What's a good 7-day family Morocco itinerary?

When I plan a week for families, I build the trip around energy levels, not landmarks. We start with two nights in Marrakech, but I keep the medina to a single morning — a guided treasure-hunt walk through the souks where the kids hunt for spices and slippers, then straight to the calm of Le Jardin Majorelle and a horse-carriage loop around the ramparts. Afternoons are pool time at the riad. Trying to march children through eight monuments on day one is how holidays go wrong; one wonder a day, then water, is my rule.

On day three we climb into the Atlas to Imlil, ninety minutes from the city. We stay a night at a kasbah lodge with mule rides up to a Berber village, a waterfall walk short enough for six-year-olds, and a mint-tea welcome that kids love because they get to pour. The cooler mountain air after Marrakech heat is a gift, and the lodges here almost always have space for children to simply run around — which, after a city, they badly need.

Days four and five are the headline: the desert. With limited time I steer families to the Agafay stone desert (under an hour from Marrakech) or, if they want true Sahara dunes, Zagora rather than far-flung Merzouga, so the drive stays manageable. Either way it's a short sunset camel ride, a tented camp with proper beds and ensuite bathrooms, drumming round the fire, and a sky full of stars. This is the memory the whole family talks about for years.

We loop back on days six and seven via Aït Ben Haddou — the mud-brick fortress kids recognise from films — and the winding Tizi n'Tichka pass, then a final Marrakech night to repack and swim. Throughout, I cap driving at three to four hours, pack snacks and audio stories, and always book riads with pools. Done this way, a week feels generous rather than rushed, and nobody melts down in the back seat.