What camera gear should I bring to Morocco?

I'm not going to tell you to haul your entire studio across Morocco — the medinas are tight, hot and crowded, and a lighter, smarter kit beats a heavy one you resent. For most photographers a single versatile standard zoom, something in the 24–70mm range, will cover the large majority of what Morocco throws at you: street, markets, architecture, environmental portraits and general travel. If you take nothing else, take that.

Then I'd round it out by the conditions. For the medinas of Fes and Marrakech, a fast prime (a 35mm or 50mm at f/1.8 or wider) is gold, because those covered lanes are genuinely dark and the wide aperture lets you shoot handheld in the gloom and isolate subjects with lovely background blur. For the landscapes, architecture and the grand dune vistas, a wide-angle (16–35mm or similar) lets you capture the soaring tiled courtyards, the sweeping desert and the cityscapes from the viewpoints. And a longer zoom (70–200mm or a superzoom) is brilliant for candid street moments from a respectful distance, compressing dune ridgelines, and picking out detail in the souks without intruding.

A tripod is the one bulky item I'd genuinely consider bringing. You'll want it for the desert night sky and the Milky Way, for blue-hour cityscapes from the rooftops and viewpoints, and for long exposures. A compact travel tripod is a fair compromise. Beyond that: bring far more memory cards and spare batteries than you think (charging can be intermittent in remote riads and desert camps, and the cold drains batteries faster), a power bank, and the right plug adapter — Morocco uses European-style round two-pin sockets.

The thing people under-pack for is sand and dust protection, and it matters most exactly where you most want to shoot. The fine Saharan sand gets everywhere and is murder on cameras and lenses. Bring a good blower, lens-cleaning cloths and wipes, a few large zip-lock bags or a rain cover to seal your gear in, and change lenses inside a bag or tent rather than out in the open. A UV or clear filter on each lens front protects the glass from blowing grit. A comfortable, low-key camera bag (not a flashy one that screams "expensive") keeps you discreet and your gear secure in busy souks.

And the honest "don't bother / don't risk" list: leave the drone at home (it'll likely be confiscated at customs), don't bring so much that you're a target or too laden to move freely through crowds, and you don't need elaborate lighting. A phone with a good camera is a genuinely capable backup and is perfect for the moments you don't want to raise a big camera. Tell us your shooting style and we'll plan the route, the timing and the access to make whatever you carry earn its place.