My husband and I booked a photography walking tour in Marrakech. We learned plenty about our cameras and far more about the city, because the route took us to places we would never have found on our own. One of them has stayed with me since.
Just north of the old gate at Bab Taghzout stands a complex built around the tomb of a man who died in 1204. Sidi Bel Abbes is the patron saint of Marrakech, and he is venerated for a particular reason: he spent his life on the poor, the sick and the blind. Around his tomb sit a mosque, a madrasa, a hospice and the facilities that have cared for blind and infirm people there for centuries.
They are still doing it. There were blind people all around us while we stood there, going about an ordinary afternoon in the place that looks after them. We put the cameras down.
Morocco suits a woman traveling in her forties, fifties and beyond because it runs on a different clock from the one the rest of our lives run on. We arrive out of the rat race, the hustle and bustle, the digital chaos of an ordinary Tuesday, and Morocco declines to match any of it. The country is close enough to reach easily, layered enough that a week barely scratches it, and built around crafts, food and hospitality that open up to whoever sits down and pays attention. You see an enormous amount without hurrying, and the not hurrying is quite amazing because in the Medina you are still surrounded by chaos.
Here is what that looks like in practice, and where most itineraries stop short. Join my Marrakech Retreat waitlist here.
Is Morocco a good destination for women over 40?
Yes, and the reason has nothing to do with what your body can or cannot do. By our forties and fifties most of us have spent decades inside somebody else's schedule, with a phone that will not stop. The pull toward slow travel comes from wanting out of that for a while, and Morocco is very good at giving you out.
The best of it happens at a pace set for slow travel. You spend an afternoon watching a rug being woven and the woman weaving it tells you what the symbols in it mean. You eat at a table where the food arrives when it arrives. You sit in a riad courtyard at four in the afternoon while the light comes down through the opening in the roof and the noise of the city stays outside the wall.
What that asks of you is curiosity, and a willingness to be a beginner in someone else's expertise. Everything else you can take at whatever speed you like, including fast.
There is a practical layer too. Marrakech is a short flight from most of Europe, the time difference from the eastern United States is manageable, and the standard of accommodation available at the boutique end is very high. A riad is a house built around a courtyard, and staying in one means walking out of your bedroom into quiet, in the middle of one of the busiest cities in North Africa.
What is the Marrakech medina like to walk?
Busier than the photographs and easier than the stories. The medina is the walled old city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985, and it is a working neighborhood rather than a museum: motorbikes, handcarts, deliveries, cats, school runs, and shops the size of a wardrobe with a man inside making something.
The streets are narrow and they turn. Your phone is likely to lose reception in the density of the walls. Most people find the first outing disorienting and the second outing delightful. That transition happens faster with someone who knows the pace of the place walking beside you. This is why every one of my Morocco groups does an orientation walk on the first day before anyone goes anywhere. You truly need to get your bearings first. Even my experienced traveler guests have remarked that it’s more intimidating than India.
At the medina's heart is Jemaa el-Fna, the square that fills up as the light goes. UNESCO listed the cultural space of the square itself, first as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001 and then on the Representative List in 2008, and the listing is for the storytellers, musicians and performers rather than the buildings. That is an unusual thing to protect, and it tells you that the square is for life, liveliness and light.
What most tours miss
Nearly every Morocco itinerary covers the same short list, and the list is not wrong. Ben Youssef Madrasa. El Badi Palace. Le Jardin Majorelle. You would regret missing them so I take everyone there.
Underneath that sits the layer where you see how something is made and by whom, meet the person whose hands are in it, and understand what happens to the money. Then there is a third layer, the one you cannot buy a ticket for, which arrives through somebody who knows the city well enough to take you there. Sidi Bel Abbes appears on no standard itinerary I have seen, and we reached it because a local guide walked us to it.
Curiosity opens things up in the other direction too. In Kalat M'goun there is a collective of dagger-makers, a traditionally male craft, and it does not show up on itineraries written for groups of women. We go, and my guests love it, because real life well lived is beautiful and interesting. That guiding principle builds a far better week than a cookie cutter itinerary made for cookie cutter people.
What music will you hear?
Amazigh music, most likely. Around Marrakech that means the collective village forms of the High Atlas and the Souss, frame drums and the one-stringed ribab and many voices going at once. You will also hear the oud, in the Andalusi classical tradition that came across from the courts of al-Andalus and stayed. Gnawa is Morocco's famous export abroad, and you may well catch it in Jemaa el-Fna, where the sintir and the metal qraqeb are unmistakable. We will definitely hear Gnawa when we visit Essouira.
Knowing the difference before you arrive changes what you notice, and it gives you something to ask about. Our word lute comes from the Arabic al-ʿud, and the oud is the predecessor to the lute.
Where do the best photographs in Marrakech come from?
Archways, archways, archways. The magic of the city in a picture nearly always arrives through an arch: a doorway framing the street beyond it, a passage with the light coming down one wall, a keyhole shape with the whole of Marrakech arranged inside it.
What the photo tour really taught us was to stop hunting for subjects and start watching light and shadow. Where the sun lands, what it lands on, and what stays dark. Once you are looking at that instead, the medina rearranges itself in front of you, and the corners with the best arches turn out to be the quiet ones nobody is standing in.
How do you photograph people respectfully?
This was the other thing we came home with, and it matters more than any camera setting. Morocco is one of the most photographed countries on earth, and an enormous amount of that photography gets taken from people who were never asked.
The whole of it fits in one habit: ask first. Learn the phrase, use it, and take the answer you get. Some people will say yes and enjoy it. Some will wave you off, and that is the end of the conversation.
A few things about travel photography.
Never photograph a child without a parent standing there and agreeing. Parents in Morocco are protective in exactly the way parents everywhere are, and the answer is often no.
Performers in Jemaa el-Fna, henna artists and snake handlers are working. A photograph is part of what they sell, so settle what it costs before you lift the camera and then pay what you agreed.
In and around religious spaces, put it away. People at prayer are not a subject.
In the souks, buy something before you ask. A few minutes of conversation and an actual purchase changes the question entirely.
Send the picture. If someone gives you their face and you have a way to send it to them, do it.
In Morocco do not take photos of military or police. Put your camera down when you are near them.
And leave the camera in the bag for part of every day. The clearest thing that walk taught me was a photograph I did not take, standing outside Sidi Bel Abbes. And my clearest mind comes from the hammam, when my phone is locked away for several hours.
Is Morocco safe for women travelers?
The United States State Department currently places Morocco at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, on an advisory dated 21 April 2025, citing terrorism. Level 2 is the same rating carried by a long list of ordinary European destinations, and it is worth reading the advisory yourself instead of trusting anybody's summary of it, including mine.
The day-to-day reality that women ask me about is usually different from what the advisories cover. Attention in the souks is persistent, it is mostly commercial, and a clear “no, thank you” works. Walking with someone else after dark is sensible in Marrakech the way it is sensible in all cities. Agreeing what something costs before you accept it saves a conversation later.
What a led group takes off your plate is friction. Somebody meets you at the airport. Somebody knows which street you turned down. Somebody can come and find you at nine at night. Solo travelers on my retreats often have decades of independent travel behind them, and they still choose the group for a first trip to a country they cannot read.
When should you go?
Spring and autumn are the comfortable windows for temperatures, and there are reasons my own departures are in the spring and fall, but not peak season. Marrakech in high summer is hot, hot enough to melt your plans around the middle of it, and the desert is hotter. Winter is mild in the city and cold at night in the Atlas, which surprises people.
The things worth knowing before you go to Morocco
Carry cash for the souks. There is a national push toward card payment, and in the souks cash still does something a card cannot: it gives you room to negotiate. Bargaining is normal, it is friendly, and it works considerably better with notes in your hand. Pro tip: keep cash in different parts of your wallet of pocket book so you can reach for what you need without showing everything. And always have small bills.
Learn five words. Basic Arabic, Darija or Tamazight greetings will change the tone of nearly every interaction you have, and nobody expects fluency. The effort is the point.
Fridays are a great day to relax. Fridays are a family day and the holy day of the week to attend their mosque. They want to be home enjoying couscous with their family. Schedule tours for in the morning, and relax in the afternoon.
Amongst the throngs of humanity, remember we are all equal humans. This seems obvious to many of us, but here it sometimes means using eye contact differently from cultural norms where you grew up. I go over these in my pre-retreat meetings. All my retreats include a guide booklet and meeting. See the rest of them on my Join a Retreat page.
Before you plan, check the calendar. This is the first thing I do when planning a retreat. I choose for ideal weather, fewer tourists AND awareness of religious celebrations that might affect our travel. Ramadan happens in a changing, rotating calendar, so always check. Yes, you absolutely can travel in Morocco during Ramadan, but in some places things will be closed.
Frequently asked questions about Morocco travel
Is Marrakech too intense for a first trip to Morocco?
It is intense, and that is most of why people love it. What makes the difference is where you sleep. A riad puts a thick wall and a quiet courtyard between you and the city, so you can go out into it and then step out of it, several times a day. I find the privacy and hush of a riad very calming in the middle of the Medina.
What should I wear?
Comfortable shoes you can walk uneven ground in, and clothes that cover your shoulders, knees and cleavage when you are in the medina or outside the cities. Marrakech is used to visitors, so treat this as comfort more than rule-following, and remember that covering up also spares you a lot of sun. I tend to wear breathable pants or maxi skirts, and loose tops.
Do I need to speak French or Arabic?
No. Most people you deal with in the medina speak English. Moroccan Arabic and French are both in daily use, with Amazigh languages alongside them, and a handful of greetings in any of them goes a long way. Darija is the name of the local Moroccan Arabic.
How much walking is involved?
Plenty, on uneven ground, with stairs in older buildings and no lifts in most riads. The distances are short and the surfaces do the work. Bring shoes you can be on your feet in all day. Our riad has an elevator.
Is a group trip worth it if I usually travel independently?
For Morocco specifically, often yes, and the reason is access as much as logistics. The workshops, the collectives and the family kitchens that make a week memorable are reached through relationships. Small group travel also can save your budget compared to the larger groups with the highly advertised programs. Leading my first retreat in Morocco I saw we did many of the same things as the National Geographic tours - except at one quarter to one third the group size we have access to many more high quality boutique restaurants and experiences, and without the advertising budget I was running at half the price. Compared to independent travel you have to remember that on my retreats you have all (or almost all) your meals included. That is never the case for most group tours. Do careful math when deciding.
Can I take photographs in Marrakech?
Of places, freely. Of people, only after asking. Performers and craftspeople who work in front of visitors may expect a small payment, so agree it first. Children need a parent's yes. Inside and around religious buildings, and military or police, put the camera away.
Where to start
If Morocco has been on your list for a while, start with the thing you would most like to see made, and build the trip out from there. You can join my email list below to find out about my next retreats. And you can read more about custom wellness travel here, then reach out if you want your own private experience.
