Is Morocco good to travel with preschoolers (three to five)?

Three to five is, in my experience, one of the loveliest ages to bring a child to Morocco. They are past the pure-survival stage of toddlerhood, they remember things now (your five year old will talk about that camel for years), and they throw themselves into the sensory wonderland with no self-consciousness. Jemaa el-Fnaa at dusk — the drums, the lanterns, the snake charmers and storytellers — lands on a preschooler like pure theatre. So does a first camel ride at a desert camp, where the gentle plod and the giant soft animal genuinely thrill them.

They still tire, though, so I keep the structure I use for toddlers: a strong morning activity, a real rest in the afternoon, an easy evening. I deliberately build in things that are FOR them, not just tolerated by them — a short camel walk rather than a long trek, an hour in the pool, a beach afternoon in Essaouira flying a kite, a cooking class where they shape bread dough, a visit to a garden where they can run. When children have ownership of a day, the whole family's mood lifts, and parents get to enjoy the grown-up sights more because the kids are full of goodwill.

Preschoolers can be famously fussy eaters, and Morocco copes well. Plain couscous, fresh bread, French fries, omelettes, grilled chicken brochettes, fruit and yoghurt are all easy to find, and most riads will happily do a simple plate for a child off-menu — just ask. I tell parents to relax about a slightly beige holiday diet; a few days of bread and pasta will not hurt, and many kids surprise you by loving the orange juice, the pancakes (msemen with honey) and the mountains of clementines.

Logistically, a private driver remains the key that unlocks easy travel with this age group: properly fitted car seats, flexible stops, and transfers timed so a nap happens in the car. I usually cap preschooler trips at two or three bases over a week so we are not packing and unpacking every day. The desert is absolutely doable at this age — more on that elsewhere — provided we drive in stages and choose a comfortable camp. Send me their ages and interests and I will tailor the days around them.