What should I skip in Morocco (overrated things)?

Let me be honest, because most guides will not be: not everything famous in Morocco is worth your time, and a few things are actively worth avoiding. The big touristy dinner-and-folklore "fantasia" spectacles outside Marrakech — galloping horses, a buffet, a stage show — are fun for some families but feel staged and overpriced to many travellers, and you can experience real Moroccan music, food and hospitality far more authentically elsewhere. It is not a must-do; it is a packaged evening.

In Jemaa el-Fnaa, the snake charmers, the chained Barbary macaques posed for photos, and the henna women who grab your hand uninvited are the parts of the square I steer guests away from. Beyond the aggressive overcharging, the animal "attractions" involve genuine welfare problems — these are wild, often illegally taken animals — so the kindest thing is simply not to pay for a photo. The square itself at dusk, with its food stalls and storytellers, is wonderful; it is these specific hustles that are overrated and best ignored.

On the experiences front, the single most overrated thing is the rushed desert dash — a punishing there-and-back to Merzouga squeezed into too few days, with most of it spent driving and only a brief, exhausted hour on the dunes. If you cannot give the Sahara a proper overnight, I would genuinely rather you skipped it this trip and did it justice next time. Likewise the "free" tannery viewpoints and carpet cooperative "tours" that are really high-pressure sales rooms: enjoy them with your eyes open, or skip them entirely.

My honest framing is not "avoid the famous things" — Marrakech, Fes and the desert deserve their fame. It is "avoid the hollow versions of them." Trade the fantasia for a quiet riad dinner, the snake charmer for the food stalls, the desert dash for a real night under the stars, and the sales-pitch cooperative for a workshop a local genuinely recommends. Spend the time you save on slow wandering and the under-touristed south. Tastes differ, so weigh these against your own priorities before deciding.