Family-Friendly Desert Activities in Marrakech: Safe Pony Rides & Private Adventures for Kids

What there is for children in the Marrakech Palmeraie

Three things, really: ponies, camels and quads. Ponies suit the youngest riders and are the usual first choice. Camels are slower than children expect and tend to win them over once they are up. Quads are for age seven and above.

The ground helps. The tracks are sandy and level, the palm groves throw real shade over most of the route, and there is no traffic and nowhere for a child to wander off to.

Pony rides for younger children

Each child is matched to a pony their own size, and a handler walks beside them for the whole hour. The pony stays at a walk. Children can hold the reins or leave them alone, and parents walk or ride alongside the entire way.

For most children this is the first time they have been on an animal that size. Ten minutes in, the nervous ones have usually stopped being nervous. If they have not, getting off early is fine and nobody makes a thing of it.

The pony tour runs about an hour and costs €17.33 per person.

See the pony tour

Children can ride their own quad from age 7

From seven, a child rides their own quad. It is a smaller machine than the adult ones, and they steer it themselves rather than sitting behind a parent. A guide stays with them and leads the route the whole way, and a helmet is provided and worn.

That is worth knowing, because it changes what a family day can look like. Parents no longer have to take turns, and an eight year old is not left watching from the side.

Under seven, the pony is the better booking. Message us with your children's ages and we will tell you honestly which way round to do it.

See the quad bike tour

Mixed ages in one booking

Families with a spread of ages usually book the pony and quad combo. The younger ones ride ponies with a handler, everybody from seven upwards rides a quad, and it happens in the same place at the same time instead of splitting the day in two.

That combo runs about three hours at €44.07 per person. If you would rather keep both halves gentle, the camel and pony combo is three hours at walking pace throughout, at €28.95.

See the pony and quad combo

Why private matters more with young children

On a shared tour the schedule belongs to the operator. With a four year old, that is the whole problem. A private booking means the tour stops when your child needs it to stop, waits out an argument about the helmet, and carries on when they are ready.

It also means the guide is watching your family rather than twelve people at once. With small children around animals, that is the part that actually matters.

What to bring

Not much, but a few things make the difference:

• Closed shoes. Trainers are fine, sandals are not.
• Long sleeves and a hat. The groves are shaded, the walk to them is not.
• Sunscreen, put on before you leave the hotel.
• Water in summer.
• A phone or a camera, because you will want one.

Long trousers beat shorts for anyone riding a quad, children included.

The best time of day to go with children

Morning, in summer. It is cooler, the light is good, and small children are generally in a better mood before lunch than after it.

Late afternoon and sunset are the more popular slots in spring and autumn, when the midday heat is manageable and the light is worth staying out for. Either way, tell us the time you want and we will build the day around it, because nothing here is running to a group timetable.