Day trips
For day trips to places further outside of the Marrakesh area, make sure to check our Marrakesh Day Trips Guide, where we list the top choices that make sense to do from Marrakesh as a base.
Quick Overview
In the city
- 🍲 Food tour: introduction to Moroccan cuisine
- 💆♀️ Hammam: spa and massage
- 🎪 Dinner show: the performance is the point, dinner is an extra
Outside the city
- 🎈 Hot Air Balloon ride: view of Marrakesh outskirts from above
- 🌴 Palm Grove by bicycle: explore the palm oasis
- 👙 Pool day pass: relax after exploring at a Villa outside the city
Tours and experiences in the city
These are perfect if you want to do some organized activities in the city, without wasting time on transport.
Unfortunately, we experienced firsthand how long it takes to get into or out of the medina during our week in Marrakesh. So if you’re looking for something quick to do, these are the best choices.
1. Food tour
An absolutely unmissable tour while in Marrakesh is a food tour, and they do them pretty well here. We definitely recommend booking one if you’re a foodie.
Personally, we didn’t go on a tour because we spent over a month in Morocco, so we knew we’d get to try everything there is to eat (and drink) in the country.
However, if you’re working with limited time in Morocco, especially if you’re visiting just Marrakesh itself, then a food tour is the perfect way to get an introduction to the country’s favorite dishes.
The food tour we recommend starts at 6 PM, as it’s a nighttime version. This means you get to try not only the standard dishes but also the best street-food versions that might be hard to find on typical restaurant menus.
2. Cooking class
Much like a food tour, a cooking class in Marrakesh is another way to learn about the cuisine and make dishes you can try making back home as well.
One of the dishes you should look forward to making is Zaalouk, a traditional Moroccan warm salad made from eggplant (aubergine). We first had this in Essaouira, a port city on the coast directly west of Marrakesh. It was fantastic and exactly the type of food we expected to have in Morocco. It’s a dish we didn’t see on most restaurant menus, so we’re happy to see it making the list on this cooking class.
There are a bunch you can book, but we especially recommend this cooking class that’s right in the city center.
If you choose a cooking class that’s outside the main area, you will spend a lot of time on transport. They do include a transfer, but you can still lose like 2 hours, so if you’re looking for quick experiences in Marrakesh, book tours in the medina rather than outside.
3. Walking tour of the souks and the Medina, the old city
A walking tour isn’t much of a surprise, as you can find many in Marrakesh, like in any touristic city.
We loved exploring the medina, and there’s so much to see. We’d say a walking tour makes sense in Marrakesh if you simply don’t want to explore the countless medina streets by yourself and want a more guided experience and an introduction to Marrakesh and Moroccan life.
We recommend booking the morning tour, but please avoid Friday if possible. That’s when it’s less busy, since it’s a holy day and some shops won’t open at all, while some open much later in the day.
For the best experience, we recommend the Souks Walking Tour, which takes you around all the best souks (covered markets) of the old city.
You get to learn about local life and see the different types of souks (each one is for a different trade). The walking tour is a great option if you don’t want to haggle with the shopkeepers on your own.
4. Hammam spa and massage
One thing we’re sad we couldn’t enjoy is going to a hammam spa for a massage. This is a perfect way to relax after busy days of exploring (which we had many of in Morocco).
The one we originally wanted to book is the one with time slots throughout the day, with the last one at 22:00. It’s perfect if you’re like us and you don’t want to waste daylight and want to squeeze every hour out of each day.
One more thing: If you stay in a riad, it might have an on-site spa. Ours didn’t. But we did have a spacious bathtub in our riad. So that’s something!
5. Dinner show
Another thing we’re sad we couldn’t do is to go on a dinner show.
Marrakesh is famous for dinner shows, which combine dinner and a performance, typically held in a large restaurant. It’s a real spectacle, as you get to have dinner while enjoying a show.
The important thing is that you book the correct timeslot, since the actual show only happens later in the evening. So if you book the 7 PM spot, you might need to leave before the dinner show starts.
Please note that the food isn’t the star of the show and that it won’t be the best food you’ll have in Morocco, but only okay.
Tours outside the city that make sense
1. Sunrise Hot Air Balloon flight
We went for a hot air balloon ride on the outskirts of Marrakesh, and it’s a great way to see the landscape from above.
The sunrise ride is the best option, as you get to have the best experience in the air while the sun slowly rises.
We weren’t lucky, as the morning of our ride didn’t deliver a nice sunrise. Hopefully, if you go, you will be luckier! Usually, the mornings are better, according to our pilot.
Of course, this experience in Marrakesh is nothing like the Cappadocia Hot Air Ballooning, but it’s still an activity worth adding to your itinerary.
2. Palm Grove cycling, buggy, or horseback rides
The area around Marrakesh is mostly dry, but there is a green patch in the Palm Grove (Palmeraie) that you can explore by cycling, taking a buggy ride, or going horseback riding.
Personally, we’d choose the cycling tour, as it’s the best way to see the area.
3. Adrenaline activities
For a bit of a thrill, you have two great options: paragliding and ziplining. Paragliding is done over the Agafay Desert, and ziplining is done in a valley about 30km south of Marrakesh.
4. Pool day
To get a break from exploring the city, book a day pass at a villa just outside Marrakesh that includes a three-course meal and round-trip transport.
This is a perfect alternative to the standard pool day passes in the Agafay Desert, which is further away, and you never know what you’re going to get when booking.
We skipped the Agafay Desert that everyone else visits
Agafay, a place that’s promoted like crazy as THE desert experience in Marrakesh, is actually a rocky desert, and there’s no sand as you would expect in the Sahara (Merzouga).
Instead, in Agafay, it’s a rocky desert landscape where the typical tours take you on a camel ride, a quad ride, and a visit to a luxury camp with a pool, and, if you book the longer tour, also a show after dinner.
It’s our personal opinion, but we consider the classic Agafay tours a bit of a tourist trap and a kind of “experience Morocco quickly” thing.
If you don’t have time to go for a camel/quad ride elsewhere, then we guess Agafay is an option. We don’t really support camel rides, so if you do book one, make sure it’s with a company that treats their camels well.
Another thing to keep in mind is that it’s likely going to be extremely busy with countless groups of people. Plus, the quad rides are usually super short and not really as fun as they might be portrayed.
We spent two nights in the actual desert in Merzouga, where we stayed in a desert camp, and we are quite okay with not visiting Agafay.
Continue planning your Morocco trip
- Marrakesh Travel Guide: THE most famous destination in Morocco – traditional Riad stays, shopping at busy Souks, and exploring the maze that is the old city (Medina)
- Merzouga Travel Guide: Our trip review with tips for planning the best desert experience
- Fes Travel Guide: The old capital, known for tanneries and a more “authentic” feel
- Ait Benhaddou Guide: The historic Ksar, a UNESCO site, is a fortified town like no other
- Ouzoud Waterfalls visiting tips: A fascinating set of waterfalls, accessible as a day trip from Marrakesh (it’s even pictured on a banknote!)
- Iminifri Natural Bridge: If hidden gems are still a thing, this is absolutely one!
- Dades Gorge and Monkey Fingers: A typical stopover on a bigger Morocco itinerary (unique rock formations)
- Todra Gorge: Narrow gorge with a nearby oasis, and a stunning hike
