When is peak season in Morocco, and is it worth visiting then?

Let me define peak season clearly, because Morocco has a couple of distinct peaks. The big ones are spring — roughly April and May — and autumn — late September into October: these are the months when the weather is at its absolute best, and demand follows the weather, so this is when the country is busiest and dearest. On top of that there's a sharp holiday peak over Christmas and New Year, driven by Europeans fleeing the cold rather than by ideal weather. So when people say 'peak season,' they usually mean those gorgeous spring and autumn windows plus the festive fortnight.

What you get for the premium is, simply, Morocco at its finest. In peak spring and autumn the days are warm and sunny — low-to-mid 20s°C, ideal for long days in the medinas, mountain hikes and desert treks — the nights are comfortable rather than cold, the landscapes are either green-and-flowering (spring) or golden and mellow (autumn), and the desert is at its most agreeable temperature. Conditions are about as close to perfect as travel weather gets. There's also a real buzz to the famous places when they're humming with visitors, which some travellers love.

The costs are equally real, and I'm always upfront about them. Riads, desert camps and the best guides sell out well in advance; rates run at their yearly highest (the festive peak especially); and the headline sights — Jemaa el-Fnaa, the Fes tanneries, Aït Benhaddou, the Sahara dunes at sunset — are at their most crowded, so you share the magic with a lot of other people and need to book popular experiences ahead. If solitude and bargains are what you're after, peak season is the wrong call.

So is it worth it? My answer: yes, if perfect weather and a lively atmosphere matter more to you than price and crowds, and you're willing to plan ahead — book two or three months out for spring or autumn, more for Christmas and New Year. But if you want most of the same beautiful weather for meaningfully less money and with thinner crowds, nudge your trip into the shoulder months that bracket each peak — March or early June, early September or November. You'll trade a small amount of weather perfection for a big gain in value and breathing room, which for many of my travellers is the better deal.