Travelling in Morocco with children: car seats, taxis and transfers

If you need a child car seat in a Morocco taxi, plan on not finding one: petit and grand taxis do not carry them, and a petit taxi takes 3 passengers at most. Families have two workable options. Bring your own seat, or book a private transfer and ask for a seat when you reserve. On our transfers child seats are free on request, in a sedan (1-3 passengers), a minivan (4-6) or a minibus (7-14).

What the law and the street say

Moroccan road rules make seat belts compulsory and, as far as published guidance goes, do not allow children under 10 in the front seat. Rules on child restraints are less clearly spelled out than in the UK or the EU, and taxis are in practice treated as exempt. Enforcement is light. Treat this as a description of what you will meet, not as legal advice, and check current rules if you plan to hire a car and drive yourself.

On the street the picture is simple. Local families ride with children on laps. Taxi drivers will not refuse you for travelling without a seat, and they will not have one to offer. The decision is yours to make before you land.

Child car seats and Morocco taxis: what to expect

Petit taxis

These small city cars take three passengers. Drivers usually count a child as a passenger, so two adults and two children will often be asked to take two cars. Rear belts are not always present or working in older vehicles. If you bring your own seat, check for a three-point belt before you load the bags, and let a taxi go if it has none. Another will pass within a minute.

Grand taxis

Shared grand taxis fill every seat before leaving, which leaves no room for a child seat unless you hire the whole vehicle. If you do, you can fit your own seat on the rear bench. Newer vans have proper belts. Older saloons may not.

Airport taxis

The taxis waiting outside arrivals at Marrakech Menara Airport (RAK) follow the same pattern: no seats on board, and little time or patience for fitting yours at a busy rank. The differences between the services are set out in private transfer or taxi in Morocco.

Your options, compared

Bringing your own seat

Many airlines carry a car seat or a pushchair in the hold at no charge for a child's ticket. Policies differ, so check yours before packing. A lightweight seat that installs with the car's belt is the practical choice, because Isofix anchor points cannot be counted on in taxis. For children old enough, a compact booster is easy to carry around the medina and solves most short taxi rides.

The cost is bulk. In the medina you will walk the last stretch on foot, often for several minutes down lanes where no car goes, with bags, a child and a seat. If your seat is only for the airport run, a transfer with a seat already fitted saves you carrying it all week.

Booking a transfer with a child seat

Tell us three things when you reserve: the age of each child, their approximate weight and height, and how many seats you need. An infant carrier, a toddler seat and a booster are not interchangeable, and the driver needs to fit the right one before he leaves for the airport. Ask at booking, not at the kerb.

Count seats honestly when choosing the vehicle. Every child occupies a place, and a child seat takes the full width of one. Two adults with one child fit a sedan. Two adults with two or three children, or anyone travelling with a pushchair and four cases, should take the minivan, which holds 4-6 passengers and 6 suitcases. Larger family groups are covered in our note on group transfers by minibus.

For the arrival itself, the Marrakech airport to medina transfer takes about 15 minutes over 6 km and costs €15 in a sedan or €20 in a minivan. The driver waits at the arrivals exit with a name sign, so there is no queueing with a tired child, and waiting after a flight delay is free.

Long drives with children

Distances in Morocco are larger than the map suggests. Marrakech to Essaouira is 190 km and 2 h 45. The road over the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260 m) to Ouarzazate takes about 4 hours with constant bends, and children prone to travel sickness feel it. A few habits help:

• Leave early. Roads are quieter, the car is cooler and you arrive before the afternoon slump.
• Plan a stop every 60 to 90 minutes. On our transfers short stops on the way are free, so ask the driver whenever you need one.
• Carry water, plain snacks and wipes in the cabin, not in the boot.
• On mountain roads, seat a queasy child where they can see the road ahead, and give them a light meal before leaving, not a heavy one.

The private transfer from Marrakech to Essaouira is one of the easier long runs with children: a straight, mostly flat road with cafés along the way. For other journeys, our chart of realistic driving times between Moroccan cities helps you decide what is reasonable in one day.

Fixed prices for every route are on the transfer routes and prices page. When you book your family transfer, select the number of child seats and add the children's ages in the notes, and the seats will be in the car.