13 Things We Actually Did in Morocco (and What Each One Cost)
Most "things to do in Morocco" lists have thirty-five entries and the person writing them has not done thirty-five things.
I know, because I read a lot of them while planning this trip, and by about the fourth list of Fes, Chefchaouen, Essaouira, the Atlas and Ouzoud I realised I had no idea which of it was any good. Nobody was telling me what anything cost, how long it took, or whether they had personally bothered.
So this is the opposite. Thirteen things, all of which we actually did across 24 days, with the real price next to each one. We did not get to Fes or Chefchaouen. You will not find them here.
The Short Version
If you only do three things in Morocco, do these:
Everything below is in the order I would rank it, and every price is what we paid in November and December 2025.
1. Two Nights in the Sahara at Merzouga
A$214.97 each, plus about A$86 each in extras.
The best thing we did in Morocco and one of the best things we have done anywhere. Camels into the dunes at sunset, a night in a desert camp with no light pollution, drumming around a fire, and a sunrise at 2 degrees that I could not feel my feet through.
It is a two night, three day trip from Marrakech and it will take the biggest single bite out of your budget. Take it anyway!
Full detail: what two nights in the Sahara are really like.
Marrakech to Merzouga, 3 day desert adventure
A$214.97 each for two nights and three days, including all transport, a private hotel room on night one, the desert camp on night two, every breakfast and dinner, and the camels in and out. Budget around A$86 each on top for lunches, entry fees and tips.
2. Sleep in a Riad in Marrakech
A$91 to A$184 a night, both including breakfast.
I did not know what a riad was before this trip and they are now my favourite kind of accommodation anywhere in the world! A restored courtyard house, rooms facing inward around a fountain and a plunge pool, a roof terrace, and total silence ninety seconds from the souks.
We stayed in two at very different prices and rated both. Here they are, so you can book the exact ones:
Palais Andara Riad & Spa
A$184 a night with breakfast, which is A$92 each. Ten to fifteen minutes walk to a main souk, with a courtyard pool, a roof terrace and a hammam. The chef hand delivered every plate at every meal and the food here was the best we ate in Morocco.
Riad Zehra
A$91 a night with breakfast, which is A$45.50 each. Smaller and about thirty minutes walk out in a quiet local area, and they upgraded us to a suite on arrival without being asked. Black and white tiled courtyard, a plunge pool and a rooftop.
Full comparison: my honest review of both Marrakech riads.
3. Get Lost in the Marrakech Souks
Free, and then whatever you cannot resist.
The thing I was most nervous about turned out to be my favourite part of the city. Across a whole day, two people tried to pull us into a shop. Two. Coming straight from Egypt, the difference was startling.
The souks are a whole quarter of connected lanes that specialise: ceramics, then spices, then lanterns, then leather, then a wall of wool in forty colours. You cannot see it all. Pick a direction and commit.
More: is Marrakech worth visiting.
4. Sixteen Nights on the Atlantic Coast
About A$44 to A$47 each per night.
We booked four nights in Tamraght and stayed sixteen! Two small surf towns ten minutes apart, long uncrowded beaches, excellent cafes and almost nothing you have to do.
This is the part of Morocco almost nobody writes up properly and the part I would go back to first.
We split the sixteen nights across three places: two at the Hilton Taghazout Bay, four at Blue Surf House in Tamraght, and eleven in a Tamraght Airbnb with a kitchen.
Full guide: Taghazout and Tamraght after 16 nights.
5. Horse Riding on the Beach at Sunset
A few hundred dirham, agreed on the spot.
My favourite single thing in Morocco, and I include the Sahara in that. There are horses on the beach at Tamraght in the late afternoon. You do not book, you walk down and ask. I rode for ten years as a kid and galloping along the sand with the sun going down is a memory I will keep for good!
6. Dinner and a Show at Safran, Marrakech
680 dirham for two, A$111.81.
The most expensive meal of our 24 days and a 10 out of 10. Book an 8pm table and the show starts at 9pm. Lamb tagine, a chicken supreme with truffle mash, cocktails at about A$14, and the best lava cake I have ever had.
It is expensive for Morocco and worth it once. Dress up!
7. The UNESCO Film Set Village on the Way to the Desert
20 dirham each, about A$3.30.
A UNESCO listed earthen village on the Marrakech to Merzouga road where Gladiator, Gladiator 2, Game of Thrones, Outer Banks, Cleopatra, Lawrence of Arabia and Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey were all filmed. The gladiator arena was built in 1999 and you can stand in it.
Five families still live inside. Climb to the top for the view back over the valley.
It is a stop on the desert tour rather than something you go to separately: every stop on the Marrakech to Merzouga route.
8. A Berber Carpet Workshop in a Family Home
Free to visit, and then it is up to you.
On day two of the desert tour you stop in a village where a family weaves Berber carpets in their own home, and you get the history of the Amazigh people from someone whose family is part of it. Our guide Ayoub grew up in that village.
There is a tea ritual with a joke built into it that I am not going to spoil.
9. Cafe Hopping in Tamraght
A$3 to A$7.50 a coffee.
I did not expect Morocco's surf coast to have a cafe scene this good. Hey Yallah became a daily habit: matcha, banana bread that is a 10 out of 10, a studio upstairs running yoga and Pilates, and markets and workshops out the front.
