Firstly, Hi - There are certainly some inspirational stories and posts on this forum !

I am planning my first trip to Morocco later this year. Nothing too adventurous by some of your standards, but i will have the wife, 4 year old and 2 year old in the landrover. I'm ferrying from the UK to Santander and driving across Spain - They are all flying in to Marakech and then we have 10 days. (If I dont get to the airport before they land I'm in proper trouble !!)

We are going at the end of May / begining of June which means I will probably be sticking to the coast and the higher areas to avoid the very hot stuff. We'll probably head straight to Essaouria (sp?) and then south. I dont wont to be taking any risks with my precious cargo but I am hopoing to get off the tarmac roads onto the pistes a bit in the High Atlas.

If anyone has had any experience of travelling in that part of the world with a young family any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

If your in Essaouira between the the 20-23 June it's the Gnaoua Festival a great experience for all the family but the main stages go well into the early hours, worth bearing in mind when planning accomodation.

The festival is free for the main stages with tickets for the smaller one. Theres also a Fantasia competition on the beach with teams of horsemen firing very load black powder guns

Le Festival Gnaoua et des musiques du Monde d’Essaouira

It will be hot last time I was there in June Essaouira was ok at low 30's but Marrakech was in the 40's

I travel with my eight year old and have travelled for a few weeks with people with very young children. The Moroccans love children and you will get a lot of positive reactions on your trip I'm sure.

I'm guessing you will be looking for nice camp sites and short days? here are few of my wife friendly recommendations in your travel area.

Essaouira N31 29.509 W9 45.786

Only one campsite which I was not very impressed with but Essaouira itself is very nice.

Anglou Plage N29 48.258 W9 49.688 (The Campsite in Tiznit is not great)

Very clean and tidy place with a fantastic shop by the entrance to the site and great beach a Km away.

Le Ksar de Tafnidilt N28 32.757 W10 59.580

This maybe a little far South, but again a very nice place and not as expensive as it looks although I found the food a bit pricey.

Tafraoute

Three campsites, although I have never stayed at any of them the Anti-Atlas is a lovely area to explore and the height around here should help with reducing the heat.

Camping Zebra a Km from Casades d’Ouzoud N32 00.351 W6 43.177

Great atmosphere, great food and the best showers in Morocco (maybe).

The Warden - We'll be on our way home by then which may (?) be a shame.

24/7 - Spot on with the short days and decent camping - Cheers for the heads up on the campsites.

Well I'm sat on the ferry back up to Portsmouth after a brilliant trip. If anyone else is considering a trip with young children, I can confim that providing you are sensible with the heat and hydration, there really arent any major isues. We enjoyed a bit of the coast and beach from Essauoria down to Agidir before heading inland to Paradise Valley, Taraodant and then down to Tafraoute. We spent a bit of time exploring the blue (and pink - very important with 2 girls) rocks and the tracks down into the date palms and gorges to the south. We then trundled down to Foum Ziguid, had a quick scoot accross Lake Ikiri (getting a bit lost and stuck through the dunes near M'hamid in the swirling sand), before spending the night at the Sahrara Sky obsevatory hotel (Unfortunately it was too hazy for the telescopes to work). The obligatory ride on a camel the next morning before heading back over to Alt Benhaddou for the night and then on to Marakech via the 'old pass'. A day in Marakech including a trip around the city on a Caleche and the girls flew home leaving me the long drive north.

The children were welcomed with open arms every where we went and restaurant / cafe owners couldnt do enough for them. Glad to say, we had no health / stomach concerns. Covered some km's, boiled 2 front shocks and got a flat tyre in the desert, but other than that the Landie was brill. I will have to admit, we never got the camping stuff out of the back, as the lure of a nice air conditioned hotel room with a pool was too much, especially when it was only between £30 - £50 half board for the 4 of us in a 2 room suite ! Certainly a plce to revisit, perhaps in a few year when we can do a bit of trecking with the girls as well. Hopefully some photos below.

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Sounds like you had a great time