Christmas & New Year
Christmas and New Year fall inside Morocco's quiet, clear winter season. Christmas is not a public holiday here, so the city, the mountains and the desert carry on normally — which is exactly why the period works. Below is what we genuinely operate between mid-December and early January, at our published direct prices.
Morocco is a Muslim country and 25 December is not a national holiday. Shops, souks, restaurants, museums and transport run as normal, which makes the week unusually easy to travel in. There is no country-wide Christmas programme, and we will not imply one.
Hotels, riads and restaurants that cater to international visitors often organise their own Christmas dinners and decorations. That belongs to each venue, so ask your accommodation directly — we can build your days around whatever they are doing.
Marrakech over the festive fortnight is busy with international visitors but not with local holidays: the medina, Jemaa el-Fnaa, the gardens and the palaces are open and comfortable in the middle of the day. Restaurants fill up in the evenings, so book dinner ahead.
A full-day private city tour or a food and culture evening works well for arrival and departure days, when you want something good but not demanding.
An Agafay desert evening with dinner is the most requested festive-week experience we run: 40 minutes from Marrakech, suitable for families and groups, and needing only a warm layer for the evening.
The High Atlas is at its winter clearest, with cold, bright valley days around Imlil. A Sahara circuit to Merzouga uses a full week properly, with comfortable driving temperatures and cold desert nights.
For experienced walkers, the Toubkal winter routes run in this period as a genuine winter mountaineering trip — guided, equipped, and confirmed against conditions rather than sold as a guaranteed summit.
New Year's Eve is more visible in Marrakech than Christmas, mostly through hotels, riads, restaurants and private venues. If you want a specific dinner or venue on 31 December, book it early and directly with them.
We do not currently advertise our own New Year's Eve event, menu or entertainment. If we run a confirmed 31 December programme, it will appear here with the exact inclusions, the price and the cancellation terms — and not before.
What we can do now is plan the rest of your New Year days: an Agafay evening earlier in the week, a mountain or valley day on 1 January, transfers, and a private itinerary around whatever you have booked that night.
Most festive-period enquiries are private: a family, a couple or a group wanting their own vehicle, guide and pace across several days. We plan those individually and quote before anything is paid.
Book multi-day and private trips early for this fortnight. Vehicles, guides and mountain accommodation are finite, and we would rather tell you in September that a date is tight than sell it in December and fail you.
We do not run Christmas discounts, countdown offers or festive surcharges of our own. The direct price on each tour page, including the standard 5% direct-booking discount, is what we charge in late December as in any other month.
If a supplier applies a genuine seasonal surcharge to a specific date, we will tell you before you pay, in the quote — never after.
Not sure what December is like before you commit to dates?
Morocco in December: weather, packing and planning →Want a festive evening in the desert near Marrakech?
Agafay desert experiences →Have a full week between Christmas and New Year?
Sahara and multi-day journeys →Want the whole holiday planned privately around your group?
Private Morocco tours →Part of our normal programme. Departures between mid-December and early January are available subject to date confirmation.
Luxury camp
Spend a day or a night in a luxury Agafay camp with pool access, a private Berber tent, sunset drinks, a full Moroccan dinner and live entertainment.
Marrakech city tour
A full private day in Marrakech with a licensed guide: the historic palaces and gardens in the morning, the medina, souks and Jemaa el-Fnaa in the afternoon.
Food & culture tour
An evening of eating and walking: neighbourhood street food, a traditional bakery, the night souks and the food stalls of Jemaa el-Fnaa.
Desert adventure
Cross the Tizi n'Tichka pass, sleep in the kasbahs of Dades and ride camels into the Erg Chebbi dunes for a night in a Sahara camp under the stars.
Trekking
The unhurried way to climb North Africa's highest peak: three walking days with a full acclimatisation day before the 4,167 m summit push.
Trekking
A full winter season expedition: snow skills training, several 3,000–4,000 m objectives and a Toubkal summit attempt with crampons, ice axe and a licensed guide.
Our own direct prices, per person unless the tour page says otherwise, with the standard 5% direct-booking discount already applied. No festive surcharge is added by us.
Tell us your dates, group size, arrival city, number of days, interests and accommodation preference. We reply with a real itinerary and a firm price before anything is paid.