Travelling Morocco as a family with a stroller: medinas, trains, taxis and luggage

Morocco is an easy country with children: they are welcomed everywhere with a smile, train journeys are comfortable and the days fill up fast. What complicates the trip is almost never the child, it is the gear: the stroller in cobbled lanes, the car seat no taxi provides, and the whole family's suitcases between a noon check-out and an evening train. Here is our practical advice, step by step.

Medinas: stroller or baby carrier?

The medinas are the best part of the trip and the hardest with a stroller. Expect:

• Cobbles and steps: many lanes mix slopes, stairs and uneven ground, especially in Fez and in Tangier's Kasbah.
• Traffic: handcarts, donkeys and scooters share the lanes with pedestrians. A child who is carried is safer than one at wheel height.
• Crowds: in the souks at busy times, a stroller moves at walking pace or less.

Our advice: a baby carrier or child backpack carrier for the medina, and a light umbrella stroller for the new towns, seafronts and gardens. We went through what works on wheels, city by city, in our guide can you cross a medina with a suitcase?.

The train: the easiest way between cities

The ONCF network links most big cities. Al Boraq, the high-speed train, serves Tangier, Kenitra, Rabat-Agdal and Casa-Voyageurs. Al Atlas trains cover the rest of the network, for example to Fez, Meknes or Marrakech. With children the train has real advantages: you can stand up, walk around and change a nappy without stopping at a motorway services.

• Book seats in advance on oncf-voyages.ma, especially during school holidays and at weekends.
• Child fares: ONCF has specific conditions depending on age. Check the ages and prices on the official site when you book, rather than relying on a figure read elsewhere.
• The stroller folds: store it with the luggage during the journey and keep the day bag (water, snacks, change) within reach.

Taxis and car seats: what to know

This is the trickiest point. In town, petits taxis take up to three passengers: a family of four or five will need two, or a booked transfer. Taxis, petits or grands, generally do not provide car seats. The rule most often cited from the Moroccan highway code requires children under 10 to ride in the back; we did not find a recent official text spelling out mandatory child restraints in more detail, so check with your rental company or transport provider.

• Car hire: ask for the car seat when you book and check its condition when you collect the keys.
• Private transfer: give the children's ages and explicitly ask for a suitable seat.
• Small child: a foldable car seat or a light booster fits in a suitcase and settles the question.

Travelling light, even as four or five

The more bags you have, the more every transfer becomes an expedition. A few rules that work:

• One big suitcase for the family rather than one each, and a small backpack per child for their things for the day.
• Nappies and formula are sold in city supermarkets and pharmacies: no need to pack enough for the whole stay.
• A day bag always ready: water, snacks, sunscreen, hat, wipes, a change of clothes.
• Documents (passports, family record or birth certificates if needed, tickets) stay on you, never in the stored suitcase.

Where to leave the bags, city by city

On departure day, check-out is often at noon and the train, bus or flight much later. Rather than dragging suitcases and children around, drop the bags at a BoxSpot point. These are the cities with an open point today:

• Tangier: three points. Near the Grand Socco (every day, 11am-11pm), near the Plaza de Toros (every day, 3pm-10pm) and at the Al Izdihar roundabout (Monday-Saturday, 9am-9pm, closed Sunday). Our family outing ideas are in Tangier as a family without luggage.
• Marrakech: two points. Near the Medersa Ben Youssef in the northern medina (11am-11pm, 10pm on Fridays, closed Sunday), and near Bab Aghmat (every day, 9am-5pm).
• Rabat: near Place de Russie, about 1.3 km from Rabat-Ville station (every day, 9am-10pm).
• Casablanca: a café about 17 minutes' walk from Casa-Voyageurs (Monday-Friday 7am-10pm, Saturday 7am-7pm, Sunday 10am-6pm).
• Mohammedia: a café in the Hassania district (Monday-Saturday 9am-10pm, Sunday 10am-10pm).
• Bouskoura: a café near the Al-Haq mosque (every day, 7am-11pm).
• Fez: in the ville nouvelle (every day, 12pm-10pm: it only opens at noon). Take a petit taxi and follow the itinerary in your booking.

On site, the partner scans your booking's QR code and takes a timestamped photo of the bags. They are only returned against that same QR code: handy when your hands are full with a child.

Three families, three calculations

Noon check-out, 7pm train, two suitcases

You drop two suitcases at 12:15pm and collect them at 6:15pm. By the day, the first costs 59 MAD and the second 49 MAD: 108 MAD for the whole family, and a free afternoon at the park or the beach.

One big suitcase, one morning

You arrive at 10am and the room is ready at 2pm. One large suitcase stored for 4 hours: 36 MAD, the minimum.

A two-day side trip, two suitcases

You leave two suitcases while you spend a night elsewhere. First bag: 59 + 39 = 98 MAD. Second bag: 49 + 39 = 88 MAD. Total: 186 MAD.

Prices at a glance

Payment is online, in dirhams, by card. Prices are the same at every BoxSpot point.