Dan rates the coffee on this coast 10 out of 10, which he does not say lightly.
Where we ate: my 8 favourite spots in Taghazout and Tamraght.
10. A Day Bed on the Beach
30 dirham. A$5. All day!
I am putting this on the list because it took me several days to stop being surprised by it, and because it is the single best value thing in the country. Long beaches, warm water in November and December, and five dollars buys you the whole day.
11. The Taghazout Skate Park
Free.
Right by the sea, properly busy, high standard, with TAGHAZOUT painted across the bowl and the bay curving away behind it. We sat and watched for an hour and it was one of the nicest hours of the whole trip, and you do not need to skate!
12. Eat in Someone's Home
Priceless, and in our case free.
Our Airbnb host in Tamraght cooked for us on her rooftop halfway through our eleven nights. A beef tagine with peas, herbs and prunes, homemade bread, Moroccan tea, and she sent us off with surfboard fridge magnets.
It was the best meal we ate in Morocco, and it beat a riad in Marrakech charging A$184 a night! If a family run place offers, say yes.
13. Take the Train Across the Country
A$80 for two, Tangier to Marrakech.
We came into Morocco overland from Spain: bus to Tarifa, ferry across to Tangier, then a five hour train down to Marrakech. The rail network genuinely surprised me, and eighty dollars for two people to cross an entire country is a bargain!
Later we took a bus from Marrakech down to the coast, three and a half hours for 115 dirham each, A$19.09.
What We Did Not Do, and Why
Being straight about this is the point of the article.
We did not go to Fes, Chefchaouen, Essaouira, the Atlas mountains or Ouzoud. They are on every other list you will read. We ran out of time, and I am not going to describe places I have not stood in.
We did not do a surf lesson or a surf camp, despite being in a surf town for sixteen nights. Dan hired a board once and got stung by a weever fish within about twenty minutes, which is its own story.
We did not do a hammam, which is my one real regret from Morocco. We had one night in a riad with a spa and ran out of time.
We did not quad bike in the desert. It is offered and plenty of our group did it. We chose camels.
What It All Cost
Across 24 days, per person:
Scroll to see the full table →
| Per person | |
|---|---|
| On the ground, food, coffee and everything else | A$1,470.92 |
| Accommodation, 20 paid nights | A$940.65 |
| Sahara desert tour, including extras | A$301 |
| Transport within Morocco and in from Spain | A$252.50 |
That is A$63.95 per person per day on the ground and A$47.03 per person per night to sleep.
Full breakdown: is Morocco expensive.
Watch All of It
Three vlogs cover everything on this list: Marrakech, the Sahara and the coast. This is the coast one, which is the part of Morocco people know least about.
Subscribe to Ell's Passport for the Marrakech and Sahara vlogs too.
FAQs About Things to Do in Morocco
What are the best things to do in Morocco?
For us, in order: two nights in the Sahara at Merzouga, sleeping in a riad in Marrakech, and the Atlantic surf coast around Taghazout and Tamraght. Those three are the trip. Everything else on our list sits inside or alongside them.
Is the Sahara desert tour worth it?
Yes, and it was the best thing we did in Morocco. A$214.97 each for two nights and three days including transport, accommodation, most meals and the camels, plus about A$86 each in extras. Go between roughly November and February and pack thermals, because it hit 2 degrees at sunrise.
How many days do you need in Morocco?
We had 24 and used all of them. A tight version is about ten days: three in Marrakech, three for the Sahara, and four on the coast. Anything under a week and you are choosing between the desert and the coast rather than doing both.
What is there to do in Morocco besides Marrakech?
Far more than the lists suggest. The Sahara at Merzouga is the headline. The Atlantic coast around Taghazout and Tamraght gave us sixteen of our twenty four nights, with beaches, cafes, horse riding and surf. The route between Marrakech and the desert has a UNESCO film set village and Berber carpet workshops.
Is Morocco expensive to do things in?
No. The single big cost is the desert tour at about A$301 each all in. After that, a beach day bed is A$5, the skate park is free, the souks are free to wander, a coffee is A$3 to A$7.50 and a full day of eating out is around A$45.
What should you not miss in Morocco?
The Sahara, a night in a riad, and at least a few days on the Atlantic coast. If you have to drop one, drop the coast, but I would try very hard not to.
Can you do the Sahara and the coast in one trip?
Yes, and you should. Both connect through Marrakech. Ours ran Marrakech, then the coast for sixteen nights, then back through Marrakech for the desert. Six nights covers Marrakech plus the Sahara if you are short on time.
Do you need a tour to see Morocco?
Only for the desert, where the two night trip from Marrakech is by far the easiest way to do it. Everything else we did independently: trains, buses, taxis and walking. We never hired a car.
Final Thoughts: What Is Actually Worth Doing in Morocco?
Three things carry this country: the desert, the riads and the coast.
Everything else on this list is good, and some of it is genuinely special, but those three are what I would build a trip around. Book the Sahara first because it sets your dates. Book a riad for at least one night even if you cannot afford it for all of them. And give the Atlantic coast longer than you think, because we gave it four nights and ended up staying sixteen.
And if a family run place ever offers to cook for you, cancel whatever you had planned!
Ready to book the big one? The Marrakech to Merzouga 3 day desert tour is the exact one we did, and it sets the shape of everything else.
