What is Morocco like in April?

April is, for many people, the perfect month in Morocco — and the prices and crowds reflect that. The cities sit in the warm, easy mid-20s, with long sunny days and evenings you can finally spend out on a rooftop without a coat. Marrakech, Fes and Rabat are at their most inviting, the gardens are in full bloom, and the whole country feels open and alive. It's the kind of weather that flatters everything: the courtyards, the souks, the long lunches.

The countryside in April is spectacular. The valleys of the south and the foothills of the Atlas are deep green and threaded with wildflowers, the rivers are still running from the snowmelt, and the oases look like something out of a painting. In the High Atlas the snow is retreating from the lower routes, which opens up some of the best trekking of the year — Toubkal becomes a realistic objective as the month goes on, and the lower valleys around Imlil and the Aït Bougmez are glorious. The Sahara is still in its excellent pre-summer window: warm, sunny days, comfortable nights, and dunes that aren't yet dangerously hot.

On the coast, April marks the turn toward beach season. Essaouira, Agadir and the Atlantic towns are warming nicely, the light is brilliant, and while the ocean is still cool, the seaside finally feels like summer is on its way. Inland desert towns like Ouarzazate and the Draa valley are warm and welcoming. Essentially every region of the country is in a good-to-excellent state at once, which is exactly why April is so popular.

The trade-off is cost and crowds. April is one of the two annual peaks (with May and October), so flights, riads and the headline sights — think the Bahia Palace, Aït Benhaddou, the Fes tanneries — are at their busiest and dearest. Easter and European school holidays compound this. My advice: book well ahead, start sightseeing early in the day to beat the coach groups, and accept that you're paying a premium for genuinely faultless weather. Pack for warm days and just-cool evenings; you'll rarely need more than a light layer.