did eventually make it to Marrakech, to experience a couple of bittersweet days in this tourist hot-spot, dazzled by the sights and sounds, whilst all the time infuriated by the constant hassle and misinformation of the touts. Oh, and driving a large van through the traffic of downtown Marrakech is one thing I will never forget!

Shopping for lanterns in the Marrakech Medina
Lantern shopping in the Marrakech Medina

Our trip then took us north to the ancient capital city of Meknes, followed by Fes, with its atmospheric medina and ancient tanneries, before a visit to the Roman city of Volubilis. We also detoured to visit the historic but somewhat underwhelming and rubbish-strewn towns of Sefrou and Bhalil located nearby.

Family standing inside the ancient stables at Meknes, Morocco
The Ancient Stables at Meknes

2 small girls sat on a step in the blue town of Chefchaoun, Morocco

Further north we moved into the Rif mountains, to landscapes more reminiscent of Southern Spain, to reach the super pretty and laid-back blue city of Chefchaouen.

Our trip finished with us being rushed onto a ferry back to Spain, as all later sailings that day had been cancelled due to high winds. It meant we missed seeing Tangier as planned, but were relieved to have not been stranded at the port.

We loved our time in Morocco. It really is a very safe and welcoming, family-friendly destination. It is a country full of contrasts and, as shown by the scale of building works taking place nationwide, continues to evolve. Despite hassle in some of the principle tourist locations, and evidence of problems in dealing with waste and rubbish build up away from them, the country is still beautiful, adventurous and continually surprising.

Line of camels with riders riding into the desert near Merzouga, Morocco
Camel ride into the Desert at Merzouga

We arrived thinking that a month in the country might be too long. We left wishing we’d given ourselves longer. There is so much to see. It really is perfect for touring and great fun for kids.

The famous 'goat tree' - an Argan tree with many goats grazing up on the branches of the tree
The famous ‘Goat Tree’ on the road to Essaouira

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For a round-up of our favourite places in Morocco, check out our 10 Best Cities to Visit in Morocco, written in collaboration with DestGuides.com.

For more about some of our favourite places in Morocco besides Marrakesh, see ‘Morocco – Top 5, excluding Marrakech’, written in collaboration with GapBeetle.

Children of Wanderlust Administrator
We are Rachel & John, parents from the UK with 4 small children. After persuing separate jobs for many years, including being an experienced science teacher, we have now moved to Spain for a fresh challenge. We have always had a passion for travel and exploration. Nowadays, that means bringing our 4 children, Savannah (8), Aurora (6), Easton (4) and Tiago (2) along with us. This oftens means taking a road trip in our beloved vintage camper, touring all corners of Europe and Morocco. We hope that you enjoy reading about our family adventures all over the world.

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