Weather in Morocco can be difficult to pack for. At the southernmost parts of your journey, the daily highs will be around 85F while the lows will be in the 60s. In the desert, weather will be more extreme with highs closer to 90F and lows in the 40s! So how do you pack for this?? The answer is LAYERS.
You should know generally what we did, where we went, how long we were there, and the kind of vacation we like to go on to know what you need to adjust for yourself:
We went to Morocco from November 12th-November 24th (13 days with a day of travel on either end). We’re much more of adventurers than relaxers on our vacations. We travel on a budget so we don’t go to any super fancy restaurants (although we do like to plan one slightly nicer dinner). We did a 3-Day Desert Trek, went on a small hike, spent a lot of time walking but also a lot of time in the car. The highest temperature we experienced was around 90F (during the day in Marrakesh) and the lowest was around 45F (nighttime in the desert). It also rained twice while we were there but it didn’t last longer than a couple hours.
Okay, now that you have a picture of how we spent our trip, here’s a very specific list of EVERYTHING I packed (or wished I’d packed):
Clothes
Tops
3 layering tank tops
3 loose-fitting t-shirts
1 warm sweater that fit under my jacket and matched everything
1 light cardigan sweater
1 shacket
1 linen button down
2 maxi dresses
Bottoms
1 pair versatile jeans
1 pair jogger style pants that could be dressed up
1 pair linen pants (not necessary, just wanted them for the Sahara photo-op)
1 pair leggings
Jackets
1 medium weight jacket that matches everything (faux leather jacket)
1 rain jacket – didn’t NEED it but could’ve been helpful
Accessories
1 scarf for the desert trek (we bought ours for $10 in the desert)
1 tote to bring souvenirs home + 1 extra, nesting suitcase if possible/needed
Fanny pack (helpful for activities), crossbody bag, and backpack
Minimal jewelry
Sunglasses
Hat with a brim (I’m just not a hat person so I didn’t bring one)
Beanie for desert nights
Misc.
Bathing suit
Undergarments for 1 week (wash clothes halfway through)
Thick socks for the cold desert nights
Shoes
Casual sneakers – comfortable enough to walk all day in but could be dressed up if needed
Sporty sandals – my neutral colored Tevas were PERFECT for this trip. I wore them hiking but also wore them with my dresses!
Miscellaneous
Sunscreen
Moisturizer, Vaseline, Chapstick…the air is SO dry!
Go Pro/Camera +equipment (a bag or case to keep it all together)
Journal
Outlet converter and chargers
Earplugs
Power banks
Tissues & hand sanitizer (some public bathrooms don’t have toilet paper, soap, or paper towels)
Axel
Axel packed MUCH simpler, so I just wanted to share what he brought for clothes for those of you who may have a more streamlined packing style:
1 pair jeans
1 shacket
1 medium weight jacket
2 short sleeve button downs
1 pair joggers
1 pair shorts
2 pairs athletic shorts
6 t-shirts
1 pair casual sneakers
Socks and underwear for 1 week
Tips
Cotton and natural fibers are recommended but when we went, it was a very dry heat so I was comfortable in all types of clothing.
Cover your shoulders, legs to your knees, chest, and stomach. This isn’t a requirement but it’s just a way of showing your respect for their culture and it really applies for both men and women. I saw a few people not following this and they weren’t getting shunned in the streets or anything but they definitely stuck out.
There isn’t a dress code outside of this. We didn’t go to any fancy restaurants but that’s probably the only place you might feel like you need to dress up a bit. Otherwise, wear whatever makes you happy! I loved that I never felt like I was dressed to formal or informal.
You need layers! Rather than packing a big bulky jacket for the coldest parts of the trip, pack a sweater that you can layer under a lighter, easier-to-pack jacket. I even wore leggings and a tank top under a dress on a night where I wanted to dress up.
When packing for layers, it’s best to pack a capsule wardrobe. One with three neutral colors and one or two pops of color so that everything you could possibly layer matches. My wardrobe was very neutral with white, black and tan as my neutrals and blues as my pop of color. I could wear either pair of shoes with any of my outfits and my jacket matched any layers I wore under it.
Don’t pack things that wrinkle very easily. You may have an iron if you stay in hotels but not one of our AirBnBs had one. I definitely used the shower steamer trick a few times. I did pack linen which is the wrinkliest of wrinkly clothing but I wore them early in the trip and I feel like sometimes wrinkled linen is a look…anyone else?
Depending on the length of your stay, you may want to plan to do laundry half-way through so you don’t have to pack as much. We had ours done at our hostel in Chefchaouen, but I’m sure there are also laundromats you could go to.
There you have it! A very extensive list of everything we brought. You can use this as a template and adjust for your specific trip!
I’m happy to answer any questions in the comments below 🙂
Stephanie Lundgren 