Family trip to Morocco : Your Guide

Family travel in Morocco

If you have children, you most likely want them to be well educated, not just via books but also through experiences. Traveling with your children is one approach to help them grow into well-rounded global citizens. Taking your children to new locations, eating new foods, learning about new cultures, and also meeting new people allows them to grow in ways that they wouldn't be able to in a classroom.

Traveling with children, however, is not always easy, as anybody with a family knows. Nonetheless, it is a worthwhile experience, so don't allow little inconveniences to deter you from taking a family vacation to Morocco.

Morocco, like other Arab societies, is particularly child-friendly. Arab countries prioritize their children and hence respect any value placed on children by other cultures. In fact, family visitors in Morocco often observe that when they bring their children with them, they are contacted more frequently by Moroccans and treated better.

If you're planning a trip to Morocco with your family, here are a few pointers to keep in mind:

1. Create an itinerary based on your children's ages and interests. Morocco offers hiking, rock climbing, river rafting, camel rides, and 4x4 tours, but not all of them are suitable for children of various ages. To plan the finest vacation for the complete family, talk to your tour guide about your children's ages and preferences.

2. Safety is always a concern no matter where you go in the world. In Morocco, no child, regardless of age, should be left alone in the streets without adult supervision. Younger toddlers should always be pushed in a stroller or held in your hand. Cities can be highly crowded, and you may find yourself separated from your children in bustling cities such as Marrakesh or Fez. Make sure your child has a card in their pocket or affixed to their clothing that tells you who they are, where they'll be staying, and how you may reach them.

3. As your children become older and approach their adolescent years, they may whine about spending vacation time with Mom and Dad. Morocco is likely to be unlike anything your teenager has experienced before, and she may lack the passion you hoped to instill. If your children are less than enthusiastic about a vacation to Morocco, consider involving them in the planning process using the following suggestions:

• Look up a recipe for couscous, a popular Moroccan food. Allow your youngster to assist you in preparing it before you leave the house.

• Reading about the local history and people will help you learn more about the country as a family. Tahar Ben Jalloun's Racism Explained to My Daughter and Fatima Mernissi's Tales of a Harem Girlhood are two books that investigate the culture.

• Look for films that will pique your children's interest in the scenery, food, and people they will encounter in Morocco. A documentary and interactive overview of the Middle East and North Africa produced by PBS is very good. For further information, go to the PBS website and look under Global Connections.

Who said that traveling with your family had to be demanding? Your family will remember your trip to Morocco fondly for years to come if you take a few basic precautions